One of our members observed the following:
One consequence of the consolidation is the Medford Mail Processing Facility will no longer process ‘Originating’ mail. An example of ‘Originating' mail is a Medford customer mails their rent check to their landlord who resides in Grants Pass. The check will be delayed at least one day because this ‘Originating’ mail will be sent from Medford to Portland then sent back to Medford. This process will take a big-rig at least 8 hours of back & forth driving time with additional time of 2 - 3 hours for processing and sorting the mail in Portland, before returning it to Medford. Not only will this mail be delayed, but this will Increase, not Reduce Transportation Costs. Express mail guaranteed next day delivery will be delayed at least one day, even though the customer has paid for it! Another consequence of this consolidation that was NOT disclosed to the public, was the truck routes have changed which will delay the mail an additional second day. Prior to the consolidation this past Saturday 2/24/24, mail was processed and postmarked by the Medford Processing Center and the trucks left by 8:00 pm & 9:50 pm. With the consolidation last week the truck times have changed and the Post Offices are required to have the mail be processed and arrive at the Medford Processing Center by 6 pm. Because of losing the 2 + hours for processing and transporting the mail, the Post Offices that are more than 50 miles away are having to process mail and leave before 5 pm or prior to closing, and afternoon mail will not go out until the next day. Article 12 – The Excessing Article… 6 Sections and 23 Pages of an Entangled Web of Contractual Gibberish. Or is it?
Article 12 takes up 23 pages of the 2021-2024 APWU Collective Bargaining Agreement, otherwise known as the CBA, or the National Agreement, or simply the NA as so many arbitrators refer to it in their lengthy written award decisions. The largest Article in the NA, in number of pages the language appears on, is Article 37, the Clerk Craft, which encompasses the definitions, the process of posting and assigning duty assignments, and the application of Article 12 reassignments which are unique to the Clerk Craft. Article 12 and Article 38 (the Maintenance Craft) are the next largest Articles of the NA in number of pages in which they appear. When members and stewards of a local hear the words “excessing”, many times a feeling overcomes them as gut wrenching emotions invoke the uneasy task of opening up the contract to the pages of Article 12, and someone must ask the question… “What do we do?” Fortunately, Article 12, titled “Principles of Seniority, Posting, and Reassignments” is broken down into 6 sections. And by isolating those sections to the principles that apply to your circumstances at the installation for the type of excessing you will be representing the membership, you can eliminate the sections that will not apply, so that you can focus on what does apply. Article 12, Sections 1 through 3 establish the principles for applying seniority and probationary periods for new employees in APWU crafts. It also provides the language that shifts seniority rules and posting provisions to the individual craft Articles of the NA. For the most part, Sections 1, 2, and 3 will serve as minimal importance in the excessing procedure. We can put half of Article 12 away for now, and move on to Sections 4, 5 and 6…… Section 6 deals with transfer requests into an installation. Lets toss that section aside as it has little importance to the excessing procedure. We’ve eliminated 2/3 of Article 12 so far. Now, its time to dive into Sections 4 and 5…… Section 4 establishes timelines that the Postal Service must follow in notification to the APWU at the national level when there are MAJOR plans affecting APWU crafts nationwide. This section also established the 6 month advanced notification period in which the Postal Service is required to meet with the APWU Regional Coordinator (Omar Gonzalez for the Western Region) when the Postal Service is planning to excess employees from one location to another. This is called excessing OUT OF CRAFT OR INSTALLATION. For the most part, the Regional Coordinator represents the local members while communicating with the local president to gather information to verify or correct the mis-information that the Postal Service usually provides to the Regional Coordinator. So the major nuts-n-bolts we need to fix our attention to is Section 5. Basically, Section 5 is split into two types of excessing events; 1. excessing OUTSIDE of the employee’s installation; and 2. excessing WITHIN the employee’s installation. As stated above, when 1. applies, then the Regional Coordinator must be notified 6 months in advance. And he/she will notify the local president of the local as he/she receives the information regarding the excessing event. In 2. excessing WITHIN the installation to the needs of a section , only the local president is notified unless there will be excessing to other crafts within the installation, and the notification must occur at the Local Level (as much as six (6) months in advance when possible), pursuant to Article 12.5.B.4 (also in the JCIM Article 12.5.C.4). The identification of assignments comprising a section is determined through the local LMOU. When it is proposed for the Postal Service to excess employees WITHIN an installation and the reduction is anticipated to be fulfilled by attrition, then excessing OUT OF CRAFT will not take place. This type of excessing is the least inconvenient to the dislocation of employees, and also happens to be the least inconvenient for local union officials to navigate. This is covered under Article 12, Section 5.C.4(a, b, c, and d). Note: When the Postal Service notifies the union that it is necessary to reduce the number of regular workforce employees WITHIN an installation other than by attrition, then the Regional Coordinator is notified. This type of excessing ( Article 12, Section 5.C.5) intends to reassign an APWU craft employee to another craft WITHIN the same installation, and requires that the other crafts WITHIN the installation withhold residual vacancies in their craft so that the excessed craft employees will have a duty assignment to be reassigned into. So, the only excessing event in which the local president is the sole primary notification individual is when Section 5.C.4 is implemented. Otherwise, all other excessing events will first be addressed to the APWU Regional Director. Now let’s look at the process that a local follows under 5.C.4 (a little less than 2 pages worth of contractual gibberish). The JCIM provides the simplest layman’s interpretation of the excessing process when eliminating duty assignments from one section into another. Section 5.C.4 begins on page 107 of the 2022 JCIM. Page 108 pretty much sums up the entire sectional excessing process followed by the retreat rights process on page 109. The sectional excessing process can be pretty much isolated to just 1 page (108) of the JCIM, and of course, the local’s LMOU to determine the sections for excess. That’s not too bad is it? Coming Next….. When the Regional Level Gets Involved (Sections 5.C.1,2,3,5 & 6) From Jeremy Schilling, SOAL President:
Hey all, Here is the poster for Saturday's rally. I hope to see you all there. Please spread the word. Hey everyone,
I wanted to share a flyer I created for our campaign. It's a great tool that we can start distributing to spread the word. The flyer includes a QR code that directs people to the petition. It's super easy to use—just open your camera app, point it at the code square, and it will automatically open the link on your phone. Also, mark your calendars! The first rally is scheduled for this upcoming Saturday, July 22, from 1-2pm. We'll be gathering in front of the Medford Post Office on Riverside. It's a fantastic opportunity for us to come together and show our support. I'll be sending out an official notice and event poster shortly. In the meantime, please start circulating the flyer and encourage others to sign the petition. We need all the support we can get! If you have any ideas for further publications or strategies, please send them my way. I'm also planning to get some printed soon. Thank you all for your dedication and hard work. Best regards, Jeremy A few years ago I had banked up over 1000 hours of sick leave, until some medical misfortune led to a dramatic decline in what I had available for future calamities. Just before returning to work from knee surgery, I developed a blood clot that required another month of leave while on blood thinners. An ailing parent in another state came soon after and four more weeks of leave disappeared. Next came several series of eye surgeries and visits to eye specialists requiring overnight stays, and I began to get a bit nervous. I still have a pretty good chunk of leave left, but I can see where someone with less years of service could easily have none in a very short period of time. Almost all of my leave was covered under the Family Medical Leave Act, and I have never been disciplined for abusing sick leave.
Probably the simplest description of what advance sick leave is comes from the JCIM (Joint Contract Interpretation Manual). The 2022 versions states under Article 10: Up to thirty days (240 hours) of sick leave may be advanced to an employee with a serious disability or ailment if there is reason to believe the employee will return to duty (ELM, Section 513.511). The Postal Service installation head has authority to approve such requests. An employee is not required to use all annual leave before receiving advance sick leave. You can NOT request advance sick leave to care for a family member. It is only available for the employee's own disability or illness. Let's say you have little to no sick leave left accrued, after you ran into medical misfortune similar to what I had. During elk season this year, you stumbled and twisted your knee while packing out a trophy bull elk. At first you think nothing of it; you ice it down, and take a few tylenol, and after a day or two you're back to work. But alas, misfortune has struck again, as you notice that the pain hasn't subsided, and after a visit to an orthopedic doctor, you have surgery scheduled for next month. Your doctor completes the necessary FMLA documentation for you to be off from work for four weeks to recover, and states that you can return to full duty after the four weeks off. You have 40 hours of sick leave left which will get you paid for one of those weeks, but not for the three weeks afterwards. I recommend that employees do these five (5) things: 1. Go to your physician and have them either fill out FMLA qualification forms for your illness/ailment, or provide a detailed letter/documentation that includes that the employee has a serious disability or ailment, what dates the employee will be needed off work and what date the employee will be returning to work. 2. Ask for a PS Form 1221 from your supervisor, Shop Steward, or download one from the internet. Fill out the portion of the form titled: Employee's Name, Social Security No. (or EIN #), Advanced Sick Leave Begins Date, Advanced Sick Leave Ends Date. 3. Ask for a PS Form 3971 from your supervisor, Shop Steward, or download one from the internet. If you will be requesting part of the leave period on your available leave balance, and part on advanced sick leave, you can fill out two separate 3971s for the sick leave portion and another for the advanced. Otherwise specify in the remarks section of the 3971 how many of the hours you are requesting to be advanced sick leave. 4. Ask your immediate supervisor who the installation head's name is so that you can request in writing for advanced sick leave. If not provided, ask to meet with a Shop Steward to get the name, or address your request to "Installation Head". Write a letter to the Installation Head requesting the Advance Sick Leave and include that the leave is for a "serious disability" or "serious ailment" as described in your physician's provided documentation, how many advanced sick leave hours you desire, what dates you will be needed off work and when you will be returning to work. 5. Make a copy of all four (4) items listed above, staple them together, and hand them to either the installation head or to your immediate supervisor. If your supervisor is untrustworthy, you can request to meet with a Shop Steward so that the Shop Steward can assist you in submitting the packet. If your request is denied or your paycheck later does not have the advanced sick leave (and your request was NOT denied), you will need to meet with a Shop Steward within 14 days of the denied request. 1/4/2023 What can you do if you request to meet with a shop steward and are denied a meeting?Read Now Whenever you observe anything work related that seems like it may be a violation of our collective bargaining agreement, you have a right under Article 15 to dispute, disagree with, find difference with management in regards to, or complain about the incident. That right includes asking from the employee's immediate supervisor for a steward to represent the employee in that "grievance" issue, even if only to report the incident with a witness statement.
In the Medford installation offices, we have locally negotiated an agreement on how an APWU represented employee requests representation. Make sure to request time to meet with a steward from your supervisor (NOT the steward). If the request is urgent and you need to meet with a steward immediately, please advise your supervisor. Otherwise, your supervisor will notify you within two hours when you can meet with a steward. Under Weingarten, an employee has a statutory right to refuse to submit to an investigatory interview without union representation which he or she reasonably believes might result in disciplinary action. Naturally, the APWU advises its bargaining unit employees to exercise their right under the National Labor Relations Act to request and have a union representative participate and assist them in any investigatory interview. Don’t they have to ask me if I want a steward present? No! Unlike the Miranda Rights in which a police officer must give the warning if you are going to be asked questions during an arrest, management nor the inspection service are required to ask you if you want a steward present or even inform you of the Weingarten Rights. You MUST request representation. Postal Inspectors are required to grant an employee the right to request union representation during an investigatory interview. However, an employee's right to representation is not automatic, and is limited to those situations wherein an employee reasonably believes the interview could result in disciplinary action. If you are denied your request for representation, the Postal Inspector may not conduct the interview, therefore, do not answer any more questions. If by the end of your tour, your supervisor has failed to notify you within the two hours of the meeting time with a steward, and you must leave to go home, if you like, you can email or write a statement for a steward off the clock. When doing so, keep track of when you began writing or accessing a computer in order to type or email your statement. Be thorough and include the entire names of witnesses, supervisors, and the exact date and time of each incident. Also if you can, make copies and/or scan in all the documents that you refer to or that you believe the steward will need for your issue. Keep track of all the time you take scanning or copying these documents. Then email or drop off your statement and documents to the steward office at the plant. Record the amount of time you take for your next request for a steward meeting. The list of local stewards should be be posted in every facility. Most stewards can be contacted by text message at their listed phone numbers, and one of us will text back the email address to send your statement to. On the following day after being required to provide evidence and a statement off the clock, request once again to meet with your steward. This time, the reason is to provide a statement for an Article 15 violation. The Article 15 violation is the violation of your right to meet with a representative in your initial grievance. This becomes a second and separate grievance issue. When asked for the reason, you simply state to your supervisor, "I need to provide evidence and a written statement involving an Article 15 violation to my steward." You should not be required to explain anything else. Again, your supervisor shall notify you within two hours when you can meet with a steward. And, as before, should your request to meet with a steward to represent you be denied, you once again can email or write a statement for a steward off the clock. This statement is different than your original reason for meeting with a steward. This time, you will testify that you requested to meet with a steward to report that you were denied a meeting with a steward the previous day. This is an entirely new grievance. And once again, keep track of when you began writing or accessing a computer in order to type or email your statement. Each day thereafter, when you request to meet with a steward, it will be for an Article 15 violation. And each subsequent day that you are denied a meeting, your steward will initiate another grievance and request as a remedy that you be paid for each and every time you provided evidence and a statement off the clock at the overtime rate. Eventually, your supervisor will realize that you are serious when you request to meet with a steward and will desist from delaying your right again. In Case of Injury, obtain first aid or medical treatment even if the injury is minor. While many minor injuries heal without treatment, a few result in serious prolonged disability that could have been prevented had the employee received treatment when the injury occurred.
For traumatic injuries, ask your employer to authorize medical treatment on Form CA-16 BEFORE you go to the doctor. Take Form CA-16 when you go to the doctor, along with Form OWCP-1500, which the doctor must use to submit bills to OWCP. Your employer may authorize medical treatment for occupational disease ONLY if OWCP gives prior approval. Submit bills promptly, as bills for medical treatment may not be paid if submitted to OWCP more than one year after the calendar year in which you received the treatment or in which the condition was accepted as compensable. Report Every Injury to your supervisor. Submit written notice of your injury on Form CA-1 if you sustained a traumatic injury, or Form CA-2 if the injury was an occupational disease or illness. (Forms CA-1 and CA-2 may be obtained from your employing agency or OWCP.) Form CA-1 must be filed within 30 days of the date of injury to receive continuation of pay (COP) for a disabling traumatic injury. COP may be terminated if medical evidence of the injury-related disability is not submitted to your employer within 10 workdays. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT SUCH MEDICAL EVIDENCE IS SUBMITTED TO YOUR EMPLOYING AGENCY. Form CA-2 should also be filed within 30 days. Any claim which is not submitted within 3 years will be barred by statutory time limitations unless the immediate superior had actual knowledge of the injury or death within 30 days of occurrence. Both the CA-1 and the CA-2 are available on the DOL website at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/owcp/FECA/regs/compliance/forms Establish the Essential Elements of Your Claim. You must provide the evidence needed to show that you filed for benefits in a timely manner; that you are a civil employee; that the injury occurred as reported and in the performance of duty; and that your condition or disability is related to the injury or factors of your Federal employment. OWCP will assist you in meeting this responsibility, which is called burden of proof, by requesting evidence needed to fulfill the requirements of your claim. File a Claim for Compensation. File Form CA-7, Claim for Compensation on Account of Traumatic Injury or Occupational Disease, if you cannot return to work because of your injury and you are losing (or expect to lose) pay for more than three days. Give the form to your supervisor seven to ten days before the end of the COP period, if you received COP. If you are not entitled to COP, submit Form CA-7 when you enter or expect to enter a leave without pay status. All wage loss claims must be supported by medical evidence of injury-related disability for the period of the claim. If you continue to lose pay after the dates claimed on Form CA-7, submit Forms CA-8 Claim for Continuing Compensation on Account of Disability, through your employer to claim additional compensation until you return to work or until OWCP advises they are no longer needed. You are not required to use your sick or annual leave before you claim compensation. If you choose to use your leave, you may, with your agency's concurrence, request leave buy-back by submitting Form CA-7 to OWCP through your employing agency. Any compensation payment is to be used to partially reimburse your agency for the leave pay. You must also arrange to pay your agency the difference between the leave pay based on your full salary and the compensation payment that was paid at 2/3 or 3/4 of your salary. Your agency will then recredit the leave to your leave record. Return To Work As Soon As your Doctor Allows You To Do So. If your employing agency gives you a written description of a light duty job, you must provide a copy to your doctor and ask if and when you can perform the duties described. If your agency is willing to provide light work, you must ask your doctor to specify your work restrictions. In either case, you must advise your agency immediately of your doctor's instructions concerning return to work, and arrange for your agency to receive written verification of this information. COP or compensation may be terminated if you refuse work which is within your medical restrictions without good cause, or if you do not respond within specified time limits to a job offer from your agency. In appropriate cases, OWCP provides assistance in arranging for reassignment to lighter duties in cooperation with the employing agency. In addition, injured employees have certain other specified rights under the jurisdiction of the Office of Personnel Management, such as reemployment rights if the disability has been overcome within one year. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Right to see own physician Any employee who gets injured on the job has the right to see their own physician. (ELM Section 545.4) 545.4 Implementing Medical Care 545.41 Emergency Treatment An employee needing emergency treatment must be sent to the nearest available physician or hospital or to a physician or hospital chosen by the employee or the employee’s representative. The physician who provides emergency treatment is not considered the employee’s initial choice of physician. 545.44 Outside Treatment in a Nonemergency Situation In a nonemergency situation, if an employee does not accept treatment at a Postal Service occupational health services office or contract facility, the employee may select a physician or hospital within approximately 25 miles of his or her home or worksite. The physician’s office should be contacted by telephone by the control office or control point to determine if the physician is available and will accept the employee for treatment under FECA. If not, the employee must select another qualified physician or hospital. A postal supervisor is not authorized to accompany the employee to a medical facility or physician’s office in nonemergency situations ELM 17 432.72 Medical Release Time When an employee is released from work and directed by management to an on- or off-site health services unit due to illness or injury, all time spent waiting for and/or receiving medical attention on the service day on which the illness or injury occurs and that would have been worked but for the medical attention, including all time that the employee otherwise would have been directed to work that day beyond his or her regularly scheduled tour, is included and credited as work time. Steward's note: Over the years I have witnessed many employees injured at work and fail to request to see their own physician. The people at medical units and US Postal Service contract physicians (in my opinion) are not acting in the best interest of the employee but in the interest of the USPS and that is to get injured employees back to work as soon as possible regardless of the well-being of the an employee. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TIMELINESS Federal agencies are required by regulation to submit an employee's Notice of Injury (Form CA-1 or CA-2) within 10 working days (or 14 calendar days) of receiving it from an employee, if lost time from work or medical expenses are claimed or anticipated [20 CFR 10.110(a)]. Regulations require that the CA-7 should be submitted no later than 5 working days (or 7 calendar days) after its receipt from the employee [20 CFR 10.112(b)]. This prompt submission is critical if OWCP is to be able to serve injured workers' needs, and especially to ensure that medical bills can be processed timely. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INFORMATION TO ASSIST DOCTOR IN DETERMINING CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP FOR AN OWCP CLAIM: To a physician, "cause" may refer only to direct or principal cause, but for the law of Workers' Compensation, a variety of contributing causes must be considered. Under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA), any disease or disability is compensable when it is proximately caused or materially aggravated by an employment-related injury or condition of employment. Proximate cause is that which, in a natural and continuing sequence, produces the disability. However, natural progression of a disease while a person is working does not constitute cause or aggravation. For conditions of employment to bring about aggravation of any underlying disease, the employment factors must be capable of aggravating or accelerating the disease. A supervisor is permitted to accompany you to the doctor’s office or hospital only in an emergency, and only to ensure that you receive prompt medical care. Supervisors should not interfere with medical care, breech your privacy, or be present to advise the doctor about limited-duty accommodations. Ambulances should be used to transport you in emergencies, not USPS or personal vehicles. See 543.223 of the Postal Service’s Employee and Labor Relations Manual. There are two kinds of aggravation: TEMPORARY AGGRAVATION: The pre-existing condition is worsened or made more severe for a time with no residual alteration of the underlying condition and without leaving any continuing impairment beyond that time. PERMANENT AGGRAVATION: There is a continuing and irreversible change in the underlying condition, thus adversely altering the course of the condition or disease process. FECA DEFINITIONS: MEDICAL RATIONALE: A logical explanation for the physician's underlying opinions, fundamental reasons and beliefs concerning causal relationship. PROXIMATE CAUSE: That which produces the injury in a natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by an efficient and intervening cause and without which the result would not have occurred. AGGRAVATION: A documented physiological process by which a single occupational act, or series of acts over a period of time intensified the severity of a physical or mental problem which pre-existed the occupational disease. ACCELERATION: A documented physiological process by which a single occupational act, or series of acts, can be shown to have increased the expected speed of progression in a pre-existing condition documented to be progressive in nature. PRECIPITATION: Hastening the occurrence of an event or causing to happen or come to crisis suddenly, unexpectedly, or too soon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ New Online ECOMP Claim System The Postal Service has enrolled for electronic submission of forms via the Employees' Compensation Operations and Management Portal (ECOMP). Most federal employee OWCP claims can be filed online with little intervention needed with a Postal supervisor. Register for an account and access the Dept of Labor ECOMP website at: https://www.ecomp.dol.gov You can upload many of your medical documents directly to the website without submitting them through your supervisor. How do I claim compensation for the wages lost due to my injury? If you have a loss of wages and are in Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status as a result of the accepted condition(s) on your claim, you need to file a CA-7 "Claim for Compensation" with your agency. If the period claimed on the CA-7 is intermittent, you need also to complete a CA-7a "Time Analysis Form". Both of these forms are available on the DOL website at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/owcp/FECA/regs/compliance/forms You can also contact the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) Federal Employees Program Offices: General Telephone Inquiries: (202) 513-6860 (Monday-Friday, 9:30am to 6:30pm, ET) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There is also a Medical Bill Processing Portal for OWCP Claims. https://owcpmed.dol.gov/portal/ There is also a Medical Provider Search tool to locate OWCP medical providers in your area. You will select the DFEC (Division of Federal Employees' Compensation) Program Name when searching for providers as a Postal Service Employee. https://owcpmed.dol.gov/portal/provider/search If you need to speak with a representative at the Medical Bill Processing Portal, they are available between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time): Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation (DFEC): 1-844-493-1966 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ OWCP CLAIMS ARE OUTSIDE THE UNION’S EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATIVE OBLIGATIONS What the Union can get involved with are contractual issues involving handbook responsibilities that supervisors are required to follow through on. In The USPS, The Injury Compensation Specialist (ICS) is responsible for sending claims to OWCP. The USPS Injury Compensation Office and their representatives are not an extension of OWCP. They are the control point and have no authority to adjudicate claims. All claims should be electronically submitted. The electronic system is called ECOMP (Employee Compensation and Management Portal). The USPS Supervisor forwards claim forms to the ICS. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR: Provide Employee with Form CA-1 (Traumatic), or Form CA-2 (Occupational) Provide Form To Employee (Complete Receipt And Give To Employee). On The Same Day As Received: Complete And Forward Form CA-1 Or Form CA-2 To The ICS Failure to do so is a violation of Article 19 (Handbook ELM 544.11). If Traumatic Injury Prevents Employee From Working Must Advise Employee Of Right To Choose Continuation Of Pay (COP). Failure to do so is a violation of Article 19 (Handbook ELM 544.112). RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE USPS INJURY COMPENSATION SPECIALIST: (The Union Steward can request the name and contact information for this USPS employee) Completes Employer Portions of Forms CA-16 and CA-17. Advises Employee Whether Continuation of Pay (COP) Will Be Controverted (disputed). Advises Employee If COP Will Not Be Paid. Provides Copy Of Completed CA-1, CA-2 or CA-2a To Employee And Copy of All Correspondence Between USPS and Employee's Physician. Failure to do so is a violation of Article 19 (Handbook ELM 544.12). Submits Form CA-1, CA-2, Or CA-2a To OWCP Within 10 Working Days. Failure to do so is a violation of Article 19 (Handbook ELM 544.212). If Traumatic Injury (CA-1) Must Promptly Authorize Medical Care By Issuing Employee Form CA-16 Within 4 Hours Of Receiving Notice Of Claimed Injury. Failure to do so is a violation of Article 19 (Handbook ELM 545.21). The recomended remedy? That Grievant be made whole with compensation at the Grievant's regular pay rate for administrative leave for all hours Grievant is in a non-pay status (LWOP) for the same number of hours the Grievant would otherwise be compensated through the OWCP program if Management had not failed to perform the required responsibilities in processing the Grievant's claim for workers' compensation. A few years ago I had banked up over 1000 hours of sick leave, until some medical misfortune led to a dramatic decline in what I had available for future calamities. Just before returning to work from knee surgery, I developed a blood clot that required another month of leave while on blood thinners. An ailing parent in another state came soon after and four more weeks of leave disappeared. Next came several series of eye surgeries and visits to eye specialists requiring overnight stays, and I began to get a bit nervous. I still have a pretty good chunk of leave left, but I can see where someone with less years of service could easily have none in a very short period of time. Almost all of my leave was covered under the Family Medical Leave Act, and I have never been disciplined for abusing sick leave.
Probably the simplest description of what advance sick leave is comes from the JCIM (Joint Contract Interpretation Manual). The 2022 versions states under Article 10: Up to thirty days (240 hours) of sick leave may be advanced to an employee with a serious disability or ailment if there is reason to believe the employee will return to duty (ELM, Section 513.511). The Postal Service installation head has authority to approve such requests. An employee is not required to use all annual leave before receiving advance sick leave. You can NOT request advance sick leave to care for a family member. It is only available for the employee's own disability or illness. Let's say you have little to no sick leave left accrued, after you ran into medical misfortune similar to what I had. During elk season this year, you stumbled and twisted your knee while packing out a trophy bull elk. At first you think nothing of it; you ice it down, and take a few tylenol, and after a day or two you're back to work. But alas, misfortune has struck again, as you notice that the pain hasn't subsided, and after a visit to an orthopedic doctor, you have surgery scheduled for next month. Your doctor completes the necessary FMLA documentation for you to be off from work for four weeks to recover, and states that you can return to full duty after the four weeks off. You have 40 hours of sick leave left which will get you paid for one of those weeks, but not for the three weeks afterwards. I recommend that employees do these five (5) things: 1. Go to your physician and have them either fill out FMLA qualification forms for your illness/ailment, or provide a detailed letter/documentation that includes that the employee has a serious disability or ailment, what dates the employee will be needed off work and what date the employee will be returning to work. 2. Ask for a PS Form 1221 from your supervisor, Shop Steward, or download one from the internet. Fill out the portion of the form titled: Employee's Name, Social Security No. (or EIN #), Advanced Sick Leave Begins Date, Advanced Sick Leave Ends Date. 3. Ask for a PS Form 3971 from your supervisor, Shop Steward, or download one from the internet. If you will be requesting part of the leave period on your available leave balance, and part on advanced sick leave, you can fill out two separate 3971s for the sick leave portion and another for the advanced. Otherwise specify in the remarks section of the 3971 how many of the hours you are requesting to be advanced sick leave. 4. Ask your immediate supervisor who the installation head's name is so that you can request in writing for advanced sick leave. If not provided, ask to meet with a Shop Steward to get the name, or address your request to "Installation Head". Write a letter to the Installation Head requesting the Advance Sick Leave and include that the leave is for a "serious disability" or "serious ailment" as described in your physician's provided documentation, how many advanced sick leave hours you desire, what dates you will be needed off work and when you will be returning to work. 5. Make a copy of all four (4) items listed above, staple them together, and hand them to either the installation head or to your immediate supervisor. If your supervisor is untrustworthy, you can request to meet with a Shop Steward so that the Shop Steward can assist you in submitting the packet. If your request is denied or your paycheck later does not have the advanced sick leave (and your request was NOT denied), you will need to meet with a Shop Steward within 14 days of the denied request. Scheduled Meetings for 2023:
January 8 February 12 March 19 April 23 May 21 June 11 July 16 August 20 September 17 October 15 November 19 December 17 All Ballots have been mailed and if our members do not receive one, please contact the American Arbitration Association (AAA) by calling 1-800-529-5218 or 1-800-273-0726 between the between the hours of 9am to 5pm ET, Monday through Friday.
Ballots are to be returned and received by AAA, no later than 9:00am EST, on February 23, 2022 and counting will begin on that day. As soon as National APWU receives the link for real time viewing of the ballot count, they will share it with our local to share it with our members. We encourage members to look over the Summary of the 2021-2024 Tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement on the National APWU website and whether you vote for or against the agreement, most importantly, we urge you to vote, as this presents a significant opportunity to have your voices heard. On January 5, 2022, the USPS released to the APWU, management's guidelines on actions to be taken regarding clearing employees to work or sending them home to quarantine. The Postal Service has developed the USPS Close Contact Tracing Program along with other management tools in order to assist supervisors in determining what actions to take when employees are potentially exposed to COVID-19.
The tracing program involves corroboration with the employee, the supervisor, and the OHNA or Safety personnel at the District level. The January 2022 USPS Close Contact Tracing Program provides that the action for OHNA or Safety personnel is to initiate a close contact investigation:
The January 5, 2022 COVID-19 – Decision Tree is a flowchart style tool provided for supervisors. Following the line of questions and answers in the decision tree, if an Employee is potentially exposed to COVID-19 in the workplace or identified as a close contact to another COVID-19 positive employee and is sent home by USPS (only after concurrence from the OHNA), then the Employee stays home on Administrative Leave. As stated in the USPS Return to Work Policy (We have a News Article on our website from 1/19/2022 explaining that policy): Employee Absence due to Close Contact Tracing or Potential Exposure: The employee can return to work after five (5) days have passed since last close contact with a positive person, provided the employee has not developed COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19. Upon return to work, the employee will be required to wear a face covering for five (5) days whenever working near any other employees. The determination of return to work can be made by a local supervisor or manager without requiring nurse intervention as long as the employee indicates that they have not developed any symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19. If the employee indicates that they have tested positive or have developed symptoms, nurse intervention is required For other incidences of employees becoming ill with COVID-19 (We have a News Article on our website from 1/18/2022 explaining the OWCP claim process): OWCP has set up a COVID-19 claim specific filing portal through e-COMP to make filing claims easier. Please note, this is only for COVID positive situations. Those put off work due to close contact tracing by the Postal Service should still be demanding administrative leave when the Postal Service orders them to stay home. Criteria for Return to Work for Employees after an absence related to COVID-19
(Updated Guidance as of 1/5/2022) Employee Absence due to Close Contact Tracing or Potential Exposure: The employee can return to work after five (5) days have passed since last close contact with a positive person, provided the employee has not developed COVID-19 symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19. Upon return to work, the employee will be required to wear a face covering for five (5) days whenever working near any other employees. The determination of return to work can be made by a local supervisor or manager without requiring nurse intervention as long as the employee indicates that they have not developed any symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19. If the employee indicates that they have tested positive or have developed symptoms, nurse intervention is required. Employee Absence due to Symptoms of COVID-19 (without testing): The employee can return to work after these three things have happened:
Employee Absence due to a Positive Diagnosis: Employees with a positive COVID-19 test result who have had symptoms of COVID-19 can stop home isolation and return to work following an interview with a Postal Service physician or nurse to confirm:
The APWU website has the following information on requesting payment if you contract COVID:
Currently, there is a spike of COVID-19 diagnosis throughout the United States. Postal Employees are not exempt from contracting COVID-19. Following national trends, there is also a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases at the Postal Service. Not knowing how COVID-19 can affect any one person whether it is a mild illness, a severe case, a case of “long” COVID-19, what the long-term effects might be, or sadly even death, it is vital that those who contract the virus understand that it is their right to apply for worker’s compensation benefits to protect themselves and their families. If you are a postal employee, no matter if you are a career employee or non-career employee, you are entitled to file a claim with the Office of Workers Compensation Programs. The one caveat is that you must have worked at the Post Office at some point during the 21-days prior to your COVID-19 diagnosis, and are required to complete an approved form of COVID-19 testing to prove you are sick. Employees that have claims approved are entitled to have their medical costs and lost wages paid. Approved Claimants are also entitled to request that any annual sick or annual leave used be “bought back” and redeposited to their leave balances. Also, should a postal employee pass away due to COVID- 19, their survivors are entitled to benefits under the compensation programs if there is an approved claim. Section 4016 of the law provides that a federal employee who is diagnosed with COVID-19 and carried out duties that required contact with patients, members of the public, or co-workers, or included a risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus during a covered period of exposure prior to the diagnosis, is deemed to have an injury that is proximately caused by employment. In simple terms, this means that if you are diagnosed with (have a positive test) and you file an OWCP claim, it will be more than likely approved. You are not required to prove you contracted the disease at work. In order to receive benefits, those diagnosed must submit a claim. Do not expect management to do this for you and do not expect them to inform you that you have the right to file a claim. When you file a claim for COVID-19 you are entitled to request continuation of pay (COP). This is pay at your regular rate of pay paid to you by the postal service during your COVID-19 illness absence. You are entitled to COP if you file your claim within 30-days of your diagnosis. If you are filing more than 30-days after your diagnosis, you are not entitled to COP. Please note, that for the first three days, the law requires a “waiting period” that you must use sick, annual, or leave without pay (LWOP) before COP kicks in. However, if your absence lasts longer than 14-days, the first three days will be converted to COP. Any non-scheduled days also count towards the three day “waiting” period. COP can be paid for up to 45 calendar days after which any additional missed time will be paid as worker’s compensation payments by OWCP. In order to file a claim, it is recommended that you do so through e-COMP. You must register at https://www.ecomp.dol.gov Doing so ensures that OWCP receives your claim form, receives the necessary laboratory reports because you upload the documents. They system automatically forwards documents to your supervisors to complete and tracks whether or not the Postal Service has done their part. Using e-COMP gives you tracking and you can hold management accountable because you can see what they have and have not done. It should be noted that you can register on e-COMP at any time — whether you have an injury or not. In fact, it is a good idea to register and establish an account in case you need to use it anytime during your career for any at-work injury. It is also one thing less to worry about if you are diagnosed with COVID-19. The instructions below are not all inclusive and do not guarantee claim approval. To file a claim and to receive COP:
You have the right under the law to file an OWCP claim for COVID-19! Do not let management discourage you from filing a claim. Do not let them tell you that you have to prove your sickness was contracted at work, as this is not a requirement of the law. It is in your best interest to file for the benefits. You protect yourself and your families by doing so. If you follow the steps and have a laboratory test confirmed case of COVID-19, you will likely be approved. However, the APWU cannot guarantee claim approval. In November, at the local's general membership meeting, the Southern Oregon Area Local accepted nominations for the officers of our local that will be leading our union for the next two years. As many of you are aware, I have been diagnosed with a vision disablility which limits my ability to type, drive, and read at times. I have also had several eye surgeries over the last few years which require lengthy recovery times and dozens of follow up exams both here in Medford and less frequently in Portland at the Devers Eye Institute. It has become difficult for me to schedule and attend meetings, and I have not planned attending any APWU conventions or conferences for several years because I can never know that far in advance if I would be medically cleared to travel. This past year has been the most trying as a steward while trying also to perform the duties of your local president, which I admit I have dropped the ball on several important obligations.
Midway through 2021, Jeremy Schilling began taking on many of my responsibilities including planning our local meetings, the summer BBQ, updating our dues check off lists which were a disaster, contacting non-members and signing up new members, and representing some of the Medford clerk craft employees requesting steward representation when I was unable to drive out to their facilities. In October, Jeremy accepted my appointment of him to fill our local's vacant Vice President position, for which he exceeded my expectations in his leadership role. It was no surprise that when he was nominated for General President in November, that he would run unopposed, as I am sure everyone knew just as myself, that Jeremy was the leader we all wanted as our President. I decided to run as the local's Treasurer, which was a position I held several years ago, and I am pretty comfortable performing duties. There aren't the day-to-day planning and meetings necessary, and I can take more time over the course of each month preparing the financial statements and other duties. Another addition to our local's executive board is Danielle Kipfer, who ran unopposed as our local's Vice President. Danielle has been one of the most active stewards I have ever had the pleasure to know in my twenty years of being a "trouble maker" (old timers know what that means). She brings with her a plethora of grievance experience dealing with just about every single issue that there is a article number for in the National Agreement. Danielle has been dedicated in serving our local for many years prior to taking on this honorable challenge. For those of you who have frequented out local meetings, associate office steward, Dave Pettey is a familiar face and ever present figure fighting for clerks in the smaller offices in the Southern Oregon Area Local. I can not think of a better officer to fill the position of our local's Clerk Craft Director. And Jenna Haller, who also serves as the alternate chief steward for the Medford mail processing plant taking most of the workload over there as well, is once again serving our local as the Secretary for another two years. Jenna's dedication to attending just about every meeting (except when she was out of town on vacation) has been so important in that we have all of our meetings documented with accuracy as the meeting minutes are necessary in order to justify most of our local's expenses which require membership approval. I am also excited to see a relative new-comer to our membership meetings, and an active participant in our discussions, Nicole Rios-Seems as accepting the position of trustee. Our future looks bright Southern Oregon Area Local. Make sure to attend our January meeting on Sunday the 23rd to welcome your new leaders. Check out the Events tab on the website for more meeting information and the location. Craig Gordon Scheduled Meetings for 2022:
January 23 February 27 March 20 April 24 May 15 June 12 July 17 August 21 September 18 October 16 November 20 December 18 It seems that just as everything is about to get back to normal, another setback occurs. Will we get back to living without masks again, or will we go through even another Covid variant once the Delta variant has been squelched? Just last week our local had a membership BBQ at Cantrall Buckley Park just west of Jacksonville off Highway 238 with the Applegate River flowing nearby. It wasn't until right before the event began that the park attendant let us know that the charcoal BBQ pits could not be used because of the fire danger. Now that's a SETBACK! We weren't going to let that stop us though. So with quick thinking and perseverance, we overcame that obstacle, and soon a propane grill was acquired and set up to cook the burgers. The members and their families that showed up had a great time, and Jeremy Schilling prepared a terrific spread for everyone that came. The prizes for the drawings were fun to win and just about every member won something or went home with local t-shirts or water bottles. I surely hope that we have another one next year. Another setback this year was the cancellation of the National APWU Convention in Las Vegas. However, the Craft Conferences are still scheduled to take place at the end of September. And although the Conferences are going to be a virtual event (meaning online on Zoom), the local will save money by not having to pay for travel, travel days, and hotel accommodations. At the BBQ, the local conducted the August general membership meeting, and we approved several members to be delegates to the Clerk Craft Conference. Jeremy was able to set up a group meeting facility through the Medford Cowork Collective in downtown Medford on East Main St. The delegates will be able to watch the Craft Conference from a large screen TV in the Cowork meeting room so that they can interact together while participating in the Conference discussions. Also at the meeting Vice President Robert Rodriguez gave us an update on the constitution changes that the constitution committee were preparing for the membership to vote on. It is imperative for our members to show up and attend the upcoming general membership meeting on September 19th at Twin Creeks Park in Central Point. We will be discussing the constitutional changes, which will include changes to our local officer duties and titles, and we will be preparing for local elections this year. At our October meeting we will need to appoint an election committee, and open nominations for our local officers that will lead the Southern Oregon Area Local for the two years beginning in January of 2022. We have also discussed setting up our meetings so that we can have both online participation as well as members attending at the in-person locations at the same time. When we figure it out, we will have the link made available by email. There have been several setbacks in working conditions both at the Medford installation as well as in the associate offices. Although some situations can be blamed on the realities of changes due to the Covid pandemic, many more issues have arisen because of poor management leadership, disillusioned work expectations and incompetence by management in properly staffing our offices, and they blame everything on Covid when most work related problems are not actually affected by Covid. Management's status quo nowadays is to use it as an excuse to set employees against one another, to single out employees they dislike, and to abuse the work hour limitations set out in Article 8 of our national agreement. If there were a time that more participation and unity were needed in our local union, NOW is the time! Management has essentially ignored the union in bargaining over bid jobs, they have ignored our requests to meet at labor and management committee meetings, they have ignored their responsibility to meet in joint safety and health committee meetings, they have ignored the union's insistence that they implement regional grievance settlements. I continually re-appeal grievances that management refuses to meet to implement. The members working on the workroom floor never get to see the results of your stewards efforts, however, I have not given up on these cases, and have requested more punitive remedies whenever management has thumbed their noses with impunity. My forecast is that these settlements will result in significant monetary awards for our members. In a few weeks, our current national agreement will expire on September 20, 2021. The news offered from the national APWU states that the USPS and APWU National Negotiations Committee will be meeting daily beginning September 7th at the same hotel in order to attempt to hash out their various proposals. Although our last contract was a setback in that it took one and a half years (expiring on September 20, 2018) until an arbitration decision was awarded on March 10, 2020, our national union was able to secure several wins for the membership. With the success of that arbitration award, my prospects are that our negotiators will be able to convince their counterparts that our proposals are reasonable and expected to prevail should we need to proceed to arbitration once again. We handed out several union supporting buttons and bracelets at the BBQ. Talk to your stewards or officers and ask for the approved-at-work buttons showing your support for the union. Also, we still have several local t-shirts for our members, but the sizes that are available are limited. If you want the setbacks at work to end, then don't let this depressing working climate stop us. We can persevere if you will make it a point to show up at our upcoming meetings. We need prospective members to become stewards and to step up and help lead our local as officers in order to fight our way out of the oppressive environment that management has determined to be their status quo going forward. I send out flyers to all of the stewards before our meetings, and some to other members I communicate with by email. There should be an APWU bulletin board to post those meeting notices on and all of our meetings are announced at our local website: apwu342.weebly.com You can always access our local website from the national APWU website as well, by going to the APWU State and Local Links page on that website. Craig Gordon - General President Southern Oregon Area Local #342, APWU |
Details
AuthorSOAL News and Announcements Archives
September 2023
Categories |