July 2021 NALC Shop Steward Delivery Unit Manager RE: July 2021 Edition of the USPS-NALC Joint Contract Administration Manual Enclosed is the revised July 2021 edition of the Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM) for your use as a resource in your local administration of the National Agreement. Jointly prepared by the NALC and the Postal Service, the narrative portions of the manual explain how the contract should be applied based on national level grievance settlements, arbitration awards, and agreements. One copy has been provided to your delivery unit for the use of both the NALC and management. It should be accessible to both at all times. When a dispute arises, you should go to the JCAM first to see if the issue in dispute is addressed. If the issue is addressed in the JCAM, any dispute should be resolved in accordance with that guidance. Please replace prior editions of the JCAM with the enclosed 2021 edition. The JCAM will continue to be updated with additional material as we continue to narrow our differences and expand our joint understanding of the National Agreement at the national level. We encourage you to use the JCAM to insure local contract compliance and to foster more professional working relationships. ~~~t Fredric V. Rolando, President Labor Relations, U.S. Postal Service National Association of Letter Carriers July 2021 Dear Branch Officer: NALC is proud to send you the enclosed July 2021 revised edition of the USPS-NALC Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM). The JCAM represents the definitive interpretation of the 2019-2023 National Agreement for both the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service. Please understand that management has agreed not to dispute the interpretations on any of the topics covered in the JCAM. This manual has helped to achieve a significant increase in the number of grievances resolved at the local union level. NALC split the cost with the Postal Service to put a copy of the JCAM in every post office where city letter carriers are employed. In addition, NALC has provided each branch with a copy of the JCAM. When disputes arise in work locations, the local shop steward and the supervisor should jointly review the JCAM and determine if that area of the dispute is covered in the manual. If so, grievances should be resolved on the basis of the JCAM where the national parties have agreed upon a contract interpretation. It is our hope that NALC representatives will put this material to good use, employing it to provide all of the nation’s letter carriers with the best possible representation. I know you will do just that. Sincerely and Fraternally, Lew Drass Vice President 20 USPS-NALC 21 JCAM Joint Contract Administration Manual United States Postal Service and National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO USPS - NALC Joint Contract Administration Manual UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF 475 L’ENFANT PLAZA SW LETTER CARRIERS, AFL-CIO WASHINGTON DC 20260-4101 100 INDIANA AVENUE NW WASHINGTON DC 20001-2144 July 2021 NALC-USPS Joint Contract Administration Manual - July 2021 Introduction Introduction This jointly prepared USPS/NALC Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM) supersedes all previous editions. Publication of the JCAM was undertaken in good faith in order to educate the local parties and facilitate the resolution of disputes concerning issues on which the national parties are in agreement. While the parties at the national level still dispute the proper applica- tion of some portions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, there are significant areas of agreement. The JCAM represents the par- ties’ effort to inform labor and management in the field of these areas of agreement and encourage consistency and compliance with the issues treated. The narrative explanation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement contained in the JCAM should be considered dispositive of the joint understanding of the parties at the national level. Some sections of the contract do not have a narrative explanation. No inference should be drawn from the lack of explanatory language. The actual language contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement appears in text boxes. Shaded contract language means the provision does not normally apply to the city letter carrier craft. The small text boxes found in the right-hand margin next to contract language identifies where the memos referenced in the contract lan- guage text boxes are located in the JCAM. Preface The JCAM is self-explanatory and speaks for itself. It is not intended to, nor does it, increase or decrease the rights, responsibilities, or benefits of the parties under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It neither adds to, nor modifies in any respect, the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. At each step of the grievance/arbitration procedure the parties are required to jointly review the JCAM in order to facilitate resolution of disputes. The JCAM may be introduced in arbitration as disposi- tive of those issues covered by the manual. If introduced as evidence in arbitration, the document shall speak for itself. Without exception, no testimony shall be permitted in support of the content, background, history or any other aspect of the JCAM’s narrative. The parties at the national level will update the JCAM at least once during the term of the national agreement. The parties at the local level should exercise caution to ensure that they are working from the most current issue of the JCAM and apply any revisions or modifica- tions prospectively from the date of revision. NALC-USPS Joint Contract Administration Manual - July 20142021 Table of Contents-1 Table of ConTenTs article 1 Union Recognition..................................................Page 1-1 article 2 non-Discrimination and Civil Rights...................Page 2-1 article 3 Management Rights ...............................................Page 3-1 article 4 Technological and Mechanization Changes.........Page 4-1 article 5 Prohibition of Unilateral action ...........................Page 5-1 article 6 no layoffs or Reduction in force ........................Page 6-1 article 7 employee Classifications .......................................Page 7-1 article 8 Hours of Work ........................................................Page 8-1 article 9 salaries and Wages.................................................Page 9-1 article 10 leave....................................................................Page 10-1 article 11 Holidays ...............................................................Page 11-1 article 12 Principles of seniority, Posting and Reassignments..................................................................Page 12-1 article 13 assignment of Ill or Injured Regular Workforce employees .....................................................Page 13-1 article 14 safety and Health ...............................................Page 14-1 article 15 Grievance-arbitration Procedure.....................Page 15-1 article 16 Discipline Procedure ..........................................Page 16-1 article 17 Representation ....................................................Page 17-1 article 18 no strike..............................................................Page 18-1 article 19 Handbooks and Manuals...................................Page 19-1 article 20 Parking ................................................................Page 20-1 article 21 benefit Plans .......................................................Page 21-1 article 22 bulletin boards ...................................................Page 22-1 article 23 Rights of Union officials to enter Postal Installations ......................................................................Page 23-1 article 24 employees on leave with Regard to Union business ............................................................................Page 24-1 article 25 Higher level assignments .................................Page 25-1 article 26 Uniforms and Work Clothes .............................Page 26-1 article 27 employee Claims................................................Page 27-1 article 28 employer Claims ................................................Page 28-1 article 29 limitation on Revocation of Driving Privileges...........................................................................Page 29-1 article 30 local Implementation........................................Page 30-1 article 31 Union-Management Cooperation .....................Page 31-1 article 32 subcontracting....................................................Page 32-1 article 33 Promotions ..........................................................Page 33-1 article 34 Work and/or Time standards ...........................Page 34-1 article 35 employee assistance Program ..........................Page 35-1 article 36 Credit Unions and Travel ..................................Page 36-1 article 41 letter Carrier Craft...........................................Page 41-1 article 42 energy shortages................................................Page 42-1 article 43 separability and Duration.................................Page 43-1 acronym Glossary ..............................................................Glossary-1 Index..........................................................................................Index-1 PageTable 1-1of Contents-2 NALC-USPS Joint Contract Administration Manual - June1998July 2021 NALC-USPS Joint Contract Administration Manual - July 2021 Page 1-1