NALC Branch 181 Austin TX

41.3.O O. The following provision without modification shall be made a

part of a local agreement when requested by the local branch of the

NALC during the period of local implementation; provided, however,

that the local branch may on a one-time basis during the life of this

Agreement elect to delete the provision from its local agreement:

“When a letter carrier route or full-time duty assignment, other

than the letter carrier route(s) or full-time duty assignment(s) of

the junior employee(s), is abolished at a delivery unit as a result

of, but not limited to, route adjustments, highway, housing projects,

all routes and full-time duty assignments at that unit held by

letter carriers who are junior to the carrier(s) whose route(s) or

full-time duty assignment(s) was abolished shall be posted for bid

in accordance with the posting procedures in this Article.”

That provision may, at the local NALC Branch’s request during local

implementation, be made applicable (including the right to delete it)

to selected delivery units within an installation. For purposes of

applying that provision, a delivery unit shall be a postal station,

branch or ZIP code area. Any letter carrier in a higher level craft

position who loses his/her duty assignment due solely to the implementation

of that provision shall be entitled to the protected salary

rate provisions (Article 9, Section 7) of this Agreement.

Branch Option on Article 41, Section 3.O. It is a branch’s option

to insert (or not insert) the Article 41.3.O language in its Local

Memorandum of Understanding during local implementation. Management

may not refuse the branch’s request to insert the language during

local implementation. The branch also may change its mind and, once

during the term of the National Agreement, elect to delete the provision

from the LMOU.

Page 41-24 NALC-USPS Joint Contract Administration Manual - April 2009

Note that the reference to Article 9.7 in Article 41.3.O is obsolete. The

protected salary rate provisions are currently found in Article 9.6.

National Arbitrator Briggs held in J94N-4L-C 98009292, October 31,

2003 (C-24768) that a route change of greater than 50 percent does not

constitute an abolishment under Article 41.3.O of the National Agreement.

This rule does not negate the provisions of Article 30.C or the Article 30

Memorandum, which address existing LMOU provisions (see page 30-7).

National Arbitrator Snow held that when routes are posted under the provisions

of Article 41.3.0 it must be done “in accordance with the posting

procedures in this Article.” (B90N-4B-C 92021294, March 22, 1996,

C-15248) This reference is to Article 41.1.B.2 which provides that postings

shall be installation-wide unless the local agreement or established

past practice provides otherwise. Thus, if a branch has installation-wide

bidding for vacant or newly created duty assignments, then all assignments

in the affected carrier’s delivery unit which are junior to that

carrier’s assignment must be posted for bid on an installation-wide basis.

Incumbent letter carriers retain their assignments unless and until displaced

by another letter carrier as a result of the bidding process.

An exception to this rule occurs if a branch has defined separate sections

for excessing purposes and if an employee has been excessed from

the section under the provisions of Article 12.5.C.4. Since Article

12.5.C.4(c) provides the reassigned employee with retreat rights in such

cases, as long as an employee has such retreat rights to the section, bidding

under the provisions of Article 41.3.0 is also limited to employees

from the section at the same salary level as the vacancy.

Carrier Technician Assignments. In a national level settlement (H1N-

3A-C 30176, February 6, 1987, February 6, 1987, M-00694), the parties

agreed that:

If a local Memorandum of Understanding contains the Article 41.3.0

language and changes in T-6 [Carrier Technician] strings are so great

that the assignments are abolished, they should be reposted in accordance

with Article 41.3.0 If a local Memorandum of Understanding

does not contain 41.3.0 language, reposting is not required. Changing

one route in a T-6 [Carrier Technician] string is not a cause for reposting

regardless of local Memorandum of Understanding provisions.

In a Step 4 Settlement dated July 26, 1990 ( H4N-3A-C 62482, M-

00986) the parties agreed that Carrier Technician positions should be

included in postings under Article 41.3.0.

VOMA Positions Not Included. Vehicle Operations Maintenance Assistant

(VOMA) positions are multicraft positions. The abolishment of a VOMA

position does not trigger the provisions of Article 41.3.0; nor are VOMA

positions included when assignments are posted under Article 41.3.0.

NALC-USPS Joint Contract Administration Manual - April 2009 Page 41-25

Excessing. Vacant residual letter carrier assignments properly withheld

under the provisions of Article 12.5.B.2 are not included when full-time

carrier assignments are posted under the provisions of Article 41.3.0.

If Article 41.3.O is triggered in a unit where full-time employees have

received advance notice of the date of excessing, such employees have

the right to participate in the bidding under Article 41.3.O until the

excessing actually occurs. However, if an employee is actually excessed

prior to the closing date of the posting, the bid is void.