|
As the first serious winter storm of the season is upon much of the state, I wanted to remind you that while you should make every effort to report to work if you are scheduled but you should not put yourself at risk to get there. Many managers will give you the impression that you must report to work no matter what the risk may be. I am here to remind you that your safety should be your primary concern, not the Post Office. If you can't get to work safely, it is likely your customers cannot get to the Post Office either.
The Post Office has a provision for serious weather events called An Act of God. This is when a natural weather event prevents employees from reporting to work. It must be a widespread event, like a flood, tornados, hurricanes, etc. that affect the majority of employees in an office. If a high percentage of employees were not able to report to work due to the weather event it is considered an Act of God. On the other hand it will not apply if you are the only one that could not report. We can file a grievance for an Act of God to get your Annual Leave changed to Administrative leave if we can prove an Act of God caused your emergency use of the leave. Please help the stewards gather information to prove an Act of God. Look for newspaper articles, and/or social media posts from law enforcement closing roads, and highways or stating travel is not advisable.
If you are not able to report to work because it is unsafe please make sure to use Emergency Annual Leave due to a community disaster or weather event. Make sure to note this on your 3971 when you return to work. Contact your steward right away so they can begin to investigate how widespread the event may be in your area. It is important to use the proper leave to be included in any grievance that may be filed. Sick Leave never qualifies as an Act of God, if you're sick it is unrelated to the storm or weather event.
Please be safe and make good choices. You are the best present that your family can have at the holidays! Your customers will understand.
Happy Holidays!
Kimberly Karol
President, Iowa Postal Workers Union
319-415-2298
|
