APWU Iowa

Full-time employees are guaranteed 8 hours work (or pay in lieu of work. If called in on a day off or holiday, then they are guaranteed 8 hours as well. If you are sent home prior to completion of this guarantee, you may need to file a grievance to get your guaranteed pay.

Part-time employees are guaranteed at least 4 hours work or pay on any day they are requested or scheduled to work in a 200, or more, man year office. Employees that work in offices less than 200 man year office is guaranteed 2 hours work or pay when requested or scheduled to work.

Part-time regulars are guaranteed the hours on their bid. If you work less than those bid hours, you are entitled to guaranteed pay as well.

Generally, if management tells you to clock out prior to your guaranteed time, you will have to obey that order and file a grievance for your guaranteed time.

A Call back is when an employee completes a scheduled tour and clocks out then is notified to clock back in and resume working. All career bargaining unit employees are guaranteed 4 hours work or pay if this happens. This applies to any size office.

When a part-time flexible employee is notified prior to clocking out that they are to return within 2 hours, this is considered a split shift and the guarantee may not apply. However, if prior to clocking out, the part-time flexible is told to return after 2 hours, that employee (in any size office) must be given a minimum of 2 hours of work, be paid.

It is a good idea to keep very good records of time worked, schedules and when told what on working.

If you believe your work hours have been violated, you need to contact a union official within 14 days of the incident.

By Lance Coles, Editor

All to often, there is game playing with Part-time Flexible and their use of the contractually earned right to use annual leave.

I hear often that an employee submits a request for leave, only to have the postmaster or supervisor changes that day to the employees scheduled day off.

You have a right to use your annual leave. Management does not have a right to change your leave to a non-scheduled day off. They often do this to make the employee available for work on what was the employees scheduled days off (prior to the change), or to avoid paying overtime later in the week.

This issue has been beaten to death in the grievance procedure and it is very clear that management can not do this.

Here is the language from an agreed to settlement. "…when a PTF employee has been previously granted annual leave, such leave will not be unilaterally changed to a nonscheduled day, solely to make the PTF available for an additional day of work, at the straight time rate…"

I know those lawyer wanna-be postmasters will try to read what they want into this language, but again this has been debated over and over.

Bottom line - if you ask for leave, and have it approved - you have leave. If they change your days off after you have this leave, you need to ask for a union steward.