Springfield Maximum Hours Update: Clock out at Maximum

Hello Union brothers and sisters!

Since the Spring of 2025 we have been in dispute with Management regarding carriers’ rights to leave whenever they reach a daily or weekly maximum. Specifically; can carriers who are on the Non-ODL list leave when they reach 10 hours in a regular work day? Well, a carrier on the Non-ODL left work at 10 hours, was disciplined for leaving at 10 hours, and the Union grieved this as harassment. We just got back word as to whether this was improper or not from the joint Dispute Resolution Team, and we’ve got good news. Let’s look at the careful language of the Step B resolution together to understand our rights.

Issue statement and Decision section.

 In the above picture we need to look at the issue statement: this is the contractual framework from which we worked. You can read the issue statement like this too: “Management agreed we can clock out when we reach any applicable workhour limit, now they’re trying to discipline carriers for doing so because they think that certain limitations don’t apply, so what are we going to do about it?”

The “Decision” section is how Management and the Union agreed to resolve the grievance, and it’s what we expected; a little vague, but it reinforces the fact that we can leave when they reach a daily or weekly work hour limit. But what is the limit?

Background and Contentions.

In the above image we can see the Union and Management’s positions. Notice the last contention from Management: the Union is harassing Management by filing this grievance in which a carrier feels harassed. Pretty cool position if you ask me.

Check out the Explanation section on bullet “a” that will continue on the next page. The joint Dispute Resolution Team is pointing to a grievance settlement the Union cited which states Management must “instruct any letter carrier who has reached any applicable work hour limit to clock out.” That “any” is important.

Previous Resolution and Contract Language Citations.

In the above image we can see some contract language, then the Step B Team summarizes their understanding of the Union and Management’s positions and it goes like this:

“While management invokes Article 8.2.D, Article 8.5.F & G are explicit that carriers are allowed to end tour upon reaching work hour limits. The grievant is a non-ODL carrier. He is allowed to end tour upon reaching his 10-hour limit without disciplinary consequence.”

Summary and Signatures.

On the last page of the joint grievant settlement, the parties once more summarize their decision and clarify the position: “Carriers may end tour upon reaching their work hour limits as described in Article 8.5 F&G and ELM 432.32 without disciplinary consequence.”

That’s what we’re looking for, and that’s what we’ve been working towards for years. This decision, based on years of violations, empowers carriers on the Non-ODL (8 hour only list) to leave at 10 hours without disciplinary consequence.

But this doesn’t leave out the Work Assignment (WA) carriers.

Let’s look at page 8-22 of the 2025 Joint Contract Administration Manual (JCAM):

Work Assignment notes from page 8-22 & 8-23 of the JCAM.

There’s a sentence in there that states, “For the purposes of overtime on a non-scheduled day or on other than their own assignment, carriers on the Work Assignment List are treated exactly the same as any other full-time carriers not on the ODL…”

This means that if you are Work Assignment and you are mandated to work off assignment, you are now treated exactly the same as Non-ODL carriers, and your maximum becomes 10 hours, not 12. This is massive for offices in which mandates happen regularly. I’m told we are only one of approximately 4 that have a remedy like this within the region (Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri). We’re on the leading edge, and we’ll share our success with others.

This is the second huge step forward the local Union has gotten for people to reclaim their lives and time away from work. Your statements, steward time requests, and support have kept us going. Thank you for all you do, and if you see one of your local representatives, say a quick thank you to them for all their work; reading this is like seeing the top of an iceberg.