Springfield MO Hamper Update

Hey there all, Alec here to talk about a grievance we encountered at Glenstone station regarding hamper safety and the loading of hampers. For some context: parcel hampers were being overloaded with heavy parcels and stacked above the top of the parcel hampers, which is prohibited by our handbooks and manuals.

Let’s have a look at the decision and see what we got from it. Spoiler, it’s pretty down-the-middle and indicative of a first infraction. This winter will be a real test.

Page 1 has a few pieces of critical information: the incident date, the Step B decision date (almost a year apart), and the issue statement. The Issue statement is pretty straightforward; we’re asking if management violated Article 14 (safety) and 19 (handbooks and manuals) of the National Agreement by allowing overloaded parcel hampers because our position is “yes, they did violate those articles.”

The Decision part is very small in this portion, however, it’s very telling. It says, “…management is required to ensure hampers are properly loaded, in a safe manner, in accordance with Postal handbooks and manuals.” That means whatever the handbooks and manuals say is what goes. Now I put a LOT of language in this grievance from our handbooks and manuals, so that’s great, but what were some of the things the Step B latched onto? That’s a little later.

Page 2 has the union and management positions on them. If you’ll have a look at the union’s position, each of the contentions is supported with language from our handbooks and manuals, so have a look at those contentions and familiarize yourself with them

Management contends that Glenstone is so small they have to stack heavy parcels above the fill line or they get put at carrier cases, which creates a safety hazard because of the floor space. The union’s position is that the building and the confines of it are beyond the scope of the carrier’s worry, and the Service chose the building to operate out of.  Essentially, if there’s so much hazard with working in this building then management has a responsibility to find a different place to operate out of. We aren’t going to trade one safety issue for another.

This is an instance of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, and it results in a seemingly inane outcome. However, “…management is required to ensure hampers are properly loaded, in a safe manner, in accordance with Postal handbooks and manuals.” There’s no wiggle room on that according to the Step B decision, so this winter will ask the question: what is management’s plan to operate out of that office safely with the operational needs that come from that office? Don’t know yet, but I hope that’s on their radar.

Anyway, let’s look at the handbook language from PO 502. Chapter 4.4 states there are 2 kinds of hampers, narrowing down what equipment is considered a hamper safe for carrier use. This is important because heavy wire cages are not recognized as hamper equipment for carrier use. Not that Glenstone deals with that, but other stations do. Next, section 4.4.1 outlines that hampers are not to be filled above the top of the hamper, and that weight limits for the total weight in the hamper is an important factor for the safety of operation of the carts.

Page 3 illustrates an important bit to know from M-01477: empty equipment may be placed in the bottom of the hamper to alleviate issues with lifting height. So if you don’t have hamper springs to assist you and you’re concerned with lifting from a hamper, fill out a 1767 and start putting inverted empty equipment in your hamper before you leave at night. Management may not like it, but ELM 890 is our ergonomics program and we’re going to use that to try and protect carriers from musculoskeletal disorders as much as we can.

Page 3 reiterates management’s responsibility to the remedy outlined in the decision, and includes the signatories.

That’s the wrap on the decision! Since it’s the first documented offense in Springfield we got very simple language to adhere to, but continued noncompliance will result in continued grievances and escalation.

Keep your safety in mind as parcel season starts up, and report unsafe hamper practices via PS Form 1767!