Street Observations
by Alec Helwig
The Union has been made aware of a couple instances in which management is watching carriers secretly from personal vehicles, and from a distance. If this happens to you, you may want to request steward time to properly notify your steward and provide an interview or statement.
We’re going to break down this bit of knowledge and how it applies to you so you can be empowered on the work room floor.
Management has the responsibility to be above the board during street observations.
Handbook M-39 Section 134 outlines management’s responsibility to you, the employee. These are paid responsibilities like scanning parcels when delivered is a paid responsibility of letter carriers. For letter carriers, Section 134 of the M-39 says the following important points:
Street management occurs on the street, not in the office, and it differentiates between street and office management.
A positive attitude must be maintained by management at all times during a street observation.
Management must discharge their duties in an open and above the board manner.
The manager is not to spy or use covert tactics.
Management has a responsibility to document their observations.
This is important because it prevents management from performing secret “got-cha’s” out there. They must document their findings after they have notified you they are going to observe you and have done so in an above the board manner.
The Employee Labor Relations Manual (ELM) states in Section 812.51.F that management will develop job safety analyses. You cannot have analyses without documentation, which leads to the next relevant Section, 812.52.A-D, which is summed up here:
Management is to record their observations on PS Form 4588 or 4589 and encourage a safe working environment by performing these street observations.
Management has a responsibility to discuss their findings with you.
The back page of PS From 4588 states:
“Discuss all work practices observed and noted with the employee as soon as possible after the observation. Because the primary purpose of conducting work observations is to improve work practices before they result in accidents, conduct positive discussion with employees and include the benefits to be gained from demonstrating safe work practices.”
This evidences it is not sufficient for management to simply drop off a copy of their street observations at your case; they are to conduct a discussion with you. You may request a copy of the PS Form 4588 during the discussion, and if it is not provided you may simply notify your steward.
If management does not uphold their paid responsibilities to you in this process…
You may consider filing a grievance for the any of the following:
Using spying and/or covert tactics to observe you.
Being disrespectful to you during an observation. Your chance to win this grievance improves with providing proof, normally a witness or it’s he-said/she-said situation.
Not discussing the observation with you.
Not providing you a copy of the observation (PS Form 4588 or 4589).
The same goes for vehicle observations, but is governed by PS Form 4584 instead.
Use your rights to steward time.
Not utilizing your rights is how you lose them. Management may attempt to bully you for requesting steward time; do not let that deter you. No one can ask for steward time for you.
Take care, be safe, use your rights.
In Solidarity.