Grievance Procedure

Article 15 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement governs the grievance procedure between the APWU and the Postal Service.

A grievance is defined in Article 15 as a “dispute, difference, disagreement or complaint between the parties related to wages, hours, and conditions of employment.” That definition is very broad. You should never let a postal supervisor or manager tell you that you “don’t have a grievance”. If you have questions about whether or not you have a grievance you should request “union time” from your immediate supervisor to meet with a local steward.

“Article 15.2 Step 1 (a) Any employee who feels aggrieved must discuss the grievance with the employee’s immediate supervisor within fourteen (14) days of the date on which the employee or the Union first learned or may reasonably have been expected to have learned of its cause.”

The grievance procedure consists of 4 “steps”.

Step-1 where an individual meets and discusses the issue with their supervisor,
Step-2 where an union official meets with a Postal Service official if the issue was not resolved at step-1,
Step-3 where a national APWU representative meets with an area postal official if resolution does not occur at step-2, and
Step-4 finally, binding arbitration in front of a neutral arbitrator selected jointly by the parties to hear the grievance.
In order for a grievance to be considered “timely” it must be first discussed (“filed”) at step-1 within 14-days of when the employee or the union learned, of may reasonably been expected to have learned, of the issue.

If you believe you may have a grievance or if you are unsure whether or not you have a grievance, please contact you state or local union representatives.

Fillable grievance forms have been designed so that you can type information directly into the appropriate data fields and then print a form or attach it to be sent via e-mail. The forms’ data entry fields may be selected by clicking with a mouse in the appropriate field on the form. You can also save the form. Choose File (on the Acrobat Toolbar) and “Save As” if you wish to save the completed form.