United States Postal Service

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jun 30, 2016

10-CA-165443 (N.L.R.B. Jun. 30, 2016)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BEFORE THE NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
and Cases 10-CA-165443
10-CA-167900
AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION, 10-CA-167282
ATLANTA METRO AREA LOCAL 32 10-CA-168277
10-CA-168651
and 10-CA-170115
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS,
BRANCH 73
DECISION AND ORDER
Statement of the Cases
On May 5, 2016, the United States Postal Service (the Respondent), American
Postal Workers Union, Atlanta Metro Area Local 32 (APWU Local 32), National
Association of Letter Carriers Branch 73 (NALC Branch 73) (collectively, “the Unions”),
and the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board entered into a Formal
Settlement Stipulation, subject to Board approval, providing for the entry of a consent
order by the Board and a consent judgment by any appropriate United States Court of
Appeals. The parties waived all further and other proceedings before the Board to
which they may be entitled under the National Labor Relations Act and the Board’s
Rules and Regulations, and the Respondent waived its right to contest the entry of a
consent judgment or to receive further notice of the application therefor.
The National Labor Relations Board has delegated its authority in this proceeding
to a three-member panel.
The Formal Settlement Stipulation is approved and made a part of the record,
and the proceeding is transferred to and continued before the Board in Washington,
D.C., for the entry of a Decision and Order pursuant to the provisions of the Formal
Settlement Stipulation.1

1 We note that the remedy to which the parties have agreed differs in some respects
from previous broad orders that the Board has issued against the Respondent in cases
alleging that the Respondent has violated Sec. 8(a)(5) of the Act by failing and refusing
to provide relevant information. See, e.g., United States Postal Service, 345 NLRB 426
(2005), enfd. 486 F.3d 683 (10th Cir. 2007); United States Postal Service, 28-CA-
017383 et al., unpublished order issued November 4, 2002, enfd. Case 02-9587 (10th
Cir. 2003). These broad orders, as enforced by the United States Court of Appeals,
2
Based on the Formal Settlement Stipulation and the entire record, the Board
makes the following
Findings of Fact
1. The Respondent’s business
The Respondent is and has been, at all times material herein, an independent
establishment of the Executive Branch of the Government of the United States providing
postal services. It operates various facilities throughout the United States, including
those facilities set forth in Appendix B. The Respondent is now, and has been at all
material times, an entity subject to the Board’s jurisdiction by virtue of Section 1209 of
the Postal Reorganization Act (the PRA), 39 U.S.C. § 101 et. seq.
2. The labor organizations involved
At all material times, American Postal Workers Union (APWU) has been a labor
organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
At all material times, APWU Local 32 has been an agent of APWU, acting on
behalf of APWU, within the meaning of Section 2(13) of the Act.
At all material times, by virtue of Section 9(a) of the Act, APWU has been, and is
now, the exclusive bargaining representative for the purpose of collective bargaining
with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other terms and
conditions of employment of employees in an appropriate unit as set forth in Article 1 of
the current National Agreement between the Respondent and APWU, including
employees employed by the Respondent at its facilities set forth in Appendix B.
At all material times, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) has been a
labor organization within the meaning of Section 2(5) of the Act.
At all material times NALC Branch 73 has been an agent of NALC, acting on
behalf of NALC, within the meaning of Section 2(13) of the Act.
At all material times, by virtue of Section 9(a) of the Act, NALC has been, and is
now, the exclusive bargaining representative for the purpose of collective bargaining
with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, and other terms and
conditions of employment of employees in an appropriate unit as set forth in Article 1 of
the current National Agreement between the Respondent and NALC, including
employees employed by the Respondent at its facilities set forth in Appendix B.
ORDER

remain in effect, and the Board’s approval of this stipulation does not modify these
orders in any respect.
3
Based on the above findings of fact, the Formal Settlement Stipulation, and the
entire record, and pursuant to Section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act, the
National Labor Relations Board orders that:
The Respondent, United States Postal Service, at various locations in Georgia as
set forth in Appendix B, its officers, agents, successors, and assigns, shall
1. Cease and desist from
(a) Refusing to bargain collectively and in good faith with NALC Branch 73 and
APWU Local 32, and/or any other labor organizations (collectively referred to as “the
Unions”) representing bargaining unit employees at any of the Respondent’s facilities
set forth in Appendix B, by refusing or unduly delaying furnishing information that is
relevant and necessary to the performance of the Unions’ duties as the exclusive
bargaining representatives of employees at the facilities described above.
(b) In any like or related manner interfering with, restraining, or coercing
employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed them by Section 7 of the Act.
2. Take the following affirmative action necessary to effectuate the policies of the
Act:
(a) Upon request, provide the Unions with necessary and relevant information in
a timely and appropriate manner.
(b) Waive, for 30 days following issuance of the Board’s Order, any contractual
deadlines for filing and pursuing grievances related to the requested information, where
the Unions missed contractual deadlines due to the Respondent’s delay or refusal in
providing the requested information.
(c) For each of the Respondent’s facilities set forth in Appendix B, the
Respondent will maintain a log in which it will immediately record each information
request tendered by the Unions, orally or in writing, for each facility. These logs shall
include the following information: a brief description of the information requested; the
name of the individual who is making the request; the name of the supervisor or
manager who received the request; the date the request was made; and the date that
the Respondent’s manager or supervisor provided the Unions with the requested
information, or upon which the Respondent’s manager or supervisor responded to the
Union with an explanation for any anticipated delay. If the manager or supervisor,
having reviewed the documents requested, believes that the Respondent will need
additional time, the manager or supervisor will inform the Unions in writing, requesting
additional time and explaining the need for the additional time. Such responses shall be
recorded in the information request logs.
(d) Each manager, supervisor, and agent who is designated to receive union
requests for information for any of the Respondent’s facilities set forth in Appendix B
will receive within thirty (30) days of the entry of the Board’s Order, and annually
thereafter, training which encompasses how to maintain the log, and how to tender the
4
relevant information requested by the Unions; each such supervisor and manager will
sign an acknowledgement form attesting to the fact that he or she has completed said
training. A copy of this acknowledgement form shall be maintained in the supervisor’s
or manager’s training and history files. Union stewards will be granted access to the
logs, upon request. Supervisors, managers, or agents who fail to reasonably supply
relevant information to the Unions will have this fact mentioned in the “corrective action”
column of the quarterly audit report described below in paragraph 2(f). Repeated
violations could lead to discipline of said supervisor or manager.
(e) Union stewards at the Respondent’s facilities described in Appendix B must
be notified when the manager, supervisor, or agent who is designated to receive
requests for information for their particular facility has changed.
(f) The Respondent’s legal department or its labor relations department shall
conduct quarterly audits of the logs at each of the Respondent’s facilities set forth in
Appendix B to ensure that the information requested by the Unions is being handled in a
timely and appropriate manner, and to ensure the logs are being properly maintained.
Within ten days following each quarterly audit, the legal department or labor relations
department shall tender, in writing, a written report setting forth for each request that did
not receive a complete response within seven days: the identity of the requesting party;
a summary of the request; the location for which the request was made; the name of the
supervisor or manager responsible for responding to the request; the number of days
from request to initial response; the number of days from request to complete and/or
final response; and any action taken to address and/or correct unreasonable failures
and delays by supervisors and managers. This audit report will be forwarded to the
USPS district manager, the USPS district manager of human resources, USPS labor
relations, the USPS Law Department NLRB Unit, and the Compliance Officer for NLRB
Region 10. To the extent that such audits indicate that requests are not being
responded to in a timely and appropriate manner or that the logs recording information
requests are not being properly maintained, remedial training shall be provided to all
persons in a supervisory or managerial capacity who were or are involved in the
process of providing information to the Unions for the applicable facility. The
Respondent will provide documentation of any such training to the NLRB Region 10
Compliance Officer upon completion of the remedial training.
(g) Within 14 days of service by the Region:
(i) Post at all of its facilities set forth in Appendix B, copies of the
Notice to Employees attached as Appendix A.2 Copies of the notice, on forms
provided by the Regional Director for Region 10, after being signed by the
Respondent's authorized representative, shall be posted by the Respondent
and maintained for 60 consecutive days in conspicuous places, including all
places where notices to employees are customarily posted.

2 If this Order is enforced by a judgment of a United States Court of Appeals, the words
in the notice reading “Posted by Order of the National Labor Relations Board” shall read
“Posted Pursuant to a Judgment of the United States Court of Appeals Enforcing an
Order of the National Labor Relations Board.”
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(ii) Electronically post the Notice to Employees for employees at all its
facilities set forth in Appendix B if the Respondent customarily uses electronic
means such as an electronic bulletin board, e-mail, website, or intranet to
communicate with these employees;
(iii) Within ten (10) days after entry of the Board’s Order:

(A) Provide a copy of the Board Order and Notice to Employees to
all of its supervisors and managers, including acting supervisors
and managers, at all of its facilities described in Appendix B.
(B) Provide with written instructions all supervisors and managers,
including acting supervisors and managers, to comply with the
provisions of the Order. The instructions shall underscore that:
1) Unprivileged or unwarranted refusals and unreasonable
delays in responding to requests for information required
under the Act to be provided to labor organizations shall
not be tolerated by the Respondent.
2) Any unwarranted failure to provide, or unreasonable delay
in providing, such information will subject the responsible
supervisor(s) and/or manager(s) to discipline by the
Respondent as may be appropriate in light of the relevant
facts and circumstances, consistent with applicable state
and federal laws and regulations.
3) The Respondent shall also provide all future supervisory or
management officials, including temporary supervisors
acting in that capacity for at least ten (10) consecutive
calendar days, in the postal facilities referenced above
with a copy of said Order and written instructions promptly
upon their assuming those positions.
4) Each person receiving the Board Order and instructions
described above shall acknowledge in writing that he or
she has been furnished with a copy thereof, understands
them and will conduct himself or herself consistently
therewith, and will not in any way commit, engage in,
induce, encourage, permit, or condone any violation of this
Order; and the Respondent shall retain and supply copies
of those acknowledgments and the written instructions to
NLRB Region 10 pursuant to subparagraph (i) below.
(iv) Upon receipt of the Notice to Employees, each manager will record the
date said notice was received, the date on which the notices were posted at the
facility, and each location of the posting. The Respondent will take reasonable
steps to ensure that the notices are not altered, defaced, or covered by any other
material.
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(v) In the event that, during the pendency of these proceedings, the
Respondent has gone out of business or closed any of the facilities involved in
these proceedings, the Respondent shall duplicate and mail, at its own expense,
a copy of the notice to all current employees and former employees employed by
the Respondent at the closed facility at any time since April 1, 2015.
(h) Within 14 days from the date of this Order, at each of the Respondent’s
facilities set forth in Appendix B, convene meetings during work time, scheduled to
ensure the widest possible attendance, at which the attached notice is to be read to all
employees, supervisors, and managers. The Respondent will advise the Regional
Director of the dates and times of such notice readings, and the Union and the Region
shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to provide for the attendance of a union
official and/or a Board agent at any assembly of employees called for the purpose of
reading such notice. The Respondent shall maintain sign-in sheets for supervisors and
managers at the readings at each location and submit copies of the sign-in sheets to the
Region within seven days of the final notice reading.
(i) Within 21 days after service by the Region, file with the Regional Director a
sworn certification of a responsible official on a form provided by the Region attesting to
the steps the Respondent has taken to comply. The certification shall include: (i) a copy
of the documents signed by the district manager of labor relations, attesting to the dates
that the notices received at each facility and the dates that the notices were posted; (ii)
a certification by the installation head attesting to the dates that the notice was read at
each facility; (iii) copies of the acknowledgements, signed by each of the Respondent’s
supervisors and managers at each of the Respondent’s facilities set forth in Appendix B,
that they may be subject to disciplinary action as may be appropriate in light of the
relevant facts and circumstances, consistent with applicable state and federal laws and
regulations; and (iv) copies of notice-reading meeting sign-in sheets for supervisors and
managers.
Dated, Washington, D.C., June 30, 2016
___________________________________
Philip A. Miscimarra, Member
__________________________________
Kent Y. Hirozawa, Member
__________________________________
Lauren McFerran, Member
(SEAL) NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
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APPENDIX A
NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES
POSTED BY ORDER OF THE
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
An Agency of the United States Government
PURSUANT TO A STIPULATION PROVIDING FOR A BOARD ORDER
AND A CONSENT JUDGMENT OF ANY APPROPRIATE
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FEDERAL LAW GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO:
Form, join, or assist a union
Choose representatives to bargain with us on your behalf
Act together with other employees for your benefit and protection
Choose not to engage in any of these protected activities.
WE WILL NOT refuse to bargain collectively and in good faith by refusing or unduly
delaying furnishing information requested by American Postal Workers Union, Local 32,
National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 73, and/or any other labor organization
representing bargaining unit employees (the Unions), that is relevant and necessary to
the performance of their duties as the exclusive bargaining representatives of the
bargaining unit employees.
WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner interfere with, restrain, or coerce you in the
exercise of the rights guaranteed you by the National Labor Relations Act.
WE WILL, upon request, provide the Unions with necessary and relevant information in
a timely and appropriate manner.
WE WILL waive for 30 days following issuance of the Board’s Order any contractual
deadlines for filing and pursuing grievances related to the requested information, where
the Unions missed contractual deadlines due to our delay or refusal in providing
requested information.
WE WILL, for certain facilities agreed upon by the parties, maintain a log in which we
will immediately record each information request, made orally or in writing, by the
Unions at that facility. These logs shall include the following information: a brief
description of the information requested; the name of the individual who is making the
request; the name of the supervisor or agent who received the request; the date the
request was made; and the date the Employer’s manager, supervisor or agent provided
the Unions with the requested information. If the manager, supervisor or agent, having
reviewed the documents requested, believes that we need additional time, we will
immediately request such additional time from the Unions while simultaneously
explaining the need for additional time.
8
WE WILL within 30 days and annually thereafter provide training to each manager,
supervisor or agent who is designated to receive or process requests for information for
each of the facilities described above which encompasses how to maintain the log, and
how to tender the relevant information requested by the Unions; each such supervisor
and manager will sign an acknowledgment form attesting to the fact that he or she has
completed said training. A copy of this acknowledgment form shall be maintained in the
supervisor’s or manager’s training and history files. Union stewards will be granted
access to the logs, upon request. Supervisors, managers or agents who fail to
reasonably supply relevant information to the Unions will have this fact mentioned in the
“corrective action” column of the quarterly audit report provided to the district manager
and district manager of human resources. Repeated violations could lead to discipline
of said supervisor or manager.
WE WILL notify Union stewards at the facilities described above when the manager or
supervisor who is designated to receive union requests for information for their
particular facility has changed.
WE WILL, through our legal department or labor relations department, conduct
quarterly audits of the logs at the facilities described above to ensure that the
information requested by the Unions is being handled in a timely and appropriate
manner, and to ensure the logs are being properly maintained. Following the audit, our
legal department or labor relations department shall tender, in writing, a written report
that will be forwarded to the district manager, the district manager of human resources,
USPS labor relations, USPS Law Department-NLRB unit, and the NLRB Compliance
Officer.
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
The Board’s decision can be found at www.nlrb.gov/case/10-CA-165443 or by using the
QR code below. Alternatively, you can obtain a copy of the decision from the Executive
Secretary, National Labor Relations Board, 1015 Half Street, S.E., Washington, D.C.
20570, or by calling (202) 273-1940.
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Appendix B
The Employer's facilities located at the following addresses:
5330 Brookstone Drive NW #250, Acworth, GA
4200 McEver Industrial Drive NW, Acworth, GA
5944 Highway 92, Acworth, GA
3900 Crown Road, Atlanta, GA
1800 James Jackson Parkway, Atlanta, GA
525 Tribble Gap Road, Cumming, GA
5465 Highway 42, Ellenwood, GA
250 Georgia Avenue East, Fayetteville, GA
4989 Courtney Drive, Forest Park, GA
405 Lagrange Highway, Greenville, GA
100 Eagles Landing, Jasper, GA
3035 Stone Mountain Drive, Lithonia, GA
60 Postal Parkway, Newnan, GA
6691 Church Street, Riverdale, GA
8060 Webb Road, Riverdale, GA
1420 Martha Berry Blvd NE, Rome, GA
374 Henry Bryant Road, Sargent, GA
5050 Union Street, Union City, GA