The issue in this grievance concerns the reassignment of relief days in a formula office, to include those situations when a route changes classification from a J to a K route. This would also include the situation when a junior regular carrier is awarded a route with Saturday relief day though the bidding process.
Once an office has implemented the formula, there are only two situations which may prompt changes to relief days. The first situation involves a recalculation of the formula which will be conducted when the following circumstances occur in a formula office:
- A change in the number of regular routes authorized a relief day in the office.
- A change in the number of auxiliary routes in the office.
- A change in the number of available leave replacements in the office.
The recalculation will determine if carriers with non-Saturday relief days must be offered the opportunity to return to a Saturday relief day, or if management may assign additional non-Saturday relief days. Any relief day reassignments shall be made in accordance with Article 9.2.C.5. If the formula recalculation results in the availability of additional Saturday relief days, the reassignment back to Saturday must be completed within 30 days.
The second situation which may prompt a change in relief days occurs when the number of non-Saturday relief days was not maximized when the formula was initially implemented. Management may reassign these relief days at any time in accordance with Article 9.2. C.5. The carrier must receive notice of the change no later than the Saturday of the service week preceding the effective week of the change.
This language makes it clear that changes from Saturday to non-Saturday relief days can only be made through the process agreed to by the parties. A change from J to K route DOES NOT precipitate an automatic change to non-Saturday relief day. And, the assignment of non-Saturday relief days must be accomplished according to Article 9.2.C.5, including offering the incentive to carriers to switch from a Saturday to a non-Saturday relief day according to the contractual language.
Click here to view the Step 4 settlement letter
Step 4 Settlement – (E06R-4E-C 13052545) Riverton, UT Change of Relief Days