Episode 117: Let’s get back into an Arbitration.

This episode of From A to Arbitration is a passionate critique of the NALC’s leadership and management tactics, focusing on Corey’s frustration with the perceived lack of support for letter carriers. Corey begins by acknowledging technical difficulties and previews upcoming episodes on emergency placement cases and time-record falsification.

The episode is centered around Corey’s criticism of current union leadership for perceived inaction and failure to adequately address grievances and protect letter carriers. He dissects specific recent arbitration cases and the union’s responses, highlighting instances where management successfully circumvented the grievance process and the lack of proactive, aggressive support from union leadership.

Corey analyzes the handling of disciplinary actions, arguing that the current procedures favor management by allowing them to issue proposed removals and then mitigate them without substantial repercussions. He presents examples where similar situations were successfully challenged, but the current leadership doesn’t seem to support such action, emphasizing the lack of protection for letter carriers who are not adequately educated or supported in the grievance process.

The episode also examines the issue of a lack of proactive education from the union regarding current management strategies, emphasizing the union’s failures to inform or instruct members on how to counter management tactics.

Corey concludes by urging listeners to maintain vigilance and seek education to overcome these challenges, predicting a future of ongoing struggles if the current leadership doesn’t change. He also emphasizes the importance of a more militant union leadership. He reiterates his commitment to the city letter carrier, outlining his plans to continue advocating for their rights and to provide resources, like grievance templates and arbitration precedents, to support their efforts. The overall message is a call to action for the letter carriers to be informed and assertive and for the union leadership to actively support their members.