The transitional work force shall be comprised of noncareer,

bargaining unit employees as follows:

1. The number of transitional employees who may be employed in any period, other than December, shall not exceed 3.5% of the total number of career city carriers covered by this agreement.

2. The number of transitional employees employed in a district other than December, may not exceed 6% of the total number of career city carriers employed in that district.

3. Over the course of a pay period, the Employer will make every effort to ensure that qualified and available part-time flexible employees are utilized at the straight-time rate prior to assigning such work to transitional employees working in the same work location and on the same tour, provided that the reporting guarantee for transitional employees is met.

Article 7.1.B.3 15

4. Transitional employees shall be hired pursuant to such procedures as the Employer may establish. They will be hired for a term not to exceed 360 calendar days for each appointment. Transitional employees will have a break in service of at least 5 days between appointments.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE AND THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS, AFL-CIO

Re: Transitional Employees-Additional Provisions

ARTICLE 6

Layoff of Career Employees:

a. Prior to laying off career employees, management will offer the impacted employees the opportunity to work any existing letter carrier craft transitional assignments within the installation.

b. There will be no out-of-schedule pay provided to the impacted employees for these temporary assignments.

ARTICLE 10

I. GENERAL

A. Purpose. Annual leave is provided to transitional employees for rest, recreation, emergency purposes, and illness or injury.

1. Accrual of Annual Leave. Transitional employees earn annual leave based on the number of hours in which they are in a pay status in each pay period.

Rate of Accrual Hours in Pay Status Hours of Annual Leave Earned Per Pay Period

1 hour for each unit of 20 hours in pay status in each pay period

20 1

40 2

60 3

80 4 (max.)

141

2. Biweekly Crediting. Annual leave accrues and is credited in whole hours at the end of each biweekly pay period.

3. Payment For Accumulated Annual Leave. A separating transitional employee may receive a lump-sum payment for accumulated annual leave subject to the following condition:

a. A transitional employee whose separation is effective before the last Friday of a pay period does not receive credit or terminal leave payment for the leave that would have accrued during that pay period.

II. AUTHORIZING ANNUAL LEAVE

A. General. Except for emergencies, annual leave for transitional employees must be requested on Form 3971 and approved in advance by the appropriate supervisor.

B. Emergencies and Illness or Injury. An exception to the advance approval requirement is made for emergencies and illness or injury; however, in these situations, the transitional employee must notify appropriate postal authorities as soon as possible as to the emergency or illness/injury and the expected duration of the absence. As soon as possible after return to duty, transitional employees must submit Form 3971 and explain the reason for the emergency or illness/injury to their supervisor.

Supervisors approve or disapprove the leave request. When the request is disapproved, the absence may be recorded as AWOL at the discretion of the supervisor as outlined in Section IV.B below.

III.UNSCHEDULED ABSENCE

A. Definition. Unscheduled absences are any absences from work that are not requested and approved in advance.

B. Transitional Employee Responsibilities. Transitional employees are expected to maintain their assigned schedule and must make every effort to avoid unscheduled absences. In addition, transitional employees must provide acceptable evidence for absences when required.

IV. FORM 3971, REQUEST FOR, OR NOTIFICATION OF, ABSENCE

A. Purpose. Application for annual leave is made in writing, in duplicate, on Form 3971, Request for, or Notification of, Absence.

B. Approval/Disapproval. The supervisor is responsible for approving or disapproving application for annual leave by signing Form 3971, a copy of which is given to the transitional employee. If a supervisor does not approve an application for leave, the disapproved block on Form 3971 is checked and the reasons given in writing in the space provided. When a request is disapproved, the reasons for disapproval must be noted. AWOL determinations must be similarly noted.

ARTICLE 12

Reassignment of Career Employees Outside of a Section, Craft, or Installation.

a. Prior to reassigning career employees outside of a section, the craft, or installation, management will offer impacted career employees, on a seniority basis, the opportunity to work any existing letter carrier craft transitional assignments within the installation.

b. There will be no out-of-schedule pay provided to the impacted employees for these temporary assignments.

TE Hire versus Excessing

A full time letter carrier may not be excessed and the resulting vacancy filled by a TE, except where management can demonstrate that, as a result of legitimate operational changes, there is insufficient work to continue to support a full-time position.

For example, management may not abolish a full-time route position and excess the full-time letter carrier and hire or assign one or more TEs to perform the work of the abolished position, unless management can demonstrate that the work cannot be performed on a full-time basis in compliance with the requirements of the National Agreement.

ARTICLE 16

Transitional employees may be separated at any time upon completion of their assignment or for lack of work. Such separation is not grievable except where the separation is pretextual.

Transitional employees may otherwise be removed for just cause and any such removal will be subject to the grievance- arbitration procedure, provided the employee has completed ninety (90) work days, or has been employed for 120 calendar days, whichever comes first. Further, in any such grievance, the concept of progressive discipline will not apply.

The issue will be whether the employee is guilty of the charge against him or her. Where the employee is found guilty, the arbitrator shall not have the authority to modify the discharge.

In the case of removal for cause, a transitional employee shall be entitled to advance written notice of the charges against him/her in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of the National Agreement.

ARTICLE 21

After an initial appointment for a 360-day term and upon reappointment to another 360-day term, any eligible noncareer transitional employee who wants to pay health premiums to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB)

Program on a pre-tax basis will be required to make an election to do so in accordance with applicable procedures. The total cost of health insurance is the responsibility of the noncareer transitional employee.

Date: September 11, 2007