u/HoldWeekly

Hey everyone, looking for insight from other carriers/union folks. This is redacted for privacy, but the core facts are accurate.

I’m a city carrier in a medium-sized associate office. I was issued a 7‑day suspension for an at‑fault vehicle accident. Later, that 7‑day was reduced to a Letter of Warning through the grievance process.

Here’s where things went off the rails for me:

- I clearly told my union reps that I did NOT want my case settled. I wanted the discipline challenged on just‑cause grounds, not resolved by a deal that still left discipline in my file.
- Despite that, the grievance was settled anyway. I was informed after the fact. I still don’t know who actually made that decision.
- My written statement contains personal working notes, footnotes, symbols, hashtags, etc. I use those to separate fact from conjecture and to organize my thoughts.
- It appears that details from that draft statement were discussed outside the proper grievance chain, including with someone I believed was representing me but later learned was not in any official representational role.
- I now know my 7‑day suspension is still showing in my OPF, and I am not convinced the settlement actually fixed my record in a way that prevents it being used as live prior discipline in the future.

On top of that, the grievance file showed:

- Management citing old Letters of Warning that were supposed to be expunged or no longer live.
- Information request issues (incomplete responses, no time granted to interview key witnesses, no repair tags/receipts despite claiming vehicle damage).
- A fact pattern that looks a lot like other cases where arbitrators have at least reduced discipline or thrown out management’s use of non‑live prior discipline.

I recently drafted a letter to my branch and regional leadership asking for:

- A written explanation of why my grievance was settled after I explicitly said I did not want it settled.
- Identification of who made the final decision and whether my objection was documented anywhere.
- Clarification about who had access to my statement and whether anyone outside the proper grievance chain saw or discussed it.
- Confirmation of exactly what is currently in my OPF and what status my 7‑day suspension has going forward.

I’m not saying I was guaranteed to win at arbitration. There was a real accident. But I strongly believe this was a case that deserved to be tested on the record, win or lose, instead of being quietly managed into a settlement that still leaves me exposed.

My questions for the sub:

1. Have any of you had a grievance settled against your expressed wishes (i.e., you told the union “do NOT settle this” and they did anyway)? How did you handle it?
2. For those familiar with discipline/arbitration: based on the issues above (bad prior‑discipline usage, info request failures, questionable damage claims), would you view this as a decent case to take all the way, even if the likely outcome was “reduced/neutralized discipline” rather than “no discipline at all”?
3. Any advice on how to push for a corrected OPF entry and clear written limits on how this discipline can be used in the future?

I’m not trying to burn the union down. I want a union I can trust. But right now I feel like my instructions as the grievant were ignored, my statement wasn’t kept in a tight circle, and my record is still vulnerable.

Any perspective from stewards, branch officers, or other carriers who’ve been down this road would be appreciated.