Question: An employee joined the United States Postal Service (USPS) in 1975 as a part-time substitute rural carrier near Spokane, Washington. In 1976, the employee was given a full-time rural route. He obtained this route under a provision in the collective bargaining agreement giving senior part-timers first priority for new full-time routes. City delivery carriers and managers were jealous of the employee for obtaining this route, the court relates. He began to experience harassment from some of his co-workers, and in addition, the route he worked was overburdened. In January 1978, the employee and another man were arrested and charged with stealing equipment from a railroad yard. He pled guilty and received a suspended sentence.

The theft was reported in the local press. USPS fired the employee, asserting that the conviction meant he no longer was entrusted to safeguard mail or postal funds. He filed a grievance, but the shop steward declined to represent him. The union's steward fulfilled this task instead. When decisions at lower steps were negative, the union considered arbitration. However, the union's general counsel advised against arbitration on the ground that there was little likelihood of success. Based on these facts, do you think the union fulfilled its duty of fair representation to the discharged postal worker? See Johnson v. U.S. Postal Service and National Rural Letter Carriers Association [756 F.2d 1461 (9th Cir. 1985)].