The APWU and USPS have reached an agreement that clarifies the rights of Postal Support Employees (PSEs) when discipline is issued, Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris has announced. In accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), management has the right to discipline or remove PSEs for “just cause,” and PSEs have the right to file grievances protesting such discipline.

The Feb. 27 Memorandum of Understanding [PDF] clarifies several important points, Morris said.

Removal is not the only option for correcting deficient behavior.  Prior to agreement, USPS officials contended that removal was the only form of discipline required for PSEs and lesser forms of discipline were not necessary, Morris said.  “The settlement makes it clear that the USPS position was without merit.”

Discipline must be corrective in nature. Although the full range of progressive discipline is not always required for PSEs, the agreement stipulates that an appropriate element of just cause is that discipline be corrective in nature, rather than punitive. “Discipline that is corrective must also be progressive.  This is an important principle that has been reaffirmed for PSEs,” Morris said.

“Progressive discipline is not always required even for career employees,” he pointed out.  “Some misconduct is so egregious that removal can be upheld, even for a first offense.  That is no different for a PSE than it is for a career employee.”

PSEs will not be denied work as a substitute for discipline.   “Management may not refuse to schedule an employee as a means of punishment for perceived shortcomings,” Morris said. “If postal managers believe a PSE is not performing in a satisfactory manner, they have a clear obligation to attempt to correct the problem in an honest and straightforward manner rather than by using the PSEs work schedule as a disciplinary tool.”

The agreement resolves a national-level dispute (Case # Q10C-4Q-C 13016809) that was initiated by the Postal Service after the union won grievances on PSE discipline at the regional level. Grievances concerning PSE discipline that were held pending resolution of the dispute will be discussed and resolved in accordance with the settlement.

From the American Postal Workers Union:

Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) introduced the Postal Service Stabilization Act (H.R. 961) on March 5, a measure that would enhance the financial viability of the USPS. The bill would require the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to recalculate the Postal Service’s pension liabilities to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) using postal-specific salary and demographic assumptions.

“OPM does not currently take into account the unique position, salary growth, and demographic characteristics of postal employees in examining whether a FERS surplus exists,” Rep. Lynch said. Because OPM uses government-wide, rather than postal-specific assumptions, the agency has been understating the FERS surplus that could be returned to the Postal Service, he said. Rep. Lynch is the Ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Postal Service.

The bill would return overpayments to the Postal Service to pay its outstanding financial obligations. It also would express the intent of Congress that postal-specific assumptions should apply to allocations of past, present, and future benefit liabilities between the USPS and the Treasury.

OPM’s funding estimates for FERS have shown a persistent surplus since 1992, according to a study performed at the request of the USPS Office of Inspector General. The review, conducted by the Hay Group, shows the primary cause of the surplus is that postal salary growth has been lower than OPM’s assumptions. Because the OPM calculation overstates the amount needed to provide FERS pensions for postal employees, USPS historically overpays its share of pensions into retirement accounts maintained by OPM. The study recommends using Postal-specific assumptions to estimate the FERS liability.

“We wholeheartedly support passage of H.R. 961and we thank Rep. Lynch for introducing it,” said Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid.

APWU President Cliff Guffey also praised the Postal Service Stabilization Act. “We applaud his bill,” he said. “It would enhance the financial viability of the Postal Service by allowing the agency to use billions of dollars in pension overpayments without cutting worker pay or benefits or demolishishing service. And for the first time, it would require OPM to use postal specific assumptions in calculating the amount of any existing surplus,” he said.

For years, Bakersfield mail carriers have known that the local postal service sorting facility on Pegasus was set to shut down. But they had initially been told that it would be closing in June of 2014. Now that date has been pushed up to June first of this year.

Read more: 23ABC News – The U.S. Postal Service is downsizing and postal workers in Kern Counrty could lose their jobs – Bakersfield News, Bakersfield, California News & Bakersfield News Local Headlines – KERO TurnTo23.

APWU Web News Article 025-2013, March 8 , 2013

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a citation to the Postal Service for unsafe working conditions at its Scarborough ME facility and fined the agency $27,500 on Feb. 1.

The Postal Service failed to mark aisles in work areas where mechanical handling equipment such as forklifts and tow-motors routinely travel, in violation of OSHA Standard 29 CPR 1910.176(a), OSHA charged.  The Postal Service has appealed, and the APWU has requested “party status” to participate in the appeal process.

OSHA classified the violation as a “repeat” offense because “final orders” for the same unsafe practice were previously issued at two other workplaces – on April 11, 2010, in Littleton MA, and on Sept. 21, 2009, in Cleveland.  The final orders serve as evidence the Postal Service was aware of the hazard, OSHA said. The repeat citation in Scarborough charges that the USPS failed to correct the known hazard in all its facilities.

Michigan

OSHA also issued the USPS a repeat citation on Nov. 15, 2012, and fined the agency $25,000 for safety violations at its Romulus MI facility. Electric tow motors were modified without prior written approval by the manufacturer, OSHA said, exposing employees to the potential to be struck by, crushed or caught in the modified tow.

Modification of the equipment violates OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.178(a)(4), OSHA said. According to OSHA, the modified latches fail to provide a secure connection between the tow-motors and the container. Under these conditions containers weighing hundreds of pounds could become unlatched and roll uncontrollably on the workroom floor.

The Postal Service has appealed the citation and fine, and the APWU has requested party status to participate in the proceedings.

OSHA issued a prior final order for the same unsafe condition on Dec. 21, 2010, in Pittsburgh.

APWU Web News Article 024-2013, March 7, 2013

In one of the first decisions [PDF] interpreting the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Arbitrator Stephen B. Goldberg ruled on March 4 that the USPS decision to subcontract Postal Vehicle Service work throughout California violated the contract.

“This is a big win,” said President Cliff Guffey. “It demonstrates that the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement [PDF] strengthens our ability to protect APWU jobs.”

Arbitrator Goldberg rejected the USPS assertion that the Postal Service can overlook higher subcontracting costs when making outsourcing decisions.

“The Postal Service can no longer justify contracting out work that would be less expensive to keep in house” on the grounds that it has given due consideration to cost as well as other factors outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Goldberg wrote. A Memorandum of Understanding [(MOU) - PDF] negotiated as part of the 2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement states that if work can be performed by postal employees at a cost that is equal to or less than the cost of subcontracting, it will be performed in-house.

Each of the factors listed in the CBA must be considered, the arbitrator wrote, “but if factors other than cost do not rule out keeping work in house, and the cost of keeping work in house would be less than contracting out, both the text and the bargaining history of the Contracting MOU require that the work be kept in house.”

Goldberg also ruled that the Postal Service must follow steps outlined in Article 32.1.B of the Collective Bargaining Agreement before it can make and implement a decision to contract out PVS in California. In doing so, he rejected the USPS assertion that Article 32.1.B does not apply to PVS.

Motor Vehicle Craft Director Bob Pritchard praised the ruling. “This award will help us continue the fight to protect jobs,” he said. “That’s a fight we intend to win.”

“There is still a great deal of work to be done,” he cautioned. “We will be very busy compiling the evidence necessary to demonstrate that postal drivers can run routes at a lower cost than subcontractors.”

Significant Subcontracting

In accordance with Article 32.1.B, the Postal Service must take specific steps when it is considering subcontracting that will have a significant impact on bargaining unit work.

The USPS must:

• Notify the union before it makes a decision on subcontracting;
• Meet with the union while developing its Comparative Analysis report;
• Consider the union’s views, including any proposals the union makes to avoid or limit subcontracting, and
• Include a statement of the union’s views and proposals in its analysis of the proposed subcontracting.
• Goldberg’s award affirmed that the memorandum on subcontracting costs applies even when outsourcing will not have a significant impact on bargaining unit work.

A Great Effort

“This victory was the result of a tremendous effort by many people,” Guffey said. APWU’s Motor Vehicle Division officers worked tirelessly. MVS Director Bob Pritchard, Assistant Director Michael Foster, the craft’s National Business Agents, especially California’s NBA, Javier Pineres, and Western Region Coordinator Omar Gonzalez all made outstanding contributions. Vice President Greg Bell and Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris provided strategic advice and assistance. As always, the union’s support staff, most notably Phil Tabbita, made outstanding contributions, along with our economist and transportation consultant. The union’s attorneys presented the case and put forth a great effort. The support of rank-and-file drivers was crucial throughout the process.

“Thank you one and all!”

The Postal Service first announced its decision to contract out its entire California Postal Vehicle Service in June 2012, prompting the union to file a complaint in federal court and a national-level grievance.

Arbitrator Goldberg’s award was intended to interpret key provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement but not to specify steps forward. The union and management plan to confer about how to implement the decision, and Goldberg has retained jurisdiction to resolve any outstanding issues if the parties are unable to agree.

APWU Web News Article 023-2013, March 5 , 2013

The APWU has won an important arbitration case on subcontracting in the Motor Vehicle Craft that has important implications for the entire APWU, Motor Vehicle Craft Director Bob Pritchard announced on March 5.

“This is a big achievement for the union,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “It confirms that the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement gives us more teeth to protect APWU jobs.

In the March 4 decision [PDF], Arbitrator Steven B. Goldberg ruled:

“The Postal Service can no longer justify contracting out work that would be less expensive to keep in house on the ground that it has given due consideration to cost as well as the other Article 32.1 or 32.2 factors. To be sure, each of those factors must be considered, but if factors other than cost do not rule out keeping work in house, and the cost of keeping work in house would be less than contracting out, both the text and the bargaining history of the Contracting MOU require that the work be kept in house.”

Award Summary

1. Article 32.1.8 applies to the proposed California mode conversion. Accordingly, the Postal Service must comply with Article 32.1.8 before making a final decision on whether or not California PVS work will be contracted out.
2. Article 32.2 does not apply to the California mode conversion.
3. The Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Contracting or lnsourcing of Contracted Services applies to all contracting out of highway transportation work, including that controlled by Article 32.2.
4. The “fair comparison of all reasonable costs” called for by the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Contracting or lnsourcing of Contracted Services is to be made at the times called for by Article 32 — in an Article 32.1.8 proceeding at the time the Comparative Analysis report is being developed; in an Article 32.2 proceeding within 45 days of the Postal Service furnishing the Union with the information called for by Article 32.2.C.
5. The Arbitrator shall retain jurisdiction of this matter to resolve such additional issues arising out of the proposed California mode conversion as the parties may bring before him.

For more news and analyses about this important development, stay tuned to www.apwu.org.

APWU President Cliff Guffey is urging postal employees to ask their U.S. senators and representative to support the Postal Service Protection Act (S. 316 and H.R. 630).

“This legislation would go a long way toward solving the Postal Service’s financial crisis. It would make many of the planned cutbacks in service unnecessary, give postal employees a greater sense of security, and give the American people a Postal Service they can count on for the future,” Guffey wrote in a mailing to union members, non-members and retirees.

“Our members must make sure that lawmakers — and the public — realize that widespread plant closings will delay mail every day, in cities and towns across the country,” he said.

“Plant closures have already forced the USPS to eliminate 25 percent of overnight mail delivery. Another round of closures will cripple service, further weaken this great American institution, make it less relevant, and make it less competitive.

Support S. 316 and H.R. 630 Contact Congress Today! By Email: Click here to e-mail your legislators. By Phone: Call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to reach your representative and senators. By Mail: Write to your member of Congress: [Name], U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. Send letters to your senators: [Name], U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510. [more about fixing USPS finances]

Again?

“Some of our members may be asking, ‘Didn’t we already do this? Haven’t we already asked legislators to support postal reform?’ The sad fact is that Congress’ failure to pass a bill last year means that legislation introduced before Jan. 1 died,” Guffey said.

“So we must mobilize support for the new bill. The future of the Postal Service is at stake, and action by postal workers in essential,” he added.

Many local and state presidents will attend the APWU National Presidents’ Conference in Washington DC March 2-4. While they are in the nation’s capital, they plan to meet with senators and representatives and ask them to support this crucial legislation, Guffey noted. Union members must support these efforts by contacting members of Congress as soon as possible, he said.

The union president is encouraging postal workers to contact members of Congress by phone, mail or e-mail to request that legislators support the Postal Service Protection Act. The bill introduced in the Senate by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and in the House by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR).

The Postal Service Protection Act would:

• Fix the Postal Service’s immediate financial crisis by ending the mandate that requires the USPS to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees — a burden no other government agency or private company bears;
• Allow the Postal Service to recover overpayments the USPS made to federal pension plans;
• Re-establish overnight delivery standards for first-class mail, which would ensure the timely delivery of mail, help keep mail processing facilities open, and protect jobs;
• Protect six-day delivery;
• Allow the USPS to develop new products and services that would generate new sources of revenue, and
• Protect post offices by giving the Postal Regulatory Commission binding authority to prevent post offices from being closed based on the effect on the community and the effect on the employees.

“Locals and state organizations have done a great job organizing our members,” Guffey said. “At this critical juncture, the fight to Save America’s Postal Service must continue!”

In response to demands by the APWU — and approximately a year of negotiations — the Postal Service issued new guidelines [PDF] on Jan. 29, 2013, governing the procurement of postal equipment by managers at the local level.

The APWU pursued the issue at the National Joint Labor Management Safety and Health Committee after safety concerns arose following the purchase of equipment by a local manager in Seattle. After the manager had a “tabbing system” installed, workers discovered that the equipment could not be “locked out;” a preventive maintenance schedule had not been established; the equipment had not been subject to a safety inspection prior to acceptance, and employees had not been trained to properly use the equipment. (The tabbing system processes mixed mail that is not “automation ready” and turns it into a configuration that can be run through automated equipment.)

The APWU requested that management establish guidelines on the purchase of equipment because procurement by local managers is widespread. Management initially resisted the union’s request, claiming the matter was a local issue, but eventually agreed.

The new Locally Acquired Equipment Policy states that, at a minimum, the local authority approving the acquisition of postal equipment is responsible for the installation of equipment and for developing a Job Safety Analysis. The local authority is also responsible for obtaining technical information, use instructions, and maintenance instructions from the manufacturer or supplier, as well as for ensuring appropriate staffing, the availability of spare parts, and the availability of appropriate tools.

The Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) also states that installation heads, purchasing, contracting officers, and other managers are responsible for ensuring that all suppliers and contractors working on Postal Service property follow safety regulations established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as Postal Service safety and health policies. All suppliers must conform to OSHA regulations, and a Postal Service representative must be assigned to monitor supplier activities as appropriate.

The APWU believes the new procurement policy will result in improved safety conditions on the work floor.

(This article first appeared in the March/April 2013 edition of The American Postal Worker.)

In a recent decision, the Employees Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB) ruled that the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) acted improperly when it terminated the benefits of an injured worker based on evidence that was impermissibly obtained (F.S., Appellant; Docket 11-863; Issued 9/26/2012).

The ECAB concluded that special agents of the USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) violated several federal regulations in a fraud investigation involving the claimant — an all-too-common practice. In its ruling, ECAB admonished OWCP for departing from its obligations, stating vehemently that evidence created outside applicable regulations should be rejected. Read the rest of this entry »

WSET.com – ABC13

Roanoke, VA – Saturday is the day the Lynchburg postal distribution center will complete its consolidation with the Roanoke processing plant.

However, Saturday’s milestone may not be that big after all — because postal employee union leaders say Roanoke’s number may soon be up too.

This past Saturday the last of the Lynchburg equipment was moved into the Roanoke plant – as were roughly 40 employees who were transferred.

All of it will be made official this Saturday which is what has union leaders puzzled.

Because according to American Postal Workers Union Local President Carlton Cooper, he’s received an email that shows postal officials plan on meeting with high level union leaders, this Monday, to discuss the "acceleration" of closing processing plants in at least six different states… including Virginia as early as June.

Read more: Postal Union Fears ‘Accelerated’ Plant Closing in Roanoke – WSET.com – ABC13.