Beginning Nov. 23, 2011, mandatory overtime will end for many APWU-represented employees.

In accordance with the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement, full-time regular career Clerk Craft and Motor Vehicle Craft employees who work in an installation and functional area with Non-Traditional Full-Time assignments cannot be required to work overtime (except in an emergency), unless they are on the Overtime Desired List. If just one clerk in any station or branch occupies a NTFT duty assignment, clerks working in Function 4 throughout the installation cannot be required to work mandatory overtime unless they are on the OTDL. If only one clerk in mail processing occupies a NTFT duty assignment, then no non-OTDL clerks in Function 1 can be required to work mandatory overtime.

There is no “December exception” for this mandatory overtime prohibition.

“Emergencies” are defined in Article 3 as, “An unforeseen circumstance or a combination of circumstances which calls for immediate action in a situation which is not expected to be of a recurring nature.”

via Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Damage: Senate Panel Approves Postal Legislation.

A Senate committee approved postal legislation that would severely weaken the USPS, by a vote of 12 to 5 on Nov. 9.

The 21st Century Postal Service Act (S. 1789) would give the USPS short-term financial relief, but it also would force the agency to dismantle its retail and mail-processing network, APWU President Cliff Guffey said.

“Mail will be delayed as a result of the elimination of hundreds of mail processing facilities and thousands of post offices, stations and branches,” he said. The bill also would allow the USPS to eliminate Saturday mail delivery after two years and would degrade delivery to customers’ to doors no later than 2015.

“These drastic cuts will severely damage the Postal Service. It will make the USPS less relevant and drive away customers,” Guffey said.

The bill would return approximately $7 billion in overpayments the USPS made to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), but it would not return $50 billion to $75 billion in overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Two independent actuarial studies concluded that the USPS has overpaid the CSRS account by $50 billion to $75 billion.

Earlier bills introduced by Democratic Sen. Tom Caper (DE) and Republican Sen. Susan Collins (ME) both contained provisions that would return the CSRS overpayments, but the new “compromise” bill excludes that provision. (The Government Accountability Office [GAO] issued a report in October that did not specifically refute the overpayments, but concluded that the overpayments did not violate federal law.)

In addition, although the bill would restructure required payments to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees, it would not do enough to relieve the Postal Service of the pre-funding obligation, Guffey said. No other government agency or private company is required to make these payments.

“By failing to provide more substantial financial relief, S. 1789 will harm the USPS and its customers,” the union president said. “The Postal Service desperately needs funds to modernize its mail processing and retail networks, so it can continue to serve the American people.

Several other provisions of the bill are deeply troubling to the APWU:

It would dramatically reduce the compensation of employees who are injured on duty, once they reach retirement age.

The bill also would require arbitrators in postal labor negotiations to consider the financial health of the USPS. Postal unions have denounced this provision as an attempt to skew contract negotiations in favor of management by giving greater emphasis to financial considerations, at the expense of employees.

“We will work to improve the bill when it comes to a vote before the full Senate,” Guffey said. “APWU members must remain vigilant and let their senators know about our concerns.”

Several alternative bills have been introduced in Congress, he noted, and varying proposals are being presented to the congressional super-committee that is charged with reducing the nation’s deficit.

via Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Damage: Senate Panel Approves Postal Legislation.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will begin its mark up on Nov. 9 of the 21st Century Postal Reform Act (S. 1789).

The bill, introduced by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Thomas Carper (D-DE) and Scott Brown (R-MA) on Nov. 2, provides short-term financial relief to the USPS, but also would inflict long-term damage to the nation’s mail system.

The bill would return overpayments made to the Federal Employees Retirement System, but it would not return overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System.

Although the bill does not include several of the most odious parts of a bill pending in the House (H.R. 2309), by failing to provide more substantial financial relief, it would force the USPS to dismantle its network and impose severe cuts in service to the American people.

via Senate Committee to Vote on 21st Century Postal Service Act.

The APWU has launched a new TV ad that salutes our nation’s “real life heroes” and points out that a bill pending in the House of Representatives would force the USPS to fire tens of thousands of military veterans.

The ad, which is co-sponsored by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, urges viewers to tell their representatives in Congress to vote no on H. R. 2309 when it comes to the House floor for a vote.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), was approved by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Oct. 13. It would force the Postal Service to lay off workers, including veterans who served our nation.

The ad says, “Our nation’s veterans are real-life heroes. But when they come home, they don’t want a parade, they want a job.”

“The Postal Service employs more veterans than any other civilian employer,” the spot notes.

“But Congress is debating a bill that would force the Postal Service to fire tens of thousands of vets, close post offices, shut mail processing plants, and disrupt mail delivery. Drastic cuts won’t fix the postal service and aren’t needed,” the ad continues.

The ad concludes with a call to action, “Tell your representative to vote ‘no’ on House Resolution 2309. It’s time to deliver for our veterans – and America.”

The Postal Service announced in August that it wants to reduce the workforce by 220,000, and is seeking authority to lay off as many as 120,000 workers. H.R. 2309 would grant authority to a newly-established control board to carry out such layoffs, despite any provisions in union contracts that limit these actions. It also calls for $3 billion worth of cuts in post offices and mail processing facilities within two years.

If 120,000 postal workers were laid off, approximately 26,000 veterans would be affected.

The APWU has denounced H.R. 2309 as a “reckless assault on postal services and postal employees.”

“H.R. 2309 would destroy the Postal Service as we know it,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “In the process, it would devastate many dedicated workers, including thousands of military veterans.

“We are asking members of the public who value the contributions made by our military veterans to tell their House representatives to oppose H.R. 2309,” Guffey said.

The ad will run on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News for approximately one week. It also will air on broadcast networks in several media markets.

The TV ad is a part of a broader campaign to oppose destructive legislation such as H.R. 2309 and to build support for legislation that would address the cause of the USPS financial crisis and restore financial stability to the cash-strapped agency.

via Postal Unions Honor Military Veterans.

President Guffey is asking APWU members to collect signatures on a petition to Congress urging senators and representatives to oppose USPS plans to close post offices, shutter mail processing facilities, and drastically degrade service to the American people.

In a letter to state and local presidents dated Oct. 26, 2011, President Guffey wrote, “It is urgent that we bring as much political pressure as possible to bear against the Postal Service’s plans to dismantle its network of processing, distribution and retail facilities.”

In addition to the petition, the letter includes a flyer with the message, “ Closing Post Offices & Mail Processing Centers and Cutting Service is Wrong.”

“No company can grow or even maintain its business by cutting its service. But that’s exactly what the Postal Service is proposing to do,” the flyer says.

In July, the USPS announced plans to close 3,700 post offices; in September, management announced plans to close 252 of approximately 460 mail processing centers.

In early October, the Postal Service posted a notice in the Federal Register announcing its intent to revise service commitments, eliminate overnight delivery of first-class mail and change two-day delivery to three days.

The proposed change in service standards acknowledges what the Postal Service has repeatedly denied: Slashing the mail processing network will result in drastic cuts in service to the American people.

“Reducing the scope and quality of service will not restore the Postal Service to health. It would likely drive mailers away and therefore worsen the Postal Service’s financial problems,” Guffey said.

“If every APWU member filled up one petition, we would have nearly two million signatures,” the letter notes.

The APWU is requesting that locals act at once to make this petition drive a success. Completed petitions should be sent by Nov. 14 to:

Save America’s Postal Service
American Postal Workers Union
1300 L Street NW
Washington DC 20005.

The national union will make sure that House and Senate members receive petitions collected in their districts or states.

Petition Form

Petition Drive Flyer

The APWU and the USPS have agreed to a set of Questions and Answers regarding the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris has announced. The Questions and Answers, dated Oct. 20, 2011, cover an array of topics, including Postal Support Employees (PSEs), supervisors performing bargaining unit work in small offices, Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) assignments, excessing, lead clerks, acting supervisors, and the grievance procedure.

APWU/USPS Contract Q&A

via Questions and Answers on the Contract.

APWU President Cliff Guffey will appear — once again — on The Ed Show on MSNBC tonight, Oct. 13, at 10 p.m. EDT. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is considering the Issa-Ross postal bill today, and is expected to approve the legislation, which the union president has called “a reckless assault on postal service and postal employees.”

Guffey will discuss the ongoing campaign to save America’s Postal Service. The APWU is vigorously opposing the Issa-Ross bill (H.R. 2309), and is organizing support for H.R. 1351, which would provide the USPS with much-needed financial stability without any burden on taxpayers. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), has 226 co-sponsors, including 29 Republicans.

Schultz gave an enthusiastic defense of a public Postal Service on his Oct. 12 program.

via Guffey to Appear on ‘The Ed Show’.

The APWU is challenging proposed changes to USPS service standards that would result from a major reduction in the number of mail processing facilities. The Postal Service announced plans to eliminate 252 mail processing facilities on Sept. 14, and one week later published an “advance notice” of the proposed changes in service in the Federal Register. [PDF]

“The APWU vehemently opposes the USPS proposal to eliminate 60 percent of existing mail processing facilities and to make corresponding cuts in service standards,” President Cliff Guffey wrote in a letter dated Oct. 5. [PDF] “If adopted, this proposal would deprive postal customers of needed service, damage the economy, and drive customers away from the Postal Service.

“It is worth noting that the proposal acknowledges what the Postal Service has repeatedly denied regarding the closure and consolidation of mail processing facilities: Slashing the mail processing network will result in drastic cuts in service to the American people,” Guffey wrote.

The APWU is encouraging locals to write to legislators and point out the effect the service changes would have on residents and businesses in their community. “Bills pending in Congress would make this dramatic cutback in service unnecessary,” said Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid. “We urge union members to continue to ask legislators to support H.R. 1351, which would help provide the Postal Service with financial stability without any cost to taxpayers,” he added.

“The Postal Service cannot eliminate hundreds of mail processing facilities and meet its current service commitments,” said Executive Vice President Greg Bell. “Despite management’s reassurances to community leaders and lawmakers, wholesale facility consolidation would devastate mail service — and that is what the Postal Service is planning.”

In his letter protesting the service changes, Guffey wrote, “The elimination of overnight delivery of first-class mail and periodicals as well as a reduction in the range of two-day delivery would impose a significant hardship on postal customers. And, in addition to the reductions specifically discussed in the proposal, the changes would likely destroy Express Mail and Priority Mail.”

The proposed changes are contrary to the objectives of the Postal Reorganization Act, Guffey asserted, and fail to take into account many of the factors the Postal Service is required to consider when setting service standards.

The law stipulates that changes in service standards must be designed to “enhance the value of postal services to both senders and recipients,” “preserve regular and effective access to postal services in all communities” and “reasonably assure Postal Service customers delivery reliability, speed and frequency consistent with reasonable rates and best business practices,” the letter notes.

“The proposed rulemaking fails to meet these objectives,” Guffey said. The proposal focuses on mail volume and costs, but fails to pay attention to customer needs, he wrote.

The USPS notice states that the proposed reductions in service are necessary to “align the Postal Service’s infrastructure with current and projected mail volumes and to bring operating costs in line with revenues,” and that, “If the Postal Service were to revise service standards as described above, it could significantly improve operating efficiency and lower the operating costs of its mail processing and transportation networks.”

These objectives are not among those listed in law, the union president pointed out. “By designing service standards to meet budget goals rather than service demands, the Postal Service is violating the maxim that businesses cannot cut their way to financial health.

“In doing so, the proposal would degrade existing USPS products; limit the Postal Service’s ability to introduce new products, place the USPS at a distinct competitive disadvantage, and severely hamper its ability to accommodate growth. Consequently, the proposal virtually guarantees continued mail volume declines and further cutbacks in service.”

The USPS notice in the Federal Register invites comments from the public until Oct. 21. If the USPS decides to implement the proposed changes in service standards after the public comment period, it will submit its proposal to the Postal Regulatory Commission for an advisory opinion. It also will publish an additional notice in the Federal Register specifying precisely what changes it intends to make in regulations governing service standards. The review by the PRC and the next notice in the Federal Register will provide an additional opportunity for public comments.

via Union Challenges Proposed Changes to USPS Service Standards.

The APWU and USPS have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) [PDF] that establishes guidelines for the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures (ADRP), Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris has announced. The MOU, dated Oct. 5, 2011, stipulates that only seven issues identified in an MOU dated Sept. 2, 2011, [PDF] can be addressed through the ADRP, unless the parties at the national level agree to include additional issues. The time limit for grievance appeals and meetings at each step is governed by Article 15, with a clarification regarding disputes involving Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) duty assignments. The 14-day time limit for appeals of NTFT roll-out disputes starts on the date the duty assignment is posted for bid, the MOU says.

via APWU, USPS Establish ADRP Guidelines.

From the APWU’s Western Region:

APWU Western Regional Alert