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Maintenance Division Officers |
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Skills Training Program Takes Shape
(This article first appeared in May/June 2004 issue of The American Postal Worker.)
When the APWU membership overwhelmingly approved a two-year extension to the 2000-2003 Collective Bargaining Agreement, there were several positive results, including continuation of the cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), two annual wage increases; and an extension of the no-layoff clause. There was also agreement on several Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs).
One of these MOUs called for the establishment of an employee developmental training program, intended to help APWU members qualify for higher-paying Maintenance-Craft positions. The memo provides that the first opportunities and selection for positions will go to current Maintenance Craft employees, and then will be expanded to include the other APWU-represented crafts. Having long been an advocate for increasing our opportunities for training, I am pleased to report that I recently signed an MOU that outlines how the program will be implemented.
The Meaning of the MSDP
The newly-signed agreement, called the Maintenance Skills Development Program (MSDP), allows for 54 days of on-the-clock training for eligible APWU-represented employees. The program will enable them to qualify for placement on the appropriate selection register for Maintenance Mechanic, Level 5, and Mail Processing Equipment (MPE) Mechanic, Level 8 positions. Because the program is funded by the Postal Service, it requires that the District or Area level of management authorize the program at the local level.
The MOU says that the local APWU also must be involved in the announcement and planning, and in the selection of classroom facilitators. We believe it is important that the local union be involved in the program.
Employee Eligibility
Test 922 will be used to determine which employees are eligible for the training. This is a basic mechanical aptitude test, intended to be a precursor of successful completion of the training program. Among those who pass Test 922, current Maintenance Craft employees will be selected first to fill the 15 available seats in each class. Only if no Maintenance Craft employees are available will other APWU craft employees - in score order - be selected.
The only other criterion for eligibility is that the applicants cannot currently be eligible for both the MM-5 and MPE-8 by standing on the in-craft or in-service maintenance selection registers.
Only current Maintenance Craft employees can be on the in-craft Promotion Eligibility Register. If a current employee has previously applied for the PERs and has an ineligible rating on either or both the MM-5 and MPE-8, that member is eligible for the training program. Only if the employee is already listed on both the MM-5 and MPE-8 PERs would a current Maintenance Craft employee be considered ineligible for the training program.
The in-service register will include Maintenance and the other APWU crafts. Maintenance Craft employees who have not previously applied for inclusion on both the MM-5 and MPE-8 in-craft PERs may apply for the in-service register for the non-PER position. Maintenance Craft employees who qualify will receive a priority standing on the in-service register, and will be ranked (in score order) ahead of qualified employees from other crafts. Other employees are ranked on the in-service register for MM-5 and/or MPE-8 in score order after current Maintenance Craft employees.
The Training
The training itself is divided into four units, with each unit having from three to five modules of training. To continue in the training, students must pass certain benchmarks in technical mathematics, conveyors, and the prerequisites for Industrial Electrical Service (IES) schooling.
Safety, electricity, shop tools, hydraulics, and mail-processing equipment are other examples of training modules included in the program. Each of the modules is geared to one or more of the necessary KSA (knowledge, skill, ability) elements to allow the employee to meet the qualifications for the targeted positions.
Training will also include instruction on the Maintenance Selection System.
Post-Training Process
After successful completion of training, employees will follow the contractual process of applying for and being placed on the appropriate selection register. This includes the written exam (Test 931 for the MM-5; Test 933 for the MPE-8). Candidate Supplemental Application (CSA) books must be completed and employees then are subject to the review panel. For in-craft employees who are updating, a supervisor evaluation may be required.
Each employee is then rated by the National Test Administration Center (NTAC) and notified of the results. The contractual process under Article 38 and the MSS will then be followed to place eligible employees into existing vacancies.
Ongoing Process
Both parties at the national level have agreed to respond to issues as they arise. Because the concerns will be addressed at this level, modifications to the program also must be done at this level.
We are also continuing to identify additional target positions, such as BEM and ET that would be appropriate for such programs. Appropriate training modules are being developed by NCED in Norman, OK.
The Maintenance Division officers congratulate the successful trainees at the pilot sites in Denver, Houston, and New York City. We also extend a big "thank you" to the officers in Denver for accepting the pilot program and for maintaining the local union's involvement. (Due to management reluctance to involve the local unions in the other pilot sites, the programs at those sites were far less successful than they could have been.)
Finally, not enough can be said about the efforts of Jane Duggan, an MPE and the developmental training program coordinator in Detroit. The Detroit program was the original pilot for developmental training and served as model for the national program. It continues to be successful and will continue, along with the existing training program in Philadelphia.
For all other locations, this is the national program. We now have an opportunity to "grow our own," and to have a strong voice in the filling of many of the too-long-vacant duty assignments.
