Printer-Friendly Page
Maintenance Division Officers |
|
Electrical Safety
Electrical Switchgear
Maintenance Agreement Reached
(05/25/11) The APWU and USPS reached agreement May 17, 2011, regarding the performance of switchgear maintenance by Maintenance Craft employees. The settlement stipulates that subcontracting decisions involving switchgear maintenance will be made at the local level, and that instructions contained in the MS 28 Handbook are not intended to remove any electrical work from the bargaining unit, decrease staffing levels, or encourage or mandate subcontracting. It also calls for ongoing training of bargaining unit employees to perform electrical switchgear work. [read more]
Union Urges Locals to File OSHA Complaints
On Dangerous Instructions for Electrical Work
(02/19/10) The APWU is urging local unions to file complaints with OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, following the publication by the Postal Service of instructions regarding electrical work – instructions the union believes violate OSHA’s Electrical Work Standards.
The union has initiated a national-level dispute protesting the instructions, but in view of the potential for serious injury, APWU Maintenance Craft officers are encouraging locals to take action as well. Click here for the forms needed to file complaints and instructions for submitting them. [read more]
OSHA Standards
(10/28/09) Safety standards published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) require employers to provide appropriate electrical protective equipment to employees working in areas where there are potential electrical hazards, and dictate that the equipment must be used. [OSHA’s 1910.300 Subpart S Electrical Standard].
These regulations also require employers (including the Postal Service) to develop Electrical Work Plans for facilities where employees may be exposed to energized electrical circuits while performing maintenance work during the installation, operation, maintenance, modification, repair, and servicing of new or existing electrical equipment. [read more]
