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Arbitrator Rules:
Repairs Times Not a Basis for Discipline
(06/29/09) Although Arbitrator Shyam Das officially denied an APWU grievance protesting the Postal Service’s Preventative Maintenance Inspection Program recently, his ruling [PDF] was a victory for the APWU nonetheless.
At the hearing, the APWU asserted that Estimated Repair Times (ERTs) included in the program constituted “work-and-time standards,” in violation of Article 34 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Postal managers disputed the union’s claims and testified that employees would not be subject to discipline solely for exceeding the ERTs. They also testified that employees were not required to document why they exceeded estimated repair times.
While Arbitrator Das rejected the union’s argument that the Preventive Maintenance program constituted a change in wages, hours and conditions of employment, he stated unequivocally that management “cannot… cite failure to perform work within an ERT — whether once, twice or multiple times — as a basis for discipline.”
Looking Ahead –
But Taking Action Now
(This article was first published in the July/August 2009 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
Although the APWU’s 20th Biennial Convention is still more than a year a away and the next round of contract negotiations is even farther off, there will be no better time to focus on solutions to our problems than at the All-Craft Conference, Sept. 28-Oct. 3, in Las Vegas.
All-Craft Conference Sept.
30-Oct. 3 |
Now is the time to think about changes to the union Constitution and Bylaws, and to prioritize our goals for contract negotiations. The conference gives everyone in the craft an opportunity to discuss resolutions to submit to the National Convention. The maker of a resolution has the opportunity to explain the intent of the proposal and address any questions. Presenting a resolution at the conference will help determine whether it will have broad support.
These are stressful times for postal workers, and the Motor Vehicle Craft is no exception. We see massive amounts of outsourcing and now a significant amount of excessing. Because excessing it happening virtually everywhere, it has the potential to send employees further and further away.
The Outlook
Very few — if any — Postal Vehicle Service jobs are available. Although there may be a handful here and there, since we have such defined skill levels and occupational groups, a motor vehicle vacancy in one installation does not necessarily translate into a vacancy that can accommodate an excessed employee.
Article 12 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Principles of Seniority, Postings and Reassignments , requires the USPS to identify potentially impacted employees who are qualified for vacant MVS jobs that are being held open for excessed employees. There has been only limited success in this practice, and it appears that is because Article 12 as it relates to the Motor Vehicle Services is so different from other postal crafts: Management simply is having trouble identifying available positions and understanding how the process should work.
Right now, we have several simultaneous excessing situations affecting members of our craft, and as far as we can tell, it is extremely difficult to place impacted employees.
How Motor Vehicle Craft employees are excessed — even in unique situations — has been discussed and reviewed at conferences by Central Region MVS National Business Agent Merlie Bell. Brother Bell gives an excellent presentation and his “workshop” is available through our office.
Specific to Our Craft
As MVS employees, when you are excessed, you have the right to be placed in any available MVS position for which you are qualified, anywhere in the country. But the USPS has been very reluctant to identify vacant MVS positions throughout the country that are outside the areas where they are currently withholding jobs.
If you should happen to be an impacted employee and receive notification, you can go on e-transfer and apply for jobs in different locations, but you must make sure you have been identified as an impacted employee. This will give you priority over workers who have applied for the same position but are categorized as “regular voluntary transfers.” Being properly identified is critical to securing a job and keeping your seniority.
Nobody wants to face excessing, but if you find a vacancy in a location you would not mind moving to, you are entitled to do so. We suggest that after you have been identified as an impacted employee, you make requests not only in the e-transfer system, but in hard copy so that you have a paper trail to show that you have sought these positions.
We have had some negative experiences involving people who were “told” they were going to be classified as impacted employees; however, the USPS excessed them prior to the transfer, so they were classified as regular voluntary transfers and lost their seniority.
Preserving your seniority is critical for a number of reasons. Most importantly, it appears inevitable that all crafts will be impacted as the USPS downsizes. Maintaining your seniority may be the only way to prevent being excessed a second time. This is certainly the case for employees who volunteer to be moved in place of junior employees. If you preserve your seniority, it will more or less ensure that as long as the installation survives, you will have a place in the Motor Vehicle Craft.
Looking Down the Road
With mail volume way down, there is excess capacity in mail-processing. As Surface Visibility comes into play, the USPS will have the ability to track mail volume and the class of mail in the system.
The USPS is thinking about transporting all classes of mail from the east coast deep into the western portion of the country by truck instead of by air. The Postal Service always has suffered from its practice of running trucks that are not full to capacity. In the past, the USPS did not seem very concerned about it; but now, with money being lost at a catastrophic rate, management is trying to stop the bleeding wherever it can. Transporting mail by truck would be one way to improve the effectiveness of mail movement throughout the country. Unfortunately, this work is performed by Highway Contract Route drivers, not PVS.
If the Postal Service mixes all classes of mail, which is the plan, there should be great reductions in cost. The concept of transporting mail by air to meet delivery standards will be set aside. We are sure that this is the direction the USPS would like to go.
Back to the Conference
Resolutions that relate to contract negotiations or changes to the Constitution and Bylaws of the APWU must be submitted, in writing, to the Division Director at least 30 days in advance of the craft conference. So get your resolutions in by Aug. 28 to ensure that they will be included in the National Convention Resolutions book.
There will still be opportunities to submit resolutions after the All-Craft Conference, through state conventions, but it is best to air issues in front of the entire Motor Vehicle Craft.
Keep in mind that by the time the National Convention rolls around, we will be preparing for contract negotiations; the election of APWU national officers will take place soon after that. To get a full and objective hearing of your ideas and goals, formulate resolutions now, and submit them in time for the All-Craft Conference.
MVS
Workshops at All-Craft Conference Article 7 – Crossing Occupational Groups class will teach participants how to document and pursue these grievances and preserve the maximum number of jobs. Article 8 – Hours of Work will discuss work schedules, guarantees, and the various premiums. Article 32 – PVS Subcontracting will cover material needed to fight the outsourcing of routes. How to Read a Highway Contract Route will help participants understand the HCR solicitation notification the USPS provides to the union. It will address work hours, miles, frequency and how to determine how long each segment will run. Relevant Documents will review various documents the USPS generates, and explain which are needed to support grievances. VMF Work Orders and Subcontracting will provide an overview of work orders, how to prevent subcontracting, and the documents you will need to protect MVS work. Hotel Reservations: Conference Registration: |
