Printer-Friendly Page
Ask President Burrus
Question:
The memo read that all APWU employees would get one level upgrade. If you do the math, the ETs and MPEs are not getting a full level upgrade by today’s pay scales, while everyone else is getting more than a full upgrade by today’s pay scales. This is very deceptive and disappointing and deserves an explanation.
Glen, Manchester (NH) Area Local
The projected pay Tables 2 and 3 seem to indicate a lower level-assignment for Levels 11 and 12. Why are the technically skilled levels being minimized in the negotiated benefits of this contract?
Tom & Gary, Western Nassau (NY) Area Local
President Burrus:
Thank you for your questions.
If the tentative agreement is approved, the upgrades will be accomplished by creating a new pay scale.
An upgrade based on the current pay schedule would have resulted in wide disparities in the percentage increases, ranging from approximately 1.9 percent to 15.8 percent.
The new pay scale smoothes out the variations so that the upgrades will result in equitable increases.
The new pay schedule will be renumbered, beginning at Grade 3 (upgraded from Grade 2).
In order to keep the numbers running consecutively, Grades 11 and 12 were renumbered as Grades 9 and 10, respectively, which would have been eliminated.
The salaries for Grades 9 and 10 were based on increases from the old Grades 11 and 12 before they were renumbered.
We had two choices: We could have used the existing pay schedule, which would have caused a vastly unequal impact in different levels, or create a new pay scale. We elected to create a new schedule with several adjustments, including the elimination of Grade 1 and the promotion of all Grade 2 employees to Grade 3. It did not seem to make sense to create a pay scale ranging from Grade 1 through Grade 13, with no employees in Grades 1, 2, or 10.
While employees in Grades 10 and 11 of the old schedule are not being advanced numerically in the new schedule, each will receive the monetary benefit of an upgrade, and they will continue to occupy the highest numerical positions in the pay scale.
December 20, 2006
(Revised Jan. 8, 2007)
APWU President William Burrus
Telephone: 202-842-4250
ABOUT THE
APWU PRESIDENT
The American Postal Workers Union’s top officer is its president, William Burrus. The president has overall responsibility for the operations of the APWU, as directed by the Constitution and Bylaws.
