Printer-Friendly Page
 |
AFL-CIO News |
 |
Listen to Labor News |
APWU Members Ratify Contract
Approximately 9 in 10 Vote ‘Yes’ on Four-Year National Agreement
(This article was first published in the March/April 2007 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
APWU members ratified a four-year Collective Bargaining Agreement by a vote of 84,486 to 12,016, in balloting that concluded Jan. 12. The new National Agreement, approved by 88 percent of the voters, is retroactive to Nov. 21, 2006, and will expire Nov. 20, 2010.
 |
“I consider this contract to be among our union’s strongest achievements,” APWU President William Burrus said after the vote count was announced. “Wage increases, upgrades, and Cost-of-Living Adjustments were secured, and ‘no-layoff’ protection and other benefits were continued.”
The agreement provides for a 1.3 percent wage increase, effective Nov. 25, 2006; upgrades for all APWU-represented employees, effective Feb. 16, 2008; a 1.2 percent raise, effective Nov. 21, 2009; and two Cost-of-Living Adjustments each year.
New contract language will result in the conversion of approximately 10,000 part-time flexibles, and will eliminate Clerk Craft PTFs as a workforce category in offices of 200 work-years or more [PDF], effective Dec. 1, 2007. The agreement also will change the restrictions on the use and number of casual employees.
The Postal Service will pay 95 percent of healthcare premiums for employees enrolled in the APWU Consumer Driven Health Plan, effective in 2008. The employees’ share of healthcare premium costs in other plans will increase 1 percent each year in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.
“The 2006 negotiations initiated fundamental changes in wages, benefits, and conditions of employment, and these have now been endorsed by the membership,” Burrus said. Negotiations, which began in August, continued for approximately two weeks past the Nov. 20 deadline. This is the 12th APWU contract since 1971.
Participation in the ratification process was above 40 percent, which is a significant improvement over previous balloting. Nevertheless, Burrus said that he had hoped for a higher level of membership involvement in the vote.
“I extend my appreciation and that of the negotiating team for the expression of confidence in our efforts. But because of the significant changes negotiated in this agreement, it is disappointing that a higher percentage of the membership chose not to participate in the ratification process.”
“A total of 96,502 votes were cast by the members, including 727 postal employees who joined the APWU to participate in the referendum voting,” Burrus said.
“We are very pleased that so many new members joined the APWU as a result of this process,” Burrus said. “This is the most successful short-term organizing effort in union history.”
“APWU-represented employees have made substantial progress,” the union president said. “That is what the negotiation process is all about.”
|
The Ratification Voter Participation Contest, intended to encourage union members to get involved offered rewards to locals that were most successful in mobilizing APWU members to vote. Twenty locals in the category of 1-99 members had 100 percent participation, earning each local $200, to be used on behalf of the members. They are the Atchison (KS) Local, Lewistown (MT) Local, Orange (VA) Local, Haleyville (AL) Local, Laurens (SC) Local, Lewisburg (TN) Local, West Frankfort (IL) Local, Donora (PA) Local, Sturgeon Bay (WI) Local, Marengo (IL) Local, Marshall (MN) Local, Bellows Falls (VT) Local, Springhill (LA) Local, Wayne (NE) Local, Saint Ignace (MI) Local, Port Washington (WI) Local, Kewanee (IL) Local, Alpena (MI) Local, Adairsville (GA) Local, and Tallmadge (OH) Local. Three locals with membership of 100-499 people qualified for $1,000 rewards. The Scranton (PA) Local, Mansfield (OH) Area Local, and Reading (PA) Area Local achieved participation of more than 70 percent. In the 500-999 member category, the highest voting locals were the Lehigh Valley (PA) Area Local, the Madison (WI) Area Local, and the Buffalo (NY) Local, with participation of more than 60 percent. The locals received $2,000 each. The top three locals with more than 1,000 members were the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan, the Pittsburgh Metro, and the St. Paul (MN) area locals, with more than 50 percent of APWU members voting. Each local was rewarded with $4,000. The contest stipulated that any local that achieved 100 percent would be rewarded, and to be eligible, locals had to reach voting levels of at least 50 percent. |
