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Union Announces Dates for Raises, Back Pay
APWU News Service Bulletin #4-02, Jan. 31, 2002 | PDF
APWU Executive Vice President Cliff Guffey announced that employees will receive their $499 cost-of-living allowance payment as part of their regular paycheck on March 15, 2002. Arbitrator Stephen B. Goldberg awarded the COLA payment on Dec. 18, 2001, as part of his ruling on the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the APWU and the Postal Service.
The new salary rates, reflecting the 1.2 percent raise and the 1.8 percent raise awarded by Arbitrator Goldberg, will take effect on March 23, 2002, and will show up in employees' paychecks on April 12, 2002.
In addition, employees will receive their retroactive pay from those raises in the regular paycheck dated April 12, 2002. The retroactive pay will cover all paid hours from Nov. 18, 2000, through March 22, 2002, including overtime. Arbitrator Goldberg set the 1.2 percent raise retroactively to Nov. 18, 2000, and the 1.8 percent raise retroactively to Nov. 17, 2001.
Mail Processors and Senior Mail Processors will also receive their upgrade effective March 23, 2002. The upgrade will also show up in the paychecks they receive on April 12, 2002. Mail Processors and Senior Mail Processors in Schedule 2 will go to Level 5 or Level 6 in Schedule 2 at the same step and will retain their waiting time toward the next step. Mail Processors and Senior Mail Processors in Schedule 1 will be placed in Level 5 or Level 6 in Schedule 2 at the appropriate step in accordance with the promotion pay rules and will retain their waiting time toward the next step.
The chart below shows the step employees will be placed in when they go from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2.
Vice President Guffey also announced the eligibility rules for the COLA payment. The eligibility rules are based on the rules that governed back pay awards from previous contracts.
A. To be eligible:
Employees must have been on the rolls in a non-probationary status as of Dec. 18, 2001.
Employees who served full-time or on an hourly rate in the National Guard or National Reserve in Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom will get the full amount.
B. Employees are ineligible if:
They were AWOL for the two-week period before Dec. 18, 2001.
They were in a Leave Without Pay (LWOP) or other non-pay status for the entire period from Nov. 20, 2000, through Dec. 18, 2001.
They were in a disciplinary non-pay status for the entire period from Nov. 20, 2000, through Dec. 18, 2001. If they were returned to duty for any part of the period, they would be eligible for the one-time payment.
They were in a probationary period on Dec. 18, 2001.
All employees not declared ineligible by B, listed above, shall receive the one-time COLA payment, even if they retired after Dec. 18, 2001.
Official Decries Discounts
Testimony by Ex-USPS Official Backs APWU
Michael J. Riley, chief financial officer of the Postal Service from 1993-1998, filed written testimony Wednesday with the Postal Rate Commission condemning postage rates proposed by the Postal Service. Other first class mailers would inevitably pay for the discounts being offered to bulk mailers, he said.
Testifying on behalf of the APWU, Riley asserted that discounts should never exceed the cost avoided by the Postal Service. These discounts are far in excess of the cost avoided.
In the pending proceeding before the commission, the Postal Service has proposed increasing the price of a first-class stamp from 34 cents to 37 cents, which would be one of the largest postage rates increases in history. According to Riley, as much as one-third of this increase might be avoided if discounts given to large mailers were set properly.
Since 1981, the price of a first-class stamp has increased slightly more than the cost of living as measured by the CPI-W. In contrast, the average price paid by large mailers who take advantage of the Postal Service's pre-sort discounts has risen much less than the cost of living. Since 1981, the CPI-W has increased 93.3 percent. During the same time, the price paid by large mailers who sort their mail by five digit ZIP codes has only increased 76.8 percent.
A previous News Service Bulletin listed incorrect dates for some conventions and conferences. The correct information is listed below.
New Procedures for Holiday Leave
Provisions in Effect for Presidents' Day
In accordance with the Goldberg Interest Arbitration Award, effective Feb. 2, 2002, eligible full-time and part-time regular employees may elect to receive up to eight hours of annual leave in lieu of holiday leave pay. Employees can exercise this option starting with the Presidents' Day holiday, Feb. 18, 2002. Greg Bell, Director of Industrial Relations, announced the procedures for exercising the new option.
The new Article 11 contract provisions give eligible APWU full-time and part-time regular employees an option to receive holiday leave pay or annual leave if the employee works any part of their holiday or designated holiday. This option applies whether the employee is required to work or volunteers to work the holiday or designated holiday.
To be eligible for holiday pay, an employee must be in a pay status the last hour of the employee's scheduled workday prior to the holiday or the first hour of the employee's scheduled workday after the holiday. Management is not permitted to disapprove properly submitted requests to receive annual leave in lieu of holiday leave pay.
The option to elect annual leave in lieu of holiday leave is available only to employees who work at least some part of their holiday or designated holiday.
If an employee elects to be credited with annual leave in lieu of holiday leave pay and requests to work only part of the holiday or designated holiday, the employee must request some type of leave (i.e., annual, sick or LWOP) for the remainder of that day, as with any other workday. If the employee works a partial holiday because management requires it, the employee is to be paid guaranteed time for the remainder of the day.
Part-time regulars (PTRs) who elect annual leave in lieu of holiday leave pay are entitled to an amount of annual leave equal to their regular work schedule, not to exceed eight hours. For example, a PTR who is normally scheduled six hours per day would be entitled to six hours of holiday leave pay. Therefore, if otherwise eligible, the employee may elect to convert that holiday leave pay to six hours of annual leave.
Administration
Employees must use the current Form 3971 to notify management of their intent to elect annual leave in lieu of holiday leave pay, pending modification of the PS Form 3971. Employees should check the block labeled "Other" under "Type of Absence" and write, "Elect Annual Leave in lieu of Holiday Leave (holiday name, i.e. President's Day)" in the "Remarks" section. The Form 3971 must be submitted to the supervisor no later than the end of the employee's holiday or designated holiday.
The employee's request (Form 3971) must be signed and dated by the supervisor, who will keep the original for record-keeping purposes. The employee must be provided with a copy. Until payroll system changes are completed, the annual leave hours will not appear on employees' annual leave balances. However, the leave is available for use the pay period following the holiday, subject to normal leave approval procedures.
Employees' annual leave balances will be updated as soon as the payroll systems have been modified. Once payroll system changes are completed, annual leave in lieu of holiday leave pay will show up in employees' annual leave balances the pay period following the holiday. Because deferred holiday leave is combined with other annual leave, it becomes subject to loss if the employee has more than the maximum leave carryover at the end of the leave year.
