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'Questions & Answers'
For Workers Displaced by Katrina
APWU Web News Article #51-05, Oct. 7, 2005
Re: MOU on Employee Reassignment/Work Issues Arising from Hurricane Katrina [PDF]
Note: On Oct. 28, the APWU and the Postal Service agreed to modify the Oct. 7 version of the Questions and Answers shown below. Click here for the latest version. [PDF]
The following Questions and Answers are provided as a resource for the administration of the above referenced MOU dated September 27, 2005. Jointly prepared by the APWU and the Postal Service, these Questions and Answers provide a mutually agreed explanation on how to apply the MOU.
Interim Period
1. Can impacted employees who are in temporary residences due to hurricane Katrina be temporarily reassigned and scheduled to report to work?
Answer: Yes, impacted employees may be offered an assignment within their same craft and as close to their permanent work schedule as possible. All impacted employees volunteering to work shall be accommodated even if it means finding work in crafts other than their own. Impacted employees may be employed as needed at any location in order to provide employment and maintain the efficiency of the operations of the Postal Service. Employees must meet minimum qualifications of duties assigned. See MOU, 1.a and b.
2. Can impacted employees change their office of temporary employment?
Answer: Yes, it is recognized that circumstances may arise where an impacted employee and family decide to locate to another area because of housing needs, e.g., employees presently housed in public shelters who relocate to be with family members in another location. If such circumstances arise the impacted employee may request to change their office of temporary employment during the interim period by providing advance notice to the installation head of the losing facility. Such requests will be approved within seven calendar days unless it is operationally infeasible. See MOU, 1.e.
3. Are impacted employees who have been assigned to a temporary assignment entitled to per diem, travel time or out of schedule pay?
Answer: No, in order to provide employment for impacted employees during this time of emergency, per diem, travel time (including mileage or other travel expenses) or out of schedule shall not apply to temporary assignment of impacted employees. However, the employee may earn night differential and Sunday premium if the actual work performed would otherwise qualify. See MOU, 1.b.
4. Are impacted employees who are in temporary residences and assigned to offices outside of a 50-mile radius from their former duty station (official duty station assigned on September 2, 2005 ) entitled to any relocation allowance?
Answer: No, see 3 above.
5. When does the interim period end?
Answer: It may be different for each impacted employee. The interim period shall end with a permanent placement, transfer, reassignment or return to the duty assignment of the impacted employee but no later than January 20, 2006 . See MOU, 1.d. and 3.d.
6. What if an impacted employee needs time to care for personal needs, families, etc?
Answer: A liberal leave policy will be in effect for impacted employees. See MOU, 1.c.
Voluntary Transfer Period
7. Can impacted employees voluntarily select an office to which they wish to transfer?
Answer: Yes, impacted employees will be given an opportunity to voluntarily indicate if they wish to transfer to another installation. If practicable such requests will be approved. The requests will be acted upon in the order received on a daily basis with total Postal Service seniority as a tie breaker. See MOU, 2.a and b. Also, see #11.
8. Will impacted employees who voluntarily transfer retain their craft seniority?
Answer: Yes, such employees will have craft seniority as if involuntarily reassigned except for the purposes of excessing. For purposes of excessing from the craft or installation in the gaining office only, employees who voluntarily transfer pursuant to this MOU will be placed at the bottom of the seniority list. Employees hired or reassigned into the gaining office after such impacted employees shall have lesser seniority for all purposes, including excessing. The separate excessing seniority list will cease to exist on January 1, 2010 . See MOU, 2.c.
9. Do employees have to meet any minimum qualifications of an assigned position?
Answer: Yes, employees reassigned under these provisions must meet the minimum qualifications of the position to which assigned and receive the craft designation of the assignment. See MOU, 2.d.
10. Is there a time limit for voluntary transfers?
Answer: Yes, voluntary transfer requests under this MOU may commence immediately and must be received no later than midnight on October 28, 2005 . Reassignments resulting from voluntary transfer requests shall be completed no later than November 18, 2005. See MOU, 2.e and f.
11. What happens if there is no residual vacancy at an installation where a full- time employee has requested transfer?
Answer: In order to transfer as a full-time employee, there must be a residual vacancy. Full time employees shall be considered for transfer as a full-time employee into a residual duty assignment. See MOU, 2.b.
12. Are employees who voluntarily transfer entitled to any travel, relocation or related expenses?
Answer: No. However, such employees will receive a $500 lump sum payment. See MOU, 2.g.
13. What effect will the voluntary transfer of employees impacted by Hurricane Katrina have on part-time employees at a gaining office?
Answer: At the gaining facility, during the course of a service week, the employer will make every effort to insure that qualified and available part-time flexible employees are utilized at the straight-time rate prior to assigning such work to casuals and/or Transitional Employees (TEs). See MOU, 2.c.
14. Will employees who voluntarily transfer to a lower level under Section 2 of the MOU receive “Protected Rate” under ELM Section 421.511 as if they had been involuntarily reassigned pursuant to Article 12?
Answer: Yes.
Involuntary Reassignment Period
15. At what point may impacted employees be involuntarily reassigned?
Answer: At the end of the voluntary transfer period, November 19, 2005, all impacted employees who have not returned to their duty assignment or have been reassigned as a result of a voluntary transfer request, will be involuntarily reassigned pursuant to Article 12 of the National Agreement. See MOU, 3.a.
16. What are the rules governing the involuntary assignment of an impacted employee?
Answer: Impacted employees will be reassigned pursuant to the procedures outlined in Article 12.5.C.1, Discontinuance of an Independent Installation. See MOU, 3.b.
17. Are impacted employees who are reassigned pursuant to Article 12 entitled to moving, mileage, per diem and reimbursement for moving of household goods?
Answer: Yes, involuntarily reassigned employees shall receive applicable relocation expenses such as moving, mileage, per diem and reimbursement for movement of household goods in accordance with Article 12.5.B.5 and applicable regulations. See MOU, 3.c.
18. How will Article 12.5.C.5 apply if an installation is only partially closed, e.g., the main office is closed but some stations and branches remain open?
Answer: Only employees that are assigned to facilities that are impacted will be affected by the Article 12 process. Therefore, it is possible that not all employees in an installation will be subject to or impacted by the Article 12 involuntary reassignment process.
19. Will full-time employees be forced to become part-time employees as a result of the Article 12 involuntary reassignment process under the MOU?
Answer: No. If a full-time employee would otherwise be changed to a part-time employee under Article 12.5.C.1, they will be changed to full-time flexible status instead.
General
20. Will affected local union or regional coordinators be notified when impacted employees are reassigned?
Answer: Yes. In the event of placement, transfer or reassignment of an impacted employee the local union must be informed of the circumstances of the relocating employee including the date of reassignment, principle assignment area and hours of duty. See MOU, 4.a.
21. What happens if a dispute occurs regarding this MOU?
Answer: Disputes arising from the application of this MOU will be handled directly and expeditiously through the national administrative dispute resolution procedure. See MOU, 4.b.
22. What if the local losing office has not reopened and is unable to receive an employee’s election of retreat rights?
Answer: Under such circumstances the impacted employee should submit the request to the area Labor Relations office for coordination.
23. How do employees voluntarily transfer to another installation?
Answer: The preferred method is to use eReassign on the Postal web page. Those employees with access to eReassign on the Postal web page must use that method. Those employees who have no access to online eReassign may submit the eReassign Request for Reassignment form. This form may be obtained from any personnel office. Employees may submit the completed form to the personnel office in the installations in which they seek to be transferred to or to their APWU National Business Agent who will then forward the completed form to the appropriate personnel office.
24. Will employees from non-APWU crafts be assigned in APWU crafts as a result of the Interim, Voluntary Transfer and Involuntary Reassignment Periods in the MOU?
Answer: Pursuant to Section 1 of the MOU, Interim period, temporary assignments will be offered to impacted employees within their same craft and as close to their permanent work schedule as possible. If not possible, non-APWU employees may be temporarily assigned work in APWU crafts.
Reassignments as a result of the Section 2 of the MOU, Voluntary Transfer period, will not result in non-APWU employees assigned to an APWU craft.
Reassignment pursuant to Section 3, Involuntary Reassignment period, may result in non-APWU employees being permanently reassigned into APWU crafts as required by Article 12 of the National Agreement.
25. What offices qualify as “an office that curtailed all operations due to Hurricane Katrina”?
The following are the offices, listed by zip code:
36601 36633 36652 39466 39501 39503 39507 39520 39525 39529 39530 39531
39532 39534 39540 39552 39553 39555 39556 39558 39560 39561 39563 39564
39565 39567 39571 39572 39573 39574 39576
70001 70002 70003 70005 70006 70012 70021 70030 70031 70032 70036 70037
70038 70039 70040 70041 70043 70047 70049 70050 70051 70052 70053 70057
70058 70062 70065 70067 70068 70070 70071 70072 70075 70078 70079 70080
70082 70083 70084 70085 70086 70087 70090 70091 70092 70094 70113 70114
70115 70117 70118 70119 70122 70123 70124 70126 70127 70128 70129 70130
70141 70148 70358 70377 70401 70402 70420 70422 70426 70427 70431 70433
70435 70436 70437 70438 70441 70442 70443 70444 70445 70446 70447 70448
70449 70450 70451 70452 70453 70454 70455 70456 70457 70458 70460 70461
70462 70463 70464 70465 70466 70471
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