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Union Appeals to Arbitration
USPS Decision to Subcontract
FSM 1000 Modifications
(12/04/09) On Nov. 17, 2009, the APWU appealed to arbitration (Q06T-4Q-C-07147172) a national-level dispute protesting the Postal Service’s decision to subcontract the retrofitting of FSM 1000 machines, and challenging management’s failure to notify the union of the decision. The grievance alleges that management violated Article 32.1 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and Section 530 of the Administrative Support Manual on June 3, 2000, when it issued Management Maintenance Order (MMO) 059-00, which awarded the work to Lockheed Martin Federal Service employees. [read more]
Union Appeals APPS Installation Subcontracting to Arbitration
(12/04/09) On Nov. 3, 2009, the APWU appealed to arbitration a national-level interpretive dispute protesting management’s decision to subcontract the installation of APPS (Automated Package Processing System) machines. The union asserts that the Postal Service failed to provide notice of the decision to the APWU as required by Article 32 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and failed to allow the union to provide input prior to making the decision. The USPS also failed to demonstrate that it gave “good faith consideration” to factors listed in Article 32 prior to making the decision. [read more]
Our Role at the All-Craft Gathering
(This article first appeared in the January/February 2010 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
Approximately 500 Maintenance Division members of the APWU attended our craft meeting in Las Vegas during the American Postal Worker Union “All Craft Conference” in October.
Maintenance officers reported on the Revamped Maintenance Selection System (RMSS); activities of the Office of Inspector General (OIG); pending and future national-level arbitrations; the status of USPS subcontracting activities; changes at the Norman, OK, training center, and the challenges the union filed.
Our craft also hosted several training classes.
Maintenance Workshops
During the training portion of the conference, representatives of our craft presented five courses:
The sessions were well received; all feedback indicates that the varied courses were informative. The training materials and the Maintenance information handed out at the opening session was provided to conference participants on a CD.
The Maintenance Craft CD also included an updated collection of our craft’s Step 4 settlements, which are presented on a searchable PDF. In addition, we provided summaries of hundreds of regional Maintenance Craft arbitration awards, which are presented in a linked Excel database, with relevant contract articles identified.
We recommend that Maintenance representatives copy these last two items to the hard drive of their local’s main computers.
Arbitration-Panel Resolution
At the craft’s business session, the delegates considered an important resolution regarding the need for separate arbitration panels for each craft. The resolution urges:
“ ...That the Union take all measures necessary to successfully negotiate separate national-level arbitration panels – one panel devoted to issues affecting all crafts and one panel for each of the several crafts (divisions) of the APWU, with sufficient arbitrators on each panel to ensure that national-level disputes reach arbitration within one year of appeal to arbitration; and ...
“...That each craft, as determined by the Division Director, set its own priority for placement of national disputes on its arbitration docket.”
In accordance with the APWU Constitution, resolutions adopted at the conference have been submitted to the Secretary-Treasurer’s office, and will be considered at the 2010 National Convention, Aug. 23-27, in Detroit.
Awaiting Awards
We expect to receive the award of Arbitrator Shyam Das on two issues of importance to the Maintenance Craft soon.
Case Q94T-4Q-C-97040815 challenged the Postal Service’s issuance of MMO 28-87 (“Staffing for All Mechanized Offices”). This important case seeks to rescind the issuance of the MMO 28-97, which was published as a work-hour estimation for mechanized offices. The grievance seeks to restore the former MMO 21-91, which contained significant protections for our properly developed staffing levels in all areas. The Postal Service asserts that MMO 28-97 provides for a maximum number of maintenance work hours and gives management full discretion on whether to establish and maintain maintenance staffing levels. As soon as the award is received, we will publish it and analyze its effect on the craft.
The award in case Q94C-4Q-C-97031616, which challenges management’s decision to contract out the installation and maintenance of the Associate Office Infrastructure (AOI) System, is expected soon after. A win by the APWU in this case would secure additional work for the craft, particularly for Electronic Technicians.
Looking Ahead
We continue to meet with management regarding MMOs on preventive maintenance, and we are working to apply our success on what was known as the “5-7-9 Award.” Subsequent upgrading of Maintenance positions changed the levels of the positions in question, but the “5-7-9 Award” is still the award that establishes minimum skill levels for assigned tasks.
We anticipate our next arbitration case will be on the installation of software in the Computerized Forwarding System (CFS). In this case, Q94T-4Q-C-98113008, the Postal Service contends that the installation of software updates in CFS is supervisory work. The APWU couldn’t disagree more.
We have also initiated a dispute over the Postal Service’s unilateral suspension of testing, and its decision to rescore MSS results during the latest Open Season. The union insists that when the employees took the new RMSS Test 955, it was a valid exam.
The Postal Service’s displeasure with the results (a high percentage of our members passed) is totally irrelevant to the fact it was the valid and agreed-upon testing procedure in effect at the time. After the testing suspension was lifted on Aug. 7, USPS managers tried to turn back the clock to change the results.
This is tantamount to a shady legal maneuver known as “ex-post facto,” where authorities attempt after the fact to designate a legal action as illegal. We trust that all adversely affected employees have seen their stewards and filed the appropriate grievances to restore their eligibility.
Good Wishes
All of the Maintenance Craft officers hope the holiday season has been a joyous and festive time for you and your families and friends. While we anticipate another full year of struggle with the Postal Service, we look forward to the occasional times we can spend together.
