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Ask President Burrus

Question:

I have been an APWU member and Transitional Employee at the Beaumont (TX) Remote Encoding Center for four years. The contract states that there will be an 11 percent cap on casual employees in the Clerk Craft for offices of 200 man-years or more. As you probably know, Beaumont is one of those offices.

Are casuals and Transitional Employees (TEs) being classified as the same in the new contract? If so, does that mean the Remote Encoding Centers that are 200 man-year installations will only be allowed to employ 11 percent non-career Clerk Craft employees (i.e., TEs) as of Dec. 1, 2007?

It looks like casuals and TEs are one and the same with regard to the length of their appointment, overtime provisions, etc. I am a TE and I would really like to become a career employee.

Patrick, Beaumont SCF Area Local

President Burrus:

Transitional Employees in the Remote Encoding Centers are not considered casuals under the provisions of the new agreement. The staffing of REC sites is governed by a separate agreement, which requires that 70 percent of the assigned hours may be performed by TEs and the remaining 30 percent by career employees.

The union has negotiated provisions permitting Transitional Employees to take the career examination on two occasions and if they receive a passing score, converted to career.

I am continually disappointed by the percentage of Transitional Employees who are members of the American Postal Workers Union. All of the aspects of postal employment that attracted them to seek work have been provided by the union, and all the improvements — including the 2008 upgrade — will be made only at the insistence of the union. The fact that so many TEs have divorced themselves from the past achievements and future opportunities is disappointing.

April 12, 2007

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