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After 14 Years of Struggle, A Major Accomplishment
Burrus Update #01-06, Jan. 9, 2006
In a major victory for the APWU, the use of Transitional Employees has been terminated in all postal facilities except REC sites, effective Dec. 31, 2005.
Arbitrator Richard Mittenthall awarded the Postal Service the authority to hire Transitional Employees (TEs) in a decision issued June 12, 1991, “to fill anticipated impacted positions as a result of automation.” The ruling was a significant blow to the union’s goal of achieving an all-career, all-regular work force.
During the arbitration proceedings for the 1990 Collective Bargaining Agreement, management had argued that temporary employees were needed for a short period during the USPS transition from mechanized equipment to automation. But TEs remained on the rolls long after automation was in place.
Beginning in the early 1990s, thousands of TEs were hired to fill vacancies caused by attrition and positions that were slated for abolishment once automated equipment was deployed.
Despite our best efforts, TEs were denied the most basic rights that career employees often take for granted: Because they were ineligible for cost-of-living raises, their wages lagged behind those of career employees. The APWU fought long and hard simply to win protection for TEs against unjustified discipline. The USPS made no contribution to health insurance, making such benefits prohibitively expensive.
The number of Transitional Employees ranged from a high of 24,000 in 1992 and 1993 to a low of 4,000 in years 2002 through 2005.
The use of these non-career employees also caused hardship for the career workforce: As a result of the use of TEs, career employees were often denied the opportunity to work overtime during periods of peak volume; full-time employees were deprived of the opportunity to bid on vacant positions, and part-time flexible employees were denied the opportunity to be converted to regular.
After 14 years of struggle, as a result of provisions of the 2000 Collective Bargaining Agreement, the category of Transitional Employee has been terminated for use in all postal facilities with the exception of Remote Encoding Center (REC) Sites, effective Dec. 31, 2005. (The use of REC TEs is covered under a separate agreement.)
Local presidents are encouraged to review local staffing compliments to ensure that all Transitional Employees at non-REC sites have been terminated or converted to career or casual status.
After years of struggle, this is an important achievement for the American Postal Workers Union.
William Burrus
President
