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The Big Lie:
Postal Arbitrators and
The Cause of the USPS Crisis

Burrus Update 12-2009, Aug. 28, 2009

Conventional wisdom suggests that if a lie is repeated often enough, it will be accepted as fact, and actions based on the fabrication will be considered justified. A myth circulating in the postal community — that the collective bargaining process is in need of major repair because arbitrators require the Postal Service to pay unreasonable wages — is a good example. This fabrication has been repeated over and over with no supporting analysis.

Recently, this falsehood led to the amendment of Senate bill 1507, allegedly to establish “balance” in postal bargaining. Of course, the desired outcome of the authors of the amendment is to reduce postal wages.

Despite evidence that postal pay is a small amount compared to the postage discounts that the USPS offers to private companies that perform postal work, the assault on postal bargaining continues unabated. Private businesses receive discounts of as much as 10.5 cents per letter to barcode and pre-sort business mail, yet anti-labor commentators routinely suggest that postal workers are overpaid. In response, I can state unequivocally that our members would accept wage rates equal to 10 cents per letter for barcoding and sorting business mail!

But back to the assertion that arbitrators impose unreasonable wage requirements on the Postal Service: A review of the 39 years of collective bargaining refutes the claim.

Since 1971, negotiations between the USPS and the APWU have been deferred to interest arbitration on six occasions:

Contract Term	How Pay Was Set	Arbitrator	Annual Change in Weighted Avg Wage	Comments
1969	Congress		6.00%	Congress enacted raise in 1970, retroactive to Dec. 27, 1969.
1970	Congress		8.00%	Congress enacted raise effective July 18, 1970.
1971-1973	Voluntary		9.90%
1973-1975	Voluntary		11.20%
1975-1978	Voluntary		7.70%
1978-1981	Mediation-Arbitration	James J. Healy	9.60%
1981-1984	Voluntary		3.90%
1984-1987	Arbitration	Clark Kerr	3.00%
1987-1990	Voluntary		5.20%
1990-1994	Arbitration	Richard Mittenthal Rolf Voltin	2.20%	Arbitrator Mittenthal created a panel to address health insurance contributions. Arb. Valtin ordered a change that almost doubled employee payments.
1994-1998	Arbitration	Jack Clarke	1.50%
1998-2000	Voluntary		4.50%
2000-2003	Arbitration	Stephen Goldberg	3.00%
2003-2005	Voluntary		3.40%
2005-2006	Voluntary		5.00%
2006-2010	Voluntary		3.70%

 

A review of the decisions rebuts the allegation that arbitrators have imposed excessive wage increases on management and rate-payers: Among the largest wage increases received by APWU bargaining unit employees, two were granted by Congress. In 1970, following the “Great Postal Strike,” Congress adopted legislation providing a 6 percent wage increase retroactive to Dec. 27, 1969, and an 8 percent increase effective July 18, 1970. The Postal Reform Act of 1970 also guaranteed the right to collective bargaining.

The ensuing arbitration decisions have been well within the rate of increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Clearly, the purpose of this assault on the integrity of arbitrators is not to reign in their perceived generosity, but to pressure them to reduce postal pay.

The intent of the amendment to S. 1507 is to include a legal standard that would ensure that postal wages will be reduced. Since that is the goal, why not just come out and say it, instead of maligning postal arbitrators?

William Burrus
President

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