The Industrial Relations Department plays a major role in our organization's ongoing struggle for better wages and improved working conditions and benefits.
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Resources from the Industrial Relations Department
Latest News from the Industrial Relations Department
December 23, 2019
Tentative Agreements reached for National Professional Postal Nurses (NPPN) and the Information Technology/Accounting Services (IT/AS) units.
The American Postal Workers Union and U.S. Postal Service have come to tentative terms on Collective Bargaining...
November 19, 2019
The APWU, Still Fighting for the Rights and Wages We Deserve
(This article first appeared in the November/December 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) I must start...
November 18, 2019
Arbitration Hearings and Testimony Conclude
The American Postal Workers Union and United States Postal Service management conducted a final three-day session of...
November 15, 2019
Message from the President: Final Arbitration Hearings
President Dimondstein's fifth update on the interest arbitration hearings for our new union contract. We just completed...
About the Industrial Relations Department
The Director of Industrial Relations is charged with responsibility for labor management, national negotiations, mechanization, safety and health for all divisions of the union, and the administration of the collective bargaining agreement.
The Industrial Relations Department's responsibilities and duties include the following activities:
- Administration of the contract negotiation process
- Interpretation and application of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (specifically Articles 1 through 36)
- Appointment and payment of arbitrators
- National-level grievances and disputes
- Compliance with arbitration awards
- Safety and Health
- Appeals to the "Administrative Dispute Resolution Process" (e.g., Step Promotion, Lump Sum, National Level Settlement)
- Family Medical Leave Act appeals and related issues
- Unfair Labor Practice charges
- Legal issues such as Privacy Act, Merit System Protection Board (MSPB) law and procedure, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Veterans Preference Act
- Collective Bargaining Reports (CBRs)
- Administration of computerized systems concerning the grievance-arbitration process and other provisions of the National Agreement through APWU Search, the Arbitration Payment and Scheduling System (APSS), the Step 3 Case Administration System (Step 3 CAS) and the Step 4 Case Administration System (Step 4 CAS)
- Tracking and reporting on the Consumer Price Index
- Research of arbitration, court and administrative decisions