Clerk Craft and USPS Agree on $36 Million Remedy Settlement for Violations Regarding Sales Retention Teams

On Jan. 12, the Clerk Craft and the USPS agreed on a $36 million remedy settlement for the Postal Service’s violations regarding the Sales Retention Team (SRT) Pilot Program. The money will be distributed among Clerk Craft employees to be identified by the National APWU. The Postal Service is required to cooperate and provide information necessary for the union to identify employees eligible for payment.

Eligible employees are those in the Clerk Craft bargaining unit who were on the rolls in the installations (bid clusters), attached to the Sales Retention Team (SRT) sites, in the following locations:

• Akron, OH
• Atlanta, GA
• Boston, MA
• Dallas, TX
• Dayton, OH
• Everett, WA
• Aurora (Fox Valley), IL
• Philadelphia, PA
• Portland, OR
• Saint Petersburgh, FL
• San Francisco, CA
• Tampa, FL

The remedy settlement results from Arbitrator Stephen Goldberg’s decision on Dec. 8, 2016, holding that the Postal Service violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by assigning injured workers to perform Clerk Craft work with Sales Retention Teams without first assigning the work to the Clerk Craft.

Arbitrator Goldberg ordered the Postal Service to cease and desist these violations of the CBA found in this case, assign SRT work to Clerk Craft employees, and post SRT work assignments for bid without delay.  The Postal Service posted Customer Retention Agent duty assignments for bid by eligible Clerk Craft employees at all Customer Retention Program sites and awarded positions in March and April of 2017.

The arbitrator remanded to the parties and ordered that they “seek agreement on an appropriate financial remedy for the violations of the [Collective Bargaining] Agreement here found to have occurred.”  

This January 12 monetary settlement was finally reached as the parties prepared to present disputes over remedy to the arbitrator in a hearing scheduled for Jan. 16.

This monetary settlement reaffirms that the work performed at the Sales Retention Team sites, now called Customer Retention Program sites, is Clerk Craft work.

“This is another step forward in protecting our work that will ultimately benefit everyone in the APWU,” said President Mark Dimondstein.

“The monetary remedy shows the value of collective persistence and perseverance in the face of USPS unethical behavior,” said Clerk Craft Director Clint Burelson. “Thanks go to Assistant Clerk Craft Director Lamont Brooks, who served as case officer and negotiated the monetary settlement, Assistant Clerk Craft Director Lynn Pallas-Barber for her assistance throughout the case, and Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman for expediting the scheduling of the case.”

Click here to read the previous article on the Sales Retention Team dispute.