Highlights of Union Contract Arbitration Award

The big news is in – 200,000 postal workers represented by the APWU have a new union contract!

On July 8th, Arbitrator Stephen Goldberg issued his arbitration award that sets the wages, hours and conditions of employment in our new union contract.  This award concluded a two-year struggle for “Good Service, Good Jobs, Good Contract” that included contract negotiations, mediation, arbitration hearings – and solidarity actions on work floors and in communities around the country.

“We, as a union, should be proud of the results. We made some real progress on most of our major goals,” APWU President Mark Dimondstein said. “We secured real wage increases, strenghtened job security, defended our COLA and no lay-off protections, and enhanced the career and full-time workforce. We also succeeded in stopping management concessionary demands for increased percentages of the non-career workforce and a new lower tier of career employees.” 

Below is a summary of the main highlights and significant changes contained in the Collective Bargaining Agreement award. A full arbitration award can be found on the union website: www.apwu.org.

Career Employee General Wage Increases
There will be across-the-board pay increases of 3.8% for career employees over the life of the Agreement:
1.2% effective November 14, 2015 (Retroactive)
1.3% effective November 26, 2016
1.3% effective November 25, 2017

Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA)
The COLA for career employees is maintained under the current formula. Cost-of-living adjustments will be made in March and September of each year of the contract.

PSE Wage Increases:
PSEs (who do not receive COLA raises) will receive wage increases as follows:
•    2.2% effective Nov.14, 2015 (Retroactive)
•    2.3% effective Nov. 26, 2016
•    2.3% effective Nov. 25, 2017
In addition to these general wage increases, PSE wages will be increased by fifty cents per hour over the life of the contract as follows:
$0.09 per hour effective Nov. 14 2015 
$0.20 per hour effective May 13, 2017
$0.21 per hour effective May 26, 2018

No Lay-Off Protections for Career Employees
The no lay-off protections of Article 6, for employees with more than six years of service, remain in full force. In addition, no lay-off protection is extended to all career employees who are on the rolls as of July 8, 2016. 

Job Security Provisions

• There will be no new subcontracting of PVS driving work during the life of the contract.
• For a minimum of the first year of the contract, the Postal Service will not expand contract stations, village post offices and approved shipper programs. (The fight over Staples is not affected by this moratorium.)
• There will be no further plant closings and consolidations until at least April 2017.

                                                        
Workforce Structure

• All Maintenance Craft PSEs will be converted “in place” to career within 60 days of the Award. Thereafter the PSE category of employee will be eliminated in the Maintenance Craft. 
• All Motor Vehicle Service Craft PSEs will be converted to career - either full-time or PTF - within 60 days of the Award. Thereafter, the PSE category of employee will be eliminated in the MVS Craft. However, in the future PSEs could be authorized as part of a package to bring back currently subcontracted MVS work. 
• PTF employees are reintroduced into the MVS craft, not to exceed 20% of the MVS career workforce.
• Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) duty assignments are eliminated in Function 1 (mail processing) and Function 3 (MVS) and will be reposted as traditional full-time duty assignments. NTFTs cannot be introduced into the Maintenance Craft. Current four day a week/ ten-hour a day duty assignments may remain in place  or be created.                                                                 
• Non-Traditional Full-Time employees in Function 4 (Retail) are now capped at 8%, excluding NTFT assignments in POStPlan offices. (Previously there was no cap.) The rules concerning schedules and postings in the NTFT memo remain. However, the restriction on assigning mandatory overtime to non-OTDL employees is narrowed from installation wide to the facility.

Veteran Hiring
Preference Eligible Veteran hiring will be greatly enhanced with the creation of the all-career workforce in the Maintenance and MVS Crafts where veterans will now be hired directly into career positions.

Career Employee Health Benefits
The Health Plans and benefits for career employees remain in effect. Over the next three years, the employees’ portion of the health premium will increase 1% a year. For the APWU Consumer Driven Health plan, the Postal Service will continue to pay 95% of the premium. 

PSE Health Benefits and Holiday Leave Pay 

• PSEs will now receive pay on six major holidays: New Years, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. (PSEs had no holiday leave.)
• The number of hours paid for the holiday will vary by size of office: 200 Man year offices – 8 hours; POSTPlan offices – 4 hours; all other offices – 6 hours. 
• PSEs who work on a holiday will have the same option as career employees to have their annual leave balance credited in lieu of holiday leave pay.     The 75% contribution of the USPS to the premiums of the APWU Consumer Driven Health Plan, available after one year of service, remains in effect. In addition, PSEs will now have access to a USPS-sponsored health plan upon employment with the USPS contributing $125 per pay period. 

Limits on Excessing
During the life of the CBA, no employees can be excessed beyond a 50 mile radius.

Enhanced and Expanded Services
Parties established a joint Service Enhancement and Innovation Task Force. 

Uniform and Work Clothes for Eligible Career Employees:
Allowances for uniform and work clothing programs will be increased:
•    Effective May 2016, increase of 5%
•    Effective May 21, 2017, increase of 2.5%
•    Effective May 21, 2018, increase of 2.5%

Eligible PSE Employees
PSEs employed in retail for the first time will receive an annual uniform allowance for three shirts, subject to the normal eligibility requirements.

Clerk Craft

• Incorporates successful MOU “Re: Filling of Residual Vacancies” into the contract.
• New pecking order for full-time vacancies allows for a possible PTF transfer and conversion of PSEs within a 50-mile radius.
• New pecking order for PTF vacancies provides for conversion of PSEs within the installation, the transfer of PTFs within 50 miles and conversion of PSEs within a 50-mile radius.
• PTFs can express a preference to work outside their installation.
• One-time conversions of all Clerk Craft PSEs in 200 work year installations with over 2.5 years of service as of July 8, 2016. 
• New language in Article 37.5.D that streamlines process for PSE conversion to career.
• Employees can now exercise retreat rights without regard to level.

Maintenance Craft

• All Maintenance Craft PSEs converted to career and the PSE category eliminated.
• Maintenance Jobs MOU eliminated except for provisions related to pending disputes over “Unit Clarification.
• New provisions for ET-11 issues including a nationwide PAR for ET-11s and negotiations for LMOUs with MTSC.
• Retained the Subcontracting Cleaning Services MOU with entire installation in the 18K sq. ft. formula.Retained the 50-mile rule on excessing.

Motor Vehicle Craft

• No new subcontracting of PVS driving work during the life of the contract.
• All MVS Craft PSEs converted to career and the PSE category eliminated except when part of package to bring in contracted work.
• The evaluation of 8,000 HCR routes for possible return to PVS continues.
• The Award provides for the return of PTFs with a 20% cap. 
• All Full-Time Regular Motor Vehicle Craft employees – not just operators – will use their seniority for vacation scheduling.
• Bids for Examination Specialist (SP-2-188) and Vehicle Operations – Maintenance Assistant (SP-2-195) are open to all full-time regular MVS employees.