Information Technology and Accounting Services Negotiations

The Support Services Division negotiates several different contracts for postal and private-sector workers. The largest contract we lead in negotiations is the Information Technology and Accounting Services (IT/AS) contract, which covers nearly 1,000 bargaining unit postal workers. The current IT/AS contract expires May 17, 2025; we provided the Postal Service with an intent to bargain notice on Jan. 22, satisfying our contractual obligation to notify management no less than 90 days or more than 120 days before the expiration of the agreement.

For the upcoming IT/AS negotiations, the bargaining committee, which consists of national and local Support Services officers, met in the fall of 2024 to discuss proposals. Local leaders conveyed the most important issues that they would like to see addressed in our next contract based on input from their respective members. Our initial bargaining committee sessions were productive, and we will continue to meet to discuss additional proposals for negotiations, which are tentatively scheduled to begin in March.

This year, the APWU and USPS will also bargain to modify the IT/AS Telework Pilot Program agreements. These programs have been successful and bene cial to the bargaining unit and management. The ability to work from home has created a better work-life balance for workers by eliminating the commute time. Not having as many workers in the facility has also undoubtedly created energy savings for management with less equipment being utilized.

There has been concern from telework and remote workers in IT/AS and The Human Resource Shared Service Center (HRSSC) about the Return to In-Person Work Memorandum issued by President Trump and how it impacts postal workers. The memorandum issued by President Trump does not affect the postal workers who participate in telework or remote work. The Postal Service is not affected by executive orders or memorandums from the Executive Branch, unless speci cally cited. It will be critically important to remember postal workers are not directly impacted by executive orders or memorandums issued by the President for federal workers during the current administration. The APWU anticipates that the Project 2025 agenda will play a role in this administration, especially the segments of that plan that attack government employees.

Continued Negotiations

The Support Services Division continues to work with the National Negotiating Committee on the main APWU and USPS collective bargaining agreement. These negotiations have slowed since the contract expired in September 2024. The progress for Article 40 Operating Services and Article 41 has been frustrating and disappointing. The minor improvements we proposed in those articles have been denied by management. Currently, Article 40 does not contain non-bargaining unit detail language that prevents management from detailing craft workers to management positions for extended periods of time, leaving the craft employees’ work to be done by other craft employees. All other crafts under the main agreement have this protective language. It is reasonable to expect all crafts under the same agreement to have the same protections and rights. Management has not agreed to the proposal, nor provided legitimate explanations for why the proposal is not acceptable to them.

We are still negotiating the HRSSC agreement, which expired in October. We have made progress with the non-economic proposals and are currently working on the economics. These negotiations began very slowly, but through persistence and perseverance, we have been making progress on our proposals. We are looking forward to continuing and nishing these negotiations for our members.

We are also still negotiating with Albuquerque Mail Service (AMS) for the rst contract of its newly formed bargaining unit created in early 2024. We have had productive negotiations sessions with contributions from the Albuquerque Local 380 leadership and AMS bargaining committee. Negotiations have been delayed by the company’s inability to provide dates. We will continue to bargain to achieve a tentative agreement for our AMS drivers. ■