More Questions and Answers On the Tentative Agreement

Several questions have been posed on the APWU's Facebook page regarding the Tentative Agreement for a new contract. Below, union officers address questions regarding Clerk Craft positions in small offices.

Question: Will part-time flexibles be converted to full-time regular? The Tentative Agreement talks about full-time flexible and non-traditional assignments (page 190).

Answer: All part-time flexibles in Level 21-and-above post offices will be converted to full-time. These full-time assignments may be traditional full-time regular assignments or non-traditional full-time assignments (NTFTs). A limited number (10 percent) of full-time assignments in retail (Function 4) could be posted as full-time flexible positions. The Tentative Agreement amends Article 37.3.A.1 to include the following: “Every effort will be made to create desirable duty assignments from all available work hours for career employees to bid.” [Emphasis added.]

While the schedules of FTFs can be changed via a posting on the preceding Wednesday, the daily and weekly work-hour guarantees would remain in place. In any case, each of the full-time assignments will have the benefit of the posted work-hour guarantee instead of two hours per pay period – the guarantee PTFs currently have.

Question: In Level 15 offices postmasters may perform only 25 hrs of bargaining unit work per week, and this will effectively settle national-level grievance. I had a grievance attached to the national grievance because a postmaster was performing bargaining unit work. Does this mean I will get my hours back? Management is attempting to change the level of the office due to Delivery Unit Optimization, but the contract stipulates that if level changes during contract, management must still abide by the standards of original level throughout contract.

Answer: The settlement (p. 186 of the Tentative Agreement) resolves the national grievance and sets the standard for Level 15 offices. Grievances that were held pending settlement of the national case should be resolved in accordance with the standard. If the postmaster in your office has been doing more than 25 hours of bargaining unit work per week your locally-filed grievance should be sustained. Any hours beyond 25 should be returned to the Clerk Craft and affected clerks should be made whole.

While management could downgrade an office now as the result of DUO or other changes, the change will not affect the hours the Postmaster is permitted to work. (While the parties had initially tentatively agreed to an exception for offices which fell below Level 15, that agreement was never reached because the USPS was ultimately unable to comply with thequid pro quo.) [This answer was updated 07/14/11.]

Question: If Post Office Assistant time is eliminated, will clerks get higher-level pay for Saturdays, or all the time — even when postmaster is on vacation?

Answer: Work on Saturdays or other days spent relieving the postmaster would be the responsibility of the Lead Clerk (PS-7).

Question: Can traditional full- time assignments (eight-hour days, five days per week) be converted to non-traditional assignments?

Answer: Management can repost occupied traditional full-time assignments as non-traditional assignments as service needs require; however, in doing so, management will have to make certain that the new assignments are attractive enough so that somebody bids them. No current full-time employee can be involuntarily assigned to an assignment of less than 40 hours or more than 44 hours in a service week.

Question: I was excessed in 2009 and moved 200 miles from home. Can I get back home with the new 30-hour job? I have been looking on eReasign for two years.

Answer: Any new or vacant full-time assignments (traditional or non-traditional) created in your home office will have to be posted for bid. Provided you exercised your retreat rights and continue to maintain them, you will be eligible to return to any posted vacancy based on your seniority.

Question: What will happen to part-time regulars who were excessed from Level 21 offices, where part-time flexibles will be converted to full time? Will I have retreat rights?

Answer: You will be converted to full-time. Provided you maintained your retreat rights, you will be able to exercise retreat rights to full-time vacancies in your home office, competing with the newly converted part-time flexibles using your seniority versus theirs.