Protecting the Work

(This article appeared in the November/December 2025 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)

The 47th Motor Vehicle Service Director’s Conference commenced on Monday, Oct. 6.

Motor Vehicle Service (MVS) officers, stewards, and members from across the country gathered to discuss, debate, and address the many issues faced by both the craft and the APWU.

One of the major issues we discussed during the conference was the fight to protect MVS Craft work. The USPS “Delivering for America (DFA)” plan derives much of the estimated savings from transportation of mail, including the reduction and, in some areas, elimination of evening closeouts at associate offices. A major concern (and contractual violation) is the transportation of bulk mail by postal employees not in the MVS Craft to and from various post offices and processing and delivery centers.

The transportation of bulk quantities of mail is exclusively assigned to the MVS Craft operators.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Postal Service and the APWU regarding “General Principals on Sorting and Delivery Centers,” bullet point number 4, reaffirms this rule:

“Bulk quantities of mail transported between mail processing facilities and S&DCs will be performed by Postal Vehicle Service employees unless such work was previously subcontracted. In addition, the transportation of bulk quantities of mail to/from an S&DC to/from the retail units/box sections that letter carriers were removed from will be performed by PVS employees. The parties will continue to meet for the purpose of discussing bringing subcontracted PVS work ‘in house.’”

This MOU restates the rules and regulations of the transportation of bulk mail. It is the responsibility of the MVS Craft to enforce the contract and protect our work. In locations where mail is being transported, which is virtually every Post Office and facility throughout the network, we must document what craft is transporting the mail if not performed by Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) or Highway Contract Routes (HCRs). In large part, this will be done by our MVS Division directors and stewards, getting on the docks and documenting who is bringing the mail in and how much. This is the best way to monitor and protect our craft work. If a letter carrier is transporting mail between the Sorting and Distribution Center (S&DC) and the spoke offices that are not from their prescribed route, a grievance must be fi led. These investigations will obviously need time to be thoroughly investigated and documented, under the provisions of Articles 17.3 and 31.3, steward time and requests for information, which will be essential in determining whether violations exist.

The MVS Division had an excellent turnout of both seasoned and new union representatives in attendance at the All-Craft Conference, which is an excellent opportunity to network with others who may be experiencing similar concerns and problems. It is also a great opportunity to engage with APWU national officers. The MVS Division held a full day of training on a range of subject matters, including how to combat subcontracting in PVS and the Vehicle Maintenance Facility (VMF), as well as training on annual bidding, hold downs, maximization, and crossing occupational groups.

That Monday night, as is tradition, the MVS Craft held our Motor Vehicle Banquet that included dinner and entertainment. This was a very well-attended event by all crafts.

The MVS General Session was held on Tuesday, Oct. 7, with reports by the national directors and each regional NBA.

On Wednesday, there was training on DOT procedures and all MVS Craft job descriptions. The training was well received, and national officers answered all inquiries by attendees who lined up to ask questions. We hope all of the attendees received the tools and guidance we provided and were anxious to return home with the newfound knowledge and training on how to protect MVS jobs and work when a contractual violation occurs.

“Keep on Truckin’” ■