Three New Signoffs in the Clerk Craft

APWU Clerk Craft officers and the Postal Service signed three documents on July 29:  They agreed to a new set of Questions & Answers on the POStPlan, Filling Residual Vacancies, and Travel; signed a Step 4 Settlement on Postal Support Employees (PSEs) staffing Level 4 RMPOs (Remotely Managed Post Offices) working outside their installation, and signed an addendum Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Peak Season Exception Periods and the use of annuitants.

POStPlan, Filling Residual Vacancies, and Travel
The APWU and the Postal Service reached agreement on a series of Questions & Answers regarding POStPlan, Filling Residual Vacancies, and Travel. Among the 17 items, they agreed to the following:

• Former postmasters who convert to the Clerk Craft in their RMPO on October 1, 2016, “
• “Clerk Craft PSEs who have already served one full term as a PSE will not be required to serve a probationary period as required by Article 12, Section 1, after conversion to career.”
• The parties strengthened their commitment regarding the application of Article 12, Principles of Seniority, Posting and Reassignments, of the contract in POStPlan offices.

Step 4 Settlement on PSEs Working Outside the Level 4 RMPOs
In a Step 4 settlement, the parties reaffirmed that the Level 6 PSEs staffing Level 4 RMPOs may not be utilized outside their APO (Administrative Post Office) installation, except on a limited, last-resort basis to staff Sunday package service hubs. A specific pecking order must be exhausted prior to working the PSEs outside of their installation.

MOU Regarding Peak Season Exception Periods and the Use of Annuitants
The parties agreed to a “one time modification to change the 2016 peak exception period in Function 1 from November 12, 2016 through January 6, 2017.  In Function Four, HCAs [Holiday Career Assistants] will be hired from November 12 through December 23, 2016 or November 26, 2016 through January 6, 2017.  This does not extend the length of the exception periods.”

In addition, the parties agreed:

• The parties reaffirm that there never was an agreement to create and post so-called “Holiday PSEs,” and the Standard Position Description for a PSE (Holiday Work/Term) will be removed from BQnet.
• Letters will be sent to eligible annuitants, notifying them of the Peak Exception Period (PEP) opportunity, no later than August 1 of each year.
• The Postal Service will provide the APWU at the national level with the number of annuitants hired and hours utilized for each week of the exception period (this is in addition to the requirement to provide HCA numbers.)