Union Denounces USPS Attempts to 'Work the Refs'

American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus has denounced efforts by the Postal Service to influence the outcome of contract negotiations by issuing demands in public forums.

“It is extremely disappointing that the Postal Service is attempting to circumvent the bargaining process through the issuance of demands in the media,” Burrus said.

“Unfortunately, the Postal Service has begun posturing and manipulating numbers,” the union president said. “Management is ‘working the refs’ in an effort to influence the outcome of contract negotiations.”

“It is troubling that the USPS has chosen to recite the false and misleading claim that the pay and benefits of postal employees amount to 78 percent of total revenue – as though that figure is relevant to APWU negotiations. Contract negotiations are ill-served by such public misstatements,” he said.

“The wages and benefits of the employees represented by the APWU have been reduced from 28 percent of revenue in 2003 to 23 percent in 2010, a number that is dramatically lower than that cited by the Postal Service,” Burrus said.

“The Postal Service’s deceptive figures must not be used as a barometer for collective bargaining,” he said.