Union Protests Assignment of ET Duties

 The union has initiated a dispute at the national level (Case # Q06T-4Q-C-07270988) protesting the Postal Service’s decision to use contractors and other non-Maintenance Craft employees to install upgraded computer software on PARS machines. The duties in question are the responsibility of Electronic Technicians, the union contends. The national office is asking locals to investigate conditions at their facilities and supply the national union with documentation it acquires to support the grievance.

The case arose April 11, 2007, when the Postal Service issued Software Modification Orders 022-07 and 023-07, assigning software installation tasks to contract employees and non-bargaining unit IT employees. The union filed the dispute on Aug. 20, 2007.

In the dispute, the union notes that Electronics Technicians have historically performed the work in question. Furthermore, the work required to install PARS software is included in the Standard Position Description of Electronics Technician; in fact, it is part of the core duties and responsibilities.  

The remedy requested is for the Postal Service to return the work to the bargaining unit and to compensate the appropriate members of the ET bargaining unit for the work performed by contract employees and non-bargaining unit IT employees.

According to the Postal Service, the work in question cannot be performed by Electronics Technicians due to the number of machines that require upgrades, the length of time needed to install the new software, the difficulty of the work, and problems encountered when other software upgrades were installed.

The union is asking local officers to investigate who is performing the work in their facilities and, if it is being done by anyone other than career Maintenance Electronics Technicians, to forward the information to Maintenance Division Assistant Director Gary Kloepfer, so that it may be added to the grievance file.

Local officers will be able to acquire information through the Maintenance Support Office. Officers should find out who has performed the work, the date, and the length of time spent performing the work. Software Maintenance Orders 022-07 and 023-07 require the completion of Form 4805 and the recording of the work in the eMARS program at the completion of the software installation. The information also must be stored in the Bulletin Completion File at each site.