APWU Reaches Agreement on an Updated RI-399 Process

After decades of jurisdictional disputes, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) reached agreement with the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) and the Postal Service on an updated RI-399 procedure for jurisdictional work assignments to Clerks and Mail Handlers.

In a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding, the APWU improved the R1-399 dispute resolution procedures, resolved the docket of disputes, and required accurate and updated inventories to protect existing and future Clerk work.

“I want to thank Ron Suslak, Queens Area Local President and the APWU’s representative on the NDRC, whose outstanding leadership and work on RI-399 over many years led to this agreement.   I also want to thank Assistant Director (B) Clerk Division Lynn Pallas-Barber, Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman, and the APWU’s attorneys who spent months working with Brother Suslak to reach this important deal to protect Clerk work and fix a broken process,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein.  “We can now move forward with a faster and better procedure to settle disputes over Postal Service jurisdictional work assignments to the Mail Handlers.”

“The Update MOU is a historic step in the right direction on a momentous day.  This is a long overdue fix of the broken process that will unite the parties in a more positive direction dealing with jurisdictional issues,” said Assistant Clerk Director Pallas-Barber.

A summary of the changes is here and the Update MOU are available here.  Click here for a listing of the APWU National Dispute Resolution Committee. The parties will conduct joint training across the country, and the roll-out of the new procedures begins right away.

“While we are very pleased to have an improved process to address jurisdictional and crossing craft disputes, I look forward to the day when all of these jurisdictional disputes can be put behind us and all postal workers are united in one powerful union,” concluded President Dimondstein.