APWU Representatives Gain Access to USPS PolicyNet

The APWU has reached agreement with the Postal Service on a method for granting union representatives at the state and local levels direct access to USPS PolicyNet. 

PolicyNet is the portion of the Postal Service intranet (Blue) that contains handbooks, manuals, Management Instructions, publications, Memorandums of Policy, forms, posters, notices, Vehicle Modification Orders, and Vehicle Maintenance Bulletins. 

The agreement on the method of providing access to PolicyNet is a result of ongoing discussions related to implementing the Memorandum of Understanding on “Electronic Access to Information,” which is part of the 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

In accordance with the agreement, “every certified APWU representative has been authorized by USPS headquarters to be granted access” to PolicyNet, said Greg Bell, the union’s Director of Industrial Relations. 

Authorized union representatives must complete a form, APWU Representative Request for PolicyNet VPN Access, in order to obtain access. (VPN stands for Virtual Private Network, which is the means by which non-postal computers can connect to authorized portions of the USPS internal network.) Access granted as a result of this agreement provides access to PolicyNet only, and only from external (non-postal) computers. It does not grant access to Blue or to PolicyNet from postal-owned computers connected to Blue. 

The form, which was agreed to by the union and management “is easy and self-explanatory,” Bell said. After union representatives complete the form, they should submit it to the manager of their reporting unit. 

“The Postal Service has sent instructions to Area and District managers notifying them that APWU representatives are to be granted access,” he said. 

“This agreement is a significant accomplishment,” Bell said. “It is another step in our ongoing efforts to gain access to electronic records necessary to process grievances or to determine whether a grievance exists.” APWU National Business Agents and other National Officers were granted access to PolicyNet last year. 

Electronic access for APWU representatives “is vitally important because the Postal Service is moving more and more in the direction of electronic record-keeping,” Bell noted. “The MOU re: Electronic Access to Information provides for electronic inspection and review of documents by the APWU. It is a solid statement of principle on which the union can build as the Postal Service moves into the electronic age.”