Unusual Areas of Agreement

The Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation, a conservative think tank, and the APWU rarely see eye-to-eye; but a recent exchange of letters between IRET Senior Economist Michael Schuyler and union President William Burrus found some common ground.

The exchange began when Burrus praised an article by Schuyler “for the thorough review of the state of the United States Postal Service, and the comparison to private companies of a similar size. Your analysis challenges the popular view that government agencies are inherently inefficient,” Burrus wrote.

The union president took exception, however, to “generalizations about labor issues,” including the “idea that binding arbitration places the Postal Service at an extreme disadvantage.”

“The other misconception of your article involves layoffs,” Burrus said. “You correctly point out that the collective bargaining agreements limit management’s right to layoff protected employees. What you and others conveniently ignore is the fact that more than 100,000 postal workers who perform craft duties are subject to lay off, no different than their private-sector counterparts.”

Schuyler returned the union president’s praise, commenting that “Your presentations are always admirable for their clarity and forcefulness. I’ve also been impressed because you sometimes make points that not only defy conventional wisdom but are correct. For example, in 2003, you were one of the few people who unequivocally and vigorously insisted that mail use would soon rebound from the recession, 9/11, and the anthrax attacks. The volume numbers from 2004-2006 vindicated your prediction.”

But the economist took issue with an important point: Schuyler questioned whether the 100,000 postal employees who lack protection against layoff — who he assumed were “mostly non-bargaining employees” — could be replaced with craft employees who enjoy job security.

“For this to succeed there would need to be considerable substitutability in terms of work schedules, job assignments, and skills between workers with and without layoff protection.”

In fact, the 100,000 employees who are vulnerable to layoffs are not limited to “non-bargaining” personnel. They include casuals, Transitional Employees, as well as the unprotected employees in the crafts represented by the APWU, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, non-career Rural Letter Carriers, and Postmaster Reliefs.