Pay Raise Set for Nov. 16

APWU-represented postal employees will receive an increase in their annual salaries effective Nov. 16, which will be reflected in paychecks dated Dec. 6. The increase will apply to employees covered by the APWU-USPS 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Beginning Nov. 16, career employees will receive an increase of 1.5 percent of the salary that was in place on the effective date of the agreement. PSEs (who are not eligible for cost-of-living increases) will receive a raise of 2.5 percent.

The increase marks the third pay raise for career employees this year. Cost-of-Living Adjustments totaling more than $1,100 dollars were implemented in September and March. The upcoming raise and cost-of-living adjustments were negotiated during bargaining in 2010 and 2011 for the 2010-2015 contract.

Under the terms of the APWU Constitution, an across-the- board contractual salary increase results in a small dues adjustment. Dues for career employees will be increased by 57 cents per pay period, with 38 cents going to locals and state organizations and 19 cents going to the national union.

Dues for PSEs will be increased by 35 cents per pay period, with 23 cents going to locals and states and 12 cents going to the national union. Updated pay scales were included in the November-December edition of The American Postal Worker magazine. Click here to view the new pay scales.

Clerks in Small Offices to Receive Back Pay if Supervisors Worked in Excess of Contractual Limits

In a decision issued Oct. 16, Arbitrator Shyam Das ruled that APWU members are entitled to retroactive pay for time postmasters or supervisors performed craft duties in excess of limits outlined in the contract.

“This decision is an important victory for the APWU,” said Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris. “We have fought long and hard to protect jobs and increase work hours for clerks, especially in small offices. This decision will result in back pay for employees who were denied work opportunities as a result of contract violations.” President Cliff Guffey also praised the ruling. “This is one more example of the union working for you,” he said.

The dispute arose when the APWU sought a monetary remedy for contract violations that occurred between May 23, 2011, when the contract was signed, and March 29, 2013, when Arbitrator Das sustained a related grievance. In the March decision, Das agreed with the union’s interpretation of the so-called “Global Settlement,” which is part of the 2010-2015 contract. The Global Settlement stipulates that postmasters may perform up to 15 hours per week in Level 18 post offices and up to 25 Hours in Level 15 and Level 16 offices.

Das agreed with the union’s interpretation of the Global Settlement, ruling that all time postmasters or supervisors spend staffing a window must be counted toward the limits. In the absence of a clerk, all time a window is open must be counted, regardless of what other duties they may perform during that period, he said.

Following the March award, the APWU and management were unable to agree on the appropriate remedy for the violations that had already occurred.

At the hearing on the remedy, the USPS argued against a retroactive monetary award, claiming that no actual contract violations had been established.

Once again, Arbitrator Das rejected management’s position, noting that during the period in question “the union and the employees it represents did not get the benefit of its bargain with the Postal Service.”

The union asked the arbitrator to instruct management to provide the APWU with documentation necessary to establish that violations occurred. Das ordered the USPS to provide the records within 90 days of the award.