Arbitration Award on Clerk Craft Jobs MOU Results in $67 Million Back Pay to APWU-Represented Employees

The Clerk Craft has finalized an implementation agreement with the Postal Service relating to the nationallevel award from Arbitrator Stephen Goldberg in Case #Q10C-4Q-C-15174956. Goldberg ruled that the Postal Service violated the Clerk Craft Jobs MOU by delaying the creation of certain jobs. He ordered a make-whole remedy for those employees who were eventually awarded the affected Training Technician and HR Clerk duty assignments.

Below is a summary of the agreement. To view the full agreement, visit apwu.org/clerk-division. The MOU is to be utilized solely to comply with the referenced award.

• Employees identified to receive make-whole remedy are bargaining unit employees represented by APWU. 
• Pay rates applied to remedy based on 2018 pay scale for Level 6 HR Clerk, Level 7 Training Technician, Level 6 career clerk weighted average wage, and Level 6 career clerk entry step.
• Out-of-schedule premium pay is the difference between employee’s work schedule, hours, and nonschedule days, prior to being awarded the position and work schedule, hours and non-scheduled days of new position. The total number of hours is capped at 40 hours per service week.
• Grade-level differences based on employee’s grade level in former position and the grade level of new position.
• Former PTFs and PSEs converted and placed into residual vacancies identified in vacancy chain received additional compensation up to 40 hours per service week. The average number of hours is based on the eight weeks immediately preceding employee’s conversion and multiplied by the appropriate number of weeks for relevant time period.
• Employees are only paid for first placement in vacancy chain. • Employees with no grade change or out-of-schedule hours are considered made-whole and will not receive additional compensation.
• Monetary remedy up to allowable limit will be paid through GATS and included in future paycheck. Payments annotated on payroll journal as Code “40-36,” which indicates a lump sum payment.
• Monetary remedies in excess of allowable limit paid by paper check sent to the mailing address on record for employee’s current finance number.
• Payments to former employees paid by paper check - mailed to former employee’s office of record. Employee’s address of record will be printed on check. If former employee has not made arrangements to pick up the check from management at the office, check mailed to the former employee’s address of record. The former employee may contact the manager or postmaster of their former office of record to pick up check or to have it mailed to former employee.
• If checks are returned to the Eagan, MN Disbursing Branch, they will mail it to address of record
• Former employees now deceased - manual review of employee’s beneficiary paperwork conducted to ensure all required paperwork is in order. Following review, check will be mailed to beneficiary on file.
• Checks returned as undeliverable - former employees should contact Accounting Help Desk at 1-866-974-2733, station manager, or postmaster, who should take appropriate action for reissuance or release of check. 
• Entry of payments is a manual process and should be paid within three full pay periods from signing of agreement. Inquiries regarding non-receipt of a check should be directed to Accounting Help Desk at 1-866-974-2733 only after expiration of the three full pay periods.
• Normal withholdings deducted as appropriate from amount of payment.
• Amount of back pay based on data furnished by USPS and examined by APWU for due diligence, including date of bid placement and employee's non-schedule days and work hours before and after entering relevant duty assignments.
• Disputes regarding implementation of agreement referred to Administrative Dispute Resolution Process (ADRP) at headquarters level.

I would like to thank Clerk Division Assistant Director, Sam Lisenbe and Michael Barrett of the Buffalo Area Local for all their hard work in finalizing this implementation agreement. ■