Industrial Relations
The Industrial Relations Department plays a major role in our organization's ongoing struggle for better wages and improved working conditions and benefits.


The Industrial Relations Department plays a major role in our organization's ongoing struggle for better wages and improved working conditions and benefits.
The Industrial Relations Department’s responsibilities and duties include the following activities:
– Administration of the contract-negotiation process
– Interpretation and application of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (Articles 1–36)
– Collective Bargaining Reports (CBRs)
– Tracking and reporting on the Consumer Price Index
– Appointment and payment of arbitrators
– National-level grievances and disputes
– Compliance with arbitration awards
– Appeals to the Administrative Dispute Resolution Process (Step Promotion, Lump Sum, National-Level Settlement)
– Administration of grievance-arbitration systems:
– APWU Search
– Arbitration Payment and Scheduling System (APSS)
– Step 3 Case Administration System (Step 3 CAS)
– Step 4 Case Administration System (Step 4 CAS)
– Safety and health oversight for all divisions
– Mechanization issues impacting safety and work standards
– Unfair-Labor-Practice charges
– Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) appeals and related matters
– Privacy Act issues
– Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) law and procedure
– Veterans Preference Act compliance
– Research of arbitration, court, and administrative decisions
– Labor-management studies and best-practice development
The previously adopted labor management resolutions passed the delegates to the national conventions up through 2022 has been posted. This resource should be used by state and local organizations when preparing convention resolutions for submission.
APWU national officers are continuing to advocate for members who have had had their wages stolen in the recent online fraud attack on USPS systems. Below is an update on management’s introduction of multifactor authentication (MFA) for LiteBlue log ins.
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