THE BULLETIN BOARD
December 2012
[December 10th]23,600 Postal Employees Take Buyout
excerpted an article by Sean Reilly at FederalTimes.com
A huge U.S. Postal Service early-out offer is attracting thousands more takers than an identical pitch three years ago.
As of Nov. 28, about 23,600 full-time postal workers had signed up for the offer, which combines a $15,000 buyout with an early retirement package for longer-serving employees, according to a spokeswoman for the American Postal Workers Union. Virtually all of the approximately 188,000 clerks, mechanics and other employees represented by the APWU are eligible.
When the Postal Service dangled the same offer in 2009 to employees represented by both the APWU and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, only about 18,000 accepted.
Of the total pool of employees eligible for the buyout, about 115,000 — or more than 60 percent — can retire now or qualify for the early retirement package, which allows workers to begin drawing a pension if they are at least 50 years old with a minimum of 20 years on the job or at any age with at least 25 years' service.
A USPS spokesman declined to confirm this week how many employees had accepted the offer so far, saying the agency will provide a count only after the Jan. 4 deadline passes.
While the Postal Service once rarely offered buyouts, it has resorted to them repeatedly in recent years to cut labor costs by enticing older employees in particular to leave. As of the end of September, the Postal Service, which lost almost $16 billion in fiscal 2012, had about 528,000 career employees. As part of a plan to regain long-term financial stability, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe wants to cut that workforce to 402,000 by 2016.
Read the entire article on the APWU.org website
[December 5th]Arbitrator Sustains Union's Safety and Health Grievance
excerpted from APWU Web News Article #147-12
In a ruling issued Dec. 3, Arbitrator Shyam Das sustained the unions position that Article 14 of the National Agreement, Safety and Health, is "a joint process for addressing safety and ergonomic issues'" and that "charging the union for information it reasonably requests in good faith to fulfill its joint role and obligations... is not consistent with the overall structure and tenor of Article 14."
He ordered the Postal Service "to provide information reasonably requested by the union in good faith to fulfill its role and obligations under Article 14 ... without exacting payment."
"Many locals have voiced frustration with the Postal Service's refusal or failure to cooperate on Safety and Health matters. This award will ensure that locals can actively pursue all potential unsafe working conditions and/or hazards with management," said APWU Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris.
Read the entire article on the APWU.org website
[December 1st]Online Sellers Favor USPS
Online sellers favor the U.S. Postal Service, with a recent EcommerceBytes survey showing an overwhelming number of respondents (91%) using the service most often.
However, many respondents reported using multiple carriers; 97% of survey-takers said they had used the USPS in the last year; 40% had used UPS; and 27% had used FedEx over the past year.
Online sellers cited a number of reasons for using USPS, including low cost, convenience, reliability and the free supplies the postal service offers.
The survey also asked sellers about which shipping services they used. USPS Click 'n Ship and online marketplace label-printing services were popular, with other services such as Stamps.com, Dymo Endicia, ShipRush, Shipworks, and ShipStation also cited.
Read the entire article on the EcommerceBytes.com website.
[December 1st]APWU Expands Electronic Grievance Pilot
excerpted from APWU Web News Article #141-12
The APWU is expanding a pilot program for the Electronic Grievance System (EGS), APWU Director of Industrial Relations Mike Morris has announced. Two hundred APWU locals are currently participating in the program, which is the result of an August agreement with the USPS.
"We are expanding the pilot to allow additional locals to participate through November of 2013 at no cost to locals," Morris said.
"Once the pilot is complete, locals will have to pay a small fee each month to use the system," said Idowu Balogun, Maintenance Division Rep-at-Large, who chairs the committee overseeing the project. The fee is expected to be less than $50 per month. "The monthly cost to the APWU is a flat fee, so the more locals that participate, the lower the fee will be for each local," Balogun explained.
Using the Electronic Grievance System, locals can file Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 grievance appeals electronically. Appeals can be submitted grievances via email or by mailing printing forms. The system allows authorized stewards and officers to track grievances at every step from any desktop computer or smart-phone. It also permits users to add scanned documents to electronic grievance files. And because the system is “cloud-based,” there is no need to purchase or maintain expensive servers.
Read the entire article on the APWU.com website.
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