Rank-and-File Bargaining Committee
Approves Tentative Contract Agreement
Union Members to Vote on Ratification
APWU Web News Article #82-06, Dec. 7, 2006
The APWU Rank-and-File Bargaining Advisory Committee voted unanimously to approve the union’s tentative 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement on Dec. 7 at a meeting in Washington DC. The agreement will be sent to union members for a ratification vote, which the committee will supervise.
The Terms of the Agreement The Four-Year
Tentative Agreement Provides for the Following:
Wages, Upgrades, COLAs: There will be a 1.3 percent raise, effective Nov. 25, 2006. All APWU-represented employees will receive an upgrade of one level, effective Feb. 16, 2008, implemented by the adoption of a new pay scale; Transitional Employees (TEs) will be upgraded as well; There will be a 1.2 percent raise, effective Nov. 21, 2009; Cost-of-Living-Adjustments will be made in March and September each year, with a base index of July 2006.
Healthcare Premiums: The Postal Service will pay 95 percent of premiums for employees enrolled in the APWU Consumer Driven Health Plan, effective in 2008; to be eligible, employees must have been members of a Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) for a minimum of one year; Employees’ share of healthcare premium costs will increase 1 percent each year for employees enrolled in other plans, in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Workforce Issues: PTFs will be eliminated as a workforce category in offices of 200 man-years or more, effective Dec. 1, 2007; All Clerk Craft part-time flexible employees in offices of 200 man-years or more in the regular workforce will be converted to regular, no later than Dec. 1, 2007; Except for reporting periods 3 and 4 (December), the limit on the number of casual employees the Postal Service may hire within a district will be decreased from 15 percent to 6 percent of the total number of career employees in the district; The number of casuals that may be hired nationwide within the APWU bargaining unit will be increased from 5.9 percent to 6 percent; Except for reporting period 3 and 4, the number of casuals that may be employed within an installation in any reporting period shall not exceed 11 percent of the total number of Clerk Craft employees within that installation. (Previous contracts did not limit the number of casuals within an installation);
Full-time regular Clerk Craft employees on the Overtime Desired List (ODL) will be given priority scheduling for overtime work over casuals doing overtime work; The total number of part-time regular employees shall not exceed 2.5 percent of the total number of employees in the Clerk, Maintenance, and Motor Vehicle Crafts; In offices of 200 man years or more in the regular work force, career Clerk Craft employees will have consecutive scheduled days off, unless otherwise agreed to by the local parties;
In offices of 200 man years or more, casuals will not be assigned to Tour 2 unless there are no career Clerk Craft employees assigned to Tour 1 or Tour 3; Casuals in offices of 200 man-years or more will be limited to assignments that do not require training or testing; Casual employees will have a 360-day period of employment; Casual employment will not be considered “in lieu of full or part-time employees” in installations of 200 man-year or greater; Existing PTF maximization/conversion rules will remain unchanged for other crafts; The full-time to part-time ratio in the Motor Vehicle Craft will continue at the same percentage as exists on Nov. 20, 2006;
Retail Sales Task Force: A task force will be convened to establish a Retail Sales Associate program in commercial establishments; The program will include the union providing lists of prospective workers to the Postal Service to perform retail sales in commercial establishments; The task force will begin meeting no later than Feb. 7, 2007, and conclude by May 1, 2007;
Uniform Allowances: There will be a 2.5 percent increase in uniform and work clothes allowances in each year of the contract;
Leave, Holiday Provisions: At the option of the local parties, the union may assume responsibility for the administration of scheduling overtime, choice vacation periods, and/or holiday work; APWU-represented employees will be automatically granted up to three days of leave (from annual leave, sick leave, or leave without pay) due to the death of a family member, with additional leave subject to normal leave provisions; Up to seven days of administrative leave per year may be granted for donations of bone marrow, stem cells, and blood platelets, with up to 30 days for organ donations:
Light/Limited Duty Assignments: Management will give advance written notification to the local union president when it plans to reassign an ill or injured light- or limited-duty employee from a non-APWU-represented craft into an APWU-represented craft; The reassignment or re-employment of light- or limited-duty employees from other crafts to perform APWU bargaining unit work must be made in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of the National Agreement;
Safety and Health: A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) affirms that safe and healthful working conditions must be provided for postal employees who perform duties at non-postal facilities through engineering and administrative controls, personal protective equipment, enforcement of safe work practices, withdrawal of employees from the private-sector facility, and, if necessary, curtailment of mail;
An implementation process will be created to ensure employees in offsite locations are protected by the Postal Service’s safety and health program;
Local Implementation: The parties agree to jointly develop a model “Local Memorandum of Understanding” within 90 days from effective date of agreement, which will be applied in those offices not covered by any LMOU because of the absence of a local union structure.
Miscellaneous Topics : Social Security numbers will be removed from postal forms where the number is not necessary for processing; The parties agree to develop a means to provide for the electronic inspection and review of documents, files, and records necessary for processing grievances; When a decision has been made at the field level to subcontract bargaining unit work, the union at the local level will be given notification; Memoranda of Understanding were renewed or modified governing Deaf/Hard of Hearing; No Layoff Protection; Enhancing Career Opportunities for TEs; Crossing Craft Assignments; Annual Leave Exchange; Sick Leave for Dependent Care; Leave Sharing; PTF Reassignment Opportunities; Timeliness Regarding Step 2 Appeals; and Local Implementation
Details of the craft items will be posted
soon, along with plans for the ratification process.
______________
Offices of 200 man years or more are determined by adding all paid hours for USPS career employees in crafts represented by the APWU, the National Association of Letter Carriers, and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, and dividing by 2,080. If the result is 200 or more, the office qualifies as a 200 man-year office. The measure is based on the 12-months preceding the beginning of a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The determination remains in effect throughout the life of the agreement. Paid hours include work hours, overtime, and leave. A list of 200 man-year offices for the 2006 agreement will be posted at
www.apwu.org once it is received from the USPS.
OPM Opens Up Enrollment for
Advanced Dental/Vision Benefits
APWU Web News Article #77-06, Nov. 29, 2006
Working with a private company, the Office of Personnel Management has set up online enrollment procedures for enhanced vision- and dental-care benefits. The Web site, www.Benefeds.com, was launched on Nov. 13. The Benefeds site is the exclusive place for postal employees to sign up for these voluntary benefits. The “dental/vision” enrollment season, Nov. 13-Dec. 11, coincides with the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program’s Open Season. Enrollees will pay the full premiums for the enhanced benefits. Like conventional healthcare premiums, the dental/vision costs are deducted from biweekly paychecks on a pretax basis. The dental/vision-coverage program was authorized by Congress two years ago after hearings in which it was demonstrated that federal employees were not getting access to sufficient optional coverage for dental and vision care. OPM offers a comparison of participating insurance plans and their premiums at www.opm.gov/insure/dentalvision. According to a recent article in the Washington Post, OPM is working towards someday offering federal employees a central place to sign up and conduct transactions for all voluntary benefit programs, such as long-term care insurance and flexible spending accounts. The dental/vision program also can be accessed at 877-888-3337.
Important Open Season Information
USPS News Bulletin dated 11/27/2006
Due to a delay in the printing of the FEHB Guides for career employees, Inspectors and OIG, certain non-career employees and TCC, the mailing to employees’ homes will not be complete until approximately November 27th. Since this is about a two week delay, we are accepting FEHB elections for all employees for an additional two weeks under the belated election authority granted to agencies by OPM. Therefore, FEHB Open Season elections will be accepted until 5:00 PM Central Time (CT) on December 29, 2006, for all employees. This date will be programmed into the PostalEase telephone system and website. The effective date of open season elections will remain the same, January 6, 2007, even with the later deadline. We will be publicizing this information to employees through our normal communications channels, including the next Postal Bulletin. Although we want employees to have enough time to make an informed decision, we appreciate your help in encouraging employees not to wait until the last day (or week) to make their elections. As a reminder, FEHB guides are available at the OPM web site, under the heading Guides for Postal Workers at http://www.opm.gov/insure/07/guides/. This notice does not affect the open season dates for FEDVIP enrollment.
Thank You – Thank You – Thank You
by Tina Desautels, COPA Committee Chair
This is the final report on our COPA fundraising for 2006. Not including the people who make direct contributions to COPA the final tally is a whopping $4328!!! This is three times more than we raised in 2005 and this money was turned around and sent back to the State in contributions to candidates who support Postal Workers! Ed Perlmutter, John Salazar, Dianna Degette, Mark Udall, Bill Winter, Jay Fawcett, Bill Ritter and Angie Pacionne all received COPA funds during this last election cycle. As we all know, that money was put to good use and we now have a labor friendly State legislature and a labor friendly Congress. Thank you to all who have donated in the past and please remember that we are currently raffling off a DVD player, laptop computer and a gift card at the January union meeting.
A Motorist’s Guide to Winter Driving
by Rick Romero, Denver Metro APWU Safety & Health Representative
- To minimize the chances of a weather related delay, plan ahead with safety in mind.
- Always be sure to check the forecast; if a winter storm is predicted for the area in which you will be driving, think twice, or ask yourself if the trip is necessary.
- Always have an emergency car care kit that contains jumper cables, flares or reflectors, windshield washer fluid, a small shovel, an ice scraper, antifreeze, blankets, nonperishable food, and a first aid kit.
Starting Your Car
- Be sure to turn off all accessories (radio, heater, lights etc.) before starting your car. This will maximize your battery’s starting power.
- If your car has a fuel injection system, don’t touch the accelerator pedal. For carbureted cars, depress the accelerator once before attempting to start the vehicle. Then, simply turn the key and hold it for a few seconds.
Handling Roadside Emergencies
- Pull as far off the road as possible. This helps to avoid getting hit by another vehicle.
- Indicate trouble by opening the hood and turning on the vehicle’s emergency flashers.
- Place a “Call Police” sign in the rear window.
- Stay in the car. Avoid the temptation of accepting a ride with a stranger. Instead, if someone offers help, ask him or her to notify the police if you do not own a cell phone.
- Leave only with a marked police car or a state or city emergency vehicle.
- Don’t walk or hitchhike, both of which invite trouble – you could either get caught in a storm, or be forced in a dangerous situation involving strangers.
Driving Tips
- Always wear seatbelts.
- Remove ice and snow from windows, license plates and lights. Also be sure to clear snow from the vehicle’s hood, roof and trunk.
- Reduce your speed while driving. The posted speed limits are for dry, clear conditions only.
- Watch for slick spots under bridges and on overpasses.
- Keep your gas tank at least two-thirds full to prevent the vehicle’s fuel line from freezing.
APWU Wins National Arbitration on Debt Collection
by Dennis Enderson, President
The American Postal Workers Union has prevailed in yet another major arbitration award at the national level. The USPS had claimed the right to deduct up to 25% of an employee’s pay for a postal debt upheld by a federal court judgment. The APWU maintained that, in accordance with a national memorandum signed in July 1994, no more than 15% of an employee’s net pay or 20% of the employee’s biweekly gross pay (whichever is lower) may be deducted each pay period to satisfy a postal debt. Management has claimed that the 1994 memorandum somehow did not apply to debts upheld by a federal court judgment. The arbitrator disagreed and sustained the union’s grievance in its entirety. This award will help protect our members from experiencing unreasonable reductions in their take home pay. Once again, it pays to have a strong union that fights for our rights!
/rb
opeiu #5
afl-cio
