The National Office has been in contact with Postal Headquarters to discuss the deluge of bid reversions and abolishments that are being implemented across the country as a result of the Function 1 Scheduler. Postal Management has argued that these reversions/ abolishments are necessary because of the continuing decline in mail volumes. The most recent figures (for the period from October 1, 2016 through May 31, 201 7) indicate a decline of over 6 billion pieces in total mail volume from the same period last year.

In an extreme over reaction to these mail volume figures, USPS Headquarters has directed all Postal Areas to assess their current workforce complements and make the necessary adjustments to reflect the decline in mail volume. Not surprisingly, the Area Managers are now over reacting to Postal Headquarters' initial over reaction.

The "staffing tool" that is being used to determine complement in each postal installation is called the Function 1 Scheduler. As explained by Postal Managers, the Function 1 Scheduler uses mail volumes, available equipment, allied labor, and volume arrival, among other factors, to help the processing centers to determine their bid alignments and schedules. However, as most Mail Handler representatives already know, the Function 1 Scheduler is far from perfect.

Read the full memorandum and related material that was sent to Local President on June 2, 2017