USPS management continues to implement its ill-conceived plans to realign its work force. Their plans involve massive bid reversions and job abolishments in almost every mail processing facility throughout the country. In most cases, management is basing its staffing needs on the flawed Function 1 Scheduler that the Postal Service uses to determine staffing levels at the large mail processing plants. Postal management continues to argue that these reversions and/or abolishments are necessary because of the continuing decline in mail volumes.
USPS management has now gone a step further, by issuing “impact statements” detailing its intention of involuntarily reassigning Full-Time Regular Mail Handlers out of their current installations. The Postal Service has proposed to complete these involuntary reassignments in September 2017. The latest figures received by the NPMHU reflect that 63 installations would be impacted and would result in 1,168 Full-Time Regulars (FTRs), 9 Part-Time Regulars (PTRs), and at least 72 Mail Handler Assistants (MHAs) being involuntarily reassigned out of their installation. The APWU has been receiving similar impact statements involving its clerk craft employees.
In response to these unwarranted attacks on the postal workforce, NPMHU President Paul Hogrogian and APWU President Mark Dimondstein sent a joint letter to Postmaster General Megan Brennan protesting the Postal Service’s proposed actions. The two Presidents vowed that both unions would work together to combat the Postal Service’s attacks on its employees: “Rest assured that, absent correction, the APWU and the NPMHU will together resist these misguided actions and violations of your agreements with, and commitments to, our members.”
The NPMHU has been recently informed by Postal Headquarters that the September 2017 “move date” will be pushed back and that no Mail Handler will be involuntarily reassigned out of his/her installation until, in all likelihood, at least February 2018. Postal management has agreed to use this extended period to discuss with the unions ways to minimize and even eliminate the involuntary reassignments of Full-Time career employees out of their current installations. Management also confirmed that it is required under Article 7 of our National Agreement to reduce their proposed non-career work hours to the greatest extent possible before excessing career employees out of their installation.
However, management remains steadfast in its intention to realign the work force and align employees’ schedules/start times with the projected mail arrival profiles. This will result in wholesale start time changes, bid reversions, and abolishment of duty assignments. Area Labor-Relations specialists will be meeting with the respective NPMHU Regional Directors to discuss how they will be implementing these changes. During these meetings, our Regional Directors will be voicing our strong opposition to these unnecessary changes and suggest more efficient alternatives.
Unions representatives at the Local and Branch levels will challenge the unwarranted start time changes, reversions, and abolishments and will file the appropriate grievances. The National and Regional CAD remain fully prepared to assist the Local Unions in processing these grievances. All members also should stay informed of these issues, both through the mail and on the NPMHU website.
