USPS has failed to reach new agreements with two unions, the American Postal Workers Union,AFL-CIO (APWU) and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA), and mediation could
follow.With the APWU, however, USPS agreed to extend the contract negotiation deadline until tomorrow,23 November, while the talks with the NRLCA resulted in an impasse without reaching any kind ofagreement, the US postal operator stated.
“Should APWU negotiations fail as they have with the NRLCA, a process begins which could resultin a third party determining contract terms and work rules for more than 324,000 employees whosewages and benefits exceeded $20 billion last year,” USPS explained.
However, there is no danger of a strike as US postal workers fall under public service rulesbanning them from taking strike action. “That’s because Congress designated the Postal Service asan essential service to the nation. An arbitrator determines the final outcome and is not legallyrequired to consider the Postal Service’s financial obligations when rendering a decision,” USPScommented.
Under the terms of the Postal Reorganisation Act of 1970, the Federal Mediation and ConciliationService (FMCS) appoints a mediator if the union and management fail to reach agreement on asuccessor contract and do not agree on an alternate procedure. If agreement is not reached within60 days of the expiration of the contract, both parties submit all outstanding issues to bindingarbitration, the APWU said in a statement. The terms of the 2006-2010 Collective BargainingAgreement remain in full force and effect until a new agreement is reached, either throughnegotiation or binding arbitration, the union added.
The APWU President Cliff Guffey appeared optimistic about reaching an agreement with USPS. “Wedo not have a new contract but we believe there is still potential to negotiate an agreement. Theunion and management will continue to discuss the topics that remain in dispute. Throughout thecollective bargaining process, the APWU has sought to protect our members’ jobs,” the unionpresident continued. “Restoring work that has been outsourced or assigned to managerial personnelwill bring stability to APWU members who have suffered extensive excessing and reassignments.”
He added: “Every proposal we have made to preserve jobs for our members will also benefit thePostal Service, because APWU members can perform the work more efficiently and less expensivelythan subcontractors.”
While there is still hope for USPS to reach an agreement with the APWU, the NRLCA alreadyconfirmed that talks with USPS have failed. “On Saturday, November 20, after more than two monthsof contract talks, the NRLCA and USPS reached impasse for a new collective bargaining agreement.Early this morning, it appeared as if the parties were making significant progress toward anegotiated settlement. However, contract talks stalled and impasse was declared just after 5:00p.m,” the union said in a statement.
According to the NRLCA, the final proposals by USPS included wage freezes and significantbenefit cuts for current career employees such as the abolishment of cost-of-living adjustments anda new salary schedule with a lower wage scale for new hires.
The union also summarised its own proposals to USPS: “The NRLCA’s final proposals provided forappropriate and reasonable wage increases, continued cost-of-living adjustments, and themaintenance of core benefits. The NRLCA advanced its own proposals to adjust certain timeallowances in the evaluated compensation system and to increase the reimbursement that many ruralletter carriers receive for providing a delivery vehicle on rural routes. Importantly, the unionmade several proposals that would have resulted in substantial savings for the Postal Service.”
The economic slowdown coupled with the shift to digital communications has created the greatestloss in mail volume since the Great Depression, USPS said in a statement. Mail volume that peakedat 213 billion pieces in 2006, dropped down to 170.6 billion in the fiscal year ending September30, 2010. By 2020, mail volumes are projected to drop to 150 billion pieces.
To remain strong into the future, USPS said it needs to control costs through a flexibleworkforce to adapt to the nation’s changing mailing trends. “Reasonable wages and benefits are justone element needed to help the Postal Service fully meet its financial obligations and remainstrong in the future.”
The company added that according to survey data, the public prefers five-day delivery over usingtaxpayer funds and other alternatives. “Adjusting delivery days to better reflect current mailvolumes and customer trends can save the Postal Service $3.1 billion annually. The PostalRegulatory Commission is expected to announce its recommendation within the next month. Congresshas yet to consider this concept.”
The APWU represents 209,000 postal employees who work as clerks, mechanics, vehicle drivers,custodians and in some administrative positions. The NRLCA represents 67,000 career employees and48,000 non-career employees who substitute for career employees on their days off. Employeesrepresented by the NRLCA primarily deliver mail in rural and suburban areas.
Two other unions represent most other postal employees. More than 205,000 employees representedby the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO (NALC) deliver mail in metropolitan areasand 48,000 employees represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, AFL-CIO (NPMHU) workin mail processing plants and at post offices.
The NALC and NPMHU will begin negotiations next year, approximately 90 days prior to themidnight Nov. 20, 2011 which is the contract expiration date, USPS said.
