Massive Losses for APWU

in Tentative Agreement

Comparing the Current Agreement with the Losses in the Proposed

Agreement
By Clint Burelson, President of the Olympia Local APWU

In order to understand the massive losses that the new contract will bring if ratified, I have
provided a comparison of the current agreement with the proposed agreement.

Issue Current Agreement Proposed Agreement

Page numbers in parenthesis Page numbers in parenthesis noted below

noted below are from the current are from the corrected copy of the
CBA proposed contract, which is different
than the agreement included with ballot.

Bid Job Security Normally, employees remain in
bid job until they bid out.
Management will be able to convert any
Clerk or MVS Craft bid job to a NTFT
job regardless of the seniority of the
employee. All jobs junior to employee
whose job is converted will be reposted
for in-section bidding. Management has
the right to convert 50% of current bid
jobs in mail processing and 100% of
current bid jobs in stations/retail and
MVS to NTFT jobs (pages 189-190).

The work week for full-time The work week for full-time regulars has
Work Week for regulars is 40 hours per week, 8 been redefined under NTFT rules to
Full-Time hours per day, and 5 days a mean the work week could be, “Non-
Regulars week (page 24). Traditional Full Time Assignments –
More or Less than 5 days; Between 30-
48 hour weeks; Between 4-12 hour days;
limited flexibility and limited split
shifts.” (APWU PowerPoint) and/or as in
the proposed contract, “These
nontraditional work schedules may
include those with less than 40 hours or
less than 5 days a week, or more than 8
hours a day, split shifts, etc” (page 201).
 Management limited to utilizing
Part-Time 2.5% of total career workforce
Regulars or as part-time regulars (page 24).
NTFT
If an employee is scheduled to
Daily Overtime work over 8 hours in a day, the
employee receives overtime for
all hours worked beyond 8.
Overtime After If an employee is scheduled to
Fifth Day work 6 days in one week, the
employee receives overtime for
working the 6th day.
Current Collective Bargaining
Unknown Agreement is complete and in
Provisions of writing.
Contract
Health Care Management pays 81% of
Premiums Health Care Premiums after
contract expires (page 128).
Employees pay 19%
Assuming all NTFT jobs could be
essentially considered part-time regulars,
management is “limited” to 50% part-
time regular assignments in Function 1
(mail processing) and unlimited part-
time regular assignments in Function 4
(retail/stations) (page 189). There are no
written limits for the amount of NTFT
assignments in the MVS craft.
If, per NTFT duty assignment, an
employee is scheduled to work as much
as 12 hours in a day, the employee does
not receive any overtime for working 12
hours, unless total hours for the week are
over 40.
If, per NTFT duty assignment, an
employee is scheduled to work 6 days in
one week, the employee does not receive
overtime for working 6th day.
Proposed Agreement is not completed
and not all in writing. “8. Other
Provisions - The parties have reached
agreements and agreements in principle
on additional contract provisions and
new MOUs, as well as understandings on
various changes in contract language.
Those additions and changes are attached
as part of this tentative agreement or are
currently being finalized by the parties
(167).” In other words, there could be
nasty surprises in the final contract
language. We actually don’t know what
we are voting for.
Management pays 76% of Health Care
Premiums after contract expires (page
85). Employees pay 24%.
Limits on
Preferred Hours Management may not normally
for Non-Career assign preferred daytime hours
Employees to casual employees (page 19).
Limits on Management is prohibited from
Assignments for utilizing casual employees to
Non-Career perform craft jobs requiring
Employees training and testing (page 19).
Management may use up to 6%
Limits on of the total number of career
Number of Non- employees District wide as non-
Career career employees. And in Clerk
Employees Craft, 11% cap (of total clerk
craft employees in installation)
for each installation that has 200
or more man years of
employment (page 20).
Career hiring is from open
register and is based on
Career Hiring score. Preference points
Procedures for veterans. New hires
need not work as a casual
in order to get hired.
Management may assign preferred
daytime hours to non-career employees.
Daytime prohibition eliminated.
Management may utilize non-career
employees to work the window and other
areas requiring training and testing.
Prohibition eliminated.
Instead of a percentage of total
employees, the percentages allowed are
per craft and per number of craft
employees (light, limited duty, and rehab
employees do not count for computing
the total craft employees). Management
will be able to utilize non-career
employees in each craft as follows:
Clerk Craft – 20% of Clerk Craft
Maintenance – 10% of Maintenance
MVS – 10% of MVS employees
*Important – These “caps” do not
include additional non-career employees
assigned to the new work that is gained
by the APWU such as CPUs, custodial
work, and HCRs (pages 11 – 13).
Based on new language below,
career hiring is from a PSE
(casual) register, which could
violate federal hiring rules. To
be hired means an employee
must be willing to work for poor
wages and conditions for years
in order to become a career
employee.
“E. PSE Career Opportunity
When the Postal Service determines in
accordance with contractual provisions
that it has needs to fill vacancies with
new career employees, available and
qualified PSE employees will be
converted to fill such vacancies on a
 seniority basis” (page 174).

Wait Time for Career employees Career employees unlikely to be

Career unlikely to be hired until hired until management maxes
Appointments management maxes out out the more than 20% casuals
the 6% casuals allowed allowed District wide.
District wide.

Probationary
Period 90 days 90 days plus all years as PSE
(casual).

Starting Wages $40,558 for Level 6 (Traditional
for Full- Full-Time at 40 hours a week).
Time Salaries are based on 2080 hours
Career per year, which is 52 weeks (one
Employee year). Salaries with reduced
s hours are reduced accordingly.
$35,182 for Level 6 at 40 hrs a week
*$30,776 for Level 6 at 35 hrs a week
*$26,380 for Level 6 at 30 hrs a week
*Note: proposed agreement considers 30
hours “full-time” and may be the new
norm so a comparison is valid.

Top Wage for $53,102 for Level 6 (Traditional $48,622 for Level 6 at 40 hours a week
Full-Time Full-Time at 40 hours a week) *Note: New contract considers 30 hours
Career “full-time,” so top wage may be
Employees significantly less for many employees.

Retirement 40 hours a week jobs with 30 to 40 hours a week with lower wages
Compensation current wages is current will result in substantially less earnings
baseline. and therefore substantially less
retirement compensation. Former
President Bill Burrus estimates that each
newly hired employee will lose over
$200,000 in wages and retirement over
their career. National APWU has
requested an opinion from OPM
regarding whether the 30 hours a week
NTFT jobs will be considered full-time.
If not considered full-time, many aspects
of retirement and employment could be
even more negatively affected.

Grievances on Local union able to use “Any concerns or disputes regarding

Staffing and grievance procedure to address non-traditional staffing and assignments
Assignments any staffing and assignment will not be pursued through the normal
 disputes. grievance procedure. Such issues will be
processed through ADRP”(Alternate
Dispute Resolution Process) (page 191).

Full-Time Very limited due to Increased up to 10% of full-time

Flexible requirement to post duty assignments in retail (Function 4). Can
assignments for full- and will likely be used like a relief
timers without a duty person with start times and days off
assignment (197). Full- changing week to week (190).
time flexibles usually
assigned a consistent
schedule.

Clerk Craft Management limited to utilizing Management able to utilize relief

Relief and Pool relief employees as relief for employees as relief for absences and
Assignments window employee absences vacancies for window and distribution
within the installation employees in their installation, or other
installations (page 202).

Time Frames for 11/21/2006 to 11/20/2010 11/21/2010 to 5/20/2015

Contract Contract ends during busy Contract ends just prior to slow summer
Christmas period when workers period when Postal Service has the best
have the best leverage for leverage for negotiations.
negotiations.

Main Note: In other words, the concessions, givebacks, or losses in the tentative agreement
make this contract the worst APWU contract ever seen. If we approve this contract, we will be
responsible for allowing negative and drastic changes in our workplace. This will affect current
workers, but even worse, these changes will affect young and incoming postal workers, some of
whom may be our daughters and our sons. Your vote matters. Vote responsibly. Vote NO.

More Information: I have written fast and furious on the damaging provisions of the proposed
contract in the following articles:

Remembering Who We Are

The Proposed Contract and Healthcare Concessions
Non-Traditional Full-Time Assignments Otherwise Known as Traditional Part-Time Assignments
The Secret Message from the Rank and File Committee Decoded
NTFT Questions and Answers on the Contract
More NTFT Questions and Answers on the Contract

These articles can be found at The 21st Century Postal Worker website at www.21cpw.com run
by APWU member Randy Zelnick and the Washington State Postal Workers Union website at
www.wapwu.org run by State President Charles Smith. They have provided opportunity for
members to post information and I am very thankful. Also, check out www.postalreporter.com
run by APWU member Lucille Caldwell, who also deserves much thanks. Lu gathers plenty of
very good information for postal workers. And, not to leave out our brother in the NALC, Tom
Wakefield, who does similar good work at www.postalmag.com

Final Note: Please correct me if any information above is inaccurate. Everyone should fully
understand the changes in the new contract before voting for their future and the future of others.