330 Motor Vehicle Jobs Returned to APWU Bargaining Unit
The Motor Vehicle Service Division of the APWU has received from the USPS a list of 330 new duty assignments [PDF] that will be converted from Highway Contract Routes (HCR) to the Postal Vehicle Service (PVS).
The assignments are part of the 600 HCR routes that the union and management agreed would be turned over to the APWU bargaining unit during negotiations over the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The 330 assignment are from 56 routes that are being returned to the PVS. Both the USPS and APWU agree that this is a partial list, and that the remaining duty assignments will be converted as well.
The conversion of 330 duty assignments gives more work to APWU members than has been converted from HCR to PVS in the entire history of the APWU.
The MVS Division is requesting more information on the duty assignments. The document generates more questions than answers, but it is a starting point. As MVS receives answers, we will release them to National Business Agents and the field.
APWU: Locations Announced For 740 New Jobs in the Motor Vehicle Craft
Filed under: APWU, motor vehicle services, postal, postal news, usps
In accordance with the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement, the USPS has agreed to establish 740 new assignments in Vehicle Maintenance Facilities. Read more
Fight Against Subcontracting Takes Center Stage at APWU Motor Vehicle Services Pre-Convention
Filed under: APWU, motor vehicle services, outsourcing, postal, postal news
Motor Vehicle Services Division delegates discussed several urgent topics at their pre-convention conference Aug. 21 and 22.
At the top of the agenda was discussion of the pilot program that established flexible work rules and flexible schedules as part of the union’s efforts to ward off subcontracting. “The Motor Vehicle Division is under attack,” said MVS Director Bob Pritchard, but the pilot program prevented 22 sites from being contracted out.
Early discussions with management about implementation of the program were “contentious, to say the least,” Pritchard remarked; however, once management realized that union input was essential to making the pilot work, progress was made.
MVS employees find some of the changes brought about by the program upsetting, he noted, especially the possibility that work days will extend beyond nine hours, but “in the big picture, the program has been very beneficial.”
Subcontracting will be a topic of discussion when contract negotiations get underway next month, and will affect both drivers and mechanics, Pritchard said. The union’s goal will be to keep work in-house.
“The Postal Service is refusing to hire,” he noted. “We have always maintained that we give them a better product for less.”
MVS delegates also discussed the importance of filing grievances to demand that management count Highway Contract Route drivers as casuals. If they are counted as casuals, the complement would exceed the number permitted under the terms of Collective Bargaining Agreement in most installations and would strengthen the union’s effort to limit subcontracting.
A presentation by Assistant Director Michael O. Foster demonstrated the size of the challenge: A review of the MVS officers’ reports to national conventions shows that subcontracting has been a major subject at every MVS conference since 1972.
more: Delegates Take to the Streets: Save Saturday Service!
Columbus Ohio Motor Vehicle Services Unit Contracted Out
From Postal Reporter reader:
I was just letting you know that Columbus Ohio was just informed that we are Mode Converted and are all being moved into Mailhandler,Carrier , and custodial jobs. Bob Pritchard and Mike Foster are keeping everything quiet, not passing info out to let everyone know.
Congressman Asks Boston Postal Managers For Explanation Of Outsourcing Vehicle Maintenance Work
Filed under: APWU, maintenance, motor vehicle services, outsourcing, postal, usps
From the American Postal Workers Union:
Expressing concern about the outsourcing of maintenance and repair work on postal vehicles, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) wrote to the USPS Boston District Manager on Sept. 22, [PDF] and asked for an explanation of USPS policy.
“It is my understanding that the vehicle maintenance work is currently being contracted out at an hourly rate which exceeds that of USPS” employees, he said. In addition, Lynch said he had seen documentation indicating that some of the work failed to adhere to maintenance guidelines and risked harm to the environment.
“Also of grave concern is that these contactors have access to universally familiar USPS vehicles” and are authorized to remove them from postal premises. Lynch said he was concerned that contractors may not have been vetted to ensure that they pose no threat to homeland security.
“It is my hope that you can provide a detailed explanation of USPS motor vehicle maintenance policy and the process by which these contractors are selected,” Lynch concluded.
Rep. Lynch wrote the letter in response to complaints from Boston Metro Area Local Motor Vehicle Services Craft President Bill Weaver. In a letter to Postmaster General John E. Potter, [PDF] Weaver outlined concerns about the security of the mail, the lack of training of subcontractors, and the cost of subcontracting, as compared with assigning the maintenance and repair work to postal employees.
APWU national officers praised the activities of the members of the Boston Local and of Rep. Lynch. “We have always gotten a good turnout from Boston,” Assistant MVS Director Michael O. Foster said. “This is exactly the kind of grass-roots effort we need.
“Motor Vehicle Craft employees and local leaders have to get involved,” he said. Foster noted that Rep. Lynch authored the Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236), which would require the Postal Service to bargain with postal unions before it engages in significant contracting-out. The APWU enthusiastically supports the bill and has encouraged union members to urge their congressional representatives to sign on as co-sponsors.