All News

01/11/2018 - The Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) recently announced for eligible Clerk Craft employees by the Postal Service has generated many questions from the members of the APWU. The Postal Service published a list of 93 questions and answers shared with our members in an earlier Web article.

Many are asking, “Should I accept early-out retirement?” It is not the place of the national APWU to give advice on whether to retire or not. That is a personal decision. However, it is decision with implications that members should know and consider.

USPS management did not discuss the VER with the APWU in advance of the announcement. APWU national officers initiated a January 10 meeting with postal management to address issues and concerns about the VER including why the VER was not offered to all crafts, the need to halt all plans for excessing in light of the VER and the process in place for retirement counseling. Management has committed to respond to the APWU’s questions which we will share with the membership as received.  In this meeting, the union also pressed its views that:

1. the Postal Service is not overstaffed, and service to the public is suffering due to understaffing; and,
2. if the Postal Service moves forward with misguided plans to reduce the workforce, the Postal Service should offer a monetary incentive for those eligible for regular retirement as well employees eligible for an early-out.

01/04/2018 - Today, January 4, 2018, the APWU was notified by letter that the USPS is offering voluntary early out retirement (VERA) for eligible clerk craft employees. 

This letter was received with no advance notification to the union or negotiations with the APWU over who the VERA applied to and under what conditions.

The APWU immediately initiated information requests to USPS management regarding this VERA and demands for bargaining over its scope and impact.

”It is concerning that employees who are now faced with such a serious consideration regarding their work and retirement future, have not been given sufficient advance notification and needed information,” said President Mark Dimondstein. “Such a life changing and irrevocable decision should not be forced to be made in a rush due to management’s lack of consideration.”

Click here for the 2018 VERA Questions and Answers, provided by the USPS.

Click here for the 2018 VERA "Steps At-a-Glance," provided by the USPS. 

The APWU will provide further information and education material as it becomes available.

Retirement Counseling

The decision to retire is among the most important you will ever make. Employees contemplating retirement are eligible for retirement counseling and should take advantage of the opportunity. The APWU encourages you to consider the decision carefully and urge you to participate in USPS-sponsored counseling so you can make an informed decision. Employees requesting additional help after a group session will be accommodated on an individual basis. In accordance with a 2009 pre-arbitration settlement, local management must arrange reasonably private space for employees who wish to receive individual counseling on the clock.

01/04/2018 - Today, January 4, 2018, the APWU was notified by letter that the USPS is offering voluntary early out retirement (VERA) for eligible clerk craft employees. 

This letter was received with no advance notification to the union or negotiations with the APWU over who the VERA applied to and under what conditions.

The APWU immediately initiated information requests to USPS management regarding this VERA and demands for bargaining over its scope and impact.

”It is concerning that employees who are now faced with such a serious consideration regarding their work and retirement future, have not been given sufficient advance notification and needed information,” said President Mark Dimondstein “Such a life changing and irrevocable decision should not be forced to be made in a rush due to management’s lack of consideration.”

The APWU will provide further information and education material as it becomes available.

12/12/2017 - Arbitrator Shyam Das found in favor of the APWU again in the union’s on-going efforts to enforce the Global Settlement Memorandum of Understanding (GSMOU) and the Global Settlement Remedy Agreement (GSRA) for implementing the GSMOU.

In an award issued December 8, 2017, Das found that the “End of Day” button – a function the Postal Service added into the Retail System Software (RSS) point-of-sale system allowing postmasters to enter and exit the system without fully closing out – did not satisfy the requirement in the Global Settlement Remedy Agreement that postmasters are allowed to perform bargaining unit work for only 15 hours per week, to be counted from the start to the “end of day.”

The Global Settlement Remedy Agreement requires the postmaster/supervisor to fully close out by conducting the four-step “End of Day” process. The four-step process includes, (1) an advance deposit, (2) a final remittance, (3) verifying supporting documentation, and (4) submitting a daily PS Form 1412 closeout. The USPS new “End of Day” button for postmasters, requires nothing more than a press of a button. The Postal Service button bypasses proper financial accounting and allows postmasters/supervisors to hit the button after every transaction and thereby improperly reduce their recorded time on the window