Can We Trust USPS Management?

As of January 2018, USPS notified the APWU that they had insourced 39 of the 110 HCR routes to PVS. They complained about the difficulties they were experiencing with hiring efforts and their attempts to recruit drivers.

On May 14, 2018 the parties entered into a subsequent MOU, which allows for hiring of additional Part Time Flexibles (PTFs) instead of PSEs. The MOU states that local grievances shall be held in abeyance and requires USPS to provide the union with a monthly report on compliance of the Das Award.

The union warned the Postal Service in advance that many of the problems they would experience would be due to their attempts to modify the HCR routes to create less than eight-hour PVS schedules. The APWU for many years has extolled the values of the PVS operators who are highly skilled employees for the services they perform for the USPS.

The APWU continues to remain vigilant in our attempts to win compliance with the Das Award. If we have to invoke the arbitrator’s retained jurisdiction, we will have demonstrated that the union has taken every step possible to work with the Postal Service in implementing this award.

POM 713 Dispute
The MVS Craft on April 17-18 presented the language in 713 Vehicles Used by USPS of the Postal Operations Manual (POM): 713.1 Postal Vehicle Service - “PVS vehicles are under the jurisdiction of managers
at designated offices. They are operated by USPS personnel…”

The MVS Craft has been in dispute with the USPS to replace language that was removed from the POM since 1995.

Our position is that the language in 713.1 prohibits the USPS from providing vehicles, including trailers, to HCR contractors. The issues have been remanded back to Step 4 for further development between the parties, and then come back before the arbitrator.