Latest Updates and Information

NALC Food Drive Postponement
Our Sisters and Brothers at the NALC have had to postpone the annual food drive.  It will be rescheduled and we encourage you all to support it when it is rescheduled.

Please Disseminate.

Vance Zimmerman
Industrial Relations Director
____________________________________________

Change.org: DON’T Sign the Petition
Change.org  has a petition to sign for hazard pay. Our recommendation is NOT to sign this petition. The language could be construed as an act of bargaining unit rights of the Union as it deals with wages. I’ve also attached the Stand Up Talk given on social media from February 25, 2020, which signing the petition could be seen as a violation of this policy and we again recommend NOT signing this due to possible ramifications.

Michael J Wright
Director of Associate Offices
APWU SJAL #0526
____________________________________________

Maintenance Update_4.1.2020
COVID-19 SUT 19_ALL EMPLOYEES_Employee Privacy_4.1.2020
COVID-19-Employee-RTW-Positive-Test-Updated_4.1.2020
COVID-19-Supervisor-and-Management-Guidance-Updated_4.1.2020
____________________________________________

Brothers and Sisters,

Please see the attached notification and the email below in which the Postal Service provided answers to my questions regarding the updates to CODES and the changes to the F-55 and F-85 Handbooks.

Sam Lisenbe
Assistant Director, Clerk Craft

Notification No#3 FY 2020 (3.11.2020)_4.5.2020

    1. <1.> Regarding the Computerized On-Site Data Entry System (CODES) – Is there any dispute that data entry is a clerk craft function?

Data Collection Technician positions are clerk craft positions and are trained data collectors who perform data entry into the CODES software. 

    1. <2.> The 3-6-20 notification letter identifies the procedures for these programs as “data collection”. Who (which craft) will perform the data collection duties involving CCCS, RCCS, and SIRVI?

See above – clerk craft.

    1. <3.> Regarding the In-Office Cost System (IOCS) – At what point, once mail and mail containers are received, is it anticipated/expected that barcode scanning should be performed for IOCS? Is this scanning considered the same as or similar to Arrival-at-Unit scanning? In addition, is the clerk craft assigned to perform the scanning for IOCS?

No, the scans for IOCS have nothing to do with Arrival-At-Unit scans, which are focused on tracking the flow of mail. Instead, IOCS takes a “snapshot in time” of what the sampled employee is doing. After randomly selecting an employee and randomly selecting a moment in time of that employee’s workday, the IOCS data collector (clerk craft) gets scans of the one mailpiece that the employee is handling at that moment. They’ll also scan any barcodes on mail-holding containers (e.g. trays, APCs, pallets) that the employee is handling at that moment.

    1. <4.> Are these changes to the CODES software and data collection policies and procedures expected to affect data collection staffing?

No.
____________________________________________

Going the distance

____________________________________________
COVID-19 MOU Work Exceptions
While I understand I am not signatory to the COVID-19 exceptions, I am making this suggestion/recommendation to the locals as the Clerk Division Director, in the best interest of our employees, while considering these are very trying times, requiring tough decisions.

The MOUs require the postal service to maximize the employees in many cases as part of the pecking  order.

If I were implementing these agreements at the local level, I would use my judgment on when and how I would be filing grievances.

Any employee that wants to maximize their work opportunities I would afford them those rights per the Agreements.

If an employee did not want to maximize the opportunities due to their own personal safety  reasons, I would secure it in writing from the employee and I would not file a grievance when the postal service failed to maximize the work opportunities per the MOUs pecking order as a result of the clerk employee choosing not to work.

These are very personal decisions. While we do not like opening the door for other crafts or Postmasters to perform bargaining unit work, it is a balancing act of not forcing our folks to work under safety conditions they choose not to work and providing service.

In a perfect world we would hope the overtime desired list and volunteers would suffice.

This pandemic only proves how imperfect our world is.

Be safe and work safe while considering your family and you,

This is not to take away a right already secured during the COVID-19.

We also don’t want this to turn into an open season with the Postal Service thinking they  can blatantly violate the national agreement after the pandemic.

Lamont Brooks
Director
Clerk Division

____________________________________________

Brothers and sisters, here is a valuable document the NALC and the USPS signed off on which stops CCAs from working in other offices and limits carriers to their home offices to prevent the spread of COVID.

NALC MOU_4.5.2020

____________________________________________

Brothers and Sisters,

See the attached notification regarding the change in Customs Declaration Forms. Effective March 13, the Postal Service began using PS Form 2976-R when transferring information from customers to SSAs for data entry.

Please forward to your local and state leaders.

In Solidarity,

Sam Lisenbe
Assistant Clerk Craft Director

Handwritten Customs Declearation Forms PS 2976_4.5.2020

____________________________________________

Other Stand-Up Talks, MOUs and Information
COVID-19 SUT 25_Guidelines for PVS drivers_4.5.2020
COVID-19 SUT 28_Interacting with VMF personnel_4.5.2020
COVID-19 SUT 29_COVID-19 Supplies_4.5.2020
COVID-19 FAQ-2020-04-01_4.5.2020
BME Tech & MRC Qualification Signed_4.5.2020
FFCRA Web Article_4.5.2020

Here’s how APWU has responded for YOU – the members –
APWU COVID-19 Response_4.5.2020

STAY INFORMED!!

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)

The Postal Service has been sharing and posting posters on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). This law does apply to the Postal Service. The law will be effective on April 1, 2020. We are in continuing discussions with the Postal Service on how it will be implemented and how the Postal Service will comply. We will continue to release more information as we get it worked out.

Please Disseminate and know we are working on getting you the answers.

Vance Zimmerman
Industrial Relations Director