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Read all the latest information on early and regular retirement HERE
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Unofficial : the Arbitration originally scheduled for August 25th regarding the Early Out issue is off . It will rescheduled in Sept or Oct. -Shyam Das may be the arbitrator.
APWU Files Suit To Force Resolution Of ‘Early Out’ Dispute
posted 9/12/03
source: click to see other topics in news service bulletin at apwu.org
The APWU filed a complaint in federal court yesterday, President William Burrus announced, as part of its effort to resolve a dispute regarding the Postal Service’s refusal to offer voluntary early retirement to all eligible APWU-represented employees. The suit seeks to compel the Postal Service to arbitrate the issue expeditiously so that no eligible employee who wishes to retire early is denied the opportunity to do so.
The union had sought expedited arbitration but the Postal Service refused. “Eligible employees who are denied the opportunity to retire while the Postal Service drags its heels would suffer irreparable harm,” Burrus said, “so we asked the court to intervene.”
The union and management agreed in December 2002 that the Postal Service would petition the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for authority to offer early retirement to all eligible APWU-represented employees. According to the agreement, only restrictions imposed by OPM could limit the offer. The USPS filed the request for Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) with OPM in January, and it was approved June 13.
In July, however, the Postal Service issued instructions to managers in the field that indicated that some eligible employees could be excluded from offers for “early outs.” A few weeks later, a follow-up letter from the USPS Labor Relations department advised managers that voluntary early retirement would be available only to Clerk Craft employees in Levels 4, 5, 6, and 7, and to Maintenance Craft and Motor Vehicle Craft employees in Level 5 positions and below.
The APWU invoked the Administrative Dispute Resolution Procedure of the Collective Bargaining Agreement in late July, and proposed expedited arbitration so that the issue could be resolved quickly. The USPS refused to expedite a hearing.
In an informal attempt to resolve the issue, Burrus and Industrial Relations Director Greg Bell met with representatives of the Postal Service and OPM on Aug. 12.
The dispute was not settled, but when the meeting was over Burrus expressed confidence in the union’s position. “OPM has not imposed any new limitations,” Burrus said. “Nothing OPM officials said was contrary to our understanding of the law or our agreement.”
To be eligible to retire under VERA, employees must have:
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at least 20 years of creditable service, and have reached age 50; or
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at least 25 years of service, regardless of age.
(In either scenario, total service must include at least five years of creditable civilian career and non-career service.)
OPM’s June 13 letter approving the Postal Service request for authority to offer voluntary early retirement excluded only four categories of employees:
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Employees who have not been continuously on the agency’s rolls since at least 31 days before the date of the USPS request, which was made Jan. 23, 2003;
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USPS employees who are not represented by the American Postal Workers Union;
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Employees serving under time-limited appointments; and
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Employees in receipt of a decision of involuntary separation for misconduct or unsatisfactory performance.
USPS guidelines for granting for Early Outs ...
GUIDELINES FOR PROCESSING VOLUNTARY EARLY RETIREMENT FOR APWU-REPRESENTED EMPLOYEES (updated) 9/15
The offer letter (Attachment G) will be limited to the October 31, 2003 effective date. Employees who submit an application (and do not withdraw) will retire on that date, provided that there was no maximum set or the maximum was not exceeded. These employees will be provided this information through a VER Approval Notice (Attachment K). At the same time, in instances where there are more applications than the published maximum, those employees will be sent a Retirement Request Status notice (Attachment L) informing them that they will be allowed to retire either January 31, 2004 or February 29, 2004. We will set a new irrevocable date for these additional letters.
Covered Position Requirements
The employees must occupy a position that has been either identified as excess to the mission of the Postal Service, or is a potential reassignment opportunity for those employees whose positions are being excessed. As an aid, we have categorized employees who submit SOIs as follows:
Category 1 Potential excess positions in plants
· Level 4, 5, 6, 7 clerks
· Level 5 and below motor vehicle craft
· level 5 and below of Maintenance craft (except level 4 and 5 Maintenance Mechanic)
Category 2 Potential excess positions within 50 miles of plants
· Level 4, 5, 6, 7 clerks
· Level 5 and below motor vehicle craft
· level 5 and below of Maintenance craft (except level 4 and 5 Maintenance Mechanic)
Category 3 Other potential reassignment opportunities – Employees who are not in category 1 or 2; except motor vehicle craft level 6 and above and maintenance craft level 6 and above and 4 and 5 Maintenance Mechanic
Category 4 Ineligible – employees who are in pay schedules other than P or C.
Category 5 No VER offers at this time - Maintenance craft level 6, and above and 4 and 5 Maintenance Mechanic, and Motor Vehicle craft level 6 and above.
The following categories of employees are excluded from this VER offer:
1. Nonbargaining
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All nonbargaining employees, including those in rate schedule codes E, F, J, S, and U.
2. Bargaining Unit
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All bargaining unit employees, except those career employees who occupy a position covered under the National Agreement between the U. S. Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO.
Because of errors in personnel records, some employees in these excluded categories may receive a Statement of Interest (SOI) package in error, see Section IV. Conversely, some employees may not have been identified as eligible due to a classification error. Personnel offices must correct the erroneous employee data and make a determination whether the employee meets the eligibility requirements for this VER offer. If the employee is found eligible, the personnel office should provide a copy of the materials provided to eligible employees (see Attachments C, D, E, and F).
Disapproval of Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) Request letter
Employee Name and
Address
SUBJECT: Disapproval of Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) Request
You have submitted a Statement of Interest form for the current VER offer. A review of your personnel records has revealed that you do not meet the eligibility requirements for this VER offer. The disapproval of your VER request was made based on the following reason:
You do not occupy a position that is excess to the mission of the Postal Service or is a potential opportunity for those employees whose positions are being excessed.
UPDATE #18-03
Sept. 8, 2003
Employees Have Until Oct. 27 to Make Final Early-Out Decisions
The Postal Service has notified employees that decisions to elect – or revoke – Voluntary Early Retirement must be made in writing no later than Oct. 27, 2003.
This differs from information in Update #8-03, issued June 4, which was based on information provided to us by the Postal Service at that time.
Eligible employees were invited to complete forms indicating their interest in early retirement beginning in July. Employees are eligible if they will be age 50 or older as of Nov. 1, 2003, with at least 20 years of creditable service as of Oct. 31, 2003. Employees of any age are eligible if they will have at least 25 years of creditable service as of Oct. 31. The effective date for retirement will be no sooner than Oct. 31, 2003.
In the meantime, the union is taking all necessary steps to enforce our agreement with management to offer voluntary early retirement to all eligible APWU-represented employees. More information on that matter will be provided shortly.
July 30, 2003
Union Seeks Expedited Arbitration on Early Outs
The union has invoked the Administration Dispute Resolution Procedure of the Collective Bargaining Agreement to protest management’s instructions regarding voluntary early retirements, which indicate that some APWU-represented employees may be excluded from offers for “early outs
The management instructions, which appear in a mailing to eligible employees, violate the union's Collective Bargaining Agreement. The agreement, negotiated last November, required management to petition the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) seeking authority to offer voluntary early retirement to all eligible APWU-represented employees. According to the agreement, only restrictions imposed by OPM could limit the offer.
The USPS filed the request with OPM, and the request was granted June 13. The letter from OPM to the Postal Service imposed four restrictions. They are:
(1) Any employees who have not been continuously on the agency's rolls since at least 31 days before the date of the USPS request, Jan. 23, 2003;
(2) Any USPS employees who are not represented by the American Postal Workers Union;
(3) Employees serving under time-limited appointments; and
(4) Employees in receipt of a decision of involuntary separation for
misconduct or unsatisfactory performances.
The
union has requested expedited arbitration so that this dispute can be
resolved quickly. It is our intent to ensure that this matter is
adjudicated prior to the earliest possible effective date of retirement, so
that those employees who elect early retirement are not forced to work
beyond that time.
William Burrus,
President
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES POSTAL
SERVICE AND THE AMERICAN POSTAL
WORKERS UNION, AFL-CIO
Re:
Excessing
In recognition of the parties’ efforts to respond to the need to reposition
the workforce by jointly seeking an approach that is consistent with the
principles of minimizing employee dislocation, consistent with the needs of
the service, it is agreed that the Postal Service will petition the Office
of Personnel Management (OPM) for the purpose of implementing Section
8336(d)(2) (voluntary early retirement -CSRS) and Section 8414 (b)(l)(B)
(voluntary early retirement - FERS) of Title 5, United States Code for all
eligible APWU represented employees, subject to the
limitations imposed by OPM. The Postal Service will petition OPM no later
than February 1, 2003 and the union will be provided a copy of the petition
request.
The Postal Service will place a temporary moratorium on excessing and the
reassignment of employees through May 15, 2003. The plan to consolidate
installations will be provided to the union in December 2002. This
moratorium will not apply to current or future excessings and reassignments,
where the APWU and the affected employees receive notice in accordance with
Article 12 of the 2000 National Agreement, provided that the impacted
employees will be reassigned within the local commuting area of their
installation (a 50 mile radius). If a need still exists to reassign
employees after termination of the moratorium, employees given notice of
reassignment pursuant to Article 12 prior to the date of this agreement will
be reassigned.
In light of the need to prepare for
the possibility of employee reassignment, the parties agree that the Postal
Service will immediately begin withholding all residual vacancies. The need
for withholding these residual vacancies is provided by the consolidation
plan and recognized pursuant to this memorandum. Any disputes arising out of
this memorandum will be handled in accordance with the Memorandum of
Understanding Re: Administrative Disputes Resolution Procedures . This
memorandum expires for all purposes on November 20,2005.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BETWEEN THE
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
AND THE
AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION, AFL-CIO
Re: Administrative Dispute Resolution Procedures
The U.S. Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO (APWU) agree to continue Administrative Dispute Resolution Procedures (ADRP) to help resolve complex disputes as they arise during the course of the collective bargaining agreement. The ADRP will be used to resolve those disputes identified by the parties without the filing of any grievances. A listing of subjects for consideration in the ADRP will be submitted by the parties at the national level within 30 days following the effective date of this Memorandum of Understanding. By mutual agreement, the parties at the national level may continue to add subjects to the original listing.
For each subject(s), the Employer and the Union will designate individuals at the national level who will be responsible for discussing and, where possible, for resolving any disputes concerning the referenced subject(s). When a specific subject is under consideration in the ADRP, any grievance(s) concerning that identified subject will be removed from the Grievance/Arbitration Procedure and forwarded to the ADRP.
Where a grievance(s) has been filed and the subject of that grievance subsequently comes under consideration by the ADRP, such grievance(s) will be removed and forwarded to the ADRP.
The national level designees will be responsible for meeting regularly to resolve pending disputes. No special forms, appeals or paper work will be necessary to utilize the ADRP.
When the designees cannot agree upon a resolution, either party may declare an impasse. Each party will identify the issue in dispute in writing within 30 days after the declared impasse on the subject. The identified dispute will then be placed on the appropriate arbitration docket.
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