Finally! Our new contract has arrived.

The big news is in – 200,000 postal workers represented by the APWU have a new union contract!

Neutral Arbitrator and Interest Arbitration Panel Chair Stephen Goldberg issued his binding decision on the terms of the new union contract between the American Postal Workers Union and the United States Postal Service.

The Award was the product of 20 months of preparation, member and local union input, negotiations, mediation, a strong contract campaign and a well-prepared and presented arbitration case. Thirty-two workers testified about their work. Officers and subject matter experts testified for the union. A team of economists presented our case and rebutted management’s presentations for union concessions.

“No interest arbitration is ever totally in favor of one side or the other,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “But we have achieved a number of our major goals including retroactive annual pay raises, maintaining of full (and retroactive) COLA, narrowing the gap between the lower and higher career pay scales, the career conversions of thousands of PSEs and maintaining tremendous job security. We should all be proud to be union!”

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Most important points are:

Career Employee General Wage Increases

Three annual general wage increases totaling 3.4% over the life of the Agreement.

1.3% effective November 24, 2018 (Retroactive)

1.1% effective November 23, 2019 (Retroactive)

1% effective November 21, 2020

Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA)

Semiannual COLAs for career employees will continue under the current formula. Management pushed, but failed, to convert COLAs into one-time lump-sum payments.

$624 or $.30/hour COLA will be applied retroactive to August 31, 2019

$166 or $.08/hour COLA will be applied retroactive to February 29,

2020 Future COLAs will be applied in September 2020,

March 2021 and September 2021 COLAs to date add $790 annually or $0.38 per hour to base pay.

The APWU is now the only postal union that has protected and maintained full COLA.

Step Increases

APWU argued for the return of higher steps to the lower tier schedule. In response, Arbitrator Goldberg narrowed the gap in the two-tier career pay schedules by adding additional top steps in Grades 5-8 for employees hired after May 23, 2011 (There is no lower tier for Grades 9 and above).

Grade 5: One additional top Step Increase (Step K). Grade 6-7: Two additional top Step Increases (Steps K & L). Grade 8: Two additional Step Increases (Steps L & M). Depending on Grade, each additional step increase approximates $1,000 per year based on full-time straight-time hours of work.

No Lay-off & Job Security Protections

The no lay-off protections of Article 6 for career employees with more than six years of service remain unchanged. Management argued for increasing the six years to 15 years for current employees with no protection for future hires.

In addition, no lay-off protection is extended for the life of the Agreement to all career employees on the rolls as of the date of this Award who have not yet qualified for protection under the six-year rule.

A ban on subcontracting of any existing PVS driving work during the life of the contract.

No employee can be excessed out of an installation beyond a 50-mile radius.

PSE Wage Increases

Since PSEs do not receive COLAs, they receive larger annual general increases:

2.3% effective November 24, 2018 (retroactive)

2.1% effective November 23, 2019 (retroactive) 2.0% effective November 21, 2020

PSEs will receive an additional forty cents per hour raise as follows:

$.20 per hour effective May 23, 2020,

and $.20 per hour effective May 22, 2021.

Over the life of the Agreement a Level 6 PSE pay will rise from the $17.19 to $18.69 per hour.

Read the full article here.

The national union will mail a new contract as soon as possible.