The USPS has doubled-down on abolishing scheme requirements on future clerk duty assignments. It made two minor concessions, however . The effective date was changed from March 7 to March 23, 2015 and existing duty assignments with a scheme requirement will keep them until the duty assignment is vacated. That avoids re-posting them.
I wonder how this will impact Overtime Desired Lists? Who is deemed qualified to work overtime? Is it anyone starting March 23rd?
Here is the notification letter from USPS:
This notice Is to provide follow up and corrected information concerning the enclosed Postal Service February 20 notice regarding the elimination of the Specialized Operations Networking Integrated Keyboard Systems (SONIKS), and the decision to eliminate scheme requirements from clerk craft bid duty assignments.
The February 20 notice identified March 7, 2015, as the date after which scheme qualifications would not be required on bid duty assignments. That date is hereby corrected to March 23, 2015, In accordance with the enclosed letter to Area Vice Presidents and District Managers from the Vice President Employee Resource Management (A).
While scheme knowledge is still beneficial in limited situations, and will continue to be utilized in existing duty assignments, during the transition to an environment without scheme requirements, the Postal Service has determined that future duty assignments requiring scheme qualification will not be necessary.
Therefore, any bid duty assignments that were posted with scheme requirements, prior to the March 23 notice, will continue under the normal scheme training and qualification process. This Includes residual duty assignments that were withheld pursuant to Article 12. Scheme training that was in process, but not completed, using SONIKS, will be completed manually and all training time will be on the clock.
Duty assignments posted after the March 23 date will not be required to have scheme qualification. Discussions continue with the APWU regarding any impact to the bargaining unit as a result of this change.
There are some loose ends here for sure….
There are some loose ends here for sure…..
fear not…..the po mismanagement will continue to scheme on how bypass your contractual rights and delay the mail.
next move would be reducing clerk pay….Walmart workers apply
More jobs without scheme requirements mean more with less intelligence can be hired.
Why is anyone even arguing that being scheme qualified is an issue anymore with the new technology we have?. In our office they grab clerks from any operation to sort parcels because the regular (scheme qualified) clerks begin to move slower to get their hours. This jams up all the carriers trying to get to the street because we are waiting on our parcels. Give ANYONE this little wrist device and the sorting gets completed. Now maybe this will get carriers in earlier in the morning and the customers get their mail sooner. The reason mgt does not allow carriers in earlier in the AM is because clerks jam up the operations at the most vital time of the day. WOW its so simple
Are you nuts? Do you think a person can look at the board for every address and still sort as fast as a clerk that knows the scheme. You carriers that think its so easy to sort mail to 30 carriers are full of it. You cant seem to get the mail in the right box even with the address on the box and the mail piece over paid paperboys. I work the window and at least three times a week i get customers bringing in mail that has been mis delivered. Jam up operations? The technologies we have don’t work 1/3 of the time. So your non scheme clerks are no good. You think you are waiting for mail now just wait until the system is down. I bet you also think it is a good idea to close plants.
As a window clerk I think it’s silly to learn a scheme working the window 38 out of 40 hours a week. It’s hard to remember when you never use it.
clerks cant sort the mail if it isn’t in the building!