An Administrative Law Judge issued a decision in APWU’s favor involving contracted out Motor Vehicle Service (MVS) work. USPS will more than likely appeal the decision.

II. Alleged Unfair Labor Practices
5
The APWU has represented employees, including motor vehicle employees of Respondent for many years. Its current collective bargaining agreement runs from November 21, 2010 to May 20, 2015. Article 32 of that contract sets forth the conditions upon which the Postal Service may subcontract bargaining unit work, G.C. Exh. 2, pp. 146-49. Generally, the 10 Postal Service must consider the public interest, cost, efficiency, availability of equipment and the qualifications of employees when evaluating the need to subcontract. USPS must provide the APWU at least 60 days notice of its intent to subcontract unit work, or to renew a contract with a private company that is performing unit work. Pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding which is incorporated into the current contract, the Postal Service may not renew its private 15 contracts if the Union demonstrates that it can perform bargaining unit work at the same or lower cost, G.C. Exh. 2, p. 369. The Postal Service can cancel a contract mid-term if the Union demonstrates that it can perform all or part of a contract route for less than the contractor.

The instant dispute over Form 7463-A 20
On April 23, 2013, the Postal Service informed the Union of its decision to renew contracts with private companies (Highway Contract Routes (HCR)) for eight terminals, G.C. Exh. 12. On May 3, 2013, Michael Foster, then Assistant Director of the Union’s Motor Vehicle Service Division, requested that the Postal Service provide the Union information on how the 25 Postal Service determined that the HCR contractor could provide its services at a lower cost than bargaining unit Motor Vehicle Service (MVS) employees. Regarding the contractor’s cost, the Union requested 13 Postal Service forms for each of the eight terminals. USPS assigned the number IR13-25 to these requests and ultimately complied with this request with the exception of the Postal Form 7463-A.2
30
In a letter dated August 14, 2013, Respondent refused to provide the Form 7643-A,relying on the decision of a two-member Board in case 28-CA-21451, Postal Service, 352 NLRB 1032 (2008).

35 The HCR Renewal Process
USPS provides the Union with notice of its intent to renew a HCR contract by means of a Postal Service Form 5500.3 This form is completed by the Postal Service and provides a cost comparison between what it would cost to do the contract work in-house as opposed to renewing 40 the HCR contract. Blocks 29-31 of Form 5500 set forth the contractors total costs. Form 5500 does not indicate how the contractor’s costs were determined, i.e., the components of the bottom line figure.

The Form 7463-A is completed by the private contractor. The first vertical column sets forth the costs in different categories for the last prior approval of the contract. The second 5 vertical column sets forth the costs for the proposed renewal. The horizontal entries in both columns are as follows:

1a Vehicle Cost
Motor vehicles
10 Trailers
1b Operational Costs (may include profit)
2. Taxes
3. Vehicle Registration
4. Miscellaneous (may show profit)
15 5. General Overhead (e.g. terminal costs, management and supervision)
6. Fuel
7. Oil
8. Insurance
9. Road Taxes
20 10. Tolls
11. Sub total
12. Straight time
13. Overtime
14. Payroll taxes (e.g., Social Security, Workers Compensation, Unemployment Insurance)
25 15. Fringe Benefits (Medical, Vacation, Holiday, Pension)
16. Sub total
17. Contractor’s wages
18. Total Cost
19. Return on Investment
30 20. Total Contract Rate

USPS is willing to provide only the figure in block 20. At hearing there was some evidence as to whether the APWU at some time agreed to delay provision of the Form 7463-A. However, by January 2014, it made clear that it wanted the entire unredacted form. Respondent 35 unequivocally stated that it regarded this document confidential and would not provide it.

Where a Union requests information pertaining to employees in a bargaining unit it 45 represents, that information is presumptively relevant, and the employer must provide it. Where the information does not pertain to employees in the unit, such as the subcontracting of unit work, the burden is on the Union to demonstrate its relevance, Wisconsin Bell, Inc., 346 NLRB

The Union, in the instant case, is entitled by contract to recapture work that has been contracted out to HCR contractors if that work can be performed for less in-house. Thus in a broad sense, any information regarding the basis on which the Respondent has decided to contract out this work is relevant and necessary to the Union’s functions. Respondent’s argument, aside from its weak confidentiality claim, seems to be that the unredacted Form 7643-A would be of no use to the Union.

However, I conclude that the Union had demonstrated sufficient relevance of the form, if for no other reason, than to compare the figures on the 7463-A with those of the Form 5500 to 35 insure consistency, and to insure that there haven’t been any clerical errors on the other documents that the Postal Service provides to it.6 Thus, I find that Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(5) in refusing to provide the Union with the unredacted Form 7463-A for the HCR routes requested by the Union on April 23, 2013.

Having found that the Respondent has engaged in certain unfair labor practices, I shall order it to cease and desist therefrom and to take certain affirmative action designed to effectuate 5 the policies of the Act. On these findings of fact and conclusions of law and on the entire record, I issue the following recommended7

(a) Furnish the Union unredacted copies of Postal Form 7643-A as requested by the Union.

USPS. United States Postal Service (05-CA-122166; JD-53-14) Washington, DC. Administrative Law Judge Arthur J. Amchan issued his decision on September 10, 2014. Charges filed by American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO