PMG Tells Wants Right to Appeal EEOC Class Action Decisions to Federal Court:
Similar to the significant strides made in reducing accidents, the Postal Service has reduced EEO formal complaints by 40 percent since FY 2004, ensuring compliance with the law. Today, however, the Postal Service is subject to class actions in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) process that we believe have been improperly certified. Defending against these class actions is extremely costly and burdensome, regardless of their merit. We believe we should have the right to appeal to the federal court final decisions of the EEOC. This is similar to the Postal Service’s existing authority to appeal decisions of the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).
Instructions to Arbitrator:
More than 85 percent of the Postal Service’s career employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. The Postal Service has included in its legislative goals the request that Congress enact provisions that instruct interest arbitration panels to consider the financial condition of the Postal Service in interest arbitration awards. Although some argue that interest arbitrators do this already, they cannot function like bankruptcy courts under Chapter 11 in the private sector. The panels cannot restructure the Postal Service’s regulatory or business models. They do not have the authority to look at the entirety of the Postal Service’s finances—indebtedness, pricing, operations, service standards, capital sources, debt relief, etc.
All the arbitration panels can do is address wages and benefits for a particular bargaining unit. Even there the panel’s power is limited, because they cannot alter or modify statutory benefits like retiree health care or defined benefit pension plans. Given these inherent limitations (which were explicitly recognized by the panels in the two most recent awards involving the NRLCA and the NALC), we believe it is especially important for Congress to make certain that the arbitration panels take into consideration the Postal Service’s financial condition in the areas they do have authority to address: wage rates, leave, health care contributions, workforce mix, job protections and related matters and to make that legislatively explicit. The Postal Service needs legislative language requiring arbitrators to consider the Postal Service’s overall financial health.