A March 28 agreement with the USPS [PDF] outlines the procedure for the conversion of Maintenance Craft Postal Support Employees to career, Maintenance Craft Director Steve Raymer has announced. The Memorandum of Understanding is a follow-up to an agreement signed by President Mark Dimondstein on March 20 that outlines the procedure for filling residual vacancies in the Clerk, Motor Vehicle and Maintenance Crafts, which will lead to the conversion of PSEs.
“The opportunity to secure a career position is of critical importance to PSEs, who are always at risk of being released due to lack of work,” Raymer said. “I am pleased to report that we have reached an agreement that will give Maintenance Craft PSEs the opportunities and upward mobility they deserve.”
I agree with “” believe this””. Thanks to the Union for not standing by the ET’s and MPE’s (that can actually fix machines and properly use a meter), we now have a bunch of worthless clerks and mailhandlers whose aptitude is high. High on what?? We didn’t need someone who could look good on paper, We need people who have some general knowledge and drive to get off their butts and go take a call. “” Walter Jones”” that is what we have is a bunch of jam pullers. Most of these new people couldn’t tell you a good fuse from a bad fuse even with a audible alarm. The Union should stand by the ones of us that can actually fix this equipment and help management get some qualified people in here instead of always fighting against the USPS. I know I know you really didn’t want to hear the truth!!!
@usmcvet Management decided that they were going to reduce the total number of career employees. They decided to do this by closing facilities and reducing staffing to the bone. Because of the no layoff clause in our contracts, management had to find jobs for these employees or pay them to remain in standby rooms. They waived the exam requirement for Letter carrier and custodian to make it easier to place these employees where vacancies were. While the APWU and the maintenance craft supports our veterans, the APWU is obligated to enforce the contract to protect the rights of the impacted employees.
@believe this s#$%, I know this much the Postal Service changed the maintenance exam from one that tested maintenance knowledge to one that tested aptitude because they were having trouble filling vacancies. This had nothing to do with the Union. The employees who have been promoted after taking the 955 exam are not to blame because they did not have a choice of which test to take. What does reading a meter have to do with clearing a jam from a machine? You blame the Union because the Postal Service realized that the old exams required applicants to have had experience that had very little to do with the work that was actually being done. You blame the Union because you made a voluntary decision to move 800 miles away because of a decision made by the Postal Service. When has the Union agreed with management’s decision to close a plant? Now you claim that I think that I know it all. Well I don’t know it all, but I do know that when employees blame the Union for their problems its most likely something or someone else that is responsible. The Union is just a convenient target.
walter i took the in service exam 20 years ago. switched to maint, as mpe-7 back in 1994 you don’t have any idea what you are talking about and yes i would like to quit to get away from people like you who think they know it all. god help the people you have talked to and i stand by my beliefs that maintenance was short changed under this contract as for the new test for maintenance people who could never pass the old test are now et’s who can’t read a meter this is the end of the line and you need to wake up. semper fi!
@ Walter jones the PSE have to take the 916 career test it is part of them getting the job, maybe when you change crafts you don’t have to take it, I dont know. I know this because my nephew is a vet and took the test and is one of the first group to become a pse custodian three years ago, he also has a few non vets working with him as PSE’s, Also they stopped hiring non vets after there union went to managaement about the preference eligible and veoa eligible thing that is posted on the USPS own website for vacancy announcements.Also all other jobs you have to take a test to change crafts to my knowledge,so as a union official explain to me how the union let this requirement go by the way side for jobs that help vets have a home. I am glad I voted guffy out and his people.
@usmcvet I am a veteran and I am also a Union Official. The 916 exam has been suspended for career postal employees since August 2007. The 916 exam is the qualifying exam for custodians. The EL-312 section 232.52 lists all positions that are restricted to preference eligible veterans. This rule applies only to appointments from external recruitment sources. The maintenance craft officers at the national level support the hiring of preference eligible veterans from all outside sources. Unfortunately there is no way the Union can force an eligible veteran from NYC to take a job that only pays $12.68 per hour. If you are aware of any eligible veterans who wants a job as a PSE then notify your maintenance Steward who should investigate to find out if a non vet was hired instead.
belive this s#$% Why didn’t you quit? The Union did not excess you the postal service did so why not quit? The new regime had nothing to do with your taking a job 800 miles from home.
@ walter Jones your wrong, if you came in the post office ten years ago you could not take the test unless you were a vet. In other parts of the government any vacancy within food service, custodial craft, security and elevator operator, is still vet only, and yes unfortunately craft employee can ask for a change but that also will be changing. By the way during a rif vets keep there jobs first before any non vet by law so changing crafts wont help you there. We have lazy clerks who got excessed taking jobs away from vets who are non vets, we have casuals who were converted to custodians 6 years ago, and the USPS excuse was they coulnd’t find a vet that could pass a drug test.All the PSE’s were I work are Vets and they deserve a career job in a craft they use to come in as career.
thanks to our union that i have been a dues paying member of for 26 years i had to take a maintenance job 800 miles from my home, move my family or carry mail while clerks and mailhandlers where allowed to bid over 100 miles away and the sorry part is there where maintenance jobs 70 miles from my old plant that where being held, so i vote out the old crew and look what the new crew does where was our help when we needed it. one more year and i’m done should have been investing my union dues in silver dollars at least i would have something. thank you to my fellow brothers and sisters we have one hell of a union!
Matt you have no idea of what you are talking about. What are the qualifications to be a custodian? Every PSE hired in the maintenance craft is qualified or they would not be hired. gb you are also wrong about custodians having to be veterans. If hired from the street custodians should be preference eligible vets. Any postal career employee can request a change in craft and become a custodian.
another sellout by union and mismanagement. GIVING maintenance jobs to unqualified people, incapable of doing the job.
@ T Derricks Its funny you have people complaining about not being able to take a pse’s job who works in that craft, yet you already have career custodians that are in the craft who are not vets and considering this is suppose to be a vet only craft the vets who are pse’s should be mad that people like you are trying to stop them from having a opportunity to be career in a craft that was mandated by law for them years ago.As a vet I will be pushing the apwu to restore vets rights and eliminate any non vet from coming into our craft as a custodian, that includes if you are being excessed and are not a vet.
T. Derricks you are so very wrong. The job of the maintenance Craft Director is to look out for the Craft. PSE custodians are in the maintenance craft. Why shouldn’t Director Raymer advocate for their interests? Just like he advocates for maintenance employees transferring to different installations. Maintenance looks out for maintenance. If you believe that the inservice register should have been used first that is only your opinion. I support Director Raymer and 95% of all maintenance APWU members of my local support him as well. That includes the PSE’s who are now about to be converted to career.
I’m in an office with 2 ptf clerks & we have no residual vacancies, does anyone know if we will be converted to regular clerks?
Notice, the APWU is STILL selling out the career employees. In the maintenance craft, pse’s get the job before resorting to the in service register. Sad really sad, new administration, still selling us out…OH that’s right RAYMER is part of the old administration, he is okay with selling us out. Dimonstein, get rid of raymer, he hates us career employees, we aren’t good enough to be custodians, but the pse’s yeah they good enough and get the job before us.
The layoffs are soon coming.
mgmt. don’t care
Yet *another* agreement, that USPS mgmt. has no intention of honoring.