08/25/2016 – The new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) included a historic win for the Maintenance Craft.
“We have negotiated our way to an all-career workforce,” Maintenance Craft Director Steven G. Raymer, said at the National Convention. “There used to be casual employees, Transitional Employees, and there aren’t anymore. More recently, there used to be Postal Support Employees (PSEs) and there are no longer any PSEs that can be employed in the Maintenance Craft. We are very proud to be an all career workforce!”
Why is it so important that employees be career?
“When they were non-career, they only worked for a limited amount of time. Virtually at a whim, the Postal Service could remove them claiming lack of work,” Raymer explained. “We did get some ‘just cause’ protection, but more importantly to them, those jobs didn’t come with benefits, and did not pay a living wage. In the Maintenance Craft, wages were at the poverty level at $12 an hour. And they were working side-by-side with people who had career, family-supporting jobs.
Non-career employees also had no opportunities for matriculation or moving up the ranks, Raymer added. But now, they have all the protections of the CBA.
“The most life-altering thing that can happen to an individual is a conversion from non-career to career,” he said. “We’re very happy to have accomplished that for the Maintenance Craft.”
Because the jobs held by PSEs were in positions that are available on a preferential basis to veterans, having an all-career workforce will also improve opportunities for veterans. “This is big deal to us in the craft,” Raymer said.
Fighting Subcontracting
Even with the historic win, the Maintenance Craft faces “many of the same old-age battles.”
The latest assault is on Building Equipment Mechanics, who are responsible for taking care of the physical plant and vital systems such as heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and maintaining fire extinguishers.
“It’s a huge undertaking but somebody has to take care of the building,” Raymer said. “Things need to be taken care of routinely and constantly.” When they are not, bad things happen. If pressure in a boiler goes unchecked due to a defective valve, it can explode.
“We don’t want explosions. We don’t want fires, we want our people working safely,” Raymer said. “It protects the assets of the Postal Service. If affects the customers whether they can even enter the building.”
Management is flirting with danger by pushing to automate these functions, Raymer said. Arbitration hearings are scheduled on this latest assault on Nov. 8 and 9, he said.
More Subcontracting?
Despite the craft’s previous success in protecting Electronic Technicians – the highest level employees in the division – the Postal Service is planning to subcontract computer networks and software installation.
The last time the Maintenance Craft fought this type of subcontracting, it cost the Postal Service $8.1 million. Raymer expects it to cost even more this time around. Arbitration hearings on that matter are scheduled for the last week of November.
“We will continue our long struggle with many new ideas in our fight against the Postal Service subcontracting of our work,” Raymer said. “We do it the best, we are accountable for the work that we do.”
Remember that the fools in the APWU ratified the last contract that enshrined all of this nonsense to begin with. It set the template for the subsequent screwing of the other crafts.
I believe that as long as there are schools at nced for this type of work then it should stay in house and if there are no schools then create some.
on a different note I would like to know what a critical employee is. on line I found info that stated critical employees can collect full retirement and continue working full time. In the past maintenance was not allowed to take buy outs. we were also not allowed transfers for a certain amount of time after a school. Transfer restriction depended on length of school. I would think this made us critical employees. Also I was talking to someone at the local power company who stated at age 65 they were allowed to collect full retirement plus social secuity and continue working full time. does any of this apply to the USPS maintenance craft.
There should be no double dipping allowed in the Postal Service,if you continue working you should not be drawing retirement at the same time.I agree with management on this! everyone can be replaced.
I’ve had a grievance in since 7/08, a custodian transferred from Peekskill, N.Y. and was not replaced. I should be in every N/S and 2 hrs ot everyday, improper scheduling. C’mon apwu do something!!! Approximate cash remedy due 125K.
They are way overstaffed with custodians in the plants and continue to hire more custodians when they need to hire more people in mail processing.Go figure management.
Sorry Charlie , I have been working alone on T1 for years , No seven days and I had to ask for six . Their reply (management ) We don`t need a T1 BEM seven days .
In what century are you going have a national seniority (retroactive) and be like a real union. You keep complaining about prefunding and no other govt agency
Having to do the same thing, but every other govt agency employee maintains their hire in seniority for all job bidding and relocations.