APWU Files Charges With Postal Regulatory Commission

The APWU filed a complaint with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) on Sept. 5 charging that the USPS is failing to comply with its own service standards and is depriving individuals, small businesses and organizations of the service they are entitled to by law.

The Postal Service’s failure to comply with the law is the result of an arbitrary decision to accelerate mail processing facility closures that were scheduled to take effect in 2014. The closures have resulted in the “regular and systematic violation” of first-class mail service standards, the complaint [PDF] says.

“The complaint cited information we received from locals, in response to our request, as part of the union’s fight against network consolidation,” said Executive Vice President Greg Bell.

“We have been seeking and have received evidence of delayed mail resulting from the closure of many mail processing centers,” Bell said. In June 2012, the PRC denied a complaint filed by the APWU seeking to stop the USPS from implementing its consolidation plan.

The complaint also alleges that the USPS has information that it has not made public that will show the violations described above.

As a remedy for the violations, the APWU is request­ing that the Postal Service be instructed to take necessary steps to comply with service standards; that the USPS be ordered to cease and desist from making changes in its mail processing network that will cause it to violate service standards, and that the APWU and others be provided an appropriate remedy for any adverse impact on them due to the delay of their mail.