PRC Dismisses APWU Complaint

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) has dismissed a complaint filed by the APWU alleging that the USPS violated federal law when it began implementing a plan to eliminate half of the nation’s mail processing plants before the PRC issued an Advisory Opinion on the plan. Under federal law, the USPS must request an advisory opinion from the PRC when it makes nationwide changes in service.

The commission ruled that the USPS must request an advisory opinion, but must not wait for the panel to issue its opinion.

The APWU filed the complaint on June 12 seeking to stop the Postal Service from implementing Phase 1 of its consolidation plan, which called for the USPS to consolidate more than 40 mail processing plants over the summer and to lower service standards effective July 1. The union asserted that the USPS was not permitted to implement the changes without first obtaining an advisory opinion from the commission.