Clerk Craft Negotiates Improvements in 2021-2024 CBA

(This article first appeared in the January/February 2022 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine)

Pending ratification by APWU membership, the 2021- 2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) will contain major gains for Clerk Craft employees. The CBA will also retain many of our most important achievements from past contracts. These accomplishments include:

• For career employees, 1.3% wage increases each year from 2021-2023, and six COLA raises;
• General wage increases for PSEs and an additional 1% increase each year in lieu of COLA;
• Continued no-layoff protection for career employees with at least 6 years of service. Current career employees on the rolls as of September 20, 2021 with less than 6 years of service will have no-layoff protections for the life of the CBA;
• A limit of 50 miles for excessing employees;
• All Clerk Craft-related MOUs secured/retained;
• Window training begins within 10 days of senior bidder notice;
• Improvements in the Clerk Craft Residual Vacancy MOU;
• Additional rights for PTFs and PSEs;
• Clarifying language in the NTFT (Non-Traditional Full-Time) MOU;
• Pilot program for PTF Hub Clerks;
• Within 90 days of ratification, a one-time voluntary transfer opportunity for PTFs in Level 18 and 20 offices to residual full-time vacancies in offices with more than 100 career clerks within the district.

Previously, clerks who bid to duty assignments with window who were not already qualified had to wait long periods of time, in many cases for months, before a slot became available for window training. Many clerks bid to window jobs to achieve daylight hours or for other personal reasons. In the past, these clerks were impeded from gaining those desired Tour 2 hours because of the delay in attending the required training. The new language solves that problem.

Enhancements in the MOU, Re: Residual Vacancies – Clerk Craft, were also achieved for PTFs and PSEs. PTFs will have preference over PSEs when choosing to accept a residual vacancy or PTF job within 50 miles of their office. PSEs with a relative standing older than a transfer request will be converted to a full-time opportunity first. The Clerk Craft at headquarters level will also be provided an electronic list of all residual vacancies on each 21-day posting and 50-mile canvassing.

PTFs now have a guarantee of 24 hours per pay period, an increase of 22 hours from prior contracts. Additionally, PTFs are guaranteed at least four hours of work or pay when they are scheduled to report for work, are guaranteed a minimum of one non-scheduled day each service week except during the peak season exception period, and they will be advanced 40 hours of annual leave at the beginning of each leave year. This is not additional leave, but an advance on what the PTF will earn during the upcoming leave year.

The advance of 40 hours of annual leave also applies to PSEs, as does the guarantee of a minimum of one non-scheduled day each service week, except during the peak season exception period. PSEs in Level 21 or higher offices who reach 24 months of relative standing will be converted to full-time flexible status in accordance with Article 37.4.

The Clerk Craft also updated the language in the NTFT MOU to confirm that NTFT duty assignments must be between 30 and 48 hours per week and created a pilot program to improve the MOU, Re: Assignment of PTF Hub Clerks. The current Hub Clerk MOU allows PTFs to choose whether or not they wish to volunteer to be loaned to certain post offices. This pilot program, wherever implemented, will further allow PTFs to designate offices they desire to be loaned to. In many cases, a PTF may wish to loan into offices that are a few miles from their home but not to offices that are several miles away. This pilot program makes that possible.