Meeting at USPS Headquarters

 

NAPS/NAPUS & League 

October 30, 2008 – 12:30 p.m. 

For the Management Associations:

Ted Keating, President, NAPS

 

Dale Goff, President, NAPUS 

Charley Mapa, President, League 

Louis Atkins, Executive VP, NAPS 

Jay Killackey, Secretary/Treasurer NAPS 

For the Postal Service

Doug Tulino, Vice President, Labor Relations
Bill Jones, Manager, Labor Relations, Policy Administration

The postmaster associations provided a response to an inquiry that had been made by the Postal Service to forgo the use of postmaster’s convention leave. The postmaster’s organizations responded that they would not give up their rights to convention leave and recommended that the use of convention leave be extended to NAPS.

The management then asked for information from the recent agreement between the NALC and the Postal Service concerning route evaluations.

The Postal Service responded that the goal of this agreement was to ultimately reduce the cost of delivery through the changes in the route evaluation process. In a change from the current method of route evaluations, the adjustments to routes will be data driven through the use of eight weeks of information from current computerized systems. The evaluations will be conducted jointly between the NALC and the Postal Service. The results of this agreement will significantly reduce and eliminate the costs that are involved in the current process.

The management associations then requested information on an email that has been circulating around the country that contained information allegedly from the Board of Governors Meeting last week concerning District Support positions reverting to a Shared Services environment.

The Postal Service responded that this information was not valid.

The management association then questioned the fact that there were numerous rumors in the field about changes that impact individuals represented by one or more of the management associations.

The management associations recommended that any plans by the Postal Service that impacted our members be shared immediately with the management associations as soon as possible.

Management responded that they would provide information on any plans on organizational changes when they are developed.

The management organizations asked again if there were any plans to consolidate Area or Districts and the response was that there were no plans at this time, but that this could change at some later date.

The management organizations asked if there was a national policy that is driving the consolidations of Tour Two operations in Plants across the country. NAPS brought out that there are different plans that have been related to NAPS Headquarters that include some Plants placing all EAS positions on all Tours up for competitive bidding as a result of the elimination of Tour Two operations.

NAPS stated its’ position that supervisor on Tour Three and Tour One should not be impacted by the abolishment of Tour Two operations and that supervisors who had bid positions on Tour Three and Tour One should not have to bid for the positions that they are already in and own.

Management responded that there is not a mandate for the field to adopt a strategy to eliminate Tour Two operations but that there were instructions given to review volumes, equipment staffing and all factors to determine the best use of resources. Once these reviews have been completed then a course of action should be taken on a Plant by Plant basis.

Management also did not believe that wholesale bidding should result from the Tour Two consolidations. Management also responded that they will review the applicable rules that already are in place on how to handle this type of consolidation and will share this information with the management associations.

NAPS replied that with the move to initiate 10 hour/4 day workweeks that the time may have come to look to initiate this type of scheduling with EAS employees as we do not have contractual restrictions on this type of schedule.

Management responded that they are still in negotiations with the APWU and MHU to develop new criteria to accomplish these schedules, and took NAPS’ recommendations under advisement.

Management then asked for a response from all three management organizations on the Postal Service’s request to defer or forgo the payment of NPA for the recently completed FY.

The management organizations provided a written response and also provided the following comments:

The management organizations stated that it would not be in the best interest of their membership to agree with the request. The overwhelming feedback from all of the members of the three management organizations was that the membership’s performance in the PFP system needs to be maintained and that they payouts cannot be stopped.

The meeting concluded at 1:15 p.m.