Negotiations between the APWU and the Postal Service for a new contract for Information Technology/Accounting Service Centers began Tuesday, Dec. 7. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on Jan. 20.

The IT/ASC negotiations took place on Dec. 7, 8, and 9, and the parties agreed to reconvene in January. The terms of the contract mirror those of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“There are opportunities for each side, and the union seeks improvements in wages, hours, and working conditions,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey in an opening statement. The union also seeks to return bargaining unit work to the membership, instead of “shifting our work to higher-level EAS employees and contractors.”

“Bargaining unit employees are willing and able to perform this work,” the union president said. “We want that work back.”

The three-year agreement covers postal employees working at four IT/AS Centers.

“IT and AS employees are well aware of the changes that have taken place at each center and throughout the Postal Service, and we want to make sure that the bargaining unit employees at each center play an integral role in the future of the USPS,” Guffey said.