Management Reaches Decision on Mail Handler Jobs
Despite heavy opposition from the mail-handlers union, management has decided to go ahead with its plan to abolish and repost bid jobs and create 63 so-called mail-handler relief jobs. That means there will be one start time for each tour and that days off will be tied to an operation, e.g., everyone who has a bid job on the APPS will have the same days off.
Management says it is still working out the plan's kinks but has conceded there is a need to create more level 5 jobs than it originally proposed. It also says that it wants all of the affected mail handlers to be in their new jobs by the July 4th weekend.
Here is a possible time frame up to the effective date of the new jobs:
- Work out the plan's kinks by Friday, May 22.
- Draft letters to the mail handlers whose jobs are being abolished by Friday, May 29.
- Mail letters to affected mail handlers by May 29 or the first week in June.
- Place packages of bid jobs in the cafeteria, break rooms and tour secretary office by June 8. (The packages will be similar to those that were created for the dream-bid process in May 2006.)
The union will hold an all-members meeting to help mail handlers work through the jobs package. It is also preparing to launch a massive grievance campaign. It will write a grievance for every job abolished and seek out-of-schedule premium for all affected mail handlers. The union's position is that management has completely disrupted the lives of mail handlers and has violated the contract in numerous ways, including by not posting jobs that list specific job duties.
