Second COLA Increase Announced

In accordance with the 2021-2024 Collective Bar­gaining Agreement, career employees represented by the APWU will receive a $1.18 per hour cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), effective August 27, 2022.

The increase is the result of a rise in the Consum­er Price Index (CPI-W). It will appear in paychecks dated September 16, 2022 (Pay Period 19-2022). The value of the COLA for full-time employees in each step and grade will increase by $2,455.00 annually, and the hourly rates for part-time employ­ees will be adjusted accordingly.

The COLAs are in addition to general wage increases. This is the second cost-of-living increase under the 2021 contract. The first, effective in February, amounted to $0.63 per hour or $1,310 annually. The COLAs received so far during the 2021-2024 National Agreement total $3,765.00 this year.

In light of the fact that Postal Support Employees (PSEs) do not receive cost-of-living increases, they have received several additional increases beyond the general wage increases for all employees in the APWU bargaining unit under the 2021 contract.

Rising inflation underscores just how important the continuation of our negotiated Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is in our outstanding new union contract. The COLA is our best protection against inflation. Postal Workers are some of the few U.S. workers who receive COLA increases. Even in the postal world, we are the only postal union that has maintained full COLA in our union contract.

“At times of high inflation, our union-won COLA is invaluable to ourselves and our families,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “It pays to be union! It’s always a struggle to keep these COLA provisions and every postal worker should be proud we fought hard and prevailed to keep full COLA in our latest contract.”

Go to apwu.org/pay-information to view pay scales.

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Additional Function 1 Staffing MOU Leads to 2,404 PSE Conversions to Career

The parties agreed on July 27, 2022 to an additional Function 1 Staffing MOU that will convert 2,404 PSEs in 157 Installations to career status. PSEs “will be converted based on their relative standing on the PSE rolls” within the affected installations. The converted PSEs will become unencumbered full-time regulars in Function 1 in these installations.

Moreover, the MOU also states, “If there are former PSEs in the 157 facilities identified by the Postal Service consistent with the attached table that were converted to full-time flexible (FTF) or part-time flexible (PTF) positions due to the 24-month automatic conversion and placed in Step GG, such FTFs or PTFs will be moved to Step FF no later than September 10, 2022”.

“This agreement is another in a series of staffing MOUs that are securing more career positions and potentially improving service to the public,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “These conversions will be life-changing for the PSEs affected. It’s an outstanding example of the union at work and I salute Industrial Relations Director Charlie Cash and Clerk Craft Director Lamont Brooks for their tremendous work winning this agreement.”

The MOU also includes a list of the 157 affected installations and the number of PSEs that will be converted to career status in each of them. The MOU, the list of installations, and a set of Questions and Answers are attached to this article for access.

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Update on Management Implementation of Pay Provisions of the 2021-2024 National Agreement

On June 4, 2022, many of the pay provisions of the 2021-2024 National Agreement were scheduled to be implemented. This included:

• 1.3% General Increase due November 20, 2021
• Additional 1.0% increase for PSEs (for a total of 2.3%) due November 20, 2021
• Additional $0.50 for PSEs due April 9, 2022
• Grade 11 pay changes due September 21, 2021
• $1310 COLA (additional $0.63 per hour) due February 26, 2022
• Additional Pay for PTFs due to the addition of the Juneteenth holiday

Over the weekend it became apparent that an issue with the implementation had occurred when PSEs began reporting that the additional $0.50 was not included in their pay. Today, June 21, 2022, the Postal Service acknowledged the $0.50 was not included. The Postal Service acknowledged that they made an error, but management has not identified what caused the error or when it will be added to the hourly pay of the PSEs. The APWU is in communications with the Postal Service and when additional information is known, that information will be published.

Even though the additional $0.50 did not start, PSEs will be paid the additional monies in the retroactive payment that is forthcoming. The date for the retroactive payment has not yet been determined. As previously stated, once the date is known, it will be published.

Some things to remember for the check dated June 24, 2022:

• There are no retroactive payments in this check; Retro payments will be in a future check (date yet to be determined)
• The COLA of $1310 is not a lump sum payment. It is an amount that is added to the annual salary of career employees and reflected as an increase of the employee’s hourly rate and in this case increased career pay by 63 cents an hour (slightly more for PTFs).

All employees on the rolls during any of the period retroactive pay is owed will receive a retroactive payment. If an employee has separated from the Postal Service for any reason, including retirement, they will receive a retroactive payment for the hours they were paid while on the rolls for which retroactive pay is owed. Separated employees will receive their retroactive payment in a paper check. Employees on the rolls will have their retroactive payment included in their regular paycheck/direct deposit when the retroactive payment date has been established.

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