APWU-represented postal employees will receive an increase in their annual salaries effective Nov. 17 — the first in three years. The raise will be reflected in paychecks issued Dec. 7 and will apply to employees covered by the APWU-USPS 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Career employees will receive a raise of 1 percent. Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) will follow in March, and will include increases in the Consumer Price Index for January 2012 and January 2013. The across-the-board raise and cost-of-living adjustments were negotiated during bargaining in 2010 and 2011.
Postal Support Employees (PSEs), who are not eligible for the COLAs, will receive an across-the-board increase of 2 percent.
“Considering the circumstances, the wage increases are significant,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006 — the same law that forces the USPS to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees — also prohibits the Postal Service from raising postage rates above the rate of inflation, he pointed out.
“This despicable law compels the USPS to fork over $5.5 billion a year to the federal government without increasing the price of stamps above the rate of inflation,” Guffey said. The legislation has driven the USPS to the edge of bankruptcy. (No other government agency or private company is required to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees.)
“As we noted when the law passed, the restriction on increases in postage rates acts as a cap on wages, so our modest raises are an important achievement,” he said.
Under the terms of the APWU Constitution, an across-the-board contractual salary increase results in a small dues adjustment. Dues for career employees will be increased by 57 cents per pay period, with 38 cents going to locals and state organizations and 19 cents going to the national union. Dues for PSEs will be increased by 35 cents per pay period, with 23 cents going to locals and states and 12 cents going to the national union.
Updated pay scales were included in the November-December edition of The American Postal Worker magazine, and are posted on the union’s Web site, www.apwu.org.
Simple question… Everyone says in order to get into the ET position says you have to be a custodian. Is this complete truth? I’m a PSE that is a semi permanent position as of 1st qtr of 2015. I am a engineer at heart and mind…. Worked on getting a degree, but still working towards.
Many employees expect I have military/Services experience but I Do Not. Wish I could say I do, but don’t.
What can I do in order to make the stars and suns to align in order to get myself into the desired craft I really want to be In?
PSE Clerk –> ET
Ryan – Not 100% certain – but I do believe that a postal employee is not required to be a custodian before becoming an ET. You need to pose your question, in person, to your local management or postmaster – they should be able to guide you in the right direction. Rick Owens – PEN
Tyler, I’m not sure if you even still work for the postal service or not, your post was about a year ago. The only explanation that seems to be logical regarding why we (PSE’s) seem to get mistreated when it comes to the raises is due to the fact that we aren’t awarded merit raises nor are we awarded step increases. When it comes to our positions and our pay scales, we only have one pay scale and that is whatever the current going rate is for paying a PSE. It makes no difference where in the country that we live nor is longevity of service rewarded for us. So, if there is a cost of living raise that is a monetary compensation that is given out across the board to all employees. That is why when we are authorized a raise and then the new PSE’s get hired at the same amount of hourly compensation that we are even though we’ve been there for 2 years or more. Is it fair, no not really however, thanks to the union, that is how we will continue to be allowed to work. There should be monetary compensations granted for longevity of service as well as merit raises, in order to offer incentives for continued employment with the USPS. Realistically, I do not think that if the organization that employs us, hasn’t changed their hiring and employment compensation packages since the PSE’s inception, that they probably won’t offer anything that would fit that description. It is also unfortunate that our longevity of service seems not to count towards anything of real value either. For instance, we recently had seven individuals be advanced to be career employees. This was done by a seniority list. The original plan was that every month another group of seven PSE’s would also be advanced to career employees. Just barely after the ink was dry after the first seven had been advanced, an announcement was made that by April of 2015, out MPC in our area will be closed down. So, our jobs and even the initial seven PSE’s that are now career employees, are in jeopardy. As of April 2015, at our current plan, there will be a great number of people out of work. Only time will tell what will actually happen by the time March gets here. Our MPC was on the chopping block once before in 2012, as I understand it and by The Grace of God we were spared. I pray this will happen again.
Jamie – sorry we had to delete your comments but we do not allow vulgar words to be posted if we catch them. Please repost without using those words. PEN
Ok, why do us PSE’s who’ve been employed there keep getting *** over on these raises?
I’ve been there since 2010. Everytime I get a “raise”, it’s the same amount as the new PSE hires make.
That’s not fair to the people who’ve been there for 2 and a half years.
I mean thank God for seniority,…. But man, out of all the scares of no-employment, actually being terminated for 2 hours, and being forced to do the very heavy, back intensive, labor work whilst the career employees at my station just work lightly packaged SPRS. You’d THINK the older PSE’s could catch a break
I’m beyond grateful to still be employed. It’s not neccessary. I make more doing my photography, but GEESH. Look out for your old slaves or something
So witch PSE are COLA eligible and NOT ? What about all the christmas PSE there hiring in are plant this last couple weeks. They get a 1% or 2% raise on Nov. 17 too?
1% if cola eligible 2% if you’re not
This Article say PSEs get 2% raise. But the APWU contracts says 1% raise on Nov. 17 2012. So do we get 1% or 2% raise this month ????
Confused PSE employee