{"id":11464,"date":"2015-06-30T07:12:23","date_gmt":"2015-06-30T12:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/?p=11464"},"modified":"2015-06-30T07:12:23","modified_gmt":"2015-06-30T12:12:23","slug":"apwu-takes-prc-to-court-over-refusal-to-enforce-service-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/2015\/06\/30\/apwu-takes-prc-to-court-over-refusal-to-enforce-service-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"APWU Takes PRC to Court Over Refusal to Enforce Service Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"

APWU – 06\/29\/2015<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>–\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The APWU has taken the Postal Regulatory Commission to court, challenging the commission\u2019s decision to dismiss its complaint that the Postal Service is failing to meet service standards. The union filed the\u00a0<\/span>Petition for Review on May 29<\/a>\u00a0in the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals and submitted a\u00a0<\/span>Statement of Issues to be Raised<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>on June 18.<\/p>\n

In dismissing the APWU\u2019s allegations of system-wide service failures, the PRC concluded that service standards are simply \u201cexpectations,\u201d and, as a result, the commission could not compel the Postal Service to adhere to them. The appeal challenges those assertions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it is allowed to stand, the PRC\u2019s ruling would render any service standards meaningless,\u201d said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. \u201cIt would make a mockery of the Postal Service\u2019s legal obligation to provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services.\u201d The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) requires the PRC to issue orders to the USPS to remedy violations of service standards.<\/p>\n

Not Simply a Legal Matter<\/strong><\/p>\n

But the union\u2019s court case is not simply a stand-alone legal maneuver, the union president pointed out. It is part of the APWU\u2019s strategy of fighting to protect the public Postal Service and fighting for better mail service. \u201cThe appeal is another vivid example of how the demands of postal workers reflect the people\u2019s demands for good postal service,\u201d Dimondstein said.<\/p>\n

The APWU advanced those goals during contract negotiations \u2013 seeking the addition of new services, such as postal banking, notary, and licensing, along with expanded hours and access at post offices, he pointed out.<\/p>\n

The union also advanced those objectives by supporting the adoption by the House Appropriations Committee on June 17 of an amendment that would restore service standards to the levels that existed prior to Jan. 5, he said. \u00a0The Postal Service first lowered standards effective July 1, 2012. The APWU has been challenging diminished service standards ever since.<\/p>\n

Lowered Again<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Jan. 5, the Postal Service lowered service standards, eliminating overnight delivery of first-class mail within cities and towns, and slowing delivery of two- and three-day mail throughout the country.<\/p>\n

Since the new standards were implemented in January, service has plummeted. Letters and packages are failing to arrive at their destination on time, even when measured against the new, lower requirements. In the first seven weeks of 2015, on-time delivery scores for first-class mail declined by 15.59 percent, three- to five- day mail dropped 22.6 percent, and two-day mail fell almost 4 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is mounting evidence that the Postal Service is not meeting even these more relaxed standards,\u201d wrote the highly-respected website\u00a0<\/span>Save the Post Office<\/a>, \u201cand the APWU has been trying to get the PRC to do something about it. \u00a0But each time the APWU has filed a complaint, the Commission has dismissed it. Now the APWU is looking to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals for relief.\u201d<\/p>\n

The APWU is committed to the struggle for improved service, Dimondstein said. \u201cBy fighting for better service and a strong, public Postal Service, the union is also fighting to protect good jobs that strengthen our communities,\u201d Dimondstein said. \u201cWe will continue the battle for good, living-wage jobs and for a strong, public mail system that gives the people the service they expect and deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Timeline of APWU Challenges to Lowered Postal Service Standards<\/strong><\/p>\n

September 2013 \u2013 APWU files a\u00a0<\/span>complaint<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>with the PRC, asserting that the Postal Service had failed to meet the standards established in July 2012.<\/p>\n

November 2013 \u2013 PRC\u00a0<\/span>dismisses<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>the complaint (in part).<\/p>\n

December 2013 \u2013 APWU files an\u00a0<\/span>amended complaint<\/a>.<\/p>\n

February 2014 \u2013 PRC\u00a0<\/span>dismisses<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>amended complaint.<\/p>\n

March 2014 \u2013 APWU files a\u00a0<\/span>motion for reconsideration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

May 2015 \u2013 PRC\u00a0<\/span>dismisses<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>the complaint.<\/p>\n

May 2015 \u2013 APWU files\u00a0<\/span>petition<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>challenging the PRC order with the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.<\/p>\n

June 2015 \u2013 APWU submits\u00a0<\/span>Statement of Issues to Be Raised<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"1-APWU-New\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

APWU – 06\/29\/2015\u00a0–\u00a0The APWU has taken the Postal Regulatory Commission to court, challenging the commission\u2019s decision to dismiss its complaint that the Postal Service is failing to meet service standards. The union filed the\u00a0Petition for Review on May 29\u00a0in the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals and submitted a\u00a0Statement of Issues to be Raised\u00a0on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apwu-news","last_archivepost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11464"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11465,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11464\/revisions\/11465"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}