US union to rally against delivery cuts
Members of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) will rally today in support of preserving a six-day delivery service.
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration partnership USPS
U.S. Postal Service employees are experiencing fewer ergonomic injuries as a result of a 2003 partnership between the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
The organizations have released Examples of Good Ergonomics Practices at the U.S. Postal Service which outlines the achievements of the partnership and the steps taken to help prevent ergonomic-related injuries in the workplace.
The document illustrates several examples that could have resulted in an ergonomic-related injury and the proactive measures taken to correct the situation before a workplace injury occurred. Several of the protective measures cost less than USD 100 to implement.
Once the Ergonomic Risk Reduction Process (ERRP) is initiated, an ergonomist uses the 10-step process to identify jobs with high rates of MSDs. Those jobs are then broken down into tasks and steps. The ergonomic risk is then linked to the steps before identifying an implementation plan, obtaining feedback, and determining the cost to implement the solution.
Read MoreUSPS and APWU reach contract agreement
The U.S. Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, have reached a tentative four-year contract agreement.
Upon ratification by union members, the agreement will run through Nov. 20, 2010, and affect approximately 272,000 career employees in the clerk, maintenance and motor vehicle crafts.
APWU president William Burrus called the new agreement “outstanding” and said it would be presented to the Rank-and-File Bargaining Committee on Dec. 7.
Upon the committee’s approval, specific terms of the agreement will be announced. The committee must approve a tentative agreement before it can be sent to union members for a ratification vote.
The USPS and the APWU formally opened national contract negotiations on Aug. 29. This year was the first time new contracts were negotiated separately at the same time with all four of the postal service’s largest unions.
Negotiations continue with two other unions, the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union.
Negotiations with the National Association of Letter Carriers were not successful. The two parties will now enter the dispute resolution process, which may include binding interest arbitration that could begin next spring.
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