APWU

Q10C-4Q-C 10670819 Global Settlement Remedy Overpayment Award 3-14-2025

Posted in: APWU

From: Charlie Cash
Industrial Relations Director
Date: March 14, 2025
Re: Arbitrator’s Award in Case Q10C-4Q-C 10670819Global Settlement Remedy Agreement Overpayments
Arbitrator Daniel Brent ruled on the Global Settlement Remedy Agreement (GSRA) Overpayments case. The case surrounded the money to be paid to affected employees in a settlement dated December 5, 2014. The Postal Service agreed to pay Clerk Craft employees $56,000,000 as part of the settlement addressing Article 1.6.b grievances where postmasters and supervisors were performing more bargaining unit work than the fifteen hours allowed under the Global Settlement incorporated into the 2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The APWU painstakingly identified the employees who were to be paid, how much they were to be paid, and then provided the list to the Postal Service.
When the payments occurred starting in January 2016, approximately 1,400 employees were overpaid. The Postal Service soon began issuing Letters of Demand to recover the overpayments. Local grievances and a national dispute were filed over these Letters of Demand to recover the overpayments.
Arbitrator Brent recognized that the letters of demand were defective, and that the Postal Service did not stay collection efforts even after the national dispute was filed. Arbitrator Brent writes, “The Employer’s Demand Letters did not accurately describe the full range of options to submit repayment or protest repayment that were available to the employees under the Employee and Labor Relations Manual and the contract grievance procedure. Consequently, these letters cannot be construed as valid compliance with applicable governing provisions of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement or the Joint Contract Interpretation Manual.” 1
Regarding the collection efforts Arbitrator Brent states “Moreover, the collection efforts were not stayed after the instant grievance was filed, as explicitly required by Article 28, Section 4(A) of the collective bargaining agreement….”2
Recognizing the letters of demand to be defective, the Postal Service did not stop their collection efforts, and that the employees’ rights to due process were violated, just prior to laying out the remedy he writes, “Although all payees were entitled to their Global Settlement payments and to contractual due process, they were not necessarily entitled to keep the full amount of the overpayments they received. Therefore, granting waivers for all overpayments is not justified.”3
Beginning on page 34 of the award, Arbitrator Brent outlines the remedy. He ordered that the Postal Service issue a “written explanatory statement” to all current employees, retirees, and former employees whom the Postal Service took collection action against. The APWU will have the opportunity to review and provide input on the notification prior to it being sent out. The notice is to include an explanation of the cause of overpayment, the original amount the employee was entitled to receive under the GSRA, the amount the employee was overpaid, and any remaining balance owed by the employee.
Arbitrator Brent further ordered the repayment of any surcharges, penalties, interest, and fees any employee, retiree, or former employee paid to a collection entity beyond the amount owed will be forgiven and shall be repaid by the Postal Service. Additionally, the Postal Service must contact the collection entities to take “…whatever action is necessary to cause such agencies or entities to purge from their records any adverse information concerning any payee against whom the Employer previously initiated any debt collection action to recoup any Global Settlement overpayment.” Regarding the overpayment debts, Arbitrator Brent ordered two different remedies. For retirees and former employees he writes, “Amounts overpaid to retirees and former employees are hereby waived.”4 For current employees, he ordered “…the Employer may commence recoupment of such overpayments by deducting not more than $20 per week from the gross amount that is earned each pay period until (1) the debt is paid in full if the overpayment was less than $800 or (2) if the overpayment was $800 or more until fifty-percent of the overpayment has been recovered, with a minimum recovery of $800.”5
The award provides strong language on what must be included in a letter of demand, that collection efforts must be stayed when a grievance is filed on a letter of demand, and employees must be given their full gamut of repayment and appeal rights in a letter of demand.

Charlie Cash
Industrial Relations Director
—-
1 Award at p. 17
2 Award at p.15
3 Award at p. 33
4 Award at p. 35
5 Award at p. 36
Q10C-4Q-C 10670819 Global Settlement Remedy Overpayment Award 3-14-2025Friday, March 14, 2025DanielBrentNo Arbitration Decision
, 1.6 Global Settlement Remedy Agreement

1.6b

https://d1ocufyfjsc14h.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/q10c-4q-c_10670819_global_settlement_remedy_overpayment_award_3-14-2025.pdf

Craft:

Clerk

Document Type:

Memorandum0

Updates on Maintenance Division Part-Time Regular Settlement Payments

Posted in: APWU

March 14, 2025By this time, most eligible recipients of the Maintenance Craft Part-Time Regular (PTR) settlement distribution have received their first payments, totaling over $10 million.
Arbitration Awards & SettlementsMaintenance Division

By this time, most eligible recipients of the Maintenance Craft Part-Time Regular (PTR) settlement distribution have received their first payments, totaling over $10 million. However, some Employee Identification Numbers (EINs) were rejected because they were unable to match them to Social Security numbers. Therefore, the payments for about 600 PTRs workers bounced back. A common issue we noticed from the workers whose EINs were rejected is that they have either multiple names on file, have changed their last name, or are no longer a postal employee. The Postal Service is currently working on a resolution.
In addition, the Maintenance Division is working to identify approximately 50 conversions to full-time positions per the PTR agreement. The goal is to find PTRs who are already working at least 25-30 hours per week, and all PTRs who can pick up additional hours doing other duties, like lock changes.
We have received inquiries about the second and final distribution. We are not releasing the second round of payments until all the first round has been completed. We anticipate that the second payment distribution will take place around June 2025 and the payments will range from $100 to $400.
Thank you for your continued patience.

Updates on Maintenance Division Part-Time Regular Settlement Payments0

Statement by APWU Executive Board on DOGE and the USPS

Posted in: APWU

March 14, 2025Members likely heard the recent news of an agreement between the Postmaster General and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by the un-elected billionaire Elon Musk, and not established by Congress. It is no surprise that DOGE has set its sights on the people’s Postal Service.

Members likely heard the recent news of an agreement between the Postmaster General and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by the un-elected billionaire Elon Musk, and not established by Congress. It is no surprise that DOGE has set its sights on the people’s Postal Service.
It is not clear exactly what the agreement spells out, but the PMG’s letter to Congressional leaders gave management’s perspective.
The APWU position is clear: There is no legitimate role for DOGE in the USPS or any other Federal agency. The public Postal Service was created by Congress as an independent government agency with robust oversight from the Office of Inspector General, the Postal Regulatory Commission and the Board of Governors as well as Congressional Committees.
The National Executive Board, in a meeting of March 14, discussed the developments and confirmed that the union remains on full alert and will continue to monitor the situation. The moment there is any indication that DOGE is seeking access to personal and private information regarding employees, the APWU is prepared to take immediate legal action. Our collective bargaining agreement is between the APWU and the Postal Service. Any effort by DOGE, or any other entity, to weaken our union rights or target our contractual protections and working conditions, will be met with immediate and sustained resistance by postal workers.

Statement by APWU National Executive Board on DOGE and the USPS

Posted in: APWU

Members likely heard the recent news of an agreement between the Postmaster General and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by the un-elected billionaire Elon Musk, and not established by Congress. It is no surprise that DOGE has set its sights on the people’s Postal Service.
It is not clear exactly what the agreement spells out, but the PMG’s letter to Congressional leaders gave management’s perspective.
The APWU position is clear: There is no legitimate role for DOGE in the USPS or any other Federal agency. The public Postal Service was created by Congress as an independent government agency with robust oversight from the Office of Inspector General, the Postal Regulatory Commission, and the Board of Governors, as well as Congressional Committees.
The National Executive Board, in a meeting on March 14, discussed the developments and confirmed that the union remains on full alert and will continue to monitor the situation. The moment there is any indication that DOGE is seeking access to personal and private information regarding employees, the APWU is prepared to take immediate legal action. Our collective bargaining agreement is between the APWU and the Postal Service. Any effort by DOGE, or any other entity, to weaken our union rights or target our contractual protections and working conditions, will be met with immediate and sustained resistance by postal workers.

APWU Releases Special Edition Magazine Addressing Threat to USPS

Posted in: APWU

March 13, 2025Read the special edition of The American Postal Worker here.

Right after the March/April issue went to press, the public Postal Service, our jobs, and our union came under serious and unprecedented threat by the billionaire “Wall Street” class and the new presidential administration who are aggressively pushing to take over and dismantle the public Postal Service for their own private gains and profits. This is a threat unlike anything we’ve seen before, and it’s more important than ever that we fight back.
The important information in this special edition cannot wait until the next regular cycle of our magazine. The time is urgent! Never in our modern history have postal workers and postal unions faced such wealthy and organized forces arrayed against us and the people’s right to universal public postal services, no matter who we are or where we live. The Postal Service belongs to the people, not the billionaires. “The U.S. Mail is Not for Sale!” Read the special edition online here to learn more about what is happening, why, and how together we can fight back!

Special Edition of The American Postal Worker: Fight Back Against Threats to the USPS!

APWU Special Edition – Antiprivatization

Read online here 70323_apwu_8pg_magazine.pdf0

APWU Special Edition – Antiprivatization

Posted in: APWU

https://d1ocufyfjsc14h.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/70323_apwu_8pg_magazine.pdfAPWU Special Edition Magazine

US Mail Not For Sale Letter to the Editor

Posted in: APWU

https://d1ocufyfjsc14h.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/2025-03_20_letter_to_the_editor_final.docxLetter to the editor template

2025 Hands Off Our Postal Service Leaflet for Actions [SPANISH]

Posted in: APWU

https://d1ocufyfjsc14h.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/apwu_us_mail_not_for_sale_flyer_spanish_031325-final_use_this.pdfLeaflet for day of action in Spanish

2025 Hands Off Our Postal Service Leaflet for Actions [ENGLISH]

Posted in: APWU

https://d1ocufyfjsc14h.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/apwu_flyer_wbug.pdfLeaflet for actions

2025 US Mail Not For Sale March Day of Action Press Release

Posted in: APWU

https://d1ocufyfjsc14h.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/apwumarch20adv2dt2.docxNational Press Release for APWU Day of Action