Category: Motor Vehicle Service

Michael O. Foster We hope you had safe and enjoyable holidays and made it through Peak Season once again. The Motor Vehicle Service Division (MVS) achieved language during the last contract negotiations that established the MVS Training Initiative Committee. The Memorandum of Understanding required that training committee meetings be held for Vehicle Maintenance Facility (VMF) employees and the Postal Vehicle Service. We have met consistently to achieve training goals that benefit our craft, however the […]

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Michael O. Foster Hundreds of MVS officers and delegates from around the country attended the All-Craft Conference, Oct. 2 – 4 in Las Vegas. We had excellent training, and we hope that attendees will utilize it to create winning grievances. The MVS Division officers reported on several resolved issues. Postal Vehicle Operator (PVO) Pilot Alternative Dispute Resolution Process (ADRP) MOU We previously reported on the ADRP. We successfully obtained an agreement to use the ADRP […]

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On August 1, 2023, Arbitrator Daniel F. Brent transmitted a National Award dated July 21, 2023, to the parties in the Motor Vehicle Craft Jobs MOU case, Case No. Q10C-4Q-C 4256800, finding that the Postal Service violated the MOU by failing to convert 600 Highway Contract Routes to the Postal Vehicle Service. The dispute stems from the 2010 contract negotiations. At the time, the Postal Service claimed it was in a dire financial situation and […]

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(This article first appeared in the July/August 2023 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) Clearinghouse Consent Form There have been recent inquiries about signing the consent form and the language of the form, for limited queries of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. The APWU filed a dispute case number Q18V-4Q-C 20375622/HQTV20200376 in August 2020. The settlement, dated Nov. 23, 2020, lists the procedure and language that should be […]

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Michael O. Foster In the last edition of The American Postal Worker, we reported that the APWU had inquired to the USPS on whether the use of the PS Form 4533 MVS Schedule was still in effect. By letter dated Feb. 23, 2023, the USPS responded to the Union’s inquiry: “The following Postal Service policies from the PO-701, Fleet Management Handbook, are still in effect and are expected to be followed: Section 213.1 – “Establish […]

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APWU and USPS leadership have signed a groundbreaking Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Postal Vehicle Operator (PVO) Position Pilot Program that will establish and fill a minimum of 125 PVO positions in the Oklahoma City, OK area. The region does not currently have APWU-represented Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) operators, and the work has previously been contracted out to private sector Highway Contract Routes (HCRs). The MOU, signed on Nov. 30, 2022, establishes a new career bargaining […]

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(This article first appeared in the July/August 2022 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) The Craft had a National Arbitration hearing on May 23-24 to determine if the USPS violated Section 2 of the 2010 Contract Motor Vehicle Craft Jobs Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by failing to convert 600 HCR routes to PVS routes. The Postal Service claims the MOU requires 600 duty assignments to be converted to bargaining unit positions. The Union’s position […]

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The Motor Vehicle Division recently settled two national disputes that had significant impact on MVS members. USPS/APWU Case Q15V-4Q-C 19224673/HQTV20190130 addressed the pay anomalies that can occur when a Postal Support Employee (PSE) is hired with a salary exception for a higher salary rate than is authorized on the Article 9 Postal pay scale. Although the parties had previously addressed many issues with PSE salary exceptions and the problems that impact not only the PSE’s […]

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Michael O. Foster January 6, 2022 (This article first appeared in the January/February 2022 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) The tentative agreement will now be mailed to each APWU member for their vote to approve or reject this agreement. The opportunity to ratify the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has not occurred since the 2010-2015 Contract. This means that the Union and the Employer have not agreed on the wages, hours, and working conditions […]

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In August 2016, National Arbitrator Shyam Das issued an arbitration decision sustaining APWU’s case Q06-4Q-C 11182451. In November, the APWU invoked the arbitrator’s retained jurisdiction, complaining that the USPS had not insourced the 110 HCRs into PVS assignments within 6 months (February 2017) as the Award as ordered.  On June 4, 2021, he ruled that the USPS had indeed not complied with his August 2016 decision. Although the parties had entered into two MOUs to effectuate […]

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(This article first appeared in the May/June 2021 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) The National Agreement expires in September of this year and contract negotiations with the Postal Service will open in June. The APWU has been preparing for negotiations for quite a while, and we have established a committee of National and Local MVS Officers as we continue with our preparations. The Postal Service will undoubtedly have the same strategy that they […]

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(This article first appeared in the March/April 2021 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) The APWU initiated a National Dispute on January 29, 2021, challenging the Postal Service’s National Zero Base review program and Transportation Logistics Training Program that unilaterally implemented a national policy of systematically assigning bargaining unit work to non-bargaining unit personnel in violation of Article 1.6.A. The parties have clearly agreed that the duties of creating PVS schedules is bargaining unit […]

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Earlier this summer, MVS announced a National Dispute on the Postal Service’s unilateral implementation of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Clearinghouse Consent Form and Program.  During the Step-4 meeting, the parties discussed the form, program and issues involved including the Article 1, 5 and 19 violations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement which prohibit unilateral actions that directly impact wages, hours or working conditions.  After much discussion, the parties have come to agreement regarding the dispute, which […]

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On November 23, the National MVS Craft Division came to agreement with the USPS on a class action Step-4 dispute regarding PVS Costs, case no. Q10V-4Q-C 16534585/HQTV20160326. The issue presented was whether or not the USPS violated Article 32.2 of the National Agreement when they assigned the full cost of a vehicle as a line item in their cost comparison. The MVS Craft officers complained that these were unreasonable costs added to PVS making it harder […]

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On August 28, the MVS craft initiated a National Step 4 Dispute contesting the Postal Service’s unilateral implementation of work requirements related to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Click here to view the dispute initiation letter: APWU Case Number HQTV20200376 Re. Unilateral Implementation of FMCSA Clearinghouse Consent Form and Program. Since May, the Union has been requesting information pertaining to the Postal Service’s new consent form entitled, “Consent for Limited […]

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The USPS Office Inspector General (OIG) recently announced a solicitation for postal employee comments on the lift gates of the latest purchased Peterbilt 18’ and 24’ cargo trucks. On April 30, MVS Director Michael Foster and Assistant Director Javier E. Piñeres teleconferenced with the OIG regarding their concerns with the cargo truck lift gates and the comment solicitation. Director Foster commented, “This is a significant comment solicitation by the OIG because the inquiries and concerns came from […]

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Just two months into the new year, and the Motor Vehicle Service Craft Division has been hard at work with several updates for the membership. Of primary issue are the Department of Transportation’s changes impacting MVS Operators with Commercial Drivers Licensing. More information will be provided, pending further discussions and meetings with the USPS. Here are the notable updates: FAT Testing Concerns for Mercedes Metris RHD Van In mid-January, MVS APWU representatives attended the First […]

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The APWU and Postal Service’s history regarding the Service’s decision to follow Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations dates back to 1995. Despite policy stating that DOT physicals would be scheduled by postal management, occur on the clock at a Medical Unit or Contract Medical Facility, and be paid for by the USPS, issues surfaced from the field concerning payment and scheduling of the different tests required to certify PVS […]

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September 13, 2018 When the USPS made changes to Chapters 5 and 7 of the Postal Operations Manual (POM) in 1995, APWU challenged the changes as not fair, reasonable, and equitable. While USPS agreed to restore the language in 2007 and again in 2012, they never did. APWU never stopped fighting. On August 28, we reached an agreement with the USPS to restore the language within 12 weeks. “This language is significant because it protects […]

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(This article first appeared in the May-June 2018 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)  By Motor Vehicle Service Craft Directors  MVS Director Michael Foster (fifth from right) and Assistant MVS Director Javier Piñeres (far left) with MVS members and USPS representatives in front of newly tested cargo trucks. New USPS cargo trucks and spotters were scheduled to begin deployment in April. The Postal Service conducted the First Article Testing (FAT) on the Ottawa Spotters and the Peterbilt […]

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On Jan. 26, the MVS Division and the USPS settled Class Action Grievance USPS NO. Q15V-4Q-C17473798/APWU No. HQTV20170179. In the settlement, the parties agreed that when an external posting to hire contains an incorrect salary for the position in question, the Postal Service may correct the error pre-employment. Correction of the error must be made prior to a written job offer being accepted by the applicant. If an applicant accepts a written job offer which […]

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09/28/2017 – On August 31, the APWU Motor Vehicle Service Craft Division and the USPS came to a settlement for case numbers Q10V-4Q-C 16466169/HQTV20160275, Q10V-4Q-C 15300453/HQTV20150846 and Q10V-4Q-C 16466163/A19V20160276. The issue concerns the deployment of scanners to Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) drivers, as part of the Surface Visibility (SV) program. The issue initially arose in 2006, when the USPS first introduced the SV program that included scanning. Since then, there have been numerous conversations and disputes concerning […]

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03/23/2017 – On March 10, the Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Postal Service that remedies the situation where Motor Vehicle Service Postal Support Employees (PSE) who had been granted a salary exception were converted to career status within the same craft but to a lower level and received a starting salary rate in accordance with the June 6, 2014 MOU “Re: Resolution of Postal Support Employee (PSE) Salary Exception Issues,”  and […]

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Web News Article #: 193-2015 10/08/2015 – The APWU and USPS have signed an agreement that prohibits management from initiating the posting of annual bids in the Motor Vehicle Service Craft pursuant to any audit review, Assistant Director Javier E. Piñeres has announced. The dispute that led to the Sept. 30 Memorandum of Understanding Re: Zero Base Initiative arose last year, when reports from the field indicated that local managers were forcing the posting of […]

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Can we ever trust USPS management to live up to their agreements and obligations? On August 18, 2016, during our last convention in Orlando, the Motor Vehicle Division received one of the most important arbitration decisions relating to Article 32.2.B and the renewal of Highway Contract Routes (HCRs). In Case No. Q06C-4Q-C 11182451, arbitrator Shyam Das sustained the union’s non-notification of HCR routes dispute and awarded the Postal Vehicle Service (PVS) 110 HCRs for four […]

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