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NAPS Responds to Proposed RP&DC; and LPC EAS Staffing

NAPS Responds to Proposed RP&DC and LPC EAS Staffing

Bruce Nicholson, director, USPS Labor Relations Policies & Programs, met with the NAPS resident officers on Sept. 19 to discuss proposed staffing for RP&DCs and LPCs. In a Sept. 29 letter to Nicholson, NAPS President Ivan D. Butts expressed concern regarding the USPS using current EAS employees to craft ratios.

“This ratio has been a longstanding concern for NAPS,” Butts wrote. “Since the ration was changed to 1.22/1.25, USPS leadership has had to rely on 204 (b) usage above the established complement to maintain plant processing operations.”

Butts also raised concerns about the USPS using newly created relief supervisor positions to address the discrepancy in the USPS ratio. “That would be a misuse of the intended purpose of relief supervisors and serve only to worsen the staffing issues in Function 1 operations,” he stressed. “The relief supervisor position was created for and supported by NAPS to provide coverage during days off and scheduled vacations of Form 50 EAS employees working in that particular function—not to serve as an operational supervisor filling an understaffing void in the complement model.”

In the letter, Butts offered these recommendations:

1. That the ratio for EAS to craft be set at 1:16.

2. That the ratio for MDOs be set for MDO to SDO 1:10.

3. That the ratio for SMDOs be set for SMDO to MDO 1:5.

“NAPS also recommends that these ratios be reviewed on a yearly basis with NAPS and the USPS to ensure the effectiveness of the ratios is being maintained,” he offered.

Members can read the entire letter at naps.org under “NAPS Board Memos” on the Bulletin Board.