The Aug. 6 consultative was held in conjunction with the national convention NAPS Executive Board meeting; all board members were present, except New England Area Vice President Bill Austin, whose flight had been canceled. Representing the Postal Service were Bruce Nicholson and James Timmons, Labor Relations Policy Administration.
Agenda Item #1
Regarding Informed Delivery, NAPS asked the following questions:
How many subscriptions does Informed Delivery currently have?
As of July 17, 2022, Informed Delivery had 49.2 million registered users representing 36.2 million unique households.
What is the projected advertising revenue for Informed Delivery in FY22?
Informed Delivery does not generate revenue directly, but does contribute to the overall value that shipping and mailing with the Postal Service provide to customers. The Postal Sales team regularly uses the availability of Informed Delivery as an added benefit to the shipping and mailing service products offered to commercial mailers.
In addition, our nearly 50 million subscribers provide an engaged audience for brands to deliver additional marketing touchpoints. This provides a competitive advantage to customers using our products.
The inclusion of digital content in the Informed Delivery daily digest provides our customers with the advantages of Postal Service mailing and shipping products combined with a digital channel in which consumers are highly engaged. The 70.2% email open rate for Informed Delivery daily digests provides mailing and shipping customers with more than 2.5 times the exposure they would get through email marketing.
What is the planned revenue for Informed Delivery for FY22?
N/A
Is this projected revenue included in Total Revenue used for NPA?
N/A
Agenda Item #2
NAPS 1187s currently are in arrears for four months. When can we expect Shared Services to process these new, backlogged 1187s and become current?
The HRSSC tracks receipt and activity of 1187s daily and is current. If NAPS can provide examples of 1187s that have not been processed or were significantly delayed, we can research to determine the issue. At times, errors are made when the form is filled out improperly.
Note: Since the Aug. 6 consultative meeting, NAPS has submitted names for the USPS to track. The process is being reviewed at both NAPS Headquarters and Postal Service Headquarters.
Agenda Item #3
NAPS asked if there would be mitigation to FY22 NPA. If no, why not? If yes, what indicators will be mitigable and who will be able to mitigate? Also, what will be the timelines and process?
Yes, there will be an opportunity for installation heads to submit a unit mitigation request for consideration for FY22. References to Corporate and Unit indicators were removed in 2021, yet indicators measured at the unit level still exist. We will consult with NAPS on redefining the policy that references unit indicators.
Agenda Item #4
NAPS asked if Amazon parcel delivery actually makes a profit. Regardless, what is the profit or loss YTD?
The profitability of individual customers’ parcel shipments with the Postal Service is commercially sensitive and information that, under good business practice, would not be publicly disclosed. However, each competitive product must, by law, cover its costs and contribute an appropriate share to institutional costs. And to the extent any given customer’s parcel shipments may be provided under a negotiated service agreement (NSA), each individual NSA also must cover its costs and contribute an appropriate share to institutional costs.
Agenda Item #5
NAPS asked what is being done to more quickly move EAS employees in the middle of their pay scales toward the top of their pay ranges. It’s obvious this group of EAS employees has been stuck in the middle of their pay ranges for years; PFP is not the answer.
There was no analysis provided to support this allegation. Individuals receive general salary increases through promotions and annual pay-for-performance (PFP) increases. Salary range minimums and maximums are increased every year.
This could result in individuals not reaching the top of the salary range maximum and continue to receive PFP as basic salary increases. The ranges are increased just before establishing PFP awards to allow individuals to receive most or all their award as a general salary increase. In June 2015, we agreed to apply increases to salary range minimums before applying PFP awards.
Agenda Item #6
NAPS is concerned the Seminole P&DC Annex was rented without air conditioning. The local NAPS branch president wrote to Mark Dahlstrom, director, Gulf Atlantic Division for Mail Processing. While NAPS understands some cooling equipment has been brought into the facility, NAPS considers this an unsafe working environment for employees. NAPS believes the USPS should install air conditioning in this facility as soon as possible.
The Postal Service has determined that the actions taken in facilities without air conditioning are adequate. The response provided to NAPS locally included multiple measures being taken concerning employees assigned to this facility and other facilities without air conditioning.
Agenda Item #7
Mindi Doleshal, (A) HR manager, Central Area, did not follow through on the issue of Sioux Falls having supervisor positions posted as Sunday/rotating and rotating/rotating days, giving the supervisors random days off each week and not adhering to the set days off in the rotation. The area said it would fix the supervisors’ days off to comply with the way they were posted, but that has not been done. When can NAPS expect this to be resolved?
NAPS should direct this inquiry to the Central Area. It’s a local issue that is not suitable for this forum.
Agenda Item #8
NAPS is now requesting consultation regarding implementation of the Sorting & Delivery Centers, scheduled for fall 2022 for Mid-Hudson, Bryan, TX, and Athens, GA, as far as NAPS can discern. The USPS has not been forthcoming on the implementation dates across the country.
Title 39, Section 1004(b), reads, in part: “Upon presentation of evidence satisfactory to the Postal Service that a supervisory organization represents a majority of supervisors … such organization or organizations shall be entitled to participate directly in the planning and development of pay policies and schedules, fringe benefit programs, and other programs relating to supervisory and other managerial employees.”
As this process is currently designed, based on a briefing the NAPS resident officers previously attended, there will be considerable impact on EAS staffing as supervisors, managers and postmasters will have carriers and clerks moved into these mega-units. NAPS further demands the USPS follows Title 39, Section 1004(D)(1)(b), giving NAPS its full consultative rights under the law.
We have provided two briefings to NAPS on the S&DCs and provided a list of facilities and implementation dates. We will continue to share information with NAPS, as well as follow our obligations with the consultation process.
Agenda Item #9
NAPS North Central Area Vice President Dan Mooney did not receive answers from Wisconsin District Manager Sam Reed relative to a “lockdown” that occurred at Milwaukee’s Bayview Station. Reed was sent a reminder on June 29 that Mooney had not yet received adequate responses. Reed replied he would have the Labor manager respond; to date, that has not occurred.
NAPS should direct this inquiry to the Wisconsin District and escalate it to the Central Area if unresolved. It’s a local issue that is not suitable for this forum.
Agenda Item #10
Central Area MPOO Patti King in Kansas City is requiring all offices to deliver all missent Priority and Express Mail to every office within 50 miles. While Dave Williams was chief operating officer, he stopped this process, indicating that heroic efforts such as this are unnecessary.
The Postal Service also has a policy that mail should not be transported in personal vehicles. Many of these offices do not have enough postal vehicles to accomplish this task. NAPS requested that Postal Service Headquarters reemphasize the policy regarding delivering missent Express and Priority mail.
NAPS should direct this inquiry to the Kansas-Missouri District for discussion. It’s a local issue that is not suitable for this forum.
Agenda Item #11
A USPS Headquarters employee (for privacy concerns, their name will not be used here) was requested to attend the NAPS Central Region Symposium in April 2022 as a USPS presenter. They were told by their manager they would have to use their own annual leave and pay their own expenses to attend. The manager went as far as to tell the employee that NAPS should pay their expenses if NAPS wanted them to attend.
NAPS Central Region Vice President Craig Johnson spoke to Central Area Field Human Resources Manager Mindi Doleshal several times about this, as well as Bruce Nicholson, Headquarters Labor Relations. Unfortunately, the issue has been left unresolved. NAPS requested that this employee have their leave balance restored and all travel-related expenses reimbursed.
NAPS should direct this inquiry to the Central Area. It’s a local issue that is not suitable for this forum.
Agenda Item #12
Headquarters EAS positions assigned to Michigan 1 District were identified as subject to a reduction in force (RIF). Based on these rumors, many EAS employees sought positions outside Michigan 1. USPS Headquarters ultimately recognized those positions never should have been identified as potentially being subject to a RIF.
Central Area Field Human Resources Manager Mindi Doleshal has not been responsive to questions and concerns about this issue. Those who did get other EAS positions outside Michigan 1 have not been permitted to retreat to their former positions.
NAPS requested that EAS employees who sought positions outside Michigan 1 based on the potential impact of a RIF be permitted to retreat back to their former positions in Michigan 1.
There are no retreat rights for non-bargaining employees. Retreat rights are used for bargaining-unit employees in excessing events. Non-bargaining employees are not excessed; we follow policies on RIFs and RIF-avoidance activities. If individuals identify a vacancy in which they are interested, they can request lateral assignments.
Positions have changed due to the restructure; the number of positions has been reduced. Therefore, there may be more people interested in returning to a limited number of vacancies.
Agenda Item #13
Higher-level maintenance jobs still were posted as special exempt after the COVID MOU ended. This occupation code was updated effective May 21, 2022, which designated it as exempt: Employees who occupy MGR MAINTENANCE (1640-7040) effective May 21, 2022, and thereafter are designated as exempt, and employees who currently are assigned to that position received a NOA 902 to update their records accordingly.
NAPS is aware that members who applied for these positions, as posted, were awarded the positions and subsequently were informed the position had changed to exempt. NAPS asked for an explanation regarding this failure to properly post these positions.
NAPS sent a request to the vice president of Labor Relations in 2020 to allow for additional pay for exempt employees being required to work a significant number of additional hours every day and on scheduled days off due to low percentages of employee availability. The Postal Service analyzed the request and determined it would allow additional pay for exempt managers in field operations if required to work additional hours because one’s subordinate supervisor was unavailable to report to work due to a COVID-19-related absence and that exempt manager was needed to directly supervise bargaining-unit employees in mail processing and delivery functions.
A temporary solution was identified in our pay system and specific manager positions were flagged as eligible for additional pay. Once flagged, the positions were displayed as special exempt on job postings. Once the memorandum allowing for additional pay expired, those positions were returned to the exempt designation.
The MGR Maintenance (1640-7040) was and still is exempt. It was only eligible for additional pay and temporarily classified as special exempt during the life of the memorandum.
Agenda Item #14
NAPS asked if the USPS received a flat dollar amount from the Biden Administration over and above the cost of packing and delivering COVID test kits to the American public. If yes, what was that dollar amount?
What was the cost per kit charged for delivery? Has 100% of the year-to-date total revenue the USPS has generated/charged to the administration for packing and delivering COVID test kits been added into the “total revenue” stream used to calculate the NPA “Total Revenue to Plan” indicator this fiscal year? How many COVID test kits have been delivered year to date?
The year-to-date total revenue the USPS has generated/charged to the ad-ministration for packing and delivering COVID test kits has been added into the “total revenue” stream used to calculate the NPA “Total Revenue to Plan” indicator this fiscal year. As noted in our latest 10-Q released on Aug. 9, 2022, during the last quarter, the Postal Service saw its other services’ revenue increase by $100 million compared to the same period last year due to non-postage revenue associated with the COVID-19 test kit distribution initiative.
To date, the Postal Service has delivered approximately 550 million at-home tests to American households as a result of this initiative.
Categories: The Postal Supervisor
