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NALC has filed an interpretive dispute over the Postal Service’s method of calculating overtime pay, Sunday premium pay, general wage increases, and cost of living adjustments (COLAs) for part-time flexible employees in Step AA. This dispute centers around Article 9 Section 8 and Article 11 Section 7 of the 2019 National Agreement and how they interact with each other.
Article 9 Section 8 states “[t]he Step AA Hourly Basic Rate will be equal to Step A of the Full-Time/Part-Time Regular Employees Hourly Basic Rate in Table Two.” Although, at the start of the term of the current collective bargaining agreement, the Postal Service paid this amount to Step AA PTFs for straight time, NALC discovered that it used a lower hourly rate to calculate overtime and Sunday premiums.
NALC’s position is that their overtime, and Sunday premium pay should be the same as FTR/PTR Step A.
When PTF Step AA went into effect, the hourly basic rate was $19.88. However, the Postal Service manufactured a new lower annual rate which generated a lower hourly rate of $19.12 as a base for calculating the overtime and Sunday premium for carriers in PTF Step AA. This resulted in PTFs in Step AA to be under paid by $1.15 for each hour of regular overtime and $0.19 for each straight time hour worked on a Sunday. This error has been compounded over time and now sits at $1.21 for regular overtime and $0.20 for Sunday premium after the release of the January COLA effective February 26.
Additionally, the Postal Service is calculating general wage increases and COLAs for PTFs in Step AA using its manufactured lower annual rate. This includes falsely creating and using a lower proportion of COLA. This has resulted in an hourly rate for PTF Step AA which no longer equals FTR/PTR Step A. This deviation will continue to compound over time as more general wage increases and COLAs are received.
Furthermore, with the addition of the Juneteenth National Independence Day holiday, the Postal Service’s misapplication of Article 11.7 is creating an even larger straight time hourly rate deviation between PTF Step AA and FTR/PTR Step A.
The grievance is currently scheduled for national arbitration before Arbitrator Dennis Nolan on April 21.