NEWS17 August 2010
US— The American Postal Workers Union is urging members to boycott staff surveys fielded by the United States Postal Service (USPS), fearing the results will be used to “undercut the union” in upcoming contract negotiations.
The union has written to local and state representatives to warn them not to complete the voluntary surveys as talks with USPS management on wages and benefits are due to begin on 1 September.
Director of industrial relations Greg Bell claimed in the letter: “The Postal Service has misrepresented the results of employee opinion surveys in the past when it used survey data to justify claims that employees supported its wage proposals.”
Bell called for “continued support in boycotting the surveys”. Since 1998, the union has discouraged members from taking part in such research.
USPS reported a third-quarter loss of $3.5bn for the three months ending 30 June, and warned that efforts to reduce work hours – already cut by 6.6% during the first nine months of the fiscal year – would have to continue.
Announcing the results, chief financial officer Joseph Corbett said: “Despite ongoing aggressive cost reductions totalling over $10bn in the last three years, it is clear that a liquidity problem is looming and must be addressed through fundamental changes requiring legislation and changes to contracts.”