Scheme training in the USPS changed greatly in 1983 due to a lawsuit filed by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor in Donovan v. United States Postal Service, Civil Action No. 78-0602. See NY Times: Postal Employees Win $400 Million Numerous Postal Service handbooks and manuals had to be revised to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and separate settlement agreements. Handbook M-5 was one of them. There are two slightly different versions, which I have attached. Both, however, are obsolete 1980 editions.
Major changes concerning scheme training were published in four 1983 Postal Bulletins and incorporated into the new Handbook PO-402-T. It was negotiated by Robert Tunstall, APWU Clerk Division Assistant Director. I assisted him in this endeavor, since I was a scheme instructor for many years. The 1981 Handbook PO-402-T, Scheme Training-Instructors’ Guide said, “PO-402-T – designates this as a training handbook, closely related to handbook PO-402. The present M-5, Schemes: Construction, Assignment, Training, and Proficiency, will be designated PO-402 at the next revision.” For some reason, the next revision of the Handbook M-5 didn’t materialize.
Postal Bulletin 21397, 3-31-1983, made these wording changes to Handbook M-5, among others:
432.3 Length and Scheduling of Training Sessions
Scheme training will be scheduled for each of the trainee’s scheduled workdays in sessions of one hour each.
• • • • •
432.7 Monitoring Performance
Trainee performance in scheme study will be monitored through use of weekly review tests. The test will be administered using review tests, in accordance with P-402T, Scheme Training—Instructors Guide. The time required for the review tests will be in addition to the hours allocated for scheme study. In the case of assigned schemes, such testing time will be on-the-clock. In the case of bid schemes, the testing time will be as specified in Section 412.1.
• • • • •
434 Scheme Qualification
The examination will be designed and conducted in accordance with Handbook P-402T. The time used to take the scheme qualification test by trainees assigned schemes will be in addition to any paid study time provided for learning the scheme and will be compensable.
The 1983 Postal Bulletins are attached (see below). As the front of the 1990 Handbook PO-402-T says, “The handbook has been updated to incorporate policy changes required by the 1987 National Agreement.” May I ask a question? Where are the APWU’s files from the 1970s and 1980s? The NALC deposited theirs at the Walter P. Reuther Library.
Added by RZ
Related: APWU: Clerk Craft Resolves Disputes on Scheme Requirements, Dexterity Qualifications
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