On May 31, 2018 we received the pay equity decision from Arbitrator Flynn. On the same day, Jessica McDonald, Chair of the Board of Directors and Interim President and CEO, issued a statement in which she promised that CPC was “committed to acting “swiftly and diligently” with CUPW to resolve the issues.
CUPW provided CPC with our position on every issue in dispute including how we should deal with the retroactive period and going forward in the future. Our approach was in line with the guidance provided in Arbitrator’s Flynn’s decision. For wages, we stated that the RSMC derived hourly rate should be increased to that of letter carriers. We proposed that the time and compensation for variables be made pensionable. For benefits, we proposed a financial payment for the retroactive period and that RSMCs should receive the benefits going forward.
On June 15, 2018, two weeks after the award was issued, we met with CPC representatives to hear their position on all of the issues. We received nothing. CPC is not prepared to tell us what their position is on wages, variables or benefits. They are not even prepared to tell us when we will receive their positions on the issues. The only exception was the glove allowance. After much discussion the employer agreed that RSMCs should be entitled to the glove allowance but they were not sure how this compensation should be paid.