Labor Relations in the Postal Corporation

Abstract

The mechanization and automation of mail processing has taken place in a unionized organization where labor—management relations are governed by a collective bargaining agreement. The Postal Reorganization Act authorized the Postal Service to enter into collective bargaining agreements with nationally recognized labor unions for the purpose of establishing compensation and working conditions. This replaced the political process of addressing labor issues in Congress with a corporatist system of peak negotiations between postal managers and representatives of nationally recognized postal unions. Negotiations between postal unions and the Postal Service establish contract provisions, and local administration of the contract is overseen by regional and national officers. A four-step grievance—arbitration process leads to the appointment of independent arbitrators who resolve difficult workplace issues. Conflict between labor and management over wages, hours, discipline, the impact of technology, and overall control of the labor process is mediated by the collective bargaining process. The best scientifically planned strategies and programs of postal management meet indeterminate outcomes when confronted by the power of organized labor in collective bargaining and the grievance—arbitration process.