What can the Automated Postal centers (APCs) do?

Q&A Re: Automated Postal Centers

As reported in articles and reports to the Clerk Craft Conference, Automated Postal Centers (APCs) are being deployed throughout the United States. The automated equipment is designed to reduce lines at the windows and provide customers another way to mail items and purchase special services.

The following answers to frequently asked questions present the position of the American Postal Workers Union on the deployment and use of this equipment.

Q: Once the APC is deployed, who maintains the equipment?

A: The Postal Service has maintained from the beginning that window clerks will perform the routine duties associated with this equipment. Such duties include restocking paper, PVI tape and stamp books. The clerk also may clear minor paper jams.

Q: Who performs maintenance work on the machine?

A: APWU’s Maintenance Division has initiated a dispute over the APC program. Because this piece of equipment is automated rather than mechanical, the work cannot be assigned to a SSPC (Self Service Postal Clerk). The APWU has been informed that the equipment is “plug and play,” and so will not need the amount of service most vending machines require.

Q: Which clerk is assigned the responsibility for maintaining the accountability of this equipment?

A: During the initial testing, the Lead Sales and Services Associates were assigned these duties. In the absence of an LSSA, the employer can assign the duties to another window clerk. This accountable clerk will also be responsible for replacing paper and strip rolls.

Q: During initial deployment of the equipment, management has designated APC Customer Advisors to educate customers on the use of the machines. How are these employees selected?

A: The employer has the right to select any employee to perform this simple task. However, it is advisable that the employer assign the duties to existing Lobby Directors or window clerks. The reason is that APC Customer Advisors may cross over and perform traditional Lobby Director duties, which clearly are Clerk Craft duties. Furthermore, the APC advisors can only direct, advise, and assist customers. If the advisor is not a clerk, actually performing a transaction for a customer could be a violation of the contract.

Total Revenue To Date = $170,462,097.78 As Of: March 24, 2005
2,500 of 2,500 APCs Have Been Installed.

Revenue has been adjusted to reflect inventory overages and shortages.
Revenue on this site has been reported from 1412 source data, as will be reported in the Accounting Data Mart (ADM).
Revenue shown here does not reflect transactional data, therefore differences between data
on this site and the Retail Data Mart (RDM) may exist.

Automated Postal Centers
By Bill Lewis

The new Automated Postal Centers (APCs) will be capable of providing 80 percent of the most common transactions handled at full service windows.  These machines will be available 24/7 for our customers to conduct postal business.  Not all post offices will be receiving the APCs; at the present time only high volume offices with long waits will see them.

Some of the features of the APCs are; weighing and rating letters, flats and parcels up to 70 pounds. Dispensing variable rate postage in any denomination for Express, Priority, First Class, Certified mail, International (under a pound) and Parcel Post. Providing postal service and mailing information, and zip code lookup.  Printing express mail forms and generating a receipt for payment are also some of the features of the APCs.

If this state of art technology is promoted properly it could have a major impact on window service operations and cause a reduction in over the counter sale and thus reduce the need for our current staffing of sales and service associate positions, so far I have not seen this overwhelming success but I am still cautious. The machine does not sell single stamps nor does it accept cash.  Only credit cards and debit cards are accepted.

Who will perform the routine duties associated with this equipment?  The USPS and APWU agree that a sales and service associate will perform the duties associated with this equipment.  The clerk will restock the paper, PVI tape and stamp books.  The clerk may also clear jams in the machine.   The postal service has contracted the servicing and repairs to the company that designed and installed them.  The national maintenance division has filed a national level grievance over the work being contracted outside the maintenance craft. 

During the first 90 days following the deployment of the APCS, the postal service will be hand picking an employee to be the APC Customer Advisor, this individual will encourage customers to use it, help them get acquainted with the machine and assist them with their transaction.  Management has the right to select any employee to serve as a APCs Customer Advisor.  The APWU doesn’t seem to have objections to the use of non-APWU bargaining unit employee from receiving the 3.5 hours training.  The APWU does caution management not to cross the duties of a lobby director or clerk with this APC Customer Advisor.  Who is kidding who? As the APWU loses bargaining unit positions daily we cannot afford to allow any work even if it is one day or 90 days to be given to other crafts.   The work is clearly retail work and should go to an APWU sales and service associate working in the retail center.  Management has taken the position that the work associated with the APC doesn’t belong to the Self-Service Postal Clerk since the APC is automatic and not mechanical.  This I will have to explore a bit more to determine if this position is correct.

Since I will be receiving this piece of equipment when the Trenton P&DC reopens in about 2 months and as always I will continue to preserve APWU work, I plan to approach management and encourage them to use a sales and service associate as an APC Customer Advisor.  I will have grievances filed on any one who is not a sales and service associate who stocks the machine, and initiate grievances for any work being performed by contractors. We must strengthen our resolve to protect our work from this point forward and aggressively defend it.