The Myth of the ‘Holiday PSE’

It's that time of year again when the Postal Service increases its hiring of new employees. The Organization Department fields a lot of questions during this time regarding new employee orientations. One issue that seems to come up year after year is that the Postal Service informs local leaders that employees have been hired as holiday Postal Support Employees (PSEs) and do not need to have union orientations.

The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), our union contract, covers all aspects of PSE wages, benefits, hours, and working conditions. The PSE workforce is comprised of employees who do not yet have career appointments, but who enjoy union representation and negotiated rights.

You will not find a PSE position title of, "Holiday PSE," "Temporary PSE," "Peak Season PSE" or "360-PSE." The postal Service hires PSEs for a term not to exceed 360 calendar days per appointment. A PSE is not a Holiday Clerk Assistant. Annuitant Holiday Clerk Assistants (HCA) are retirees that can be rehired temporarily and work during a specific period.

Regardless of what time of year the Postal Service hires a PSE, when the Postal Service separates PSEs due to lack of work, they must make reappointments by seniority. PSEs will be reappointed ahead of applicants who have not served as PSEs, provided the need for hiring arises within one year of the break in service. Some additional provisions the APWU has secured for PSEs include:

• Overtime Pay at the rate of 1.5 times the basic hourly straight-time rate for work performed after eight hours on duty in a service day, or 40 hours in a service week.
• Penalty Overtime Pay at the rate of two times the basic hourly straight-time rate, excluding the month of December, for all work in excess of 10 hours in a service day, or 56 hours in a service week.
• Night Differential Pay for hours worked between 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
• Higher-level pay for higher-level work, whereby in the event a PSE is temporarily assigned to a higher level position, PSEs are to be paid at the higher-level rate for the time spent performing higher-level duties. You can fi nd a PSE Rights and Benefits Brochure by visiting apwu.org/pse-brochure or sending a request to [email protected].

What's Your 2025 Organizing Goal?

As we close out another successful year in organizing, if you haven't already set goals for union organizing in 2025, now is a great time. Union organizing is a critical process that empowers us to come together to improve our working conditions, wages, benefits, and workplace democracy. As many of you who participated in our successful organizing drive this year know, organizing our non-members isn't going to happen by accident. Organizing takes a lot of work, dedication, and requires commitment to not ever be complacent.

Thank you for all that you do each every day. Best wishes to you and yours for a safe and happy holiday season! ■

Take a moment and send in your 2025 Organizing Goal today. Go to apwu.org/2025-organizing-goal to find the submission form. Each person who sends in their goal will be entered into a drawing to win APWU merchandise. We will publish the winners in the next edition of The American Postal Worker. Set a clear achievable goal today, as no goal is too small!