On May 1 we celebrate 50 years as a
Local. It is a good time to reflect on how
far we have come and where we are going.
Many people have made sacrifices and
fought for the wages, hours and working
conditions we enjoy. In a struggling
economy we are fortunate to have a
no-layoff clause and to have negotiated
Wages and benefits so we can provide for
ourselves and our families. Yet we
sometimes forget the individuals who
fought before us so we could enjoy these
wages and benefits. A union is about
solidarity, upholding the contract and
fighting not just for ourselves but also for
those who will come after us, just as our
predecessors did. A union is only as strong
as its members.
Article 1.6A states:
Supervisors are prohibited from
performing bargaining unit work ... except:
1) in an emergency;
2) for the purpose of training or instruction
of employees;
3) to assure the proper operation of
equipment;
4) to protect the safety of employees; or
5) to protect the property of the USPS
If management is performing your work -
touching the mail, moving equipment,
delivering express, lobby sweeps etc. - you
should be requesting a steward. Do not
continue to allow them to do our work and
eliminate jobs.
LMOU Item 21 F.
“... the successful bidder shall work the
duty assignment as posted and shall not be
displaced by a junior employee.”
Youbid the job and youshould be
working the job as posted. There is no
provision for you to be working at other
stations if it is not posted on your bid
assignment. To do so is to assist
management in eliminating jobs. Of course
you must do what you are instructed to do
but you should be requesting to see your
union steward.
DUO = Destruction of Unit Operations.
I can respect the Postal Service goal to
eliminate costs but I cannot agree to it at
the expense of customer service and the
causing of unsafe working conditions.
Employees working at Hoffman Heights
have been experiencing hazardous
working conditions that the
Postal Service caused when they moved
carriers, clerks and mail from Fletcher to
Hoffman Heights. In December, OSHA
performed an inspection and we are
awaiting their official findings. In the
meantime District Safety - present during
the OSHA Inspection - is well aware of
their findings - called unmanaged egress
aisles. A 28” egress aisle must be kept at
all times, but due to the inadequate space
at Hoffman it is impossible to achieve.
Management’s response is to search for
another location for the carriers and
distribution or reconstruct Hoffman.
Whatever station you are working at least a
clear 28” aisle must be maintained in your
work area, around carrier cases, etc. If it is
not you should be filling out a Form 1767
or requesting a steward.
Fletcher and Altura have experienced the
effects of the so called DUO’s. Missing
mail, insufficient time to do second
notices, return packages etc.
Management’s response is to further make
customer service worse by eliminating jobs
at these two stations. A job at Fletcher has
already been eliminated and, per MCS
Donna Flaherty, the elimination of a job at
Altura is forthcoming.
It doesn’t matter what station you are at, if
mail is being delayed - second notices,
forwards, return to senders etc. - you
should be reporting it to the OIG or
requesting a steward.
Wos, CSV and Flash reports.
Every time there is a reversion or an
abolishment of a job, these are the reports
management utilizes to justify it. These
reports are driven by some things you
either do or don't do. I cannot stress
enoughthe importance of assuring you are
making moves on the clock depending on
what duties you are performing. I cannot
stress enoughhow important it is to
account for every customer visit by
recording it in the POS machine. I cannot
stress enoughthe importance of assuring
that you are accurately recording mail
volume. Help us save your jobs by doing
your part.
Scheme Training, Travel time and
Mileage.
It is management’s responsibility
to provide and schedule training and your
responsibility to go. If you incur additional
mileage due to traveling to the AMPO, you
should be paid mileage. Ask your
supervisor or Manager for assistance in
requesting reimbursement for mileage.
Senior Bidders.
You have a right to do your scheme training immediately before or after your regular tour or on the clock with the use of annual. If you are being mandated for overtime and it interferes with your training, request a steward. Clerks under certain circumstances such as abolishment of your job or reposting of your job you may be entitled to conduct your scheme training on the clock. Remember: if you are traveling on or off the clock you are entitled to be paid for mileage. In addition, if you are traveling
off the clock you are entitled to travel time.
Recently I became aware that Clerks for
some time have not been paid for their
travel time or mileage. This means
management has not been paying you
correctly. This means they have purposely
been robbing you of your pay. Andy
Weaver has provided me with training
records for the last 6 years and I believe I
have identified the clerks that were robbed
of their pay. At this time Mr. Weaver
wants to argue that it is untimely to get you
paid now. I am currently working on a
response or solution, whether it is
notifying the OIG, Dept. of Labor,
contacting your Congressional
Representatives or perhaps filing a
grievance on your behalf. I promise you
this, there will be a response. Robbing
employees of their pay will not go without
a response. In speaking to employees it
appears it was not a problem prior to Mr.
Weaver and in speaking to others they
were unaware they were not paid correctly.
JCIM Art. 37, page 5, Question# 22.
In early 2012 I sent a letter to Postmaster
Cook outlining my position on the above
mentioned provision and that any violation
of my position would be grieved. It was
grieved and has recently been resolved.
It is now agreed among the parties that
when overtime is needed for scheme
distribution: 1) the employees on the
OTDL who are scheme qualified must be
maximized first; 2) then the clerks on the
OTDL not possessing the skill must be
utilized to perform mail distribution via
alpha-numeric; 3) then mandating
non-OTDL clerks. This was a very expensive
lesson for management, but a provision of
the contract they were well aware of prior
to the violation.
These are just a few of the provisions of
our CBA that must be enforced. Do not
allow your contract to be violated without
saying something. We cannot sacrifice our
fellow employees and future APWU
members, or turn our backs on those who
have sacrificed and fought for the wages,
hours and working conditions we enjoy
today. Get involved in the day-to-day
fight. In addition, get involved in the
legislative issues that affect workers all
over this great country including Postal
Workers.
As long as local management chooses to
disrespect the Collective Bargaining
Agreement (CBA) - which the Postal
Service agreed to and signed - we will
continue to file the same grievances. As
long as certain Managers and Supervisors
are not held accountable for the thousands
of dollars paid out in grievances every
year, we will continue to file the same
grievances. As long as local management
shows no integrity in honoring the
agreement the Postal Service signed, we
will continue to file the same grievances.
We must not give up and allow
management to violate our contract. We
must not play “Let’s Make A Deal” with
the contract to benefit just ourselves. The
outcome of such deals is the destruction of
what being a union is all about and the
elimination of current and future jobs.
Blame Postal Management, not your
union. Remember your union has your
interest at heart. Your Officers and
Stewards took an oath to uphold and
enforce the contract and will do so to the
best of their ability. Remember the APWU
is nottrying to destroy the USPS by filing
a grievance, as management sometimes
claims. We areenforcing a contract that
both parties agreed to and it is
management that chooses to violate the
Contract.
God bless and Best Wishes to our retirees.
I ask you all to stay involved and remain a
member of this local or become a member
of the retiree department. In 2013 and
forward we must continue to stand with
one another, pray for one another and be
there for one another as the fight and
struggles continue.
Shelly
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