The Local Line
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Phone: 630-833-0088 Fax: 630-833-0248
Jackie Engelhart – President Alan Czerwinski - News Director
February 05, 2010
AMP Approved
On 2-3-10 management informed both unions at Palatine that the Area Mail Processing Study announced on 6-10-09 has been approved. This did not come as a surprise as we assumed once the decision was made to perform a study it would only be a matter of time before it was approved. When the AMP was announced on 6-10-09 we were told a loss of 131 total positions was projected and these jobs would come out of Palatine. At the meeting on 2-3-10 Greg Johnson announced that Palatine would lose 180! total EAS and Craft positions. I said that is not the number we were given originally and he said the "net loss" is 131 because CS will gain 50 jobs so Palatine will lose 180. Palatine Mail Handler President Robinson also stated we were told 131 and NAPS President Luz Moreno agreed they said 131 jobs would be lost when we met in June. He said we all "misunderstood".
Palatine to Lose 180!
There was no mention of Carol Stream gaining 50 jobs in June or Palatine losing 180. He could not tell us how many of the 180 would be Clerks and how many would be MH. The Palatine AMP impact will be in addition to the one already issued for 61 Clerks at Palatine and 26 Clerks at CS, so the AMP impact number? will be on top of the 61 Clerks. The number will be inflated based on the "Automation 90% BPI impact". At CS the AMP volume will undoubtedly wipe out the "BPI impact" for 26 Clerks, and if additional Clerks arc needed for the Palatine mail, management will have to return Clerks who were forced into the Mail Handler Craft in 2007 due to AFSM-AI. It remains to be seen if Clerks will be brought back from the MH Craft at CS but more Clerks should be needed to process the Palatine mail and the CS Clerks must come back from the MH Craft before Clerks come in from Palatine.
Palatine 2010
All the rumors were confirmed that the worst is yet to come at Palatine. The plant will lose originating First Class collection mail which is worked on tour 3. There are approximately 65 positions in tour 3 Automation with some Clerks still waiting for their retreat rights back into the section. So much for retreat rights to T3. Most junior Clerks are on tour 1 so the domino effect will apply. The junior tour 1 Clerks will be out the door and the tour 2 and 3 Clerks will be on tour 1. Depending on how far? they cut this may be the time they go too far. Every time there's an excessing we say they won't be able to get their mail out but "we" do. While they keep cutting jobs we continue to see the Supervisors working on the machines every night. Even Greg Johnson has been seen performing craft work in Automation. If we have too many Clerks then why do they rely on Supervisors to work mail? When they can't get the mail out they will stop.
Clerks to Carrier This Time
When Palatine Clerks were excessed out of the facility in May of 2009 none of them were forced into the Carrier Craft because there were enough Clerk, MH, and Custodian residuals available at that time for all 69 Clerks. At that time management did not want to include some MH vacancies at AMC O'Hare because they said Chicago wanted to save those jobs for Chicago. The contract does not allow them to save jobs for a future impact and deny them to employees who are currently being moved. We did not allow management to save those jobs and all of the O'Hare vacancies were selected by Palatine Clerks. This time there are not enough jobs in the other crafts to prevent some Clerks from being forced into the Carrier Craft but we will ensure that all residual vacancies within the commuting area are included in the jobs offered to the impacted Clerks. We know that management wants to push these Clerks into the Carrier Craft within the Northern IL District so they will try to exclude other jobs that may be available. We will work with Central Region Coordinator Sharyn Stone to identify all available jobs. Some Clerks have asked how the FSS may affect them if they are forced into the Carrier Craft. District Manager Robert Hart has said he will not send Clerks into offices impacted by FSS. Another question is how would five-day delivery affect the Carrier Craft and these Clerks who would become the junior Carriers? We need to find out. Being a Clerk at Palatine is a thankless job as management issues serial impacts on them to feed the Carrier Craft.
JoAnn Feindt at Busse
On 1-19-10 Great Lakes Area Vice President JoAnn Feindt came to Busse to thank the employees for having the best APPS productivity in the GLA for the Christmas period. She said she hopes they continue to improve because in the past Busse was known for being the worst and not the best. She spoke about the Chicago NDC (formerly BMC) losing out to Des Moines and Pittsburgh and how the loss of mail impacted the employees in that facility, with Mail Handlers being excessed to Des Moines and Pittsburgh. She said she fought to keep the mail at the Chicago NDC but the more productive plants were selected, and with the overcapacity in the system the better facilities will stay open while others close or lose mail. We continue to hear rumors about Busse being moved to the BMC (NDC) in Forest Park due to the fact that Busse is a leased building and not postal owned. Plant Manager Branch said the lease is up in Nov. 2010. Talking with the Area VP I was able to speak with her for a few minutes after she spoke to the employees and served pizza for the Employee Appreciation Day. I told her we have serious problems in the Northern IL District as senior management does not return our calls and management refuses to release our Clerk Craft Director for union business since he bid into Bulk Mail on 11-17-09 She listened and asked questions and said she would call Mr. Hart. We have been getting phone calls returned since I spoke to the Area VP at Busse, but we have seen no progress on the CCD issue as he is still working 40 hours per week in his bid with no union time.
OIG Says USPS Overpaid Federal Government $75 Billion
Burrus Update 3-2010 After an in-depth investigation, the OIG has concluded that an inequitable system for computing the USPS-CSRS pension responsibility has caused the overpayment. The funding error follows two previous findings that the USPS was on track to over-fund CSRS by $78 billion, and in 2003 the USPS was overcharged $27 billion for CSRS military service credits. The earlier overpayments were corrected by legislation passed in 2003 and 2006. The newest over-funding, if corrected, would more than offset the USPS deficit for Fiscal Year 2009 and the expected shortfalls in FY 2010 and 2011. USPS financial difficulties could be fully resolved by returning the overpayments to the USPS. Realigning the network, reducing employee compensation and benefits, and transferring the cost of universal service to individual mailers can now be exposed for the fraudulent exercises they represent ... This report is good news for a beleaguered government service. USPS service standards and productivity have remained at high levels; the economy is recovering, and the black cloud of fiscal insolvency could be removed. All parties in the postal community who wish to be of assistance must join in an effort to correct the inequity and relieve the USPS of the unjustified funding requirement. In the meantime we can take a deep breath and stop the momentum for another round of harmful postal "reform". After the attrition of 115,000 APWU-represented positions since 2002, our employees have done their share.