The Local Line
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The
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Phone: 630-833-0088 Fax: 630-833-0248
Jackie Engelhart – President Alan Czerwinski - News Director
August 30, 2008
NALC President Speaks at APWU Convention.
National Association of Letter Carriers President Bill Young addressed the delegates on the opening day of the recently concluded national convention. He said “Something's got to change and we've got to make it happen. The men and women of the NALC are ready to stand with the APWU to make sure that it does."He shared with us a study done by the Economic Policy Institute on the criteria for a "good job". The three criteria for what they consider a "good job" are the job must pay at least $35,000 annually, it must have some sort of health benefits even if the employee pays 99% of the cost, and have any kind of employer sponsored annuity. Only 23% of American jobs meet even these three "miserable criteria." The significance for postal workers is that APWU and NALC have to negotiate against a "standard of comparability" He said we must join hands and return this country to working men and women, and we need to work together to elect a President who will stand up for us. Whatever divided us in the past doesn't mean diddly squat and we will work together and we will succeed."Young's appearance came a few weeks after President William Burrus had accepted an invitation to speak at the NALC national convention in Boston. These convention appearances signal a change in the relationship between the two largest postal unions for the better.
President Burrus...
President Bums said in the past we have focused on
improving conditions for the employees were present, but this year it is not
the quality of our jobs that is at stake, but their very existence. He said the
APWU continues to represent the work force well with the 2006 contract, APWU
finances are in good shape in spite of the shrinking bargaining unit, and more
Locals are affiliating with the AFL-CIO. (We have) APWU legislative efforts
have been very successful, and COPA donations exceed 1 million per year. He
said the USPS will suffer $1.5 billion deficit in 2008, and under current law
cannot recover this loss by raising rates beyond the rate of inflation. He said
this has serious implications for our 2010 contract negotiations and for the
future of the Postal Service. Postal reform legislation enacted in 2006
requires Congress to review universal service, the mailbox monopoly, six-day
delivery, and the postal network. He said these reviews are being conducted
while postal management continues disastrous policies of granting excessive
work share discounts and pursues a misguided policy of contracting out postal
work. He said we must wage a campaign to preserve universal mail service and
support the Mail Network Protection Act. President
Burrus ended by saying we need to elect
friends of labor this fall, as the very existence of our jobs is at stake.
Excessing in Dallas, Texas
We received this impact notice dated 8-7-08, and it said "On May 16, 2008 all affected unions were sent an impact statement for the Dallas District that reflects the reduction in staffing of clerks and mailhandlers resulting from the AMC closing, staffing realignment, and decreased mail volume at the Dallas, TX Post Office. It stated that attrition alone will not be sufficient to avoid excessing outside the craft and/or installation. Please be advised that due to insufficient attrition, the reduction of mail volume, and the effect of other impacts it is necessary to increase the withholding radius to 750 miles. Number of Impacted Employees 324 FTR Level 6 Clerks 83 FTR Level 7 Clerks 118 FTR Level 4 Mailhandlers 47 FTR Level 5 Mailhandlers The 750 mile radius extends all the way from Dallas, Texas to Springfield, IL!
Memphis Impacts Us . . .
We received the impact notice dated 8-12-08, and it said
"Attached you will find the Notice of Withholding relative to the impact
due to mail volume decline at the Memphis, TN BMC. You are being advised that
we are implementing the withholding provisions of Article 12.5.B.2 for all FTR
Level 6 and below Clerk positions, FTR level 5 and below Mailhandler positions,
FTR City Carrier positions, as well as Custodian positions within a 500 mile
radius of the Memphis, TN BMC. Due to a
decline in mail volume it is necessary that 10 FTR Level 6 Clerks and 11 FTR Mailhandlers be reassigned outside the
craft and/or installation per Article12.5.C.5."
More VERA Approvals
VERA stands for Voluntary Early Retirement Approval, which the Postal Service must request from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Early outs were approved for Clerks, Mailhandlers, some Supervisory personnel, and eligible Headquarters employees. VERA has been extended to include all eligible employees in Motor Vehicle, Rural and City Carriers, Field EAS (non-Headquarters-related offices) and Postmasters. The offer is open to employees in those positions who meet the OPM conditions, who are at least 50 years of age with 20 years of creditable federal service or any age with 25 years of creditable federal service. No incentive package will be offered for employees who choose early retirement. USPS is shifting operations in a continuing effort to improve efficiency and manage costs. The USPS objective is to remain a viable organization well into the future and to continue to provide universal service at reasonable costs.
(
From USPS NEWS LINK)
USPS Aims to Downsize Rapidly
The VERA has been extended to 130,000 employees or nearly
20% of the USPS work force. The postal service continued to open new facilities
and place massive orders for new equipment while mail has been in decline for
years. The poor economy has further reduced mail volume to the point where
simple budget cutting efforts are not enough. As President Burrus has said many
times, we have the capacity to process all mail volumes within the postal
system, so why are we still giving discounts to private firms to process the
mail? Tour 3 Automation Clerks are scraping for mail and being moved later and
later because there is no mail, while private firms are still getting discounts
to process the same mail.
COLA Raise on 9-19
Checks
The paycheck you will receive on 9-19-08 will include a COLA raise of $1,477 per year. This wage increase will be the largest raise in the history of postal bargaining, and one of the largest in our nations history. For those non-members who say the union "doesn't do anything for them "they are full of you know what. President Burrs has sent out a mailing to all APWU employees to inform them of this raise and to ask them to support the APWU either by becoming a member if they are not, and to support COPA if they do not. There is no good reason not to be a member and every nonmember knows they would not want this job without a union. We are still offering $50 for signing up a non-member and $50 to the new member.
No Clerk Casuals at Palatine Effective 8-30-08.
I received notification from Senior Plant Manager Ron Woodall that the 7 remaining Clerk casuals at the Palatine P&DC will convert to Mailhandler casuals. They will be utilized in the FSM. Management has continued to work Casuals in Clerk operations after two waves of excessing in 2005 and 2007, in violation of the contract. We hope Carol Stream will now follow suit & eliminate Clerk casuals.
NWIAL Retirement Seminar
Our annual Human Relations Retirement Seminar will be held
on Saturday 9-20-08 from 9 am to 4 pm, and will be co-hosted by NWIAL
and the IL Postal Workers Union (IPWU).
The seminar is free to all APWU members with lunch included.