The Local Line

“A PPA Award Winning Publication”

The Official Voice Of The Northwest Illinois Area Local

American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO

194 W. Lake Street Elmhurst IL 60126

Phone: 630-833-0088 Fax: 630-833-0248

Jackie Engelhart – President Alan Czerwinski - News Director

Floor Edition

September 28, 2007

Local Update by Jackie Engelhart

Welcome New Members

The following new members were accepted at the September Membership meeting:

1. Yoon Chong Dae

2. John A. Thomas

3. Rowland A. Patrick

4. Dorothy Plane

5. James D. Gatto

6. Melody Chamblis

The Post Office is doing very little hiring so the only way we get new members is when they hire custodians, an occasional driver, or we sign up our non-members. As we continue to lose members due to attrition and due to Clerks being excessed to the Mail Handler craft, the importance of signing up the nonmembers cannot be overstated. Lately we have seen some long-time employees become "new" members. In some cases the new member was issued discipline, and decided it was a good time to fill out an 1187. Some employees stay out of the union because they are "good" and think they will never get discipline. Bulletin: even "good" employees get discipline.

Losing Members

We have lost 80 members at Palatine and 21 at Carol Stream to the Mail Handler craft since 2005, due to the Postal Service decision to change the craft assigned to mail processing work at the national level. (APPS & AI). We have filed the necessary local disputes at each office for the APPS and AI, and these are being held pending the national level cases. I spoke with APWU Regional Dispute Committee Member Tom Maier and he stated we have asked for dates in October, November and December, and will be going forward with the SPBS case because that issue will impact the APPS work assignments. (It should also affect AI). We know the Clerk craft has taken a pounding as management continues to ignore RI-399 rules and historic craft assignments. They have shown how far they are willing to go to cut costs (Clerks) and to attack APWU. How does this make the Clerks feel?

Go ask Alice . . .

EAP & QWL

Recently I spoke with District EAP Consultant Alice Crawford concerning the feedback she is getting from Clerks who feel that neither management nor the union cares about them. I told her we try to keep them informed as to what is happening and what we are doing about it. The Service has changed into "the Company", and their idea of efficiency is to take mail processing and distribution away from Clerks in the plants, and to cut Clerk staffing to the bone in the Associate Offices. In MVS and Maintenance they look for ways to outsource work to contractors, and do so at their own peril as USPS has had to pay out large sums for improper subcontracting in the Maintenance craft. The Employee Assistance Program is in the APWU contract but not in the Mail Handler contract. It was pointed out to me by a Mail Handler official that QWL participation is in their contract but EAP is not. APWU agreed to EAP but not QWL.

Union Brothers and Sisters

Recently I have had occasion to speak with Presidents of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union at Palatine, Carol Stream and Chicago Metro Surface Hub. In spite of our disagreement on craft assignments at CMSH I have maintained a good working relationship with President James Ballard. At Palatine and Carol Stream the Mail Handler Presidents complain about things I have written in the Local Line about a sister union. I understand each union's job is to protect their craft and their work. I understand that recent decisions (however unfair) on the APPS and AI were made at the national level by the Postal Service. The problem I have is that our sister unions at Palatine and Carol Stream are not content with all of the additional work that has been given to them at the national level by the Postal Service and they keep trying to take more. It seems like they won't be happy until they push the Clerks out into the parking lot. At the recent Palatine Labor-Management meeting I told Senior MDO Danny Bracket that Clerks "volunteering" to go to the Mail Handler craft should be informed that they cannot change their mind after the effective date of the reassignment. Some wanted to return and thought they could come back if they wanted to. I told him Clerks are being scared into going to the Mail Handler craft but he disagreed with me. The only reason Clerks are volunteering to change crafts is because they are scared. There still is enough work for everyone if we all keep our own work and stop trying to take our sister's work. My issue with my sister union is the lack of fairness.

Low Cost Tray Sorter #5

Recently we met at Carol Stream with the Local Dispute Resolution Committee to discuss Low Cost Tray Sorter #5 which is the Culling Low Cost as it replaces the Culling unit. The meeting was long overdue as it should have been scheduled before the operational change, but better late than never. I told management and the Mail Handler Union that if it is a culling operation we would not be filing a dispute to claim work that is not ours. Not that management would have given it to us anyway. To make sure that LCTS # 5 is a culling operation we requested a diagram which shows that to be the case. The diagrams also show that this is the only Low Cost Tray Sorter that is different form Low Cost #1 at both Palatine and Carol Stream. The three parties signed agreements for Low Cost #l at both plants and those agreements call for Mail Handlers to load the trays and tubs and for Clerks to take them off. For Low Cost #2 at Palatine and #2-4 at Carol Stream, Plant Manager Woodall assigned all work to the Mail Handlers without making any effort to reach a tripartite agreement as was done for #1. The funny thing is that the work on LCTS # 1 and #2 is the same work, so how was #2 assigned to the Mail Handlers, with no effort to make a tripartite agreement as was done for #1 at both plants? The diagram for LCTS # 5 diagrams the difference between this culling operation and the other distribution Low Costs, and we have added this to those disputes. I have had managers ask me how the Low Cost on the second floor is assigned to Clerks and the one on the first floor (Palatine) is assigned to Mail Handlers. I have asked myself that question many times, but Ron said it replaced the Sack Sorter.

Palatine LMOU ODL Change

Changes to the LMOU ODL procedures were agreed to at Palatine which eliminate the need to sign up for the ODL each quarter. If you are on it you will stay on it unless you request to be taken off in writing. At Carol Stream you can check the "until further notice" box.

Admin. Leave for Weather

This recurring issue came up again due to the August 23rd severe weather storm which prevented many employees from coming to work. If you are prevented from coming to work due to weather (An Act of God per the ELM) you should state you are unable to report due to weather when you call in and you should make sure your 3971 indicates that as your reason in the comments box before you sign it. You can request annual leave in lieu of administrative leave to ensure being paid.

Fall Retirement Seminar on Saturday 11-17-07 at 9 am

It's time again for our annual Human Relations Seminar, which will be held at the Elmhurst Union Hall from 9 am to 4 pm. We are happy to have John R. Smith coming to talk about what you should know about retirement. "John R." was the APWU Retiree Director for many years, and he is the expert on the subject and a great speaker. National Legislative Director Myke Reid will be here to talk about the 2008 national election. Lunch will be served and the price of entrance is a $10.00 donation to COPA. All members are invited. Contact Mimi or Bob LaFoe at Palatine, or Vivian at Carol Stream.