The Local Line
“A
PPA Award Winning Publication”
The Official Voice Of The
American Postal
Workers
Phone: 630-833-0088 Fax: 630-833-0248
Jackie Engelhart – President Alan Czerwinski - News Director
October 01, 2009
"Public Meeting" for AMP and no
"public"!
The Public Meeting for the Palatine AMP study was held on 9-22-09 at Harper College. Some Palatine employees made the effort to come but many more should have come. In attendance were approximately 40 NWIAL officers and Stewards. Also in attendance was Palatine Mail Handler President Robinson and Stewards. Carol Stream Mail Handler President Agnes McMeans also attended in a show of union solidarity. I understand many employees did not come as they feel the decision has already been made and the deck stacked against Palatine. President Yulande Robinson asked why they can't share the information and let the employees get on with their lives, and she also asked "who's looking out for Palatine?" That is a very good question as it seems no one is looking our for Palatine these days. Orders are given and followed.
Senior Leadership Sits Mum at Table
District Manager Hart started the meeting by showing a peppy USPS video on the benefits of Area Mail Processing. On the stage with him were Senior Plant Manager Greg Johnson and A/Carol Stream Plant Manager Lee Thompson. Mr. Hart followed the video with sonic scripted comments on the Palatine AMP, and then opened the floor to questions. The first person at the microphone was Vice President Baskin who asked why we can't get information requested on 60 day AMP study, and since they won't give us any information, why we should believe anything they tell us. They said the study is not done so they can't give us information. The study is not considered "done" until one year after the mail is moved from Palatine so they have no intention of sharing any information with anyone but themselves, ever. Why must they operate in secrecy and what are they hiding?
"Public" Trashes Postal Management for Secrecy
The "public meeting" is a formality per the AMP protocol but was "public" in name only as the public was not notified. The senior managers assembled would not or could not answer most questions. Patricia A. Heaton from Chase Card Services in Elgin said she was not contacted by USPS but found out about the meeting on the Daily Herald Web site. She states her company mails 9 million pieces per month and gets better service at Palatine. This major mailer said she has concerns about the changes and asked for a time frame. She was not happy with the lack of information and said so, and the audience responded to her comments with much applause. The few "public" present were mostly adult children of employees or students. These young people repeatedly blasted postal management for the secrecy and their disregard for the employees. They were outraged by the arrogance on display at this so-called public meeting.
Starting the Fiscal Year Right
10-1-09 is the start of the USPS fiscal year and the Northern IL District is starting off with a bang. On 9-30-09 we received nine 60 day letters for Associate Office Clerks notifying then1 of the “possible involuntary reassignment” out of their installation. The letters were signed by Human Resource Manager Phyllis Lingenfelser. The letters advised questions to be directed to Complement Coordinator and former Function Four Coordinator Julie Oakes. We called Julie to ask why would she would send out 60 day letters before the results of the retirement incentive are known. Why would you send someone a letter stating they may be excessed when you know there will be retirements in that office that lower the number excessed? She did not disagree but said her boss wanted the letters out. Her boss is Phyllis Lingenfelser, who did not return our call. Last January Palatine did the same thing by issuing 60 days letters when they knew there would be a reduction in the number moved but the attitude was we can send out correction letters. The retirement date for most of the incentive retirements in this district is 10-31-09 so why not wait until after that date before sending out 60 day notices? Are they intentionally trying to upset the lives of the employees? The goal is to reduce the payroll and the Northern IL District is very aggressive in pushing employees out any way they can. They make life as difficult as possible for as many as possible so employees leave. We received more evidence of this on 10-1-09 at the Palatine P&DC when we met with what's left of tour 2.
Palatine Rush to Abolish T2
Palatine management had met with us on 9-2-09 to present what they called phase 2 of the compression. The color-coded plan worked up by the Industrial Engineer guys would eliminate 12 tour 2 AFSM Clerk bids at 0700 and all tour 2 Flats and Low Cost bids at 1192. This news had the desired result of pushing a few more tour 2 Clerks into retirement rather than end their career on tour 1. When Engineer Blaze Steele outlined the plan we asked if the tour 2 Clerks were needed on the other tours and he said "no". We asked about possible excessing (?) and how many unencumbered Clerks at Palatine. We were told there were 30 Clerks without bids so the tour 2 Clerks were not needed on the other tours, and we asked that they hold off on moving anyone. Nothing has changed but Mr. Ramion is anxious to move ahead with moving the employees off tour 2 (to improve BPI). He met with Clerks and A1 Mail Handlers on 10-1-09 to inform them they will abolished effective 10-24-09. Since we all know the incentive retirements take effect on 10-31 we were all asking why they can't wait until after 10-31-09 to give these employees a chance to bid on the vacancies that will result from the retirements. Blaze said they have 28 days to move them after abolishment so they may not be moved on 10-24, but did not say when they would be moved. We asked how many residual vacancies at the facility for Clerks and Mail Handlers and were told two and two. With 30 unencumbered Clerks on tour 1 why rush to move senior Clerks off tour 2? Where are the bids if more Clerks are needed on tours 1 and 3?
Chicago Metro Surface Hub
We finally have the clock-rings for the SPBS Award
necessary to determine pay-out amounts. There clock-rings extend for over one
year for 14 Clerks so the work will be time-consuming but now have what we
need. Since some employees have had problems filing a CA-1 for traumatic
injuries at Busse I asked management to hold service
talks on the procedure to follow when injured at work. You should report the
injury immediately and seek medical attention. You should be provided with a CA-1
which contains instructions for filing the claim. You fill out the first page and
your supervisor fills out the second page. Question 15 asks if you want sick
leave, annual leave, or Continuation of Pay (COP). You should request COP, and
you will need to provide medical documentation of your injury so you should see
your own doctor rather than a postal contract doctor. When your supervisor has
completed their page they should provide you with a receipt and a copy of the
completed form. You should check it carefully to make sure it is accurate and
complete. Anything that is not correct should be corrected as soon as possible
and sent to the Department of Labor by postal management. In some cases
employees fail to report injuries at the time they occur because the injury may
appear to be minor. It is better to report the injury when it happens so there
is no doubt that the injury occurred on the job. If you have any questions or
need assistance call for a Steward.
Congratulations to all APWU members taking the $15,000
Retirement Incentive. Enjoy and you will be
missed.