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

October 20, 2006

Local Update by Jackie Engelhart

600 Clerk Craft Director "Walked Out? Of Palatine per Angela Sanders & Rose Kane!

On October 17, 2006 at approximately 9:15 pm, 600 Clerk Craft Director Jack Pyssler was walked out of the facility for "Speaking to Managers of Distribution Operations in a Threatening Manner." MDO Sanders told me that Jack was out of control and lunging at Rose Kane's desk, and that he was put out to calm down. I have known Angela Sanders for much of my postal career, and I gave her the benefit of the doubt as I listened to her version of events. I have known Jack Pyssler for most of my postal career and have always known him to be of the highest character. Those I have talked to in the craft and management share my opinion of Jack's decency of character. When I told him what Angie accused him of, he was upset because he said none of that happened, and he was walked out based on lies. He was set up.

Angela Sanders.

Angie is well known as she has been around along time. She has generated numerous complaints over the years for her conduct, and she is not usually known for her professional demeanor. Recent complaints are for her screaming at tour 1 automation clerks to dispatch mail, after the supervisor had told them to keep running. How can a manager known for screaming at people have a union officer walked out of the building for "speaking in a threatening manner"? Any benefit of the doubt that has been extended to this manager in the past in regards to her unprofessional conduct is over. She must be held accountable for her conduct. I understand many of the managers on tour 3 were shocked by the actions of MDO's Sanders and Kane. Tour 3 at Palatine had a history of good union-management relations until the long-term detail of Ms. Sanders from Carol Stream. She has worn out her welcome at Palatine.

Zero Tolerance?!

Only a week ago I spoke with a tour 3 204-B Supervisor Jesse Moreno in regards to a step one meeting he held with CCD Pyssler for a LOW issued to a clerk for "conduct". Mr. Moreno called the MDO because he did not like the way the clerk spoke to him. The clerk has no record of improper conduct during his many years of postal service, but Mr. Moreno felt he should contact the MDO (in case the clerk needed to be walked out). A week later 204-B Pedapati did not like the fact that CCD Pyssler told her she could not instruct him who to hold a step one with, and this was cause for (you guessed it) calling the MDO. When Jack was summoned to the MDO office by Angie and Rose, he was told by Angie that he should be walked out. In his 30 years of postal employment Jack has been disciplined twice, and both were in the performance of his union duties. We have zero tolerance for such bullying tactics, and we will not be intimidated from doing our job.

RI-399 Frustration & "AI"

While we have asked at the last several labor-management meetings at both Palatine & Carol Stream, for information on deployment of Automatic Induction, no information has been forthcoming. While senior management has (once again) failed to keep us informed, we continue to get information from many other sources. Management at Carol Stream is preparing to move machines to make room for Automatic Induction (AI) of the AFSM-100 in the spring of 2007. Once again the Postal service is taking mail processing work from clerks and giving it to mailhandlers to save money. Why else would mail processing work not be assigned to "mail processing clerks"? While the fault for this action rests with the Postal Service, the fact is the National Postal Mail Handler Union (NPMHU) has never been shy about taking our work. In my opinion, the main focus of the NPMHU is to take clerk work, and the USPS is only too happy to & it to them. Not only are Mail Handlers a lower level (4) but their level 4 does not make what an APWU level 4 makes due to the fact that they did not receive a contractual raise every time we did. For at least one contract they received a lump sum, which was not rolled into their base pay. The ongoing frustration with RI-399 (Craft Jurisdiction) issues reached the boiling point within APWU in 2006.The majority of delegates at the national convention in August voted to require President Bill Burrus to explore the interest on the part of Mail Handlers to merge with APWU. Many delegates were opposed to this as it was viewed as a raid and an attack on the NPMHU. The resolution was narrowly passed as this was a divisive issue. The only thing all delegates agreed on was that strong action must be taken in defense of our jobs.

"Surveys" Sent Out

We received our box of surveys from APWU headquarters, and they are still sitting on a desk in the office. We know that putting them out would start a war that we do not want to engage in with the MailHandler Union. We also know that we would look foolish at a time when USPS is handing our work to the Mail Handlers, and both USPS and the NPMHU are intentionally stalling the RI-399 Dispute Process at the national level.

Response to A1 & the Surveys

This week I read two letters addressing the issue of RI-399, AI, and the raid. The first letter was written by James "Work" Malone, the President (for 35 years) of the South Suburban Local. He says" What makes the AFSM-100 so controversial is for the first time in USPS history, the work has been taken away from one craft and given to another craft. This change in craft designation was not won in arbitration by the Mail Handler Union. The work was simply given to the Mail Handler Craft. Why was the work given to the Mail Handler Craft. The work was given to the Mail Handler Craft because it is cheaper to work the Mail Handlers than Clerks. Nothing more, nothing less. It is all about the dollars. 1f we made less than the Mail Handlers the work would have been assigned to us. The Local will not be duped into a needless fight with the Mail Handlers Union over this issue.

James Malone (continued)

The Mail Handler Union did not give the work to themselves, it was a Management scheme, hoping for some infighting between the Unions. All acts are Management's perpetration trying to entice the Unions into battle. We are not stupid. "This is from a letter James Malone wrote to his members and sent to us.

Response of the NPMHU

The second letter is from the national President of the NPMHU to his members. He warns them against participating in the survey, etc. He also states "the clerks have tried to steal jobs through RI-399, and the NPMHU have been able to prevail in most regional and national arbitrations, and the NPMHU has succeeded in obtaining crucial craft determinations at the National level. "I understand the response of the national President in regards to the surveys, but I would like to point out that the most recent national RI-399arbitration (for the LM-LM) was awarded in favor of APWU. The fact is that mail processing work is being & to the Mail Handlers, not won by them. These mail processing jobs are being taken directly from one craft and given to another, because of the wage differential between the two crafts. As James Malone states "its about the dollars". The USPS is using RI-399 to attack the APWU, not only because we make more money, but because we are the bigger thorn in their side. APWU is the only Union that regularly attacks USPS actions in regards to big mailer subsidies, the outsourcing of work, and the march to privatization coming out of headquarters. I talked to a national officer this week and was told that the RI-399 proposals are being discussed in national negotiations and we should know something in the next 6 weeks.