The Local Line
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Phone: 630-833-0088 Fax: 630-833-0248
Jackie Engelhart – President Alan Czerwinski - News Director
November 24, 2006
Local Update by Jackie Engelhart
USPS Complement Continues to Decline
Complement statistics show fewer clerks and city carriers, more mailhandlers and rural carriers. On Rolls arid Paid Employee (ORPES) published this week show that USPS career employees numbered 696,138 at the end of the 2006 fiscal year, a drop of 8,578, or -1.2% from the prior year. The biggest decrease came in the APWU represented clerk craft, down 7,725 employees, or 3%. City carriers numbers declined by 1.7%, a loss of 3,878 carriers. Mailhandlers, the smallest of the crafts, increased by 1,130, or 2%. But the biggest increase came in the rank of the rural carriers. Full and part time rurals increased by 2008, or 3.1%. Work-force flexibility also declined as PTF numbers dropped by 5%, while the full time complement was down 1%, as PTF’s were converted to replace the regulars. USPS Headquarters added 107 employee for a 4% increase.
The
There is a continuing battle being waged in the Associate Offices of the Northern Illinois District. On one side are the APWU the Clerks, a good many of the post office managers; and the customers who do not like waiting in long lines. On the other side are the senior managers of the district, who continue to cut clerk jobs, the POOMS, and the Operation Support staff. POOM stands for Post Office Operations Manager and they oversee the Postmasters in their area. Operations Support takes the data from the WOS (Window Operation Survey) report, Function 4 Reviews and the POS-One system. When a Function 4 is performed management gathers information such as mail volume, window transaction from WOS, and, actual daily observations of work being performed. Sales & Service Associates (SSA's are the Window Clerks, and they are required to input every function they perform into the POS-ONE.
"First Responders"?!
Due to the ongoing shortstaffing in the Associate Offices, the District has implemented a “program” called “First Responders”. When the line in the lobby gets too long, management is to call other employees who are not SSA's to the lobby to get the line down. These employees are to perform non-retail functions for the customers in line, and this is called a “lobby sweep”. The problem is, management in many post offices has a list of Responders, and they are not usually clerks, but limited duty from other crafts or supervisors. We met with District Manager Lynn Smith on l 1-7-07 to complain about this and to inform him that these non-clerk. Responders were performing clerk work, and that this clerk work was not being recorded into the POS-ONE system for credit. Clerk staffing in the AO'S is determined by the information input to the POS-One system, and if the work is not entered into the POS-ONE, the Clerk hours & staffing the office will be reduced.
It Is Clerk Work!
During our meeting with Mr. Smith and Operations Support personnel Larry Diegle and Julie Oakes, we were informed that the functions being performed by non-SSA employees were being written in on a “Non Revenue Transactions” sheet, that was later to be input into the POS-ONE system by the SSA (who did not do the work). In other words, the non-SSA and/or the non-Clerk who did the Clerk work should write down what, they did and the SSA will enter it into their POS-ONE terminal (as if they did it). In the case of an employee from another craft (crossing crafts), or a supervisor performing bargaining unit work), the work will be recorded into the SSA's POS-ONE terminal. On the plus side, the office will get credit for that work and not lose the hours. The flip side is that other crab and supervisors are performing clerk craftwork while clerks continue to be eliminated around the district. We asked USPS for copies of all “Non-Revenue Transactions” log sheets for all 18 NWIAL offices in the District for the past six months, and this request was submitted through Labor Relations to operation Support. On November 21, 2006 we received a copy of a letter sent our to all Postmasters in the District requesting this information for the 18 NWIAL offices only. These sheets will be evidence of the short staffing in clerk craft, and the use of other crafts and supervisors performing clerk work, in violation of the National Agreement. If you see an employee from another craft or a supervisor performing clerk work report it to the union immediately.
"Lobby Director Program?
Section 125.4 of the Postal Operations Manual states "The lobby director is a friendly, knowledgeable in the lobby who greets customers, determines what they need, and assists them in selecting services and preparing paperwork before they reach the service counter. Lobby directors perform the same duties as the clerks behind the counter, except that they do not handle money”. It sounds exactly like what the District calls the “First Responders”. Why do they need to create their own program when USPS already has one? Could it be because they are trying to 1) get rid of clerks, and 2) use this to try to transfer clerk work, to other crafts and supervisor? During the meeting, Mr. Smith stated that any craft can perform this work, but we know better. Some of the tasks listed on the First Responder Plan are 1) retrieving hold mail or accountable mail, 2) directing customers to the APC, 3) directing customers to vending, and assist customer with complaint or problem." Instruction also states "The Retail First Responder should be a clerk whenever possible, but maybe a limited duty employee or management employee if necessary to meet customer needs and a qualified clerk is not available. If the District would staff for a lobby Director in all offices where one is needed, maybe they would not need their “First Responder” program, and maybe clerk staffing should be increased to ensure that a qualified clerk always available in the lobby. If you have been told that the First Responders are not performing clerk work, or that any craft can perform lobby sweeps, you were misinformed.
“The Struggle Continues"
This is not an empty slogan, it is a fact of life for APWU and our members. If you are not a member, you do not understand the importance of unionism in today's Postal Service. The APWU employees who are now retiring are overwhelmingly union members. Very few non-members seem to be leaving. For every member that retires we lose revenue and the non-members continue to enjoy what they do not pay for. They either don't understand or don't care. Our contract expired on 11-20-06, and the Postal Service proposals were to eliminate no-layoff protection, increase the use of casuals, eliminate local negotiations, change holiday scheduling and pay, expand work and time standards, and increase employee contribution for health benefits. As President Burrus said, these USPS proposals were DOA (dead on arrival). The Postal Service is not the benevolent employer they like to portray. Do non-members really think the Postal Service has given them the rights and benefits they have today, or do they know that postal jobs ire good jobs only because we have a union? No one is stupid enough to think otherwise. So that leaves "they don't care" (about the rest of us). "There is strength in numbers" is also not an empty slogan, but a fact of life for postal employees. Our members do understand that without them there is no union, and no union job.
No to VOE
We have said it over and over, the APWU, advises against participation the VOE. Participation is strictly voluntary and no manager should pressure you any way to fill out a survey. You can say no or you can take it and throw it away. "VOE bypasses the union and has not been agreed to by the APWU..