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
December 13, 2005
Local Update
by: Jackie Engelhart
Xmas Gift
Certificates
We will be giving out
ten dollar Jewel gift certificates to all current NWIAL members. Union members can
pick up their gift certificate at the union offices at Palatine, Carol Stream,
and Chicago Metro Surface Hub. Associate Office Director Kathy Stokes will be
bringing the gift certificates to the members in the associate offices. We will
be updating our mailing list when members come to pick up the certificates.
These gift certificates are for members only!
Constitution
Changes Pass Second Reading.
Four constitution
changes passed the second reading at the December meeting and will now become
part of the NWIAL Constitution.
Changes are:
1. To eliminate the Industrial Relations Director and the
12 hour monthly salary.
2. Change Associate Office Director position changes to
increase grievance handling responsibility and increase required hours,
3. Increase hours for Webmaster from 6.5 to 8,
The purpose
of these changes was to increase representation and/or to decrease expenses. A
fifth change passed the first reading and will be read for the second time at
the January meeting. This change proposes to change the number of Local Line
mailings from 5 per year to 4 per year. This will save the Local approximately
$5,000.00 per year. Regular floor letters will keep the membership informed in
between mailings of the home edition. We must continue to find ways to save
money to keep the Local financially strong.
50-50
Organizing
We continue
to sign up new members under the 50-50 Organizing Drive, which ends on 1-31-06.
With all the changes USPS has planned the value of membership & solidarity
has never been higher. Non-members hurt all as they won't pay for benefits
received & they weaken the union. Sign up a new member and get $50.00.
More Metro
Stewards
With the
addition of former steward Sherry Thomas, and Rogelio Matias, Metro has doubled
the number of clerk stewards. Both have completed new steward training and will
be able to perform steward duties with the assistance of Chief Stewards Jonn
Johnson & Keith Williams.
No Busse
Xmas OT
Jonn Johnson
informed me that T.E.'s are working overtime while regulars are not. I spoke
with Plant Manager Melvin Anderson and he stated the T.E.'s should have been
"changed to casuals" effective 12-6-05. Either way, management is in
violation of the contract, and this will be grieved. If you have questions or
concerns contact the union office and write a witness statement if necessary.
Northbrook
Steward Vacancy.
We need a
steward at the Northbrook Post Office due to resignation of Mike Diak.
Interested Northbrook members should call Dave or myself at 630-833-0088.
“Consolidation
of USPS Net work Begins."
Text of this
APWU News Bulletin states " The long expected USPS network consolidation has
begun in bits and pieces, with individual offices being notified of changes to
their mail processing operations. Recently, the union received notification
from the USPS of the planned consolidation of "some operations" at 10
offices one week, followed by a dozen more several weeks later. The APWU will
respond with all available resources. A group of officers has been empaneled to
coordinate the APWU response: Local efforts will be crucial in fighting this
battle. Any attempt to deter management from closing facilities or
consolidating operations will require a grassroots effort by members of
affected locals, in concert with other postal unions and labor organizations,
as well as with community organizations, per President Bums. Concern about the
effect consolidations would have on our members was a major factor in the
decision to extend the 2000-2003 contract until 11-20-05. That two-year
contract extension required management to share its consolidation, plan with
the APWU by December of 2002. Despite repeated union requests over the two-year
contract period, the USPS never presented a consolidation plan. It is now clear
that USPS management plans to alter the national network through a series of
piece meal changes. It is expected that in the coming months the Postal Service
will inform the union of additional offices identified for change. These
changes will include merging mail processing operations, leaving some communities.
And delivery services. In a strongly worded letter to the USPS on 11-18- 05, Burrus
expressed the union's concern regarding management's failure to provide the
union with complete information about its consolidation plans, and demanded
that all affected employees be made whole for any reassignments made in
violation of the parties agreements."
Illinois
Offices Targeted
APWU has been
notified that USPS is conducting "Area Mail Process ing Feasibility
Studies" as follows:
I have been
informed by management that this is just the first round of proposed
consolidations & that this will happen.
"USPS
Outplacement"
This is the
name of the USPS plan to remove injured employees. The Postal Service does not
have the authority to outplace any employee. Only OWCP has this authority. OWCP
applies its own criteria for selection of employees for its vocational
rehabilitation services. The Postal Service has a right to reevaluate and reassess
limited duty jobs.' It also has an obligation to make every effort to provide
limited duty to employees who have compensable injuries, per the Employee &
Labor Relations Manual (ELM) section 546. The "Outplacement" plan
does not change this obligation. They want to eliminate the costs associated
with accommodating injured employees. Management believes the majority of
injured employees are lying. We disagree with that, but we agree on one thing,
if you can work your bid, you should be working your bid.
Associate
Office Excessing
We were
recently informed by management that there will be some excessing out of
associate offices. We were told that some offices are overstaffed and some are
understaffed and they need to move clerks to where they are needed. I have
requested any and all information on this from management and have, as yet,
received nothing from them. We did receive a call from Glenview steward Dee
DelaCmz concerning plans to excess clerks from that office. VP Baskin will be
meeting with management at that office.
Carol
Stream CFS
Management
finally made assignments for the abolished CFS clerks, but did it by seniority
by tour, instead of overall seniority. We informed them these assignments
should be made by overall seniority and they have agreed. They should meet with
each employee in seniority order with a list of the assignments. There is no
way to make everyone happy but the contract relies on seniority. The union has
requested that management assign casuals to fill tour 1 SPBS assignments,
rather than force CFS clerks to tour 1. Their response was, they want the CFS
clerks because they have keying experience. Casuals could be trained for SPBS
jobs & the CFS clerks could all stay on tour 3.
2006 APWU
Scholarship Forms
2006
scholarship forms have been received and are available at the union offices or
at the Elmhurst office. Applications must be received at APWU headquarters by
March 15, 2006.
We expect
management to honor agreements made, both verbal & written.