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

December 15, 2006

Local Update by Jackie Engelhart

Contract Ballots to be Mailed on 12-18-06

The mailing will begin on 12-18-06 to all APWU members, and the ballots will be counted on

1-9-07. President Burrus stated he will be mailing ballots out to all nonmembers with an 1187 attached. If the nonmember signs the 1187 to become a member, the ballot will be counted. If the scab remains a scab they will not be entitled to vote on the tentative 4 year agreement. It's a good idea and we'll see how many actually sign up.

A Good Agreement

After reading the bulletins and listening to the teleconference, we believe President Burrus has done a good job. As he stated, APWU began submitting proposals 6 months prior to the official start of national negotiations. He said we must make some changes to achieve our goals. He said it is not a perfect contract but overall it will improve the lives of all APWU members. We agree.

Salary & COLA

Basic salaries will be increased by 1.3 percent effective 11-25-06, and 1.2 percent on 11-21-09. The cost-of-living allowance (COLA) will continue under its current formula and there will be 8 COLA increases.

Level Upgrades in 2008

All APWU represented employees will receive a one Level Upgrade on 2-16-08,

Health Care Premiums

Will increase by 1% for each year of the contract, with USPS paying 95% of the APWU Consumer Driven Health Plan. Like most employers, USPS was intent on making employees pay more for their health benefits.

PTF Clerk Conversions in 200 Man Year Offices by 12-1-07

Approximately 10,200 PTF Clerks will be converted by 12-1-07. PTF clerks will be eliminated in these larger offices. In offices of less than 200 man years, existing PTF maximization/conversion rules will remain unchanged. PTF's must work 40 hours per week for a 6 month period.

Use of Clerk Casuals

The trade-off for the conversion in larger offices, is that USPS can work casuals up to 360 days per year, eliminating casual-in-lieu of grievances in those offices. PTF clerks will continue as a workforce category in offices of less than 200 man years, and casual-in-lieu of grievances can still be filed. The elimination of PTF clerks and the use of 360 day casuals applies only to 200 (or more) man year offices. The number of casuals that can be hired nationwide was increased from 5.9 to 6 percent. Except for payperiods 3 and 4, the number of casuals hired within a District will be decreased from 15 to 6 percent, and the number hired within an installation cannot exceed 11 percent.

Does not Apply to MVS

MVS craft officers did not agree to 360 day casuals as they felt this would work against the craft and the PTF rules still apply.

Bereavement Leave

APWU employees will be granted up to 3 days of leave for the death of a family member.

Meeting at Busse

Plant Manager Melvin Anderson arranged a brief meeting with tour 3 and tour 1 clerks on Wednesday night, 12-13-06. The purpose of the meeting was to respond to the rumors at Busse that management is getting rid of the clerks. Melvin told the assembled clerks that he has no plans to get rid of any clerks and he said he needs them. We told them if any supervisors are telling them different, they should contact the Union or let Melvin know, as this should not be happening. The rumors were based on the deployment of more APPS machines, both at Busse and Irving Park Road (IPR), but we are hearing that this may not happen after all. Senior management of both the Northern Illinois District and the Chicago District are telling the Unions that there are problems with the Lockheed Martin and their refusal to provide ongoing maintenance support. Apparently the company is telling their good customer (the USPS) that the machines are now their problem. We are also hearing that "the last buy" on the APPS will not be made. If all of this information is correct, the result will be fewer APPS machines deployed nationwide. The entire premise of the Regional Distribution Center was built around the deployment of the UPS. With fewer APPS to go around, less volume will be worked through the APPS. This can only be a good thing for clerks, and particularly clerks at a Regional Distribution Center, like Busse. Melvin has agreed to set up meetings with all the clerks and union after Christmas. We will be listening to your concerns about the working conditions at Busse.

Problems Continue at Palatine

The Union is in possession of a “service talk” from tour 3 MDO Angela Sanders regarding "Overtime Policy". It instructs all supervisors to give a procedure talk and to provide her with a copy of the signatures of all employees that receive this talk. "The policy will offer employees two choices:1. All employees that are on the ODL are required to do overtime as called. 2. Employees may volunteer to have their names removed from the ODL list. There will be progressive action given for those employees remaining on the list that do not perform overtime as called." Does this mean that you either get off the list or do all the overtime that is called? Being on the ODL means you should work the overtime when it is called, but there are times when you cannot work. Some employees work it all, but signing the ODL does not mean you can or must work every hour that is called. Instead of threatening everybody, why not talk to the employees who may be the problem, instead of threatening all?

Tour 1 & "Delaying the Mail"

We have seen several disciplines coming from tour 1, for employees delaying the mail. The contract calls for a fair days pay for a fair days work, but has no productivity requirements for clerks. It appears management on tour 1 has created away to enforce productivity standards on clerks that do not exist. Disciple seems to be the answer.

Plant Manager Sets the Tone

We have found this to be true. Palatine Plant Manager Gregory Johnson has been here since June, but has failed to address most of our problems, and has shown that he has very little time for us.

Christmas Gift Certificates for APWU Members Only.

Again this year, the Union will be giving each member a $10.00 gift certificate for Jewel food stores. At the plants, certificates are now available at the union office. For the Associate Offices, we will be getting them out office by office. We have given them to stewards in several offices already. For the past few years we have given the gift certificates instead of having a Christmas party, as that seems to be what the majority of the members prefer. While a party is nice, only a small percentage of the membership have any interest. Christmas gift certificates allow us to thank all of our members.

Needy Families

We will again be donating $500.00 in gift certificates to needy families, and if you wish to submit a family contact Human Relations Director Mimi Jackson at the Palatine P&DC. This year Human Relations did not solicit among the employees at Palatine, but is suggesting that interested employees participate in the Carol Stream "Letters to Santa Program". Coordinators are available on each tour at Carol Stream, but if you want to participate from another office, call Events Coordinator Delora Hawkins at 630-260-5666. You can join USPS employees from around the nation by participating in the "Letter to Santa" program at Carol Stream. These are letters addressed to Santa and mailed that would otherwise end up in the dead letter unit. 1f you are interested in responding to one of these letters contact Delora Hawkins at 630-260-5666 for more information on participation.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all APWU Members!