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
December 17, 2008
Northern IL District
Has Jobs for 150 Within the District
The last Local Line informed you that Palatine has issued an impact stating that 150 Clerks were excess to the needs of the installation and calling for them to be moved within a 300 mile radius of the Palatine P&DC. District management has told me they have jobs for all 150 impacted Clerks within the Northern IL District and within the local commuting area. Most of these jobs are Carrier jobs as 60 will be retiring at the end of the year and there are at least 150 TE Transitional Carriers within the District who could be replaced with career Clerks excessed into the Carrier Craft. I am also told that some jobs may be created in the Mail Handler craft at both Palatine and Carol Stream to reduce the number of casuals. For those who were worried about being moved up to 300 miles that should not happen.
Volunteers to MH
Some of the junior 150 Clerks at Palatine have been upset because a few of the most junior Clerks volunteered to become Mail Handlers just days before the Palatine impact was released. They feel that these Clerks were given advance notice by someone in management and submitted their letters to avoid being forced into the Carrier craft. We don't know how management accepted these volunteers as they told us they only had one MH residual vacancy at Palatine. If they were tipped off, that was not right, but it is not a violation of the contract unless we can prove it. Anyone could have put in a letter requesting reassignment at any time, and they would be reassigned in order of submission, so apparently none of the complaining Clerks had put in a letter. These volunteers go as PTF MH with no saved grade, no retreat rights, and should not be converted to full-time as long as we are in withholding.
Request NWA List
I am told that a list of "No Work Available" employees for Palatine has been submitted to Senior Plant Manager Ron Woodall. I requested a copy of this list as management is required by the National Reassessment Protocol to notify the Local President in advance of the employees within their craft that are being designated as no work available. It seems no small coincidence that Mr. Woodall issued the impact statement for Palatine at this time so he can argue that he has no work for limited duty and rehab Clerks. We will continue to share this information. It has come to my attention that management is not happy with the last Local Line for informing the employees of the Palatine impact. They don't think this should have been shared until after the impact meeting. They are upset that the employees know and want to schedule the impact meeting right away. We just received management's supporting documentation and need time to review it. What's the rush?
Retreat Rights
Excess employee retains retreat rights to the section unless they bid out before the effective date of the abolishment. 600 CCD Al Czerwinski convinced management to change the effective date of mass bid posting to protect retreat rights at Palatine. The bids were to go into effect on 1-3-09 which is also the effective date of the bid abolishments. Placing employees into new bids on the same date as they are abolished could nullify their retreat rights. Employees who are bidding on this posting will go into their new bids on 1-17-09, not on 1-3-09. Clerks whose bid time is being changed and who have accepted option letters will move to the new time on 1-3-09. There will be two moves, one for the time changes and one for new bids.
Closed Section Bidding
When the number of bids in a section is being reduced, junior employees equal to the number of positions being reduced are removed from the section. Those left in the section are matched with the available bids. In the past if you remained in the section and you matched with a needed set off days you kept your bid. The current contract changed the rules for closed section bidding. Article 37.3.B.2 (page 179) states "In the Clerk Craft, when excessing from a section occurs (Article 12.5.C.4), any duty assignments remaining within the section occupied by Clerks junior to the senior Clerk whose duty assignment was abolished will be posted for bid to currently qualified Clerks within the section." Most of us do not like or agree with this change which was negotiated at the national level, but we must follow it.
Compression Grievance - CS
A grievance is being filed at Carol Stream for the national tour compression plan that was not discussed with the National APWU, which is an attack on seniority to encourage employees to retire. Carol Stream has worked with us as John Colao and Calvin Taylor attempted to match as many of the affected tour 2 Clerks to the tour and off-days they requested. The affected employees understand what is happening and why. It's a national plan and Carol Stream is following orders from above, while trying to minimize the impact at the facility.
Compression Realignment Grievance at Palatine
The Palatine plan is far more complex than the original compression of tour 2. We received the impact information today and it's a copy of the computer (Run Generator Plan) generated staffing plan that we were given for the current bid mass bid changes being made. Palatine is being staffed by computer programs designed to cut staffing run by a staff of young Industrial Engineers. Someone in senior management told me, "I wish we had two John Colaos". Greg Johnson has an actual human being (In-Plant Support Manager) managing Carol Stream staffing. In meetings with Palatine employees operations management cannot not explain how these mass bid changes were made. The Wall Street financial melt-down was created by a few people manipulating the system with financial instruments that nobody understood. Who understands Palatine? If management wants to work with this union on this or any issue we must understand what they are doing and why.
Understaffing
Continues in Maintenance..
Stewards at Carol Stream, Busse, and Palatine continue to file grievances on the understaffing issues in the maintenance craft at all three facilities. Maintenance Director Joe Golden is busy working with Stewards at each facility on these and other issues. The Stewards report that very few grievances are being resolved for Carol Stream and Palatine by Step 2 Designee Mike Fuechtmann.
Christmas Paychecks
After last minute calls concerning the payroll checks during Thanksgiving week, we contacted Finance to find out if the checks will be given out early for Christmas. Checks will be given out after 330 On 12-24-08 for those employees not scheduled to work on Thursday 12-25 and Friday 12-26-08. The checks cannot be cashed until 12-26-08. All others will get their checks on Friday, 12-26-08.
Legislative COPA
Raffle Held
Director Walter Elerby Jr and the Legislative Committee sold raffle tickets for COPA and the three winning tickets were drawn at the union meeting on 12-14-08. The winner of the first prize was T1 Carol Stream Clerk Linda Mammoser who won a 32" Flat Screen TV. The second prize winner was T3 Carol Stream Clerk Doretha Gordon who won a Personal Massager, and the third prize of a 2MB Flash Drive was won by T3 Carol Stream Clerk Janet Mitchell. Congratulations to all these winners and thank you to all who bought and sold tickets to raise money for COPA. We were #1 in the state of IL last year in money raised for COPA. Walter and the Legislative Committee are doing an outstanding job!