Hello Members,

 reprintedfrom the February Postmark

            Times have definitely been difficult, not only with home mortgages, health care, unemployment, etc; but also with the Postal Service and our jobs.  Who would have thought that employees would be excessed out of their home installation to unknown and not always preferred installations.  The St. Paul bid cluster has weathered through that storm, but now it is in front of us again at 5 of our Associate Offices.

            Notification of excessing out of the installation was sent to employees at the Cottage Grove, Stillwater, Northfield, Forest Lake, and Owatonna offices in August of 2010.  The original impact to these offices in total were 12 employees. After numerous days and hours of negotiations, the Union has successfully gotten that number down to 6.  (Zero was our goal, but management would not go there.)  The employees are now in the preferencing stage and the results will be out in mid-February.  These employees will preference, but movement to their new installation will not happen as there is a moratorium on excessing outside of the installation right now, as long as the National APWU and the Postal Service continue bargaining.  As of  1/28/2011, these negotiations are still in progress.

            Things at the new Eagan plant continue to be  a work in progress.  Meetings with management are being held weekly.  Not only are union issues discussed, so are any issues that are brought forward to the Union by our members.  If you, as a member, have any concerns that you would like to have brought forward at a Labor/Management meeting, please contact a steward or officer and your issues will be put on the agenda.

            I am pleased to announce that both the purchase agreements for the new building and the sale of the old building have been signed, and we are waiting for closing dates for both properties.  When dates become available, notice will be put out to the members, but hopefully everything will be complete in March and we will be able to hold our first General Membership Meeting in our new building in April.

Local elections are upon us again, and I urge all members to vote.

Dawn Ecker, President

Hello Members,

Well, we made it through another holiday season, but this one was quite different than most others.  It was our first Christmas in the new Eagan plant, plus we had more snowfall this December than in recent years.  I hope everyone had enjoyable holidays.

We are now in the process once again of reviewing Function 4 staffing at all the stations and branches.  Management’s intent is to downsize stations again by getting rid of some duty assignments.  We will be doing everything we can do to avoid downsizing, but we need your help.  We need to be contacted for ALL violations, whether it be management performing our work, carriers performing our work, work not getting down, Sox compliance not being followed, carriers not being checked in, etc.  it is imperative that all violations do not go unnoticed.  Please request a steward when any and all violations occur.  Management believes that this downsizing could lead to out of the installation excessing once again.

There seem to be more and more issues concerning overtime.  I have had numerous complaints that the overtime is not fair, not equitable, etc.  the overtime provisions of the National Agreement and the Local’s overtime pecking order have not changed for many years.  The overtime is done on a rotating basis among the OTDL, quarterly, by seniority.  It is not always going to be fair and equitable.  Management calls the overtime, not the Union.  The Union should be receiving daily overtime consulations, to make sure the proper pecking order is used, and the proper employees are being drafted for overtime.

FMLA

The APWU is encouraging employees to use the Department of Labor FMLA forms.  Management has refused to accept the APWU FMLA forms, and the National APWU is pursuing a dispute with the Postal Service on this issue.

Update on the New Building

The final pre-construction meeting has taken place and the APWU is tentatively looking at a March 15 closing date for the new building.  We also are in the final stages of the sale on the property at 654 E 6^th Street with Metro State University.  We are hoping for a March closing date as well for the sale of the property.

Mystery Shopper

After years of APWU complaints, the Postal Service has notified the union that the Mystery Shopper Program will be altered beginning in January 2011. Retail Associates (RAs) will no longer be required to follow a precise script when waiting on customers; instead they will be permitted to “customize their questions to best address individual customer needs.”

The questions have been a source of frustration, both to window clerks and the mailing public, in part because RAs were required to ask every customer mailing a package a litany of questions — even customers they knew well and whose needs they understood.

APWU Clerk Craft Director Rob Strunk praised the decision. “Finally, a manager with authority has realized that our Sales and Service Associates can determine on their own an appropriate method for communicating with our customers.

“The Mystery Shopper program has been misused, abused, and violated in so many ways,” he said. “We can go forward now demonstrating our professionalism.”

The Mystery Shopper program, which was recently renamed the Retail Customer Experience Program, has been a source of contention between the union and management since its inception. The program relies on management designees posing as customers and scoring retail clerks based on adherence to the script.

According to management’s Dec. 27, 2010, letter, the Product Offerings and Product Explanation categories will no longer be scored, and scoring in other categories will be revised.

Contract Negotiations

As of the writing of this article, the National APWU has stated that they are frustrated with the Postal Service and contract negotiations.  The National Agreement expired on November 20, 2010, but talks have continued.  For further updates, please visit the National APWU website.

National Election

            The results of the National Election have been posted and I would like to welcome Marty Mater, the new Clerk Craft National Business Agent for our region.  Marty is from Madison, WI and was the Local President there.  Welcome Marty!

Excessing Update

            Minneapolis has received their impact statement on excessing out of the installation as follows: 66 Level 6 Clerks, 41 Level 7 clerks, 1 Level 8 clerk, and 6 TTO drivers.  Minneapolis has not yet received the impact statement for their maintenance craft.  What this means for St. Paul is that any residual positions in the Motor Vehicle Craft or Maintenance Craft in St. Paul would be withheld for the Minneapolis excessing.

CSBCS Removal

            We have received notice that the remaining CSBCS machines in the associate officers will be removed by November 30, 2010.  We have received the impact statements for these officers and will be meeting with management on these officers very soon.

New Union Building

            The Union has agreed to a purchase price for the new union office at the Waters Drive Business Park for $435.000.00.  We in the due diligence stage, then construction should begin soon.

Sale of the Old Building

            The Union has agreed to sell the property at 654 E 6^th St to Metro State University for $575.000.00.  The paperwork is being prepared by our lawyer.

Greetings!

            Well, the majority of the move to Eagan is complete and so is the reposting of the facility.  It has been chaotic, and probably will be for quite sometime.  The Union has been working diligently to attempt to resolve issues as they come about.  Some of these processes are new, and will take time to work out all the bugs.  If you have questions or want to address issues, please contact a steward or officer.

            Staffing is still going to be an ongoing issue, for all crafts.  The staffing package for Maintenance is improper, and a request to the National for a staffing advocate has been sent out in order to help correct this issue.  we have been notified that 5 of our Associate Officers will be excessing outside of their installation, and more offices will be looked at.  Stations and Branches will be reviewing their staffing once again, as they did last year.  And believe it or not, staffing will be looked at again at the Plant, very shortly.  I believe that because of the financial woes of the Postal Service the attempt to downsize employees will be become an everyday occurrence.  So it is very important that if management or another craft is performing your work, you take a stand and request to file a grievance.  This goes for all crafts in all offices.  We cannot protect staffing, if we do not protect the work that is ours.

Hello Everyone (reprinted from the April Postmark)

            The information in this article was excerpted from the National’s Booklet “When Excessing Occurs, Know Your Rights and Benefits” to assist APWU members during a potentially difficult career experience.  Excessing is rarely easy.  A change in job assignment and/or relocation to a new community can be a terrible experience for the worker and the worker’s family.  But being excessed is certainly preferable to being laid off or terminated.

“When Excessing Occurs Know Your Rights and Benefits”

 GUARANTEED RIGHTS

Within the contractual protections of the National Agreement, postal employees enjoy specific guaranteed rights when excessing occurs. Five of these important rights are explained in this booklet. They are:

1. Rate Protection

2. Protected Rate

3. Discontinued Service Retirement Benefits and Rights

4. Severance Pay

5. Relocation Allowances

RATE PROTECTION

Article 4 of the National Agreement specifies that an employee whose job is eliminated as the result of technological or mechanization changes shall receive rate protection. The employee continues to receive the salary they received in the previous higher grade position until such time as they fail to bid or apply for a position in their former wage level. The salary protection provided by these provisions begins effective the date the affected employee is assigned to a residual lower level position or becomes the successful bidder to a lower level position. Any period as an unassigned employee following the elimination of a position due to technological/mechanization changes should be paid at the former level. This protected salary is augmented by any general salary increases occurring while the saved rate is in effect, including COLA and step increases. When it is intended to reduce the number of employees because of the deployment of automated equipment, local management must initiate an “automation impact statement” identifying the “impacted positions” and the number of positions to be reduced. Automation deployment may be in the affected office or in another office; it may result in the movement of mail or the processing of mail. Under both circumstances an “impact statement” is required. Employees receiving rate protection must bid or apply for all vacancies in their former wage level. Failure to bid or apply will result in forfeiture of the former wage level. This requirement to bid or apply includes only those posted vacancies for which the employee is eligible to bid or apply. While receiving rate protection, employees may bid for vacancies at a level other than their former level without jeopardizing their rate protection.

Protected Rate

The Employee and Labor Relations Manual (421.51) specifies that employees whose jobs are eliminated for reasons other than technological or mechanization changes and who are assigned to vacancies in a lower level shall receive a “protected rate.” Such employee will continue to receive the salary of the previous higher level position, augmented by any general wage increase, for a period of two years, provided that:

a. The employee served for two consecutive years immediately preceding the effective date of reduction in a position with a salary standing higher than that to which reduced.

b. The reduction is involuntary. Employee bids occurring after reassignment do not invalidate the protection.

c. The employee occupied a permanent higher level position and their performance was satisfactory during the previous two years. Clerk Craft employees assigned to lower level receive “rate protection” under all circumstances and continue to receive the salary of their former level, provided they fulfill the requirement to bid and apply for vacancies in their former level.

RATE DETERMINATION

The basic salary of an employee entitled to a protected rate will be the lowest of the following:

a. The employee’s basic salary at the time of reduction.

b. An amount which is 25 percent more than the maximum basic salary for the new grade to which reduced.

c. The basic salary in the lowest salary standing which the employee held during the two years immediately preceding reduction in salary standing, augmented by each step increase the employee would have earned in the previous level.

DISCONTINUED SERVICE RETIREMENT

Title 5 USCS and the ELM (563.21) specify that any career USPS employee (CSRS or FERS) meeting retirement eligibility requirements who is involuntarily separated and who has been employed continuously by the USPS and/or other federal agency for at least 12 consecutive months (without a break in service of three or more consecutive days immediately prior to the separation) is eligible for discontinued service retirement, except in the following circumstances:

The employee is not entitled to an immediate retirement annuity if:

a. At the time of separation the employee is offered and declines to accept a position in the USPS or in any other federal agency of like seniority, tenure, and pay within the same commuting area.

“Commuting area” means the geographic area that usually constitutes one area for employment purposes. It includes any population center (or two or more neighboring ones) and the surrounding localities in which people live and reasonably can be expected to travel back and forth daily in their usual employment.

b. The employee is separated because of entry in the military service.

c. The employee is separated for cause on charges of misconduct, delinquency, or inefficiency.

d. The employee at the time of separation is receiving compensation as a beneficiary of the Federal Employees Compensation Act, except when receiving this compensation concurrently with postal pay.

For the purpose of this regulation, “separation” means excessed or reassigned from an assignment without a comparable offer.

SEVERANCE PAY         

Title 5 USCS (§5595) and ELM 435 specify that any career USPS employee (CSRS or FERS) who is

involuntarily separated and who has been employed continuously by the USPS and/or other federal agency for at least 12 consecutive months (without a break in service of three or more consecutive days immediately prior to the separation) is eligible for severance pay, except in the following circumstances:

a. The employee is entitled to an immediate retirement annuity including discontinued service retirement.

b. At the time of separation, the employee is offered and declines to accept a position in the USPS of like seniority, tenure, and pay within the same commuting area.

c. The employee is separated for cause on charges of misconduct, delinquency, or inefficiency.

d. The employee, at the time of separation, is receiving compensation as a beneficiary of the Federal Employees Compensation Act, except when receiving this compensation concurrently with postal pay.

RELOCATION ALLOWANCES

The F-12 Handbook specifies that employees who are involuntarily excessed and required to report to another installation are entitled to a relocation allowance, provided the new duty station is at east 50 miles greater in distance than the distance between their former duty station and their former residence. When notified that you will be involuntarily excessed to a location more than 50 miles further than the distance between your present home and your duty station, you should request a written statement ordering your reassignment. A computer- driven notice of reassignment or PS Form 178 will suffice as official notice. You should not volunteer to accept the new assignment. If you volunteer for reassignment, under most circumstances you are not eligible for relocation allowances: After being notified that you are excess, you are provided choices of locations from which you make a selection, and your reassignment continues to be involuntary and is covered by the relocation expense regulations. In those instances when a senior employee volunteers to be excessed in lieu of a junior employee, the senior employee should notify management that excessing is still occurring and should be considered “involuntary” for purposes of relocation expenses. Where management refuses to authorize relocation expenses, the employee may elect to either refuse to volunteer or write a letter to management notifying that the relocation is not considered voluntary by the employee and that a grievance will be filed contesting the decision to refuse payment of the allowance. To prevent any misunderstandings over your entitlement, you should insist that your reassignment order be in writing. When provided options of different postal installations to which you may be excessed, you should always indicate-by letter-that your selection does not represent your volunteering for reassignment. Do not accept a management offer to voluntarily transfer because excessing is imminent or the offered position is more convenient.

These are just some of the regulations intended to help you make an informed decision if you are an impacted or volunteer employee. There is a link to the full booklet on the Local’s website on the “Helpful Links” page.  Please feel free to contact a union representative for any other questions or concerns you may have.

.

Hello Everyone,

          Well, it has been a very hectic 11 months since I have taken office.  The local and its membership have had to endure station downsizing (right sizing as management likes to call it), sectional excessing, bid restructuring, the upcoming move to the new St. Paul P&DC, very limited vacancy notices and the granddaddy of them all, the likelihood of excessing outside of the installation.  As we move (d) through these processes, many of you have expressed their concern(s) about their future with the postal service, whether it be senior employees or junior employees, it is evident everyone is concerned.  I would like to assure everyone that the union is meeting with management at every level to minimize the disruption to one’s life and family.  For the record the union has been meeting with management weekly, while in reality the meetings have turned daily.  However, it is unfortunate that it appears too many of you feel that the union is not being forthright with information.  I assure you that as the union becomes aware of management's proposed numbers and is able to garner relevant information that it will and is forwarded on to you, the members.

          You the members have been made aware of management’s proposed numbers for excessing outside of the installation, which is 128 clerks, 106 level 6 and 22 level 7.  As for clerks bid and employees retire or transfer this overall number will change, which could impact one’s position on the excessing list.  So as I have stated in the past, everything is fluid at this point and will remain that way for some time to come. 

Bear in mind that excessing is a management decision.  The agreement between the parties establishes specific guidelines to be followed when excessing occurs. The general principle is that inconvenience and disruption is to be kept to a minimum.  It is a difficult and stressful time for everyone involved especially the employees indentified as excess to the needs of a section or installation.

Often excessive OT and ongoing changes to full time regular schedules, cross craft work and supervisors doing bargaining unit work follows excessing action.  This happens because management excesses too many employees and now finds they are short staffed.  If you are party to or witness any violations, please contact a union steward and file a grievance. 

On 2/25/10 the union was invited to a district labor management meeting at the new NDC (formerly the BMC) at this meeting we were informed that the commercial mailing industry intends on eliminating all first class mailings.  The Postal Service projects that this action will delay the financial recovery through the year 2020.  The Service projects annual losses will be around 10 billion dollars a year for the next ten years. 

Also, we were able to tour the new St. Paul P&DC.  The building is currently empty.  The only equipment inside is the trayveyor.  Completion is scheduled for sometime between August and November 2010.  As you can read there is a lot happening. 

Thank you to all the members, stewards and officers for their dedication in these trying and testing times. 

Hello Everyone, (reprinted from February 2010 Postmark)

          Due to the intense and urgent nature of the requests for the details of the new facility staffing package, I will provide the following information on the staffing package, instead of my normally formatted article.

Management has notified the local that as of 12/24/09, 106 level 6 and 22 level 7 Clerk employees will be excessed from the installation. Junior employees to be excessed will be excessed by craft, salary level and status. Best Qualified, and part time regulars are a separate status.  When excessing occurs the sole criteria for selecting employees to be excessed is craft seniority.  Whether you are recovering from either on or off the job injury would have no bearing on being excessed.  Employees in a light or limited duty status will be excessed in the same way that employees in a full duty status are excessed, based on the pay level of the duty assignment that they hold and their seniority.

          So far, it has not been determined how the move from the old (St. Paul) installation to the new (Eagan) installation will be completed.  Management has notified the union that their plan is to move operations to the new facility in stages, over a 1 to 3 month period beginning possibly in June or July of this year.

          As far as bidding in the new facility, it will depend on how and when management abolishes, reverts, excesses and posts bid duty assignments.  As of now, it is impossible to determine what jobs will be posted installation wide or posted for in-section bidding. 

The Local still has not received the maintenance staffing package.

We will continue to meet regularly with management.  We will keep you informed as details become available.

Hello Everyone,

          Heads Up…

          Well it has begun.  Management has started to implement their national reassessment program (NRP).  This program affects all limited duty employees.  The first meeting of this program will take place 10/7/09.  the following is reprinted from the 10/18/09 flash bulletin:

“Postal Service Now Targets ALL Limited Duty Employees for Its National Reassessment Program

In October 2008, the St. Paul Area Local was informed that the Northland District will be entering into Phase 2 of the National Reassessment Program for MMI employees. This program is designed to develop limited duty employees with permanent medical restrictions resulting from a work related injury rehabilitation job offers.   At this point Phase 2 has been in place for 10 months with no meeting being scheduled with employees.  The APWU has just been informed that the USPS has developed a companion process that will target all limited duty employees.  This process is not intended to replace the first program but run in tandem with the new program.  This will mean that the limited duty employees who have reached MMI will be subjected to both processes.

Postal Service’s National Reassessment Process – Limited Duty

On May 29, 2009 the USPS concluded its NPR-LD pilot program.  The APWU has been informed that the USPS plans to implement this program nationwide starting July 13, 2009 with “work status meetings” beginning no sooner than July 27, 2009. the National APWU has raised significant concerns about the process and its compliance with existing law and the USPS manuals.  The National APWU has met with the Department of Labor DFEC concerning what It sees as clear violation of the law and procedures developed by OWCP.  As of yet, there have been very few answers provided.

Therefore, the St. Paul APWU is asking all limited duty employees when contacted by USPS Management concerning their work status to immediately ask for a Union Steward to ensure that all rights are being asserted from the beginning of the process.

The St. Paul Area Local expects this new process to negatively impact our injured workers.  To illustrate how many employees can be expected to be impacted we are sharing the statistics that were provided to the APWU concerning the pilot program for this new process.  There were 2230 employees who were reassessed as part of the two and a half month pilot period.  Only 41% (912) of these employees received “full day” job offers, just 30% (667) were assigned “partial day” work (even though they were medically able to work more hours), and a devastating 29% (651) were told that there was not work available. “

All Craft Conference

          On 9/29/09 a delegation of 7 officers and I attended the all craft conference in Las Vegas.  In attendance were approximately 2000 members of the clerk, maintenance and motor vehicle crafts, as well as support services.  During the conference the delegation was addressed by many of the resident officers from Washington DC, including President Burrus.  President Burrus began his address by calling the union’s current circumstances the “best of times, and the worst of times.”  Burrus outlined an ambitious agenda for the union’s future.  Burrus urged the conference participants to meet the challenges that lay ahead.  From the Postal Services financial crisis to the upcoming contract negotiations and the shrinking workforce.  President Burrus asked members to draw strength from the union’s many achievements and to refocus their efforts to the tasks that lay ahead.

Achievements

          Many of us are experiencing the worst recession in 70 years, but yet we are largely unscathed from the turmoil millions of American workers are facing.  Garnering at least one level upgrades for every employee, negotiating retirement and separation incentives for our members and others, helped to elect a president who represents all that is good in our country and helped with the passage of House Resolution 22 (pre-funded retirees health care).  These are some of the achievements that have been obtained during my years as a member and officer of the APWU, and there are many more.  Although it may be difficult to maintain these achievements in the coming years, it is our opportunity to relish these accomplishments.

Challenges

          We are experiencing unprecedented excessing and reassignments, P&DC consolidations, station and branch closings, contracting out our work, congressional interference as related to the collective bargaining process, national reassignment program, under staffing, declining mail volume and management performing more and more bargaining unit work.  Of course, these are not all of the challenges we face, there are many more.

          We must remain vigilant in these times. The future of the APWU rests with us.  Longtime President Moe Biller frequently closed his articles with the saying “The struggle continues” and as you can see, it truly does.

Respectfully and in solidarity,

Tom Edwards, President

Regional Excessing Meeting Produces Little Agreement

                   Pat McCann

          On Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009, the Union met with management regarding the notification to excess 43 employees from the St. Paul, MN installation.

          Attending the meeting were USPS representatives from Headquarters and the Western Area.  Attending for the APWU was Central Region Coordinator Sharyn Stone, National Business Agent Central Region Willie Mellen, along with me and Vice President Dawn Ecker.

          This meeting was supposed to occur prior to the information received on 1/6/09 but in typical management fashion, it was done ass backwards.  This resulted in some heated exchanges involving the inaccurate information that management presented to the Union on the day of the meeting.

          Further complicating matters was the information provided appeared to be gathered and assembled the day before so those management reps presenting the information where less than knowledgeable on the material they were presenting, which led to an unproductive meeting.

          From the Union’s perspective, the information provided at the meeting was inaccurate and does not support a need to excess employees from the St. Paul installation.  We did agree at the meeting that if management provides accurate information that supports the need to excess and complies with Article 12 of the Contract that excessing will occur no sooner than July 2009.

          Since this process adjusts every time there is attrition in the bargaining unit, the parties have agreed to meet at the local level to adjust the number of employees to be excessed.

          Since the initial notification to excess 43 employees was received in January 2009, management has adjusted the number to 35 employees.  The union believes that this number is not supported by accurate information. From the data we have it appears at this point in time we’re at 10 employees to be excessed and that number will be further reduced as we get closer to July 2009.

          This is going to be a long, drawn out process, so please bear with us as we work to protect your rights under the contract.  I will update you via bulletins as we move through the process.

A Goal Set, A Goal Met

          By Pat McCann

          The St. Paul, MN Area Local has again risen to the challenge to raise money for our Committee on Political Action (COPA).  For the calendar year 2008 members of the St. Paul Local contributed a total of $12,303.22 to COPA.  This is an increase over year 2007’s donations in the amount of $1400.74.

           We met and exceeded our goal by raising $12,303.22.

          In 2008 we increased those contributing bi-weekly from 76 members to 83 members.  We also saw an increase in overall donators from 145 members in 2007 to 154 members contributing to COPA in 2008.

          What do all these numbers mean?  Since COPA began, we have seen our members become increasingly more involved in our Political Action Committee.  We’ve seen a steady increase of the years of members contributing bi-weekly and annually.  Also there has been more involvement during elections with phone banking and door knocking.

          This all points to the fact that you, the members, are stepping up to the plate and recognizing the importance of political involvement.

          The next couple of years are going to be challenging to the USPS with mail volume failing because of the faltering economy, the USPS will faced with decisions that if implemented (eliminating 6 day delivery, consolidating processing plants, closing post offices, funding retiree healthcare, etc) will have devastating effects on our members.  The USPS can take these actions in most cases without violating our Collective Bargaining Agreement.

          One of the avenues in which we can have our voices heard on these issues is through our Congressional Representatives. COPA provides President Burrus and our Legislative Director Myke Reid along with Assistant Legislative Director Steve Albanese the opportunity to access members of Congress from both sides of the aisle that will influence a good majority of the decisions the USPS will make in the coming months.

          On a broader scale, the Labor Movement is constantly under attack by corporations attempting to introduce legislation to erode workers’ ability to bargain on behalf of their members.  Hopefully with the change that occurred in the last election cycle, we will be able to spend less time defeating onerous legislation put forward by corporations and actually enact legislation that improves the lives of the working class.

          This can only be accomplished by being involved in politics on Capitol Hill.  Involvement is made possible through COPA.

          I would like to thank those who contributed to COPA in 2008.  I would also like to thank Bruce Gutzke, COPA Coordinator for his tireless work.  Great job Bruce!

          Lastly, I hope that those who supported COPA in 2008 will continue to do so in 2009. for those who missed the opportunity to contribute in 2008, I challenge you to help us reach our goal of $12,500.00 in 2009 so that we continue to have a healthy political action fund, allowing our voices to be collectively heard on Capitol Hill.

Changes, Changes and More Changes

          Pat McCann

          As we begin the new year, we leave behind a year that was full of change to our working environment.

          We experienced a reduction in staffing at our stations and branches, along with reposting of bids and changing start times/days off.   The plant saw the final phase of decentralization take place in city division and the elimination of one FSM 1000, causing abolishments on tour 1 and tour 3.

          Motor vehicle experienced run adjustments and the potential loss of 5 positions through attrition.

          The maintenance craft seemed to fair better when it came to change.  We actually saw an increase in our custodial occupational group with a number of employees transferring into the management craft from the clerk craft and the mailhandler craft.

          As we begin the new year, we are faced with the tour 2 compression initiative.  Initially this is going to affect the clerk craft in letter automation on all three tours with abolishments and reposting of duty assignments and start time changes.  Eventually this could spread to the flat operation at a later date.

          The tour 2 compression will also affect motor vehicle craft employees with an adjustment to their runs to stations and branches.

          Maintenance staffing and start times for employees who work on the machines may at some point see adjustments based on the tour 2 compression initiative

          For the clerks and motor vehicle employees, their changes will start in January 2009 and be completed in February 2009.

          The registry section was also a target for management to reduce work hours.  Management will be abolishing two (2) positions on tour 3 and reposting another.

          At the Air Mail Center, management will be abolishing 2 ramp clerk positions and will revert one open position.

          This spring the Mail Recovery Center is slated to be closed with the work being moved to the Atlanta mail recovery center.  This will affect approximately 50 clerks.

          So the first four (4) months of 2009 will be extremely unsettling for our members.

          On the positive side, through all this change, no employee has been excessed from the installation and forced to move in order to continue employment with the Post Office.  This has not been the case in numerous installations across the country where employees have had to relocate in order to keep their employment with the Postal Service.

          After these changes take place in early 2009, I think we will experience a brief period of stability. I say this because I believe that in fall of 2009 the decrease in mail volume will start to level off.  Our ratio between the number of duty assignments (bids) versus employees will be virtually equal, thus requiring management to be much more thoughtful in managing duty assignments in each section because of the requirement to have equal number of bids for employees. This coupled with economists predicting that the economy will start showing signs of recovery in late 2009. That said, the move to Eagan in late 2010, early 2011 has the potential for serious disruption to our work environment depending on what the USPS categorizes the new building as will determine the level of disruption.  

          On the bright side, employment with the USPS even with rough economic times continues to be stable employment.

DESTRUCTION OF TOUR 2 PICKS UP SPEED

          by Pat McCann

          In the past three weeks, we have been notified by management that they intend on moving Tour 2 Letter Automation to a 12:05 p.m. start time and eliminating the Mail Recovery Center in St. Paul which is a Tour 2 operation.  Furthermore, there is rumbling that Tour 2 Flat operations may suffer the same fate in the near future.

          Through correspondence with other APWU Presidents around the country, they report that their processing plants are suffering the same fate.  This indicates that this is USPS Headquarters’ driven initiative.  Therefore, APWU Presidents from around the country have requested that President Burrus assist us in dealing with this issue.  A teleconference has been set for December 3, 2008 to discuss the issues.

          I don’t believe this is something that is going to be solved through the grievance procedure because it does not appear to be a Contract violation.  I believe a dialogue has to take place with those at USPS Headquarters who have made these decisions and they appear to have been made at the highest levels of the USPS.  I say this because we have tried locally to open dialogue with the Plant Manager on these changes to no avail.  The Plant Manager had indicated he does not have a choice in these matters.

MOVE TO EAGAN UPDATE

          Excavating contractors have begun prepping the site for construction of the new building.  The completion date of the new facility is late 2010, early 2011.  We will probably begin meetings on the move mid-season of 2009.  We will keep you informed in the move through the process.

THE ELECTION IS OVER – NOW WHAT?

            by Pat McCann

            The answer is, let’s hold our elected representatives accountable!

            All too often after Election Day, we go back to our daily activities and assume that our elected representatives will fight for the interests of the working class/middle class/main street America, for which we elected them, but more often than not, we get ignored in the process because we ignore the process.  This has to change.  We must stay active in the process.

            If you believe for one moment that the lobbyist who advocated for legislation that has severely and negatively impacted the working class/middle class/ main street America are going to stand down because we have changed the playing field where the game is played, you are mistaken.  They are going to fight tooth and toenail to keep in place every piece of legislation that has been passed that has put us in the position we are in today.

            If we don’t put as much effort into lobbying our representatives for the changes we elected them to make as we did in getting them elected, then we will have squandered a once in our lifetime chance to make a positive difference for organized labor, working class America and main street America.

            So, on January 20, 2009, let’s be ready to participate in the process and make positive changes for the working people of America.  If we let this opportunity slip by, shame on us.

Members, we have reached a point in our postal careers where the election on November 4, 2008 will more than likely determine the direction of our employment with the United States Postal Service.

The Postal Service is caught in what I would call the perfect storm that could lead to privatization without intervention from Congress and the next President.

The storm began with the introduction of the internet and the avenues it provided for people to connect with each other electronically. Since the invention of the internet, first class mail volume, which was the bread and butter of the Postal Service, has continued to decrease at record rates.  Initially standard mail volume was off-setting the decrease in first class mail volume, but now the Postal Service is experiencing volume reductions in standard mail.

The storm continued to pick up strength with the introduction of postal reform by the Bush Administration, passed by a Republican Controlled House and Senate, a law that severely hamstrings the Post Office’s ability to navigate through an economy that is in recession.

Under the law, the only means for the USPS to recover losses due to the economy:

·        Significant productivity improvement (nothing significant on the horizon in technology that will change productivity)

·        Invoking the law’s exigency clause (increasing postage rates above the rate of inflation, it permits such increase in extraordinary or exceptional circumstances). Invoking this would most likely drive down mail volume.

The final piece of the perfect storm is the economic recession.  Companies that use the Postal Service to distribute their advertising have begun to cut back and we are seeing a dramatic decrease in standard mail volumes (flats and letters).  This, coupled with the price of gas having risen to $3.50 a gallon, equates to the Postal Service losing 2.3 billion dollars this year, and a projected loss of 2 billion in Fiscal Year 2009.

If the economy continues on its current path, and it most likely will for at least at minimum another year, the Postal Service will continue to run a deficit.  So the Postal Service is basically left with 4 options:

1.                           Reduce operating expenses by reducing the number one operating expense, “employees”.  This will speed up the march to privatization.

2.                           Raise the rates under the law to match inflation.  Raising rates sharply will force major mailers to sharply reduce or abandon hard copy communication in favor of alternatives, furthering the call for privatization.

3.                           Increase mail volume. This is not likely to happen during an economic recession.

4.                           Use its authority under the law to borrow up to 15 billion dollars to continue operating.  Borrowing money will increase the drumbeat for privatization.

The outlook for employees of the United States Postal Service is bleak, but all is not lost.

Before private companies are allowed to pick apart the Post Office, the 800 pound gorilla (the President and Congress) will weigh in on the future role of government in providing postal service to the nation.

This is where we, as postal employees and voters, can make a game changing move by electing a President, a Senator and  Congresspersons who support federal jobs, who support the middle class, to which we belong, and who believe in the basic right to organize for better wages and working conditions.

The time will come, most likely within the next 4 years, that the fate of the Postal Service will be decided.

Do you want John McCain, Norm Coleman and Michelle Bachman and John Kline, who favor privatization of federal jobs; or Barack Obama, Al Franken, 1st District Tim Waltz; 2nd District Steve Sarvi; 3rd District Ashwin Madia; 4th District Betty McCollum; 5th District Keith Ellingson; 6th District  El Tinklenberg; 7th District Collin Peterson; and 8th District Jim Oberstar who believe in and will fight for public service jobs?

Bluntly put, as postal employees, you have been secure enough in your employment to vote for candidates based on a variety of issues not related to your job.  Those days have reached an end.  This election is about your job.

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