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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