President's Page

The Function 4 Merry Go Round Continues -from the April 2008 Postmark

Over the past several months the union has met on Function 4 staffing packages for some of the stations and branches (Eagan, Industrial, Apple Valley, Main Office, and Woodbury).

After several meetings in appears management’s directions is to start reposting positions where there is heavy overtime usage on Mondays. Apparently, management believes by reposting some positions to 5 week rotations, they will be able to significantly reduce Monday overtime. Does this sound like the same old song and dance routine we heard 3 years ago from then Postmaster Cindy Larson right before she proceeded to repost almost the entire city from 10 week rotation to 6 week rotation? The reason she gave for reposing positions was too much overtime on Saturdays. The union explained to Postmaster Cindy Larson that unless management staffed the station with the proper number of clerks to cover days off, annual leave (10%-14% depending on time of year) and sick leave usage, reposting positions would just chase the overtime to another day, and guess what? The other day is now Monday.

The sad part about what happened 3 years ago besides the fact that it disrupted the lives of our members, is that management appears not to have learned a single thing from it and is on the verge of repeating it again. It took almost 2 ½ years for things to begin to settle down from the last repostings. As an example, almost the entire work force at the Apple Valley post office bid out of the office after the reposting. The result was a staffing crisis that caused numerous contract violations and financially cost the Post Office thousands of dollars.

I have been meeting periodically with Postmaster Mike Larson, not on any particular office, but in general on the function four process in an attempt to avoid repeating the disaster that occurred 2 ½ years ago.

We continue to have constructive discussions on this issue and no repostings have occurred yet.

Vice-President Dawn Ecker has been meeting with each individual station manager to go over the 1994’s. To date none of the function 4’s have been finalized. Once we have completed the meetings on the 1994’s and have a finalized package, we will share the information with the members via station visits or a bulletin.

FMLA Under Attack – reprinted from the March 2008 Postmark

President Bush’s appointed henchmen at the Department of Labor are at it again. They are proposing changes to the Family Medical Leave Act that if implemented, will most certainly negatively affect the very workers that the Act was supposed to protect.

Of course it is not surprising the employers are at the forefront in pushing the DOL to modify provisions of the Law to tilt the landscape in their favor.

The Law was enacted during the Clinton administration and for more than a decade has made a positive impact on millions of workers and thousands of postal workers and their families.

Some of the changes being proposed that would affect postal workers:

· Current regulations prohibit employers from making direct contact with an employee’s physician. The proposed rules would create exceptions to this prohibition.

· Eligible employees would be required to re-certify lifelong or chronic conditions at least twice a year, regardless of the length of the certification issued by a healthcare provider. (Employees would have to bear the costs of the additional trips to the doctor.) Under current regulations, such certifications last up to a year.

· Current regulation prohibit the disclosure of a “diagnosis or prognosis” on any form. The proposed rule would allow employers to request but not require disclosure.

· While the proposed regulations would allow eligible employees to seek damages against employers who fail to provide them proper notice of their rights under the FMLA, the burden of proof in such cases would be quite high and employees would have to show actual damages suffered.

· Current regulations stipulate that a health problem can qualify as a serious condition when an absence is followed by two visits with a healthcare provider. The proposed regulations would restrict FMLA eligibility by requiring that follow-up treatment take place within 30 days of the start of a medical absence.

· Current law requires employers to provide notice to employees within two business days. The proposed rule expands the period to five business days.

Right now as it stands, FMLA is a fairly easy benefit for workers to access. It doesn’t require a huge amount of hurdles to get coverage but enough to discourage individuals from continually abusing the system. Yes, I know there are individuals who are and will continue to abuse FMLA, but there enough regulations in the current law if the employers chose to enforce it, that would clean up the abuses.

Instead, it appears that employers are pushing the DOL to make FMLA a more cumbersome benefit to access by implementing less worker-friendly regulations requiring more doctor visits, more paperwork and so on.

One does not need to look far to see where this is headed if the regulations are changed.

When DOL, Office of Worker Compensation Program first come into existence, it was a fairly worker friendly benefit to access. If you got injured at work and had to miss work because of the injury or required medical treatment, you filled out a couple of forms and got paid for the missed work hours and your medical bills were paid by the employer without too much hassle. Not anymore, once employers began to pressure the DOL for more regulations in regard to the OWCP, the benefit became a paperwork nightmare with endless doctor’s visits, unpaid medical bills and so on. In the end, employees for the most part have given up in regards to getting compensated for work injuries, in the most part because of the massive paperwork involved and continued harassment by the employer to get coverage. In the end, the employers got what they wanted, a benefit so entangled in regulations that it paralyzed employee’s ability to access it.

This is exactly what they (employers) are up to with the changes they have proposed for FMLA and this is just the start.

Before these changes can be implemented, the DOL is required to take public comments on the proposed changes. The APWU plans to file objections during the 60 day comment period.

Once again, the St. Paul, MN Area Local has risen to the challenge facing us in the area of political action. In 2007, members of the local contributed a total of $10,902.48 to the Committee on Political Action (COPA). This is an increase over 2006 donations in the amount of $537.98.

In 2007 we increased those who contribute bi-weekly from 65 to 76. The committee had set a goal of reaching 76 and we reached it.

The above would not have been achieved without you, the members, recognizing the importance of contributing to a political action fund.

COPA provides President Burrus the opportunity to access members of Congress from both sides of the aisle that make decisions on legislation put forth affecting our working environment as postal workers. It also helps when the APWU wants legislation introduced such as Bill (HR 4236) which would affect private contracts involving mail processing, mail handling, or surface transportation of mail if signed into law; as it would require the USPS to bargain with the affected unions before awarding such contracts.

In 2008 we will be again faced with further attempts by the USPS to consolidate and/or close post offices. This, along with, the always present attempts to privatize the USPS are why the APWU needs to stay active in the political arena. The APWU has been able to thwart a number of consolidations of processing centers around the country by enlisting congressional support for our position. On a broader scale, the labor movement is constantly under attack by the corporations attempting to introduce legislation to erode unions’ ability to bargain on behalf of their members.

The APWU has been able to thwart a number of consolidations of processing centers around the country by enlisting congressional support for our position.

This can only be accomplished by being involved in politics on Capitol Hill. Involvement is made possible through our Committee on Political Action (COPA).

I would like to thank those who contributed to COPA in 2007. I have listed your names on page _________. I would also like to thank Bruce Gutzke, our COPA Coordinator for his tireless work. Great job Bruce!

Lastly, I hope that those who supported COPA in 2007 will continue to do so in 2008, and for those who missed your opportunity to contribute in 2007, I challenge you to contribute to COPA in 2008 so that we continue to have a healthy political action fund so that our voices are collectively heard on Capitol Hill.

Pat McCann

President

U.S. Department of Labor CAP Audit Completed

by Pat McCann, President

In June of 2007, the Local was notified that the Department of Labor (DOL) would be conducting a financial audit of the St. Paul, Minnesota Area Local.

The Senior Investigator for the DOL began his audit with an opening interview on July 16, 2007 and concluded the process with an exit interview approximately five months later on December 20, 2007.

The audit was an in-depth review of whether or not the Local’s fiduciary officers (Executive Board) are complying with the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act in regards to receipt and disbursements of union funds.

I am happy to report that there were no violations of the LMRDA in regards to disbursement of funds. Where there was a disbursement of monies, there was a corresponding receipt and either approval by the membership and/or the Local Executive Board.

We had one minor violation in regards to receiving monies through the sale of aprons, t-shirts, contracts, etc. The DOL wants a more detailed paper trail than currently exists.

As for our yearly LM-2 Report, everything was found to be in order except that the LM-2 Report showed that we had a $700,000 insurance bond through the National union when, in reality, the National union had purchased $500,000 bond. This was not considered a violation since we are required to only carry a $250,000 insurance bond.

The Local’s fiduciary officers have already taken steps to correct the one violation found. The results of the Department of Labor audit is a reflection on the fine work that your fiduciary officers have done safeguarding the financial workings of the St. Paul, Minnesota Area Local.

STAFFING PROBLEMS GETTING WORSE - from the November 2007 Postmark

By Pat McCann, President

Here are a couple of facts to ponder prior to reading the rest of the article on staffing. In the year 1999 we represented approximately 1900 career (employees) in the St. Paul Area Local. As of this year (2007), we have approximately 1400 – a reduction in the work force of 500 employees. 1998 was the last time the St. Paul GMF hired a significant number of employees, approximately 100 employees. Since December, 1998 (9 years) the St. Paul Plant has brought in either by transfer or hire, less than 100 career employees in the APWU bargaining unit. A major portion of the declining work force is due to attrition (retirements, removals, seeking other employment, etc.) and some have transferred into other agencies or crafts. Bottom line, the bargaining unit employees are doing more with less. So, looking at the above facts, it is easy to see why there are staffing problems.

Every year since 1998 management has stated, in order to make their budget for the fiscal year, they would have to reduce work hours in order to meet their budget. Of course, they would not be excessing anyone from the installation, they would just not be replacing employees lost due to attrition. Well, nine years of this type of management has left us in the shape we are in now. The Postal Service has finally reached its goal of bare bones staffing at the Plant, Stations/Branches and Associate Offices. Now they have a magnifying glass on those employees left. They are going to push, prod, cajole and browbeat employees to do more than a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.

We as union members need to take a realistic approach to the staffing problems that management has created. Our negotiated Contract allows the employer to staff the workplace with very little restrictions and that is not unlike other unionized workplaces.

The one thing we have to combat management’s right to under staff is our labor. In other words, we do not have to “double time” it to make up for management’s under staffing. There are no negotiated work and time standards in our Contract. This is covered in Article 34 of the Contract.

The realistic approach to improving the staffing problems is to perform your duties within the confines of the National Agreement, the Local Agreement, along with negotiated grievance settlements.

Let’s first start with safety. Everyone should be performing their duties in a safe manner (in other words don’t compromise your safety and health to make up for the employer’s bare bones staffing). Let’s look at a few things that occur on a daily basis that are unsafe acts performed by employees and blatantly ignored by management.

Manually pulling APC’s – Sometimes up to three at a time both empty and loaded. The safe way is to push one (1) at a time. Ever try to push two or three APC’s at one time? It is not possible. I have approached Clerks on many occasions and asked them to stop working unsafely by pulling APCs. The answer is always, it saves me time by pulling as many APC’s as I can. Realistically, whose time are you saving? Of course it’s management’s time.

The same goes for moving nuttings, i.e., pulling and pushing two at the same time. How about stacking over two trays high on a tray cart? How about overloading equipment like stacking tubs all the way to the top or moving equipment that is “overloaded”. Whose work hours are you really saving by doing this? You are paid for a fair day’s work – you don’t get paid one extra cent to save work hours by working unsafely. You don’t get to go home early and still get paid for eight hours. Ever wonder why supervisors never stop you from pulling an APC, pulling/pushing two nuttings at once, overloading APC’s and nuttings, stacking over one or two high on the top of a tray cart? It’s because they have everything to gain. It saves them work/time hours which equals less staffing and guess what? If you injure yourself, it is your fault you were working unsafely and now they can challenge your work-related injury.

Let’s tackle another issue directly related to staffing – Breaks and Lunches. The Postal Service work environment has drastically changed in the last ten years. There are less self-paced manual jobs and more mechanized and automated pieces of equipment that the Postal Service expects you to keep up with. When the LSM’S came in the late 1970’s, a mechanized piece of equipment, the union saw the need to address break periods for the machines in order for employees to rest their muscles from the grind of working on the machine. Through the grievance procedure management and the union agreed that breaks/lunches would begin no sooner than 1:45 and no later than 2:15 from the begin tour or end of the previous break/lunch. To accommodate the breaks/lunches management would either use a lunch and break relief crew or shut the machine down during breaks and lunches. Well, let’s jump forward some 27 years to 2007. As an example, Tour 1 Letter Automation we have a DBCS that process mail for Owatonna and it has to be dispatched to the truck by 4:30 a.m. to get down to Owatonna in time to be further processed, and the DBCS runs continually from 10:30 p.m. at night until 4:30 a.m. to process the mail for the Owatonna truck. Well, if the employees take their lunches and breaks per what has been negotiated, a two fifteen-minute break and one-half hour lunch, that takes an hour out of the processing time. So, employees who process the Associate Office mail decided on their own to work without a break or lunch for at least six hours of the night. Thus, by doing so, management was able to do away with lunch/break relief crews over the years. Now that the union has forced them to comply with the settlements, they say they can’t because there is no one to keep the machine running while employees take their breaks. Demand that you get your breaks and lunches per the settlements. While you might think when you are young and strong that you can work without breaks, you don’t have to look too far to see all the injuries these machines have caused, and guess what - management has little compassion for its injured employees. As a matter of fact, they has instituted a program called a ‘reassessment’ program to purge from employment injured employees.

This same issue about breaks and lunches with regards to staffing applies to the stations and branches.

Stop accommodating management’s bare bones staffing.

Lastly, you can continue to enable the lack of staffing which management would prefer, or you can do your part to force management in a different direction.