I
have received and continue to receive reports of the type of work some of the postal fleet drivers are doing. I was getting written information, fairly often, about how they drive and handle the mail. It has been awhile since I have received anything in writing. All
of this information is included in the grievance to show the Postal Service made a bad choice.
As I have mentioned in the past, the grievance process can
be a slow one if it goes beyond step 2. there are a lot of grievances sitting
at step 2 that are being discussed and the Postal Service Labor Reps are often times waiting for information from you supervisors
in order to decide how to proceed.
The VMF has a lot of contracting grievances which will be
coming to a head in a few weeks. Dave is doing a great job in protecting your
contractual rights.
Most of you have liking for Steve and Chris and probably
have a good rapport with them. When they talk about what ramifications could
come from all of these and other grievances, they really don’t have a clue.
When they (this will include Troy and
the dispatchers) talk about how me or Dave may not bargain, you need to remember when they violate the contract there are
proper remedies and there are good reasons for those remedies. Just because they
don’t agree with them, that does not mean we are being hard asses. On the
contract, they are the ones who are being hard asses. They are simply trying to play let’s make a deal. Most of these violations occur over and over again. They are just trying to lessen the burden they have
created by doing our work or contracting it out, or having someone from another craft transport mail.
We have all been told and can imagine what our working conditions
would be like if we did not have a contract. Those who negotiated it believed that the Postal Service can operate within the
confines of our “agreed to” contract or they would not have created it.
Over the years, I have had supervisors tell me that this
happened or that happened which created a grievance and there was nothing they could do to avoid it. They think that if it doesn’t happen that often, it’s no big deal and there should not be a
grievance.
On the other side of the coin, I have had members who have
been issues a letter of warning for an accident or sick leave usage or whatever, who say the same. But management will say they gave the member plenty of time to correct their behavior so the letter will
stand unless your union rep can get it rescinded.
The same applies with the contract violation. They have had years of living with this contract and yet on a daily basis it is violated. Why should we play let’s make a deal? Sick leave abuse is sick leave abuse and supervisors doing
our work is just that, a supervisor doing our work and a contract violation, and there is a remedy for it, just like they
have a discipline for you.
Do not let them convince you that the union is causing the
problems. They are the people who are supposed to staff enough employees in order
to get the work done. If they cut corners and get bit, so be it. Remember they will bite you without thinking twice.
That will bring me to another subject I have mentioned before,
“Working too hard in order to catch up.” If something happens, crash,
injury, it will be your fault. Don’t do it.
Again, the Postal Service in all likelihood created the problem or perpetuates it.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact
Dave or me so that we can explain in better detail what is happening and why.
As fuel prices rise, so will the cost of mailing. Transportation is a huge expense. Our union at the national
level will be watching how postal officials will apply that rate increase.
With that being said, big mailers will be trying to call
in their chips. This is done through the lobbyist that they give huge amounts
of money to apply to whatever will sway the decisions of those in Washington.
We have our own lobbying effort through our COPA “Committee
on Political Action” campaign. To donate, you can do so through payroll
deduction through PostalEASE, Electronic Funds Transfer, on-line or check, or you can stop in the union office to donate.
We who donate do make a difference. Getting the attention of those who will support our efforts to keep our jobs and pay closer attention to
how the Postal Service runs our company is not free, it costs money.
If you can, go the APWU website to read up on COPA and how
it works. Go to www.apwu.org and on the upper right is a members only link. Log in with
your employee I.D. and your pin. will be your last name and the last four digits of your SSN.
Check it out.
For those that have contributed, thanks for joining your
fellow contributors and for supporting yourself and your family’s security.
Chris Stage
MOTOR VEHICLE - from the October
2007 Postmark
Welcome back Bob and Joel. It’s good (great) to see that we have
a process that allows you to keep your jobs, seniority and benefits. It doesn’t
take much imagination to realize what would have happened if we did not have Union representation.
As we all do, we’ll be talking to Bob and Joel about what happened to them.
While we do, keep in mind that this stuff could happen to anyone. Watch
what you say and do around your supervisors, not to mention others who might happen to overhear a conversation.
Heads up!! Be sure you are not out of bounds while on the clock. By that I mean, do not be somewhere where you should not be. The O.I.G. is out to find job security (theirs). It would
be a very good idea to let your supervisor know where you are going to take your break.
If they agree, then you might be safe. If you do not, you run the risk
of facing the same problems Bob and Joel had. Sorry, there can be no guarantee
the outcome would be the same and if the outcome would be the same I do guarantee this, IT WON’T BE FUN GETTING THERE!!!
I know working around and watching the contractors do our work is frustrating.
If anything, the grievance procedure is slower than we expect it should be. There
can be no way for any steward to be sure how a grievance will ultimately turn out. The
grievance is moving and it will be some time before we have an answer, but do not lose faith in your system – it works.
I want to welcome Terry Neal and Gary Schwitzer as new members. Please
do the same. Terry actually joined when he came back, but his paperwork was misplaced. He realized it when he noticed that his dues were not being withdrawn and brought
it to my attention. While we are welcoming Terry and Gary, we gotta realize why
we belong to the Union. We would not have the
benefits we have if we didn’t.
It was brought to my attention that some Drivers feel that it is more important to get the cages and APCs unloaded
at the stations even though they could run the risk of getting hurt. Remember,
if you try to unload a heavy piece of equipment and strain your back or some other kind of injury, you will be at fault. The Accident Report that is generated will reflect the fact that you failed to follow
instructions and will go into your file as an ‘unsafe act’. We have all been instructed to be safe while working.
If no one is there to help (Sundays), contact the dispatcher. DO NOT let
them talk you into unloading it. It’s not going to be their fault, and
you will not have been the only one who brought mail back because the equipment is too heavy or rolls hard because of bad
wheels (it then should not have been used in the first place). You know how it
goes, they pull it down with a forklift and load it right in or use a pallet jack. We
don’t have that luxury at a station.
I talked to Troy just today about our dues. He was under the impression that a portion of our dues go to political funds, Democrats in particular. That is not true. None of our dues go
to a politician, Democrat or otherwise. We have the Committee on Political Action
(COPA). The money that is raised from COPA is voluntarily donated by members
and others (retirees), and Democrats are not the only ones who benefit. We support
those who will support us as Postal Workers. If a politician fights for our rights
and benefits, that person will get our support, regardless of what party they belong to.
You may not like some of what the politician stands for, but if we don’t support that person and vote our jobs,
where would we go? Our jobs are not bad.
I would like to keep gaining rather than go backwards or lose it all together.
The big mailers who want all the discounts in postage are collectively spending millions to lobby their supporters. That is, of course, why the mailers get the support.
It’s all about the money. We have to help the ones who support us
in office and their campaign funds are what does that.
The following was in the August 2nd Local Bulletin. You will
also see those who contribute to COPA in the Postmark. If you would like to do
the same and are not sure who to go about it, contact me or go to the Union Office on the fifth floor to get started. And thanks .. our future is in our hands and the hands of those who support us.
Starting with the 3rd quarter (July, August, September, 2007) those members contributing
to COPA through Postal Ease or electronic fund transfer bi-weekly will be eligible for the drawing. The drawing will consist of three prizes, one $100.00 winner and two $75.00 winners.
If you haven’t signed up to contribute to COPA through Postal Ease or electronic funds transfer,
now is the time to do so. Once you sign up through Postal Ease or electronic
funds transfer for a continuous contribution, you become eligible for this and future quarterly drawings.
Keep the faith. All of the Union Reps are working hard to represent you
and protect our contractual rights.
Along with the drawing for COPA contributions, we are drawing for the Voice of the Employee (VOE) as well. Turn in your VOE (both the sealed and addressed one and the local one) and you will be eligible for those
drawings too.
Keep in mind the addressed VOE is your mail. You are allowed to/have the
absolute right to take that piece of mail and do what you want with it. Turn
it in on the 5th floor Union Office for the drawings.
Yours in solidarity
Chris Stage
MVS Craft Director
St. Paul, MN Area Local
*********************************************
What's
the Hurry???
By Chris Stage, MVS Craft Director
While you may feel the pressure to get the mail
delivered on time, there's lots of reasons you can't. You have to leave late
because of …? Pre-load not ready?
Dock is jammed so you can not unload? Your out-bound mail is still sitting
on the dock? You can't get into a door because everyone else is dealing with
a jammed dock? The Plant dispatches are not down yet and you are held up for
10-15 minutes?
This is almost a daily occurrence and we all
have asked, "why does management let this happen?" I sure can't figure it out,
nor am I going to try.
So, what do you do about it? Because it is our nature to do the best we can in order to get the job done right - and done on time, we
take shortcuts in loading or unloading until we stain ourselves rushing to lift a door or move equipment. Then we try to make
up time during our in drive time. Hurrying to get a job done is admirable, but it might result in negative consequences. You won't get a bonus and you won't get a little extra in your stocking at Christmas
either. What you will get is hurt - and it will be your fault. If you get a speeding ticket or have an accident - it will be your fault.
Then you will get disciplined and receive anything from an official discussion to a removal. Why hasn't management fixed these problems? Because we make
up for the problems they won't fix by hurrying. Our reward? Pain, embarrassment
and discipline.
Schedules…you might hear that you have
not followed your schedule. Over the years I have heard that the schedule is
what we are supposed to follow - not matter what. Other times I hear that the
schedule is just a guide that should be followed as close as possible. Whichever
rule applies is up to the supervisor. If your schedule is too tight you need
to let your supervisor know. You can request a survey of your run and your supervisor
has to respond. Our LMOU provides that, "Vehicle runs will be checked upon the
request of the full-time regular employees assigned to the run." A supervisor
will follow you to check if a stop is too tight. Do not put yourself or your
job in jeopardy. If you're late you're late - don't let your supervisor know
why or what happened to cause it. It is not our job to make decisions regarding
the operation of the Postal Service. If something out of the ordinary happens
- call your supervisor.
**************
As I write this, there is nothing new to report
on the contracting out of our jobs. Grievances have been filed and will continue
to be filed. I have contacted Congresswoman Betty McCollum and Senator Amy Klobuchar. I have also contacted the VFW and the American Legion.
My reason for this is to impress upon them that the Postal Service is eliminating Veteran
Preference Jobs - we cannot allow these jobs to go away. I encourage you
to do the same. You can contact Congress at the Capital Switchboard 1-800-459-1887. Locate your state representatives' name, address, phone # and email address at: www.leg.state.mn.us/leg.legdir.asp - use the link to "Who Represents Me" at the top of the page. If
you don't have internet access contact me and I'll get the names and addresses for you.
Enough is enough with this crap. They cut costs for big mailers and make up the difference by cutting good jobs and service. The Vets deserve our support. We need to put a stop to this. Thank you in advance for your assistance in this effort.
