APWU – South Jersey Area Local 0526

(This article was first reported in the June 2018, Local Newsletter)
Written by: Rob Armentani, President of APWU, SJAL #0526

With Election day rapidly approaching, it’s time to have our voices heard! This issue of the South Jersey Postal Express is being mailed to both members and non-members due to the importance of the upcoming elections and we are strongly encouraging everyone to get out and vote for those candidates that support the Postal Service and working families. Failure to get out the vote could have a negative impact on all Postal workers.

Fight Postal Privatization!!
On October 13th through the 15th I attended the National President’s Conference in Portland Maine. During the conference, National President Mark Dimondstein and National Legislative Director Judy Beard spoke to the delegates about the very real possibility that the Postal Service may be privatized under the country’s current administration. Recently the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) unveiled a plan for privatization of the Postal Service promoted by corporate interests that have powerful influence in the Trump administration. There have since been bipartisan bills introduced to both the Senate and the Congress to help combat a proposal to privatize the Postal Service: House Resolution 993, this resolution calls on Congress to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and not be subject to privatization and Senate Resolution 663 which states, Congress should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization.

We are all in this fight together to save our jobs! It doesn’t matter what political party you support, your race or whether you are a Union member or not. If you are a Postal worker it is time to unite to fight for our jobs, fight for our livelihoods. It is imperative that on November 6th you go to the polls and cast your vote for those who support the Postal Service and oppose Postal privatization.

Contract Negotiations
Our Collective Bargaining Agreement was set to expire on September 20, 2018. Negotiations for a new contract began on June 26, 2018. When an agreement wasn’t reached by September 20^th,  the parties agreed to a 30 day extension to continue to try and come to an agreement. On 10/20/2018 APWU President Mark Dimondstein announced that the union and the Postal Service again agreed to extend negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement for an additional 30 days until November 20, 2018. All the rights, benefits and provisions of our existing union contract remain in place, and are fully enforceable during the new 30-day extension of negotiations.

South Jersey Area Local Elections
By the time you receive this edition of the newsletter you should have received and returned your ballot for our Local Elections. The ballots must be received by November 15th so if you have not returned them, please cast your vote and return them. We have had some dismal participation in our Local Elections in the past and I would really like to see that change this time around. This is your Union. You should be heard on who you want to represent you. Complacency is management’s best weapon and our biggest obstacle.

Why Am I A Union Member?
Since this edition is going out to non-members as well as members I want to formally invite you to come on board and stand with your co-workers and support YOUR Union as we fight for fair wages, benefits and working conditions. Without the support of our membership we cannot maintain this fight. I will be more than happy to meet with anyone to answer questions you may have about Union membership.

When I was hired to work for the Postal Service in March of 1987 at the Philadelphia BMC, the first thing my father told me was to make sure I signed up with the Union. Of course, I asked why and this is the story he told me:

My father got a job working for the Philadelphia Fire Department back in the 60s. Not long after he was hired there was a contract dispute with the city and there were many pickets and rallies held by the Union. My father was fortunate, or should I say unfortunate, enough to be on the front line of one of these pickets and a picture of him walking the line made it into the local newspaper. Since he was identified in the newspaper he was fired from his job. The contract dispute was settled and my father was unemployed with three children. The Union immediately went to bat for him and fought and won his job back. Because of the Union fighting to get my father’s job back, my siblings and I enjoyed a good upbringing and my parents enjoyed a good retirement. My father showed me the picture he was referring to and then he showed me another. It was a newspaper clipping of him carrying a child down a ladder out of a burning house. Thankfully for that family my father was still on the job thanks to his Union representation.

After hearing his story, I didn’t hesitate one second to sign up when I got the chance.

As I get closer to retirement myself I understand more than ever why it is so important to have a job that offers fair wages, benefits and working conditions. Without the Postal Unions I believe we would all be nothing but casual employees. Remember them? No raises, no benefits and you could be fired with the snap of a finger.

In closing I want to again encourage you all to stand together as Postal Workers. Get out and vote for those who support the Resolutions against Postal Privatization.

In Unionism,
Rob Armentani
President SJAL

(This article was first reported in the November 2018, Local Newsletter)
Written by: Frank Bollinger, Business Agent of APWU, SJAL #0526

Jobs
The South Jersey Local is dedicated to both properly converting PSE’s into career positions as well as looking for opportunities to advance our PTF’s and sub 40-hour NTFT’s into better positions (aka Desirable Duty Assignments). There is a fine balance in figuring who is entitled to positions under our current Collective Bargaining Agreement. Previously it was reported by me that there was some controversy regarding who is entitled to a residual vacancy once we hit item 6 of the Residual Vacancy MOU. Management took the position that they were allowed to jump ahead to item 7 without fulfilling requests that are covered under item 6. That was explained in more detail at our previous General Membership Meeting.

Now, however, some new issues have come about and they came to us from our members. In the first situation, a PSE was not afforded the opportunity to bid on a PTF preference position. This happened due to an oversight by the individual’s local management who never posted the available list. Obviously, this violated the PSE’s rights as a job they would have taken was awarded to an individual with a lower relative standing. This was corrected through negotiations at which time it was agreed that the current office the PSE was domiciled at had the ability to add a PTF position to their compliment. As such the individual was converted to a PTF there.

We received some concerns from the other employees that it may impact the hours of the other PTF’s at the office. It was explained that they were allotted two PSE’s and management was, more likely than not, going to revert to only having one PSE at the office due to the additional PTF position. Being as it seemed like a 1 for 1 situation the hour impacts should be minimal if any. At the same time an individual was afforded their proper opportunity to convert to career status. The members who had the concerns about hours seemed to understand that the Union had an obligation to correct a violation.

Second situation is a little different. We had a sub 40-hour NTFT at an office, the work showed management should add the hours to make it a 40-hour a week job. Management agreed without much pushback to add hours to bring it up to 40 though over 6 days still. Of course, the job will be put up for bid internally for all clerks (more likely than not) though this individual will get it.

In comes a call from a member at that office questioning why we increased the hours of the job. It was explained that the work hours showed the need and it is the Union’s duty to fight for desirable assignments and 40 over 6 was much more desirable then 36 over 6. The individual had a few more seeming negative concerns/comments about it. The truth came out later that making the job 40 hours would probably impact the overtime of the FTR who was calling. It was explained that overtime is not guaranteed and again the Local’s priority was to move as many members as possible into 40 hours jobs. It was explained that unfortunately, though we realize individuals like overtime, when it is overtime versus a 40-hour job the Union will always go for the 40-hour job. The individual in this case refused to accept that fact.

I am sorry if this seemed more like a rant than a report but honestly, we are supposed to be bonded as a Union Family. The first situation is understandable, people can have some questions at time and once explained they understood. The second situation seriously frustrates me. We are supposed to be a Union Family yet individuals would willingly step on their Union Brother/Sister so that they can get some scraps of overtime for themselves. We wonder why Unionism is dying in the U.S., if we are willing to throw each other to the wayside for a pittance then we don’t stand a chance against those that wish to destroy us.

(This article was first reported in the November 2018, Local Newsletter)
Written by: Mike Wright, Director of Associate Offices of APWU, SJAL #0526

Level 18 Offices/1412s
If you were at the September 2018 General Membership Meeting, you had heard me speak of the PMEOD settlement again which was in my February 2018 article. We had had an issue in an office and when it was addressed by the Local Steward, the Postmaster decided to allegedly walk out and go home in the middle of the Step 1. I personally went to that office the following week and readdressed the issue. Amazingly not only did they stay for the Step 1 Informal, they were kind enough to say it was going on in approximately 15 other offices. The following week, we had sent out Requests for Information to all the Level 18 Offices in our jurisdiction (41 offices). Out of those 41, 10 were not compliant with either the PMEOD settlement or the e1260 reports. Postmasters/OICs cannot just freely stay logged in all day to the RSS unit, every minute logged in counts against their 15 hours of bargaining unit work allowed in the CBA. If done correctly, there should be 3 final deposits per day worked, which would create opportunities that have been taken from PTFs prior to the PMEOD settlement. This won’t be the last round of mass RFIs to the 18s. Every office that had a violation will have a second RFI by the time this newsletter hits your mailbox.

Misc.
We began sending RFIs out to the AOs with LSSAs (T7s) to take more of our work back with TACS. This was awarded to us in a 2016 settlement which District has continually dragged their feet on, even after it was addressed at the SJ Labor Mgmt. Meeting (see “Dog and Pony Show” from my November 2017 article). We have been informed that it is finally being addressed in the latest EAS timekeeping course at Bellmawr. I guess 14 months after it was brought to their attention is timely in the eyes of the District. This is our work and it needs to be returned to us.

Speaking of the District, we’ve given them the opportunity to address the “alleged” time card manipulations and the abusive managers in this district with zero results; unless you count the latest Integrity Memo we received in a Step 2 denial from Labor. We’ve already sent a NLRB charge on the continual “alleged” retaliation and harassment of employees in one office in this district. Diplomacy has not worked with this district. Future “allegations” that come my way will now be addressed with outside organizations.

A little tip to my fans at the 501 Beningo building (I KNOW you read this). If you want to keep me quiet, try following the contract! Stop with: the delays on information, the games regarding investigations, and the rest of the nonsense that comes out of this district.