Local Newsletter | South Jersey Area Local 0526 - APWU

A Message to The PSEs

(This was originally in the SJ Area Local Newsletter of April 2019. Written by: Tony Rodriguez)

PSE jobs were the new entry level positions for Postal careers when I first started here six (6) years ago. The vast majority all job postings on the Postal Service website are for PSE jobs, and most career positions are filled by promoting PSE employees.

PSE job description reads:

HOURS: VARIES
PSEs hold temporary appointments for periods not-to-exceed 360 days. Subsequent appointments after a 5-day break in-service may be offered but are not guaranteed and should not be expected because the use of PSEs is discretionary and subject to business needs

PSEs can be scheduled any hours and the position is intended to be very flexible, including weekends and holidays as needed. PSEs must be available to work when needed.

This is a non-career position, which may lead to a career position depending on organizational needs.

PSE Sales, Service, and Distribution Associates must also…

Work assigned tour and days of work.
Follow Postal Service policies and procedures for personal conduct at work, including adhering to rules and regulations.
Provide service to the public.
Maintain a neat and professional appearance in such interactions, including wearing a uniform and name tag when required

The above is in the job description when you applied for the PSE position.

There is a high percentage of the PSE workforce that is becoming agitated by how management:

moves people around,
work them long hours,
not giving enough hours,
changes the start time,
or never letting them know when they will get done.

ARTICLE 3
MANAGEMENT RIGHTS
The Employer shall have the exclusive right, subject to the provisions of this Agreement and consistent with applicable laws and regulations:

To direct employees of the Employer in the performance of official duties;
To hire, promote, transfer, assign, and retain employees in positions within the Postal Service and to suspend, demote, discharge, or take other disciplinary action against such employees;
To maintain the efficiency of the operations entrusted to it;
To determine the methods, means, and personnel by which such operations are to be conducted;
To prescribe a uniform dress to be worn by designated employees; and
To take whatever actions may be necessary to carry out its mission in emergency situations, i.e., an unforeseen circumstance or a combination of circumstances which calls for immediate action in a situation which is not expected to be of a recurring nature.

(The preceding Article, Article 3, shall apply to PSEs)

PSEs, if you are not familiar with the above Article, then you need to start reading the contract. PSEs… you are not helping yourself by complaining. The Job Description told you what to expect from this position. It didn’t guarantee a set schedule. It says: “…the position is intended to be very flexible, including weekends and holidays as needed.” Article 3 clearly reads: “The Employer shall have the exclusive right…” to all of the listed items A-F. Bottom Line – Management has the right to run their operation as they see fit, as needed. PSEs, you are being reminded to be flexible.

Understand the benefits you have that did not exist when I was hired as a PSE 6 years ago:

right now, your starting hourly pay is $3 higher than mine was,
you have health benefits as soon as you start; I had to wait for my first break-in-service before I was eligible,
you have holiday work pay or the option for additional annual hours for working on your working holidays; I didn’t have that when I started,
you have the ability to earn OT rate (after 8 hours) and penalty rate (after 10 hours); that was not in place when I started,

So, I question… Name a job, that you can get hired into, starting with the above listed benefits, working like you. If you don’t have an answer for that, I advise you to: come to work, be patient, be flexible. You got a paycheck every 2 weeks just for doing that. That’s the easiest paycheck to get!

President’s Report

(This was originally in the SJ Area Local Newsletter of April 2019. Written by: Rob Armentani)

Constitutional Changes
In accordance with the local’s Constitution and By-Laws, resolutions to amend the constitution may be presented by a member at any meeting, after which they will be turned over to the Constitution Committee for their recommendations. The April meeting to be held on Tuesday April 16th at 7 PM is the last meeting to submit any Constitutional Amendments. The resolutions with the committee’s recommendations are then printed in the June newsletter, and voted upon at the June general membership meeting, which is on June 9th at 10 AM. The committee members as appointed by South Jersey Area Local President, Rob Armentani, are Julio Cebollero, Chairperson, John Whartnaby and Jerome Green.

Contract Update
As you are all aware, our 2015 contract expired on September 20, 2018. Our National Union had been engaged in negotiations to reach a new agreement since July of last year. After several months President Dimondstein presented a tentative agreement to the Rank and File Committee for acceptance to send the agreement out for ratification. However, the Rank and File Committee had some concerns and they and did not vote in favor of sending the tentative agreement out for ratification. There were additional attempts to agree to some changes to the tentative agreement, but the negotiating team was unable to get management to agree to any changes. Since we are now at an impasse, an interest arbitration will be the next step. On March 7th the parties exchanged their final economic proposals as we prepare for arbitration. Management’s proposals are very regressive and will have a negative impact on all of us if they are successful. It is times like these that non-members irritate me more than ever. We are in a fight to save not only our jobs but our livelihood and way of living. There will be numerous expenses involved in this process that will be paid for by your Union dues while the non-member just comes along for the free ride. I don’t consider them freeloaders, I consider them thieves! They are stealing services from the Union that are paid for by our members.

For more information on the exchanged proposals check out our National and/or Local websites.

RI-399 National and Local Updates
The APWU and the USPS reach a National Settlement in regards to the RI-339 process. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the RI-399, it is the jurisdictional identification of work between the Clerk and Mail Handler crafts. It basically identifies what work should be done by clerks and what work should be done by mail handlers. This process has led to numerous grievances being filed by both parties over the years. In 2018 an agreement was made to update the RI-399 process and all RI-399 grievances filed before September of 2017 would be administratively closed. As a result of this a new RI-399 Inventory was completed in the three offices under our local that have both Clerks and Mail Handlers in the facility.

An agreement was also made at the National Level between the APWU and the USPS to pay both the APWU and the Mail handlers Unions $14.5 million each. It has been determined by our National Officers equal payments will be made to clerk craft employees that fall into one of the following categories; All career clerk craft employees that were on the rolls as of Sept. 1 2017 and all PSE clerk craft employees who were on the rolls as of Sept. 1 2017 and who are still on the rolls as of March 1, 2019. This applies only to clerk craft employees in facilities that employ both clerks and mail handlers.

For more information on the RI-399 check out our National and/or Local websites

Abusive Supervisors
Unfortunately, this continues to be a constant theme in the South Jersey District. Currently the Mt. Laurel office has risen to the top of the trash heap. Constant calls from employees regarding the hostile work environment that exist in the Mt. Laurel office lead us to doing a Climate Survey in the office. The initial thought was that the results would focus in on one supervisor. However, the results show that several of the supervisors are abusive and fail to treat the employees in Mt. Laurel with dignity and respect. In my experience, when several supervisors are acting this way in an office, the problem comes from above. This has become more obvious as the PM has now begun targeting injured employees. An employee that has been working a rehabilitation job assignment since 2008 is now the target of his bullying and intimidation. Labor has been given a copy of the climate survey and the Union has requested that we do a joint in-depth investigation into this pit of misery. As of this date they have not decided whether or not to agree to my request. A Labor/management meeting was scheduled but canceled at the last minute by the PM.

We must stick together when dealing with this type of management.

“An Injury to One, Is an Injury All”

Message to the Members

(This was originally in the SJ Area Local Newsletter of April 2019. Written by: Tony Rodriguez)

A BIG question coming from everybody is: “Have you heard anything about the contract?” Before I respond with my “personal speculations”, I’ll respond by first questioning: Have you been paying attention to what our contract is up against?

National just recently published the economic exchange proposals. For you, the reading members, yes… management is being totally disrespectful in their proposal. Let’s take a quick look back in the past. The last contract went into arbitration. Management didn’t fair so well from the decision. They began an all-out attack on our jobs. APWU fought long and hard and was able to minimize that effect in a lot of areas across America. Contract negotiations opened up last year. Things ended up going into arbitration again. In February, Trump suggested that USPS cut retirement and health benefits. On March 12^th, it was reported that Trump’s postal reform proposal wants to get rid of the Unions. Six days later, on the 18^th, Trump proposes a pay and benefits cut.

Now looking at all of that, let’s you see just what we are up against when it comes to a new contract. To further make a constant fight, management is also in the process of evaluating the massive amount of call-outs.

Operational-wise, management has to account for all the hours of work it takes to receive, process and deliver mail and packages; this is business. There are work hours calculated by the number of employees in each facility. There are emergencies, sicknesses and other things that can cause an employee to call-out; life happens. When does calling out begin to jeopardize our jobs? – RIGHT NOW. They are looking into how many call-out hours are accounted for. This is what they will evaluate to start cutting jobs.

From an employee’s perspective – yes – you are:

tired of abusive supervisors and
you just want to come to work, do your job and go home, without being stressed from work.

That is all understandable. Immediately, calling out is the resolve. With all this present evaluation going on, you are also opening up the door for another attack on our jobs. It is already known management wants to get more done with less people. DO NOT HELP THEM.

Q&A
When will the contract be decided upon? We don’t know so we can’t say or give an answer to that.

Will there be any backpay? Backpay for what? There hasn’t been any decision on anything.

Will we get a raise? There hasn’t been a decision on anything.

Will PSEs get converted? There hasn’t been a decision on anything.

Bottom Line: The contract is in arbitration phase. There haven’t been any decisions on anything. Stop fishing for something that isn’t there. As soon as there is news, APWU National will be the first to break the news. Be patient. Show up to work. Stay informed. Let’s keep our jobs!