Local Newsletter | South Jersey Area Local 0526 - APWU

Stand Up!

(This article was first reported in the September 2017, Local Newsletter)
Written by: Tony Rodriguez Editor of AWPU, SJAL #0526

It is unfortunate that we (APWU-SJAL#0526), along with the rest of the nation, are facing this attack on our jobs. Many of you (the members) tend to forget that you are the Union and we (the stewards and Executive Board) are the ones you put in charge to defend your employee contractual rights. As Union members, you should know your contract and LMOU to know that this tactic of management attacking our jobs is totally wrong. This is to help you understand. By not knowing or keeping up with the information that has been sent out and/or posted, you have subjected yourselves to telling rumor(s). By not attending General Meetings, you have not heard what actions that have been taken thus far or knowing how to stay informed in between meetings. This is not encouraging and it only creates stress, confusion and uncertainty.

Union member participation has drastically suffered. How is it that the Executive Board has created ways of having discounted ticketed events for members and there’s barely enough tickets sold at the special price?? Members have forgotten what a Union is. Members have become complacent. The overall attitude of dues paying members, are as if the stewards and Executive Board members are the Union. With the current participation and the “will to know” from you the members, it seems as though the stand is totally being left up to us the stewards and Executive Board members. This should not be like this.

No, I am not speaking as a person who has been an employee for USPS for 10 or more years. I’ve only been a USPS employee for 4 1/2 years. I am speaking as a Union member who knows and understands the purpose of the Union.

PSEs… YES you too are the Union!! You have rights but you too have a responsibility to stay informed and be in the know. It seems that there’s confusion and discouragement amongst you. Just as there was the National fight during contract negotiations for a better lifestyle for the PSE, we, (the stewards and Executive Board members) have not forgotten what was arbitrated in your favor: conversions!

Understand, the attack on jobs is nothing more than a mere action to delay the inevitable. Giving you an understanding from the PSE level, this is about patience.

“But how much patience am I to endure?”, you may ask…

You may be feeling uncertain about the position you have being a PSE. If you have not been through an APWU orientation within the last six (6) months, here’s a brief recap.

Get familiar & READ the contract. Download it from our local website at: http://southjerseyarealocal0.apps-1and1.com

It’s located under the menu link: APWU-SJAL: CBA, JCIM, JCAM and LMOUs
Read Articles: 1, 3, 14, 15, 16, 17 and the PSE MOU located in the Appendix

Check out the National website at: http://www.apwu.org

To join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sj.arealocal.0526

If you have any questions and you’re within your 90-days probationary period, email: Tony – trodriguez.apwu@gmail.com

These are the “rules of the game”. This is what you need to know to have a strong foundation and understanding of your rights and managements rights.

As a Union member, whether you’re a full-time regular or PSE, being informed and knowing your contract is paramount. Don’t give management the edge by staying uninformed and separated. That – is – what – they – want! Again, on all fronts we (the stewards and the Executive Board members) have and are continuously fighting all local issues. Have patience because we will prevail. It just takes some time to get the desired results.

It’s never too late! Now is the time to turn this around, get informed and get involved. We WILL win this! As a Union, just like the fight against the Staples situation, it’s time that we all make a stand against management attacking our jobs.

Our new website and Facebook account has been up and running since May 5, 2017. You were notified, via the last newsletter, that they were fully launched specifically to inform you of all the news surrounding all events both locally and nationally. It is hard to believe that all the information about management’s current attack on our jobs is not important to you. Now is the time for solidarity! Get informed! Stay involved!

Clerk Craft Director’s Report

(This article was first reported in the September 2017, Local Newsletter)
Written by: Kathy Kustner Clerk Craft Director of APWU, SJAL #0526

Pre-Disciplinary Interviews
When being called to do a PDI with an employee, it’s best to have a few moments with the employee alone before being brought in the room where the PDI is being held to talk to them. When the Supervisor notifies you that they will need you for a PDI they are going to hold, always ask who the employee is and what is reason for the PDI, so that you can explain this to the employee, before it starts. Before the PDI begins, write down the time and date.

Record the employee’s name, the Supervisor’s name and write your name down as being the Steward. Ask the Supervisor what documentation they have to show the employee and record this also. For Attendance, the employee should be given a copy of his/her 397l’s and the 3972 or the Key Indicator Report. Record what dates and what type of leave was requested for issues concerning job performance, record such things as the date & time it occurred, the machine the employee was on, the employee’s partner. So if discipline is issued as a result of this PDI, all these facts must be checked against the letter of discipline, so if management has made a mistake you will have evidence of the fact, and will use this to have the discipline expunged. Taking very good notes by recording all the facts at the PDI, will enable the Steward for the Step One Interview of asking questions to show who, what, when, where and why.

Making sure that time limits and other procedural requirements under Article 16 have been followed is the Steward’s main objective. Always remember: “Management bears the burden of proof in disciplinary grievance.”

When the result is discipline has been issued after the PDI, the proper steps must be taken. To assign the discipline a grievance number and create a folder for the letter and any documentation that you will acquire. An RFI needs to be submitted to the issuing SDO. For an example, for an attendance grievance the following reports should be requested:

Request for Discipline
Copy of PDI notes
3971’s for all dates cited
3972
TACS Everything
Absences Occurrence Report (Non-FMLA Related)
Sick/FMLA Usage Log
Message List Report
Action Report
Employee Key Indicator
Leave Usage Report
Removed Leave Log

You must then go over these reports and checks all the occurrences to see if they match what has been cited on the discipline. Check to see if the grievant has FMLA on file and if he/she has called out using it, that it matches their 3971’s.

After doing so, you can now initiate a Step One interview with the SDO. Ask has the grievant been give an Attendance Review, if so, when and where did it take place. Always make sure that your Step One has a “date and time” on it. And the end of the Step One, have a slot, so you offer the SDO the chance to sign & date what has been discussed. If the SDO signs you may give them a copy if they request it. If they refuse to sign you do not give them a copy. Management has five days from this date to give an answer to what you are asking for as a remedy. If you are not a Step Two Advocate, you must give the case folder to the Steward who is, after your Step One and familiarize them with the case, so that the case can be moved to the next Step within the time limits. If you have reached a settlement with management at Step One, have it typed and signed off on, giving the grievant a copy.

Director of Associate Offices Report

(This article was first reported in the September 2017, Local Newsletter)
Written by: Mike Wright Director of Associate Offices of APWU, SJAL #0526

Hopefully the membership has had an enjoyable and safe summer, however, if you work in an Associate Office (AO), like myself, it’s been stressful. Clerks, carriers, and custodians in every office that I have spoken to have all had the same concern, “We need more clerks!” Unfortunately, there’s no relief in sight.

I attended the State Convention in Atlantic City in June and the news is bleak. Upper management wants to eliminate 12,000 to 16,000 jobs nationwide depending on the source. Anyone retiring or separating from service is having their job reverted along with many people in jobs that are being abolished. Long story short, Management on the national level is panicking due to the APWU converting over 47,000 PSEs nationwide. When the PSE position was created, management intended to create a part-time workforce in the long run; most Postmasters & Supervisors do not want to convert people to career. I know this message has been out many times before, but we need to protect our jobs. We can do this by:

making the right moves on the clock
making sure it’s our clerks performing our daily duties
making sure it’s our custodians doing the landscaping
letting the Union know when none of these are happening with statements and grievances.

Also in Atlantic City, I had a chance to attend a class on dealing with the Postal Inspectors/OIG. Most of us haven’t dealt with them and, if we’re fortunate, will never have to deal with these agents. Personally, I have. It’s never a good situation. Some of the topics discussed, were the rights of an employee in these scenarios and what is contractually required by the employee in these situations.

We are not required to write statements, at any level. We are required to cooperate with investigations as outlined in the ELM 665.12. We’re also not required to take a polygraph. Management cannot bring a steward into an interrogation if they make this mistake there is a Weingarten Global Settlement in which any information given during the said investigation, cannot be used.

I also had the opportunity to observe a Function 4 audit in Mt. Laurel in June, which I was informed happened to be the last Level 3 (multiple day) Function 4 audit any time soon. The team informed me that clerks took leave on Tuesday rather than complete their full tour leaving work there. I watched as the UBBM went from three containers that had to be checked and verified up to five, then to seven the last day of the audit. By leaving bargaining unit work behind and taking leave it shows, on paper, that there isn’t a need for as many full time employees.

Another concern in Mt. Laurel was that employees are unaware of the correct functions when it comes to swiping. This goes back to my first paragraph in which we need to protect our jobs. I can understand the newer employees not being familiar with the function codes. Unfortunately, we have some senior employees in the district, who will not be bothered about making the proper moves until it’s too late.

One way to help our LDC 48 score, in the impacted DUO’d offices (those that have lost their carriers) or any office in general, is to make sure we’re scanning anything with a barcode that enters our facility “Arrived at Unit”. This includes the PS Form 3811 (green cards). We also need to make it a habit of giving the undeliverable accountables (Forwards, UTF, ANK, etc.) to a window clerk, who should run it through the RSS as “Numbered Mail Pick-up” then “Undeliverable”. This will help the WOS numbers. These practices add up and help us in our fight, which we were told is the worst attack on clerks in 20-25 years.

Many offices in our local have been identified for excessing, however until a clerk leaves the facility, there is no grievance. For example, clerk Jones gets a Notice of Involuntary Reassignment on June 1^st and must find a new position by October 1^st. There are four months in-between where something could change that could impact the staffing (i.e. a senior clerk retiring). Primarily, the excessed clerk is the person who feels the brunt in these situations, but it also impacts the overall staffing in general; which is already likely short-handed. The PTFs and PSEs are also impacted. Their hours, if done properly, are greatly reduced. In the case with some PSEs, they are separated from service. Even-though on paper it is one or more clerks being involuntarily reassigned, everyone is affected.

We’re also getting reports about Amazon Sunday operations. This has resulted that I have begun making visits again. I started this initiative back in 2015 and have kept management on their toes regarding purposely short staffing. It was quiet for a while, but it seems to be an issue again. We have gotten wind about violations in Vineland and caught them red-handed in Mt. Laurel. SURPRISE! If anyone other than a clerk is distributing mail on Sunday (RCAs, CCAs, management) email me immediately of the incident at: mjwrightapwu@hotmail.com

This also applies for morning operations in the AOs. We can’t complain about being short-staffed and then let management and other crafts do our work for us. I know I beat the complacency drum often, but it seems unless we visit the AO in-person most of the violations go unreported. We need to speak up and protect the work that’s ours.

Finally, I’d like to speak on the August South Jersey District Labor Management (SJLM) meeting. We had brought up the 2016 TACS settlement and how it is only being performed in about 10% of our offices. The new District Manager (who actually showed up unlike the previous one who was here a total of three months) will work with labor to try and get the TACS responsibilities returned rightfully to the LSAAs (T7s) and I will follow up on this at the November SJLM Meeting. We also wanted to address an incident in Millville, which we believe was trying to be swept under the rug in which a supervisor forcefully took money out of a SSAs hands. Upon hearing this, I blew up and began emailing everyone on the issue. After an investigation that took almost two-weeks, even with statements from the clerk and the SSA who was working alongside them, the POOM decided the incident never happened. I presented statements at the SJLM from two employees (one who was not part of the POOM’s “thorough” investigation) who witnessed the incident. After bringing all my statements and emails and wanting answers of what management’s “thorough” investigation consisted of, the POOM (who has been at every District LM meeting in the last two years) was mysteriously absent. However, the new District Manager stated that there is an ongoing investigation of the investigation. Hopefully, the truth of both the incident and the shoddy investigation will come to light even though personally, I’m not holding my breath. The former POOM, who as of this article has been moved to another POOM group, thus rewarding the action of not properly investigating the issue.