Mid Florida Local 7138, APWU

Tour Compression

noreply@blogger.com (Leesa Rhoden) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 17:25:00 +0000

A few details remain that need to be resolved, but the closed sectional bid for the Tour 2 impacted employees is now scheduled for January 16, 2008. Contact me if you have any questions.

Old school: what does that really mean?

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:18:00 +0000

On Christmas Eve, a supervisor came into the MDO's office, where I work as a general clerk, and mentioned that there were some employees on the workroom floor who were "whining because they had to work on Christmas."

I thought about what the supervisor said for a moment and replied, "Yeah, I would probably whine too if I were being forced to work. It's Christmas."

As we started discussing it, another supervisor (who had Christmas Day off, by the way) walked in and volunteered, "Maybe I'm old school, but no one forced them to work here. They want a job with benefits, then they shouldn't complain. If they don't like it they can leave."

It was clear that there would be no changing the supervisor's mind, so no attempt was made to do so. But as I thought about it, I realized that maybe I was the one who was "old school," becuase when I started here 27 years ago, Chritsmas was one of the two holidays considered "untouchable." The other was Thanksgiving.

It was possible to be forced to work Presidents' Day. Maybe Columbus Day, too. They were the "less significant" of the holidays. But you never were forced to work on Thanksgiving or Christmas, because there was a certain reverential respect for those days. It was volunteers only, and even at that, it was limited in its use.

Starting within the last decade, Management at Mid Florida has started to treat Thanksgiving as no different than the 4th of July. And in recent years, they are applying the same lack of respect to Christmas. It is truly a shame.

Yet a part of me wonders how much of this has been contributed to by us. We now live in a 24/7 world, and expect to be able to go shopping on those days, so if workers at the local department stores have to work, why shouldn't we?

The true answer is that they shouldn't have to work and neither should we. They should still be holidays as they were intended. Days for us to gather with families and loved ones and celebrate the holiday.

It was rather gratifying, then, that the Acting Plant Manager ordered the cutting of hours on New Year's Day, citing the lack of need for mandating most employees to work. Instead, he said to limit it to volunteers. In doing so, he appeared to be "old school."

It is not known what motivated him: true concern or simply a desire to save workhours used for budgeting purposes. But not knowing. he should be afforded the benefit of the doubt and his actions appreciated.

As we enter the New Year, it seems there is one thing desired by most employees: appreciation for doing their job rather than punishment when it is alleged that they are not doing it.

To all employees who come to work everyday and do their jobs to the best of their ability, yet are never really shown appreciation for it, thank you. For those who may not be reaching their true potential for whatever reason, thank you, too, and may this be the year in which you make progress towards your potential.

And to all, a Happy New Year on behalf of myself and the Mid Florida Local !!!

Tour Compression

noreply@blogger.com (Leesa Rhoden) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:38:00 +0000

A few details to be resolved remain, however the closed sectional bid for the Tour 2 impacted employees is scheduled for January 12, 2008. In the automation section there will be 12 bids with an 0800 BT and the remaining bid positions will be BT at Noon. Contact me if you have any questions.

FMLA Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Leesa Rhoden) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 19:29:00 +0000

As most of you know, Section 825.306 of the Department of Labor (DOL) FMLA regulations requires that FMLA medical certifications contain certain mandatory information. With the revised FMLA regulations, which take effect on January 16, 2009, the DOL revised 825.306 to allow/require certain additional information. Among other things, the revised regulation allows healthcare providers to include the employee’s diagnosis on the medical certification. The new regulation also requires health care providers to certify that intermittent or reduced schedule leave is “medically necessary”.

To reflect these changes, the DOL has issued two new optional medical certification forms that will replace the old WH-380. Form WH-380E is for employees seeking leave to care for their own serious health condition. Form WH-380F is for employees seeking leave for a family member’s serious health condition.

When the revised regulations take effect on January 16th, the current APWU FMLA forms will no longer be complete. Although to my knowledge, local management has not addressed this issue with employees yet, I wanted you to be aware of the change in regulations. Headquarters is currently in the process of reviewing our FMLA materials. I am told that until the National Union updates the APWU forms, employees may use the new WH-380E and WH 380-F medical certification forms.

Also of note, the DOL has also issued optional certification forms for employees seeking Military Family Leave. Under the new FMLA regulations, employees are able take leave to care for an ill or injured service member and/or for “qualifying exigencies” to help manage the affairs of service members who are away on active duty.

Please contact me or your Tour steward if you have any further questions.

Money Problems and Management Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Leesa Rhoden) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:49:00 +0000

To hear National APWU President Bill Burrus talk about layoffs is unsettling. This is the first time in my career that there has been such talk. We are now victims of the Postal Service's latest brain storm of cutting Tour Two mail processing operations across the nation.

Previously management's ineptness was only a minor irriation as we went about our lives while moving our nation's mail volume. Yesterday, we only grumbled as we delivered our citizens' mail in spite of our leadership, not because of them.

We would roll our eyes as we confronted the daily management theory of the day regarding color codes, break reliefs, 2-click clock ring variations and other nonsense. We sighed as we listened to lectures about full bins or unloaded ledges from people who have forgotten what it is like to work for a living, and held our tempers as we signed 3971s for 9 clicks "lateness not condoned" demanded from people who came in late daily and took two hour lunches. We brought FMLA papers repeatedly back to our frustrated doctors with each ridiculous request, and still we went about our day doing our country's work with these minor annoyances.

We have always born the burden of our management's bad decisions. Let's face it - It doesn't take a rocket scientist to run the post office but it can't be accomplished by morons either.

Now the management theory of the month is more than a mere annoyance. It is disrupting the lives of the people who get the work done.

Now we are told that due to severe drops in volume we must now endure the realignment of tour compression. What this is supposed to accomplish is that workers (senior T2 workers) will be excessed from sections to move the people to coincide with the mail. What it really means is that now management will again cover one mistake by making another. Only this time, our lives are disrupted and our families will pay the price along with us.

I will meet with the Plant Mgr and Inplant Support Mgr this week. Hopefully the closed bid packages for the impacted sections will be forthcoming. I'll keep you posted.

Union busters

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:36:00 +0000

"We have had it so good for so long that it is easy to forget that labor unions put meat on the bones of the American Dream. Pick any social advancement -- health care benefits, Social Security, civil rights, workers' compensation for job-related injuries, retirement benefits, leisure time allowances, child care, education -- and you will find organized labor at its core." Read more

A look at labor's current position

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:13:00 +0000

A new book takes a look at the challenges now facing organized labor, and its current problems that need to be addressed . . . for a review, click here

Union Files Second ‘Dispute’ Over Two-Tour Initiative

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:41:00 +0000

APWU Web News Article #125-08, Dec. 19, 2008

The APWU has filed a second Step 4 dispute [PDF] protesting the Postal Service’s nationwide program to eliminate or drastically reduce Tour 2 assignments and employees. The dispute, filed Dec. 16, is a companion to another Step 4 protest [PDF] filed the same day, and recaps many of the allegations made by the union in an Unfair Labor Practice Charge [PDF] filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Nov. 25.

The Step 4 dispute (HQTG200820) focuses on management’s violation of Article 17.5.B.4, which requires the Postal Service to jointly discuss new initiatives with the union during the development stage, and to bargain in good faith. The APWU learned of management’s plan to compress mail processing operations to two tours from local union officials, the dispute notes, and received no notification from the Postal Service.

The dispute also asserts that the USPS failed and refused to provide the APWU with relevant information requested by the union. In response to a written request for documentation regarding any “nationwide or region or district-wide program, plans or initiatives to eliminate e or reduce Tour 2 operations and/or Tour 2 staffing,” the Postal Service informed the APWU that “no such documentation exists,” the dispute notes.

“However, to the contrary,” the dispute says, “evidence shows that there is a two-tour initiative that is, in fact, nationwide in scope and initiated by the Postal Service at the national level… In fact, many local presidents have been informed by local management that they have been instructed by headquarters to initiate this program…

“The Postal Service assertions that there is no nationwide two-tour initiative and no information responsive to the Union’s request is false,” the dispute says.

In addition, the plan violates the parties’ commitment to protect day-shift assignments, the union contends. “The protection of existing day-shift Tour 2 assignments was central to the historic agreement reached in 2006 contract negotiations,” and management’s actions violate Article 7.1.B.4 and the Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Supplemental Workforce and the Conversion of Clerk Craft Part-Time Flexibles.

The union requested that impacted duty assignments be restored, and that affected employees returned to their duty assignments and made whole.

GOP Memo Indicates Vendetta Against Unions

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:59:00 +0000

Union membership counts !!!

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 13:37:00 +0000

Labor union membership counts beyond the movement itself, and has, historically, made a difference: Organized labor, after all, secured wages and benefits (e.g. safe working conditions; health benefits) that had a wider impact. In their limited numbers now, however, that effect is waning. Without a strong, sustained union movement, the drive for improved wages and working conditions is weaker. Read more of Linda Stamato's column

AFL-CIO praises secretary of labor nominee

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:29:00 +0000

WASHINGTON - AFL-CIO President John Sweeney Thursday praised President-elect Obama's reported plan to appoint Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif., as secretary of labor.

"We're confident that she will return to the Labor Department one of its core missions—to defend workers’ basic rights in our nation's workplaces," Sweeney said in a statement.

"She's proven to be a passionate leader and advocate for all working families. In fact, she's voted with working men and women 97 percent of the time." MORE

Union Files Dispute Over Elimination of Tour 2

noreply@blogger.com (Leesa Rhoden) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:54:00 +0000

President Burrus has filed a Step 4 dispute over the Tour Compression issue after meeting with Postal Management on December 10, 2008. Additional information will also be provided by DIR Bell in a letter addressed to all Local Presidents.

The APWU has initiated a Step 4 dispute (see attachment) with the Postal Service, protesting management’s nationwide plan to eliminate or drastically reduce Tour 2 assignments and employees. The dispute, filed Dec. 16 by union President William Burrus, is in addition to an Unfair Labor Practice charge filed by the APWU with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Nov. 25.

The dispute notes that during a Dec. 10 meeting on the subject, management officials presented the union with a briefing on the two-tour initiative, including the involvement of headquarters-level postal officials.

The briefing and documents indicate that management has initiated a “major relocation of employees” through its plan to compress mail-processing operations into two tours, “reassigning a majority of day shift Tour 2 employees to other tours.

“The major reduction and relocation of employees on Tour 2 is a significant change to the three-tour operation that has been in existence for over 200 years,” the union contends, “with Tour 2 being the most sought after hours of work for the most senior employees.”

Through the premature implementation of the program, APWU bargaining unit employees have been relocated and reassigned, in violation of contractual requirements for at least 90 day advance notice at the national level and for advance notice of as much as six months at the regional level, the dispute says. (The requirements are stipulated in Article 12.4.B of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, but no advance notification was provided by the Postal Service to the union’s national or regional officers.)

The union has requested that all employees who were improperly reassigned be returned to their assignments and “made whole.” The union also requested that “no Tour 2 employees be reassigned to other tours or duty assignments until the advance notice period has been satisfied.”

Double Standard: Critics of "Big Three Loan" Subsidize Foreign Competitors

noreply@blogger.com (Leesa Rhoden) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:48:00 +0000

When Senate Republicans

1] blocked the $14 billion emergency bridge loan needed to keep the nation’s auto industry operating, they knew it
[2] could cost between 3 million and 5 million jobs. But some of the most vociferous critics of the auto industry and the
[3] UAW reside in states that have given huge no-strings-attached subsidies to foreign auto plants. Some of those states even owe their very survival in part to the Big Three auto companies.
[4] Good Jobs First reports that foreign-owned auto companies operating in the United States have received $3.6 billion in subsidies, mostly from southern “right to work” for less states. That amount doesn’t even count joint ventures with U.S. companies or include inflation, which would make the figures even higher in today’s dollars.

Says Good Jobs First’s Executive Director Greg LeRoy:

As elected officials debate aid for the Big 3, taxpayers have the right to know the full extent of government involvement in America’s auto industry. And while proposed federal aid to the Big 3 would take the form of a loan, the vast majority of subsidies to foreign auto plants were taxpayer gifts such as property and sales tax exemptions, income tax credits, infrastructure aid, land discounts, and training grants.

The largest subsidies include:

$577 million this year for a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn.
$400 million for a Kia plant in West Point, Ga., in 2006.
$300 million for a Toyota plant in Blue Springs, Miss., last year.
$295 million for a Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., in 2000.

You can see the full list of subsidies [5] here.

In the height of hypocrisy, one of the biggest critics of the Big Three, Republican Sen. Richard Shelby recently obtained $160 million for the fishing industry nationwide, with a portion of the money headed for his home state of Alabama. The money is not a loan, but a government handout.

Shelby states on his website:

This funding will provide much needed assistance to an industry that is a vital part of the Alabama economy.

You can read more on Sen. Shelby [6] here.

But what makes the senators’ opposition even more onerous is that several come from states that depended on the generosity of the Big Three automakers and the UAW in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In a biting commentary in the [7] Detroit Free Press, Tom Walsh reminds two southern Republicans senators, in particular, David Vitter of Louisiana and Shelby, that “when Hurricane Katrina slammed into their states three years ago, the automobile companies of Detroit did not harrumph that the Gulf Coast should have been better prepared.”

The three Detroit auto companies together gave more than $18 million in cash and vehicles to the Katrina relief effort in the ensuing months. No strings attached.

The U.S. Senate’s most adamant naysayers about whether Detroit deserves rescue loans should have thought about that before now.

Could the opinions of these senators be colored by the fact that the foreign-owned plants of Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Nissan and Volkswagen—which compete with the Detroit Three—are located in their states?

Let’s just say that since logic hasn’t worked, we should fall back on a simple moral argument.

If you see a fellow American is drowning, gasping for air, do you quiz him for a while about whether he’s drunk or why he never learned to swim better?

Or do you throw him a life buoy and ask questions later?

Well said.

Don’t blame workers for auto industry ills

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 07:27:00 +0000

I’ve never begrudged unions winning a good wage for their members. Good pay means spending power, tax revenue and a middle-class lifestyle that’s good for the economy and for American society. So it really angers me to see anti-union U.S. senators use the auto industry buyout bill to try to stick it to organized labor. Read more of Jim Timmermann's column in the Holland Sentinel

Occupation of Chicago factory ends, but raises larger questions

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:24:00 +0000

The factory workers who recently occupied the window factory in Chicago were not demanding the reopening of their closed factory. They've been fighting for severance and benefits to help them survive the unemployment they know awaits them. Yet their occupation can't help but raise deeper questions about the right of workers to their jobs. MORE

Holiday Party Prize Winners

noreply@blogger.com (Leesa Rhoden) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:55:00 +0000

Please see your steward to pick up your prize ASAP. All unclaimed prizes will be donated to the Christian Sharing Center Family Christmas program.

Al Stubbs
Robert Uzzell
Alicia Gatto
Dawn Fitzgerald
Robert Berger
Rocco Colella
Genaro Lopez
Jimmy Medina-Cruz
Harry Kerrigan
Mona Charles
Gregorio Zayas
Charles Stritmater
Mark Atwood
Alice Croston
Jenny Garcia
Ruth Hooker
Robert Hite
Chetna Desai
Carlos Sanchez-Morales
Theresa Findley
Im Lee
Miguel Olmo
Wilhelmin Gongora
Michael Damico
Terry Johnson
Charles Yates
Shelia Ketter
Vorchandra Stephens
Delona Ashby
Crystal Stoltz
Fred Metzner
Dennis Goltara
James Malchodi
Moises Cruz
Nilda Pinto
Nestor Simmonds
Dale King
Lois Frost
Kathy Davis
Patty Jefferson
Mark Pate
Eddie Starkes
Gary Smith
James Gariepy
Joseph Perkins
Tamara Solloway

Killing the Working American

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 07:35:00 +0000

From 1948 to 1958 over thirty percent of the American workforce was represented by organized labor and the entire workforce benefited. The ensuing decades saw a steady decline in union representation, falling below twenty percent in 1985 and slipping to 12.5% in the most recent data available.

The rise of labor marked the establishment of the American middle class, the consumer class, the foundation of today’s economy, and its decline has foreshadowed the fall of the middle class and the crumbling of our economic foundation. MORE

From the President: Holiday party

noreply@blogger.com (Leesa Rhoden) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 14:48:00 +0000

The Mid Florida Local's Holiday party was a big hit this year with attendance bigger than ever! It looks like we are once again looking for a larger place with a larger dance floor! I appreciate all the positive imput I have received, along with all suggestions on how to make next years party an even bigger success.

The prize winners who were not in attendance may pick up their gifts beginning tomorrow in the steward's booth. A list of winners will be posted on the bulletin board tomorrow. See your steward and make arrangements to pick up your gift ASAP. Any unclaimed prizes will be donated to the Christian Sharing Family Christmas effort.

Thanks for all the hard work of everyone who made the party possible, and we really appreciate everyone who attended. It is my hope that occassions such as these allow us the rare opportunity to enjoy and invest in one another so that hopefully when we get back to work, we will remember that we like each other.

Give us your feelings about the Holiday Party

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:35:00 +0000

Were you at the holiday party? Any reactions to how it was run? Let us know . . . click on the title of this post and comment . . . thanks

Senate to Middle Class: Drop Dead'

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:42:00 +0000

They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers start building only cars and mass transit that reduce our dependency on oil. They could have given the loan on the condition that the management team which drove these once-great manufacturers into the ground resign and be replaced with a team who understands the transportation needs of the 21st century.

They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers build cars that reduce global warming.

They could have given the loan on the condition that the automakers withdraw their many lawsuits against state governments in their attempts to not comply with our environmental laws.

Yes, they could have given the loan for any of these reasons because, in the end, to lose our manufacturing infrastructure and throw 3 million people out of work would be a catastrophe.

But instead, the Senate said, we'll give you the loan only if the factory workers take a $20 an hour cut in wages, pension and health care. That's right. After giving BILLIONS to Wall Street hucksters and criminal investment bankers -- billions with no strings attached and, as we have since learned, no oversight whatsoever -- the Senate decided it is more important to break a union, more important to throw middle class wage earners into the ranks of the working poor than to prevent the total collapse of industrial America. MORE

APWU Members in Florida Enlist Public’s Support in Consolidation Fight

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 23:24:00 +0000

When the Postal Service announced a consolidation study in Manasota, FL, APWU’s Local 7136 swung into action without waiting for the first in “a series of community meetings” that the USPS said it would schedule.

Instead, the local launched its own effort to inform the public about the plan, and prompted the area’s largest city government to hold a special meeting. The local has also launched a special Web site (www.keepthemailhere.com), at which local citizens can sign a petition to encourage the Postal Service to keep the 375-worker facility in full operation. MORE

Postal Service "fundamentally dishonest"

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:34:00 +0000

In my column in the most recent issue of ShopTalk, it was mentioned that Postal management is too cowardly to simply admit what they are trying to do in attacking Tour 2 under the guise of "tour compression," which was effective locally on November 22.

An item on the National APWU website attests to this:

APWU President William Burrus wrote to the Postal Service on Oct. 17, noting that the union had not been informed of the program and asserting that such a program would therefore violate the Collective Bargaining Agreement. He asked the USPS to provide documentation detailing the specifics of the program, and requested a meeting with postal managers who were knowledgeable about the plan.

In a response dated Nov. 14, the Postal Service denied that it is “considering or is in the process of implementing a nationwide program establishing a two-tour operation, which is intended to eliminate or greatly reduce Tour 2 assignments, operations, and staffing.”

Management wrote, “While the Postal Service is reviewing various options designed to improve operational efficiencies in light of decreased mail volume, the Postal Service has not implemented the nationwide program you suggest. Rather, operations will be reviewed on a site-by-site basis and any action taken to improve operational efficiencies will be based on local circumstances.”

The letter also said, “Regarding your request to produce documentation regarding ‘any nationwide or region- or district-wide program, plans or initiatives to eliminate or reduce Tour 2 operations and/or Tour 2 staffing,’” no such documentation exists.”

Burrus called the Postal Service’s response “fundamentally dishonest.”

Postal Management: Ignorant, Malicious or Both???

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:27:00 +0000

For many years, another clerk (who is now retired) and I would conjecture at various times that if we did not know better, we would think Postal management was setting us up for eventual failure.

Now, after 27 years of service, as I look at the state of the Postal Service, it no longer seems such a far-fetched idea. It has never appeared to be this bad.

People moving in, people moving out. At the top local levels of Management, where consistency and planning is most needed, we are seeing a periodic procession of people, each with their own ideas. Settle an issue with one group, and you soon have to renegotiate it with another, but only until the next person arrives.

At supervisory levels, there is mass ineptitude, and it has gotten to the point where you do not ask a question. If you do, you will not receive an answer, but it will take 20 minutes of blabbering by the supervisor to avoid the question.

On many lower levels, the supervisors honestly do not know, and it seems District, Area and National Management want it that way. They are either grossly incompetent, and that is meant sincerely, or they are setting us up for failure. The latter no longer seems such an incredulous idea.

Give us your opinion; Tell us what you would like to see

noreply@blogger.com (George Curcio) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:40:00 +0000

Welcome to www.midfloridalocal.com . . . as we build this site, we want to include what you would like to see, so let us know!!!

Also, please share your opinions as to what is happening within Mid Florida, whether it be tour compression, how Management is behaving, etc.

Just click on the header of this post and leave a comment . . . . thanks . . .

From the President: Plant Operations

noreply@blogger.com (Leesa Rhoden) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:18:00 +0000

I am stopped daily with questions about future changes to operations and bids, and field even more complaints about the wisdom of the current assignments.

I understand the complaints, concerns, and worry this has caused to all clerks and I share your frustration. I wish I could offer some information that would reduce the workplace stress for everyone this Holiday season, but certainty or straight answers is in short supply within this current postal environment.

Anybody who is anyone is new and detailed into their positions, and nobody seems to know what the plan was yesterday, let alone have any firm conviction about the future. Ironic that we are the nation's mechanism to communication which is charged with binding the nation together, yet management cannot communicate its goals to its employees.

Please know that if and when I receive solid information, I will relay it to you. Until information is available and distributed, please continue to stop me, email, or call with any question or concerns you have.