t o n f a m o the s f a l a p w u swfal-apwu retains attorney · 2 the eagle’s eye february 2014...
TRANSCRIPT
February 2014Volume 24 Number 2
Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDFort Myers, FLPermit No. 139
SWFAL-APWU Retains Attorney
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AREA LOCAL AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION
On August 9, 2000, the SouthwestFlorida Area Local - APWU(SWFAL-APWU) filed a grievancefor management at the Fort MyersProcessing and Distribution Centerassigning Mail Handlers to prepflats mail which was always per-formed by Clerk Craft Employees.
After an agreement by the parties(APWU, NPMHU, and USPS), the
case was sent to Arbitration. Afterwaiting thirteen (13) years, thecase was arbitrated and theSWFAL-APWU prevailed asArbitrator Edward E. Hales sus-tained the APWU's grievance onthe issue on August 15, 2013.
The SWFAL-APWU filed a non-compliance grievance within twoweeks after Arbitrator Hales sus-tained the grievance to ensure thatthe grievance was timely.
On August 28, 2013 I sent a letterto acting Ft. Myers P&DC PlantManager Randy Stines (while alsocc'ing upper management)requesting a meeting to discussthe implementation of ArbitratorHales award. I received no officialresponse from anyone.
On December 17, 2013, I sentanother letter to Suncoast DistrictManager Nancy Rettinhouse, onceagain requesting a meeting to dis-cuss the implementation of theaward. This time, Nancy respond-ed that the issues of back pay andthe return of the work was "cur-rently under review by LaborRelations at Headquarters"(Washington D.C.). She concludedher letter by stating:
"As we currently have the aboveissues under review, it would beinappropriate for me to commentfurther on your concerns at thistime. I assure you, however, thatwe will keep you informed of anyfuture decisions we make regard-ing Arbitrator Hales' award."
I, along with the SWFAL-APWUExecutive Board decided that wehad no choice but to seek legalcounsel regarding this arbitrationaward.
As most of you are aware, when Itook over as President in 2001, wewent to Federal Court on anothergrievance (15 Minute BreakCase), where the arbitrator award-ed a monetary remedy. We lostthat case due to the lawsuit notbeing filed within six (6) months.
Well, after waiting patiently formanagement to meet and imple-ment the current RI-399 award, wewill not make that same mistakeagain.
On January 12, 2014, the mem-bership at the meeting unanimous-ly approved the hiring of the LawFirm of Mase, Lara & Eversole outof Miami, Florida. The Law Firm isvery capable of handling casessuch as ours and will be fighting toreturn the work in question to theClerk Craft and collect the mone-tary relief granted by ArbitratorHales to all of the appropriateemployees.
We hope that everyone under-stands that the SWFAL-APWUhas ensured that we have method-ically followed all of the propersteps to ensure that we have beenboth timely and have kept thememberships' best interest in mindin the course of action that wehave taken.
It is important to understand thatwithout taking action for our mem-bers, we may never receive fullywhat we are entitled to.
We also have to keep in mind thatthe jobs we would get back will bebeneficial to our Current CareerAPWU Employees as well as ourPostal Support Employees' futureemployment by creating morecareer jobs in the Clerk Craft thatshould have never left the APWUBargaining Unit in the first place.
Timing is very important here and Ibelieve in this case we have actedas quickly as possible. We havelooked at every option available tous and we believe this is the bestdirection for us to go.
This has been a very difficultprocess for me personally as LocalPresident. I would much ratherhave been able to sit down, along
Sam WoodPresident
SWFAL APWU
Southwest Florida Area Local 11000 Metro Parkway, Unit 8 Fort Myers, FL 33966
Alva, Bokeelia, Bonita Springs, Captiva,Chokoloskee, Estero, Fort Myers,
Fort Myers Beach, Immokalee, Labelle,Lehigh Acres, Marco Island, Naples, Placida,
Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Rotunda,St. James City and Sanibel
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
See: SWFAL-APWU RetainsAttorneyContinued on Page 4
IN THIS EDITION OF
THE EAGLE’S EYESWFAL-APWU Retains Attorney . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Secretary-Treasurer’s Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Attendance Discipline Being
Improperly Issued By Management . . . . 3
Working For The Tin Man. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Union Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Rights Of Deaf And
Hard Of Hearing Employees . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Great Postal Giveaway
Don’t Fall For It. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A Fresh Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
SWFAL Membership News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
PROUD MEMBER
2 THE EAGLE’S EYE FEBRUARY 2014
Southwest Florida
Area Local, APWU11000 Metro Parkway, Unit 8
Fort Myers, FL 33966
239-275-1007
Open 9am-3pm, Monday-Friday
WEBSITE ADDRESS
www.swfloridaapwu.org
PRESIDENT
Sam Wood
239-823-APWU
VICE-PRESIDENT
Dan Gray
239-834-2736
SECRETARY-TREASURER
Felicia Gluhareff
CLERK CRAFT DIRECTOR
Paul McAvoy
MAINTENANCE CRAFT
DIRECTOR
Mickey Szymonik
239-834-2900
EDITOR
Kathy Moyer
MOTOR VEHICLE CRAFT
DIRECTOR
Vacant
TRUSTEES
Daniel Carinci
Grace Baer
David Grant
SAFETY & HEALTH
COMMITTEE
David Grant
Wendy Skaff
CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE
Dan Gray, Chairman
Felicia Gluhareff
Paul McAvoy
Kathy Moyer
NATIONAL MAILING ADDRESS
Per Capita Section
APWU, AFL-CIO
1300 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
FLORIDA POSTAL WORKER
The Florida Postal Worker
P.O. Box 8363
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310
www.apwuflorida.org
SECRETARY-TREASURER’S REPORT
Felicia Gluhareff
January 12, 2014
CALL TO ORDER:Time 9:50 a.m. There were 11members in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:The pledge of allegiance wasled by Eileen DiMase.
ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS:Felicia Gluhareff performedthe roll call of officers. Presentwere Sam Wood, Dan Gray,Felicia Gluhareff, MickeySzymonik and Kathy Moyer.Mickey Szymonik made amotion to excuse PaulMcAvoy who is on annualleave. Motion passed.
THE MEMBERSHIPAGREED TO CHANGETHE ORDER OF BUSINESS:Attorney Richard Lara fromthe firm Mase, Lara &Eversole out of Miami came totalk to us about our RI-399award. The local has filed anoncompliance grievance butthe USPS still refuses to com-ply with the original arbitrationaward. Mr. Lara spoke abouthow he and his law firm feelthey can help us get thosejobs back and our due com-pensation. Lawyer fees willcap at 33 and a third percentof the amount recovered andonly be collected if the law firmis successful. Dan Gray madea motion to retain Mase LaraEversole as our attorney torepresent us in our RI-399enforcement. Grace Baer sec-onded the motion. The motionpassed unanimously.
MAP:Barbara Carr told a joke inhonor of Charles Glennon.
NEW MEMBERS:None
EXECUTIVE BOARDMINUTES:Discussed lawsuit to enforceRI-399 arbitration award.Attorney from law firm sched-uled to address executiveboard and members at GMM.An attorney was selected byexperience concerning labor
law and arbitrations.
Management is not complyingwith return to work of back payremedy. The local will not letmanagement continue to dragtheir feet on compliance.Attoneys will be working on acontingency basis. Pros andcons of hiring an attorney vsenforcement of the arbitrationaward through the grievanceprocedure was discussed.
Discussed PSEs in the main-tenance and the clerk craft.Lehigh PSE arbitration wasdiscussed. Jim Demaro advo-cated and Sam Wood testified.Discussed PSE percentagesand conversion rules. The per-centages will be monitored byNational and the NBAs.
SECRETARY-TREASURERREPORT:Mickey Szymonik made amotion to accept minutes asreported in last month’sEagle’s Eye. The motionpassed. We opened a newbusiness checking accountwith the Tampa Postal FederalCredit Union and we will slow-ly be phasing out and eventu-ally closing our Wells Fargobusiness checking account.
REPORT/ SELECTIONOF COMMITTEES:None
REPORT OF CONVENTIONCOMMITTEES:None
REPORT OF TRUSTEES:None
COMMUNICATIONS:Letter from National address-ing opening of postal countersin Staples stores. These coun-ters will not be manned byUSPS employees. Nationalencouraging pickets and letterwriting campaign.Thank You note from our officesecretary, Karen D’Angelo, tothe members for herChristmas gift card.Sam Wood sent letter to dis-trict managers asking them toabide by the RI-399 arbitrationaward.
UPDATE OF GRIEVANCES:None
OLDBUSINESS:None
NEW BUSINESS:“Holiday” PSEs and a fewmore were released from duty.We discussed delayed mail atstations and dishonest report-ing by management on thisdelayed mail. Falsifying mailcounts can lead to removal.Do not dishonestly scan mail.You must follow a manager’sdirect order unless it is unsafeor illegal. If you are given adirect order to dishonestlyscan mail do as directed thenask for a steward. While thismay not be a contractual issueit can be addressed throughthe postal inspectors. Lack ofPSE conversions was dis-cussed.
LABOR/ MANAGEMENT:Karen Walker will be the newacting plant manager.
GOOD AND WELFARE:The winner of the COPA 50/50drawing was Sam Wood whowon $23.50. He donated hiswinnings back to COPA. Thetotal netted was $47.00. Thename drawn for the member’sincentive award was JoyceKelly. She would have won$50.00 had she been presentat the general membershipmeeting. The pot will be$60.00 at the next meeting.
ELECTION OF OFFICERSAND DELEGATES:None
LEFTOVERS:Sam Wood extended thespeed of our wireless internetconnection at the plant anddecreased our bill by $30.00per month.
ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS:Felicia Gluhareff performedthe roll call of officers. Theresults were recorded.
NEXT MEETING:Robert Nowall moved to havethe next meeting February9th, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. at theunion hall. The motion passed.
ADJOURNMENT:Robert Nowall moved toadjourn at 11:15 a.m. Themotion passed.
Secretary-Treasurer’s ReportFelicia Gluhareff
FEBRUARY 2014 THE EAGLE’S EYE 3
At tendanced i s c i p l i n eseems to beonce againon theupswing. Withthe increas-ing volume ofmail andd e c r e a s i n gnumber ofemployees,managementis trying to make employees cometo work even when they are sick.
If your condition will qualify you forFMLA protection please see yourdoctor and have them fill out theproper FMLA forms and submit theforms to the FMLA coordinatorsoffice for approval.
If you need any information orassistance with getting the correctforms or questions concerningFMLA please ask to see yoursteward. Remember you musthave been employed for a yearwith the USPS and maintained1250 work hours during that pre-ceding year to qualify for FMLA.
The work hours are actually workhours, when you take annual, sickor LWOP these hours do not counttowards the 1250 required hours.
A simple rule to remember is “feeton the floor” or all your physicalworked hours which include over-time hours. You receive up to 480hours/12 weeks of protection foryour FMLA condition under theFamily Medical Leave Act.
Management cannot (well they arenot supposed to) discipline you forany FMLA protected absences. Imentioned not supposed to sincewe have had employees improper-ly disciplined with managementciting FMLA protected absences.
If you are disciplined for what isdetermined a FMLA protectedabsence, please file charges withthe Department of Labor, Wageand Hour in Miami, Florida. Youcan access the information on theDepartment of Labor websiteregarding how to file charges.
Once again, please check theaccuracy of your PS Form 3971s,Request for or Notification ofAbsence. We are still seeing thePS Form 3971s turning up duringinvestigative interviews for atten-dance with employees claimingthis is not what was requested orthat they had requested FMLA.
By signing the PS form 3971 youare stating you agree with what ison them. If you see errors on thePS form 3971 ask your supervisorto correct the error. If your supervi-sor refuses politely refuse to signthe PS form 3971 and ask to see aunion steward to file a grievance to
have the PS form 3971 corrected.
Management seems to beinputting into ERMS employees for“deems desirable” for absences ofthree days or less for no legitimatereason.
It appears that their excuses areemployees have used excessivesick leave, established a pattern(when no real pattern exists) oraround a holiday (when theemployee usually does not) whichis simply not valid reasons to forcean employee to get medical docu-mentation.
Management is deeming employ-ees calling in for certified FMLAconditions also, even when theemployee has not exceeded thefrequency and duration allowed bytheir doctor.
Management does not practice“restricted sick leave” locally, sothey must then abide by the ELM513.361 for absences of threedays or less; “medical documenta-tion or other acceptable evidenceof incapacity for work or need tocare for a family member is onlyrequired when an employee is onrestricted sick leave (see ELM513.39) or when the supervisordeems documentation desirablefor the protection of the interests ofthe Postal Service.”
Instead management is utilizingERMS’s “deems desirable” func-tion as a blanket call in list which isprohibited.
ERMS allows a supervisor or man-ager to simply check a box andthen enter a beginning and enddate which will then continue toautomatically advise an employeeof the requirement to produce doc-umentation for each absence dur-ing the flagged time period.
Remember a supervisor’s determi-nation that medical documentationor other acceptable evidence ofincapacitation is desirable for theprotection of the interest of thePostal Service must be made on acase by case basis, and may notbe arbitrary, capricious or unrea-sonable.
Now if an employee had requestedannual leave on a specific dateand was denied, but then called insick, yes management would legit-imately have a reason to requestdocumentation from the employee.
If you are “deems desirable” whenyou call in sick for an absence ofthree days or less please ask tosee your steward so we can deter-mine if you were properly deemedor not. Remember, unfortunately,you must follow instructions first,and grieve later.
Employees are receiving inves-
Daniel M. GrayVice PresidentSWFAL APWU
USPS to pay him what could addup to millions in back pay, benefitsand legal fees.
Rich has won in federal courtbefore, as recently as 2012, inwhich the USPS simply appealedand failed to reinstate him, eventhough ordered to do so.
Now according to the most recentruling which the MSPB describedas its “final decision,” the USPShas 20 days to reinstate (fromDecember 30, 2013) Rich and in60 days to provide back pay since2000, plus interest and benefits.
The USPS must also report backto the MSPB and describe how ithas carried out the actions, the rul-ing said. Congrats to Rich - this isa well deserved victory and 13plus years in the making.Hopefully this is finally done.
People ask how and why does theUSPS get away with this kind ofcrap? It is because no one in man-agement is held accountable fortheir actions.
Most businesses would not toler-ate managers and supervisorscommitting these blatant viola-tions. Just because the USPSmanagement agrees to do some-thing or is told to do something,doesn’t mean they will.
One needs to look no further thanSgt. Maj. Erickson’s case, ourrecent Arbitration Award or theNational Agreement that manage-ment violates on a daily basis.
Remember if you have any ques-tions or concerns ask to see yoursteward.
tigative interviews followed by dis-cipline when asked for documen-tation and they fail to do so. If youare instructed to return with med-ical documentation and youbelieve you have been incorrectlyrequired to do so the Union willneed the following for your griev-ance: Time spent retrieving docu-mentation, mileage to and fromdoctor’s office and your home, andany out of pocket expenses(receipts) you incurred because ofyour visit.
Now remember, for absences inexcess of three days ELM.513.362states:
“For absences in excess of 3days, employee are required tosubmit medical documentationor other acceptable evidenceof incapacity for work or ofneed to care for a familymember and, if requested,substantiation of the familyrelationship”. Also ELM513.365 Failure to FurnishRequired Documentationstates “If acceptablesubstantiation of incapacitationis not furnished, the absencemay be charged to annualleave, LWOP, or AWOL”.
The SWFAL is proceeding withfiling a lawsuit against the PostalService to enforce our recentlywon Arbitration Award on the flatsprep, which awarded back bothwork and a monetary settlement tothe clerk craft dating back to 2000.Management is ignoring theArbitrator’s decision and is forcingour local to file suit.
Management had 90 days tovacate the Arbitrator’s Award inFederal Court, but failed to do so.The Union has filed non-compli-ance grievances and the lawsuit isour next step forward for enforcingthe Award.
Remember, this is typical of theUSPS management in thumbingtheir nose at an Arbitrator’s orJudge’s decision.
You just have to look to the recent-ly won MSPB (Merit SystemProtection Board) case of one ofour own, Sgt. Maj. RichardErickson a decorated long-timeSpecial Forces member and long-time SWFAL member.
Rich was fired from the USPSwhile working at the Fort MyersP&DC in 2000 by management forsimply serving his country.Management, in violation of thelaw, claimed Rich took too muchMilitary leave and fired him.
The MSPB has once againordered the USPS to reinstateRich, who proved he was wronglyfired from his job because of mili-tary leave. The MSPB ordered the
Attendance Discipline BeingImproperly Issued By Management
4 THE EAGLE’S EYE FEBRUARY 2014
In The Wizardof Oz movie,the Tin Manhad no heart.At the FortMyers P&DCwe work forfor many TinMen.
Managementdoes notknow themeaning of compassion or careabout the lives of their employees.
First case in point is the PSE's. Wehad a stellar group of PSE's whomanagement used and abused allthrough Christmas time to get themail out.
They worked in automation, manu-al letters, flats and priority. Wemade it through Christmas rela-tively unscathed. It was rare thatmail was delayed or didn't get outtimely. The PSEs were a majorpart in this accomplishment.
The Acting Plant Manager herselfin a service talk thanked all theemployees for the great job we didduring Christmas. How did theythank the PSE's?
First they told them that many ofthem would be kept on afterChristmas and the Plant wasapproved for 27 PSEs.
What came next is where manage-
FMLA coordinators her firstrequest was denied.
She asked for an extension andultimately received an ApprovedFMLA form. Three days after shegets her FMLA what does man-agement do? Give her a suspen-sion letter for attendance and aletter of warning for failure to fol-low.
We proved at step one that theabsences cited were FMLA cov-ered and the suspension letterwas rightfully expunged. However,management denied the grievancefor failure to follow saying she didnot bring in documentation rightaway.
This once again shows the lack ofcompassion and ignorance ofmanagement.
When requesting FMLA you have15 days to get approval fromFMLA coordinator. You may askfor an extension if needed to eitherget an appointment or to correctsomething that may have beenomitted. The grievant in this casedid all that and did in fact get doc-umentation as required by theCBA.
On Tour 3 an employee wasbrought in for an InvestigativeInterview for having 3 absences.This employee had a serious sur-gery and was out for an extendedperiod of time.
In that time he had used up his 12weeks of FMLA for the year. Didmanagement care that this addedpressure of discipline could makethe grievant's condition worsen?Not in the least. This employeereached the magic number ofthree absences and as a result thehammer must fall.
Each discipline according to thecontract should be on a case bycase basis. Management was fullyaware of why this employee wasout and proceeded to start the dis-cipline process anyway.
The Tin Men don't care about you,your health or anything to do withyour personal life. In order to dothat they would have to have aheart. You are nothing more thanan extension of the mail. A wayand means to get the job done andnothing more.
In December Management issued7 disciplines that I filed. I am surethere were more for other toursand crafts filed by other stewards.Just another way for the Tin Manto say Merry Christmas and HappyNew Year.
In another note: Acting PlantManager Denise Cameron has fin-ished her detail and moved on.Karen Walker has been namedacting Plant Manager. Kirk Charleshas been appointed the Tour1MDO position.
ment showed its true colors. Theychanged their collective minds atthe last minute and only kept 15PSE's in total. That leaves a totalof 12 PSEs who will be withoutjobs.
Manasota currently has over 100PSEs. What the ____? This wholeepiosode has the nasty stench of aPlant Manager who obviously hasno heart.
Some of the harder working PSEsat the Fort Myers P&DC haveeither resigned or quit because ofthe treatment they have received.Management might not appreciatethe work of these young men andwomen but I have nothing butgood things to say about the classof new employees that have beenhired. Now if we could only keepthem for more than a cup of coffee.
Another heartless act by manage-ment is deeming clerks who haveFMLA for absences of three daysor less if they are requesting paidleave. This is a violation of FMLAlaw.
On top of that management is dis-ciplining employees for failure tofollow instruction if they do notbring in documentation.
In one instance, a clerk was outsick and requested FMLA sickleave. She had to go to a doctor toget FMLA paper work filled out andapproved. As is customary with
Working For The Tin Man
Paul McAvoyClerk Craft Director
SWFAL APWU
APWU Executive Board for theirdue diligence in selecting andapproving the hiring of our legalrepresentatives. I would also liketo thank the membership of theSWFAL-APWU for voting unani-mously to hire the Law Firm select-ed by our local.
I assure you that we will continueto keep everyone updated on theprocess of our Federal Lawsuitfiled against the United StatesPostal Service and will hope for aspeedy resolution in this matter.
As you will read below, justice isnot always automatic, but with per-severance, the reward can be justas sweet and worth the wait.
FORT MYERS P&DC SOLDIERWINS JOB BACK AND$2 MILLION IN BACK PAY
Congratulations to fellow co-work-er, Purple Heart recipient and
Special Forces Veteran, SergeantMajor Richard Erickson, on histhirteen year battle for justice.Management at the Fort MyersProcessing & Distribution Centerwrongfully terminated Richardback in 2000 for excessive militarytime for service to our Country.
In my first year as President of theSWFAL-APWU in 2001, I spoke tomanagement about retuning Mr.Erickson to duty after he hadreturned from overseas and foundout that the USPS terminated him.Management refused to reinstatehim and the struggle began.
The United States Postal Servicehas been ordered to returnRichard to work by January 20,2014 (This article was written priorto January 20) and is to be award-ed $2 million in back pay and ben-efits.
As of January 2014, Richard was
still serving with the Army's SpecialOperations Command in FortBragg (North Carolina).
This is not the first time Richardhas won this case. After winningthis case with both the MeritSystem Protection Board as wellas Federal Court, the USPSappealed each win by Erickson.Finally, it looks as though the bat-tle has been won and Richard willbe awarded everything he is enti-tled to.
On the wall in the SWFAL-APWUUnion office hangs an AmericanFlag that Brother Erickson sent toour Union that was flown inAfghanistan after September 11,2001. Erickson dedicated this flagto our membership.
Once again, CongratulationsBrother Erickson on your muchanticipated victory.
with Vice President Dan Gray andClerk Craft Director Paul McAvoy,with Postal Management andresolve this issue quickly for ourmembership. However, after pur-suing every option to do just that, Ifelt that the only way to quicklyresolve this matter was to seeklegal council as per our member-ship vote last year.
I spoke to numerous law firms inboth Tampa and Miami who havetried Federal Court Cases, and Ibelieve that the Law Firm of Mase,Lara & Eversole are the best fit(experience, confidence level,energy, reputation, etc.) for whatwe need as legal counsel.
I would like to thank the SWFAL-
SWFAL-APWU RetainsAttorneyContinued from Page 1
FEBRUARY 2014 THE EAGLE’S EYE 5
While I’m stillgetting usedto using the2014 datestamp, theNew Year isalready bring-ing changesto the FortMyers P&DC.
Acting PlantM a n a g e rD e n i s eCameron returned to Fort Worthand her HR position in earlyJanuary. I would like to wishDenise good luck as she returns toFort Worth.
Some big changes for theMaintenance Department werealso announced early in the newyear. Tour 2 MaintenanceSupervisor Dave King was pro-moted to the newly re-establishedMaintenance EngineeringSpecialist position.
This was the position Jim Kellerand Steve Krankoski held before itwas abolished prior to the EASReduction in Force (RIF) - duringwhich time, it was reinitiated.
Other maintenance supervisors
applied for the promotion, butapparently Dave was deemed tobe the applicant most suited to sit-ting in front of a computer screenrather than interacting with mainte-nance employees on a day to daybasis. Makes sense to me.
Also in January, MMOS DeniseChase was awarded a Nationalrunner-up award for her excellentwork in our P&DC’s recycling pro-gram. Denise submitted her ownapplication for considerationwhich, I can only imagine musthave been titled “Garbage in,Garbage out”. Congratulations toour custodians, the unsung heroesin our recycling effort.
The biggest news in January, per-haps involving the most ramifica-tions to maintenance employeesalso concerns the custodians. AJanuary 9th email from DistrictFinance Manager Bob Kinginformed all the stations andbranches under the jurisdiction ofthe P&DC (Cape Central, CapeSouth, North, Downtown, Tice,Page Field, Six Mile Cypress andMid Cape - for now), that all custo-dial hours would be transferred toeach individual facility.
What that means is that “The
responsibility for the work assign-ments, scheduling, vacation plan-ning, overtime, grievances, supplypurchase, etc., will be the respon-sibility of the stations to which theyare assigned. The plant will onlybe responsible for bidding in thesame way as the clerks are admin-istered now.”
I received some news, which atthe time of this writing, couldn’tquite wrap my head around whatthis ultimately might mean to ourmaintenance craft workers. Iimmediately emailed ourMaintenance Business Agents,Terry Martinez and John Gearhartfor their input on this new directive.
A few of my initial thoughts are:
This action could affectMaintenance Operations Supportstaffing (my job), but that wasalready slashed a year ago so it’skind of a moot point.
Basically, some of the station andbranch workload will be reas-signed to the station personnel.Just so you know, in some sort ofpostal logic, the P&DC did notreceive credit for the custodialhours and expenses accrued bysupporting these facilities.
Mickey SzymonikMaintenance Craft
DirectorSWFAL APWU
For the custodians at the stationsand branches, this might be agood thing. For perhaps the firsttime since Supervisor Ed Morganretired, they would have someonetaking responsibility for them - forbetter or worse.
That hasn’t been the case with thecurrent crop of “out of sight, out ofmind” supervisors who only seemto interact with the facility custodi-ans when they needed to rack upsome discipline points on their991s.
Really, I don’t know what to makeof this latest directive from District.I’d feel more positive about thischange if I knew that craft workerswould be assigned the duties thatmy co-workers and I have per-formed for years. I’m well awarethough that the USPS is not in thehabit of enacting changes that willbenefit the craft workforce.
I hope to get some input from theaffected custodians as thesechanges are implemented. Pleasefeel free to email me at [email protected]. Better yet, showup at our next general member-ship meeting!
Solidarity, Prosperity, Peace
Union Matters
6 THE EAGLE’S EYE FEBRUARY 2014
Does theP o s t a lService haveto provide aninterpreter fora hard ofh e a r i n gemployee fil-ing an OWCPclaim if thee m p l o y e er e q u e s t sone?
This inquiry was recently posed tothe tour 3 stewards at the plant bya hearing impaired member. Theanswer is an unequivocal yes; thePostal Service has a duty to pro-vide a qualified interpreter.
Use of an interpreter is considereda reasonable accommodationunder section 501 of theRehabilitation Act of 1973. Thislaw gives specific rights to federalemployees with a disability includ-ing deaf and hard of hearingemployees.
Under the law, federal employersare required to provide effectivecommunication with deaf and hard
of hearing employees for meetingsand special occasions, training,job evaluations, workplace com-munications, discipline, job bene-fits and programs.
Additionally, deaf and hard ofhearing employees should haveequal access to general informa-tion, telephone services, emer-gency procedures, safety andhealth programs, and all servicesand amenities available to otheremployees.
Discriminatory practices utilized bythe Postal Service have recentlyresulted in a $4.5 million settle-ment for deaf and hard of hearingemployees. Foremost among theallegations of the lawsuit is thedenial of communication accom-modations, including interpretersfor critical workplace meetings andevents.
Deaf and hard of hearing mem-bers have the right to file discrimi-nation complaints with the EqualEmployment OpportunityCommission. Additional remediesor assistance may be availablethrough the grievance procedure.
Rights Of DeafAnd Hard Of Hearing
Employees
I continue to read about theStaples pilot program and amamazed.
In case you are unaware, TheUSPS has initiated a pilot programwith the Staples business supplieschain in which Staples would pro-vide postal services in their stores.
The USPS claims this will increaserevenue and expand postal servic-es for customers.
However, haven’t we been told bythe same USPS for the last sever-al years that it needs to eliminateSaturday delivery to cut costs. Andhaven’t we been told by the sameUSPS that it needs to close postoffices and consolidate processingplants to cut costs?
Apparently the USPS wants toexpand, only if it can do so in theprivate sector. Make no mistakeabout it, this is just another attemptto further privatize the postal serv-ice and bust the union.
Why should anyone care?
1. The security of the mail needsto be a top priority. Unfortunately,unless there is a major breach inthat security, it rarely gets any
mention. However, does anyonebelieve the security of the mail willbe a top priority of non-postalemployees?
How will these non-postal employ-ees be supervised? How will com-pliance to mail standards bemeasured? How will security of themail be maintained? I have heardnothing regarding answers tothese questions. That ought toimmediately set red flags waving -if you care about the security of themail.
2. Our customers have come torely on the service provided by theUSPS. Part of that service is therelative low cost of that mail serv-ice, and part of that service is theuniversal nature of the USPSitself. Rich or poor, urban or rural,the USPS provides service to all ata reasonable cost.
Customers might be led to believethat privatization will lead to lowercosts, but that is not likely. If youdon’t believe that, check out thepricing scale of our competition.
It is always an arguement of pro-ponents of privitization that costswill be lower. Usually what hap-pens is after the switch to privitiza-
tion occurs, costs go up and / orservice goes down. By the timecustomers realize they have beenhad, it is to late to change thingsback.
3. The USPS provides a livablewage to its many career employ-ees, as well as, serves as a majoremployer for our veterans. In atime when everyone is talkingabout an employment problem inthe United States, why would any-one be interested in eliminatinggood paying, postal jobs, or anyjobs for that matter?
4. The crisis mentality that seemsto permeate all thinking regardingthe future of the USPS is a manu-factured crisis. If it were not for theprefunding requirement, the USPSwould have made a substantialprofit last year.
However, we too often hear peoplespeaking as if the USPS is in direstraits financially, and somethingneeds to be done, anything, tostave off the crisis. And so, we gettalk about elimination of Saturdaydelivery, closing processing plantsand rural post offices.
5. The Potsal Service is estab-lished by the United States
Congress at the direction of ourUnited States Constitution (Article1, Section 8). We have operatedunder that interpretation for wellover 200 years, so, no matter howmuch someone wants to dismantlethe Post Office, it really is goingagainst legal precedent to do so.
Our USPS management at the tophas shown it is ready to give awaypostal services and postal jobs,rather than commiting to improvingthe services and jobs alreadyunder its jurisdiction.
If expanding services at a privateretailer is such a good idea, thenwhy is the USPS so determined todo the opposite with its own busi-ness resources and employees?
Our National APWU is aware ofthis great giveaway and is deter-mined to save the USPS for today,and future generations. As a postalworker, and postal customer, Ihope they, and we, are successful.
Kathy Moyer, Editor
The Great Postal GiveawayDon’t Fall For It
Grace BaerT2 & T3 StewardFt. Myers P&DCSWFAL APWU
FEBRUARY 2014 THE EAGLE’S EYE 7
Hello every-one!
I hope you allhave had agreat timeover the holi-days and hadthe opportuni-ty to enjoyyour friendsand lovedones. Theholidays are avery special time, one that hope-fully brought us much joy andlaughter and is a fitting way to enda very busy year.
“So”, now we begin moving pastthe holidays and through the newyear. And it is now our opportunityto seize this moment, to start theyear on a positive note, and keep itgoing throughout the year.
I feel our local is only as strong asour members and what better wayto help our local start the year, andkeep the year, on a solid founda-tion than to look to ourselves witha “Fresh Start” in mind.
If you need some suggestions,here are just a few ideas that I
hope inspires you to take time andreflect on making the entire newyear one that is both exciting andprosperous.
Choose to be a Leader. Ratherthan remain in the background, itis time to step-up. Go beyond yourdiscomfort zone and be a leaderfor a change.
Volunteer Your Time. A meaningfulway to spend time is to do so in thecompany of those who need somekindness and care.
Make a commitment to fitness.Don’t just make a resolution andjoin a fitness center you won’t seeafter February.
Join a class at your fitness club, anexercise group or a team sport. Or,if you can afford it, hire a trainer.These things will not only makeyour workouts more productiveand fun but will also give you theadvantage of having others holdyou accountable to your workoutcommitment.
Practice Forgiveness. Give thisyear a loving start by forgivingthose with whom you have borne agrudge.
Keep an eye on the importantthings. Don't forget to stop andsmell the proverbial roses. Ifyou've been neglecting yourhealth, your family or friends,make a point to address thoseconcerns in the this year and you'llbe more likely to be successful inyour work life as well.
Break out of your rut. Be honest: isit time to take on something new?If you've been doing the "sameold" for years, now may be the per-fect time to plan for a change.
Practice the “One-A-Day”Principle. You can’t make every-body happy all the time but youcan do something extraordinaryfor someone each day. Find a cus-tomer, colleague, relative or afriend each day and do somethingremarkable.
Have gratitude. In many areas ofour lives, we may often be sur-prised by how we already havewhat we need if we just choose tolook at things differently.
Take a life inventory. How are yourrelationships with friends and fam-ily? How often do you laugh? Areyou doing the things you love the
most? Be sure to reflect on all theamazing aspects of your life.
Eliminate Wasteful Activities. Theprimary complaints from peopleabout why they fail to accomplishtheir goals is that they do not haveenough time. These thoughts aresometimes coming from the peo-ple that hit the snooze button 9times before getting out of bed,watch hours of TV a night, andspend every 20 minutes checkingtheir e-mail and Facebook statusupdate.
Take stock and charge forward.Ask yourself: What battles did Ifight and not win last year? Are anyof those battles worth continuing?Why didn’t I win them last year?What can I do to win them thisyear? How can I make thosethings I liked most about last yearhappen more frequently?
2014 promises to be an excitingyear with many new issues for usto face. But I am confident “We willbe ready!” So, get your act togeth-er, think of ways to make our localeven stronger and I will be seeingyou at the next meeting.
Together in Solidarity
A Fresh Start
Danny CarinciT2 & T3 StewardFt. Myers P&DCSWFAL APWU
8 THE EAGLE’S EYE FEBRUARY 2014
Your ElectedOfficials
President Barack ObamaWeb Site:
www.whitehouse.govE-mail:
[email protected]: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461Capital Address:
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NWWashington, DC 20500
Senator Bill NelsonWeb Site:
www.billnelson.senate.govE-mail:
[email protected]: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183Capital Address:
716 Hart Senate OfficeBuilding
Washington, DC 20510-0905District Office:
Tallahassee, FLDistrict Phone: 850-942-8415
Senator Marco RubioPhone: 202-224-3041
Fax: 202-228-5171Capital Address:
524 Hart Senate OfficeBuilding
Washington, DC 20510-0903District Office:
Tallahassee, FLDistrict Phone: 813-207-0509
Our members live in several dif-ferent districts. For your repre-sentative’s information, go towww.congress.org. Enter yourzip code and the web site doesthe rest. You can e-mail most ofyour representatives at oncewith a click of your mouse atthis web site. Their votingrecords are also available here.Check it out! Let them knowhow you feel, it’s your DUTY!
THE EAGLE’S EYE
EDITORIAL POLICY
The Eagle’s Eye is the official pub-lication of the Southwest FloridaArea Local, APWU, AFL-CIO. Theeditor has the right to determinewhether the material submittedshall be printed, and has the rightto edit as needed. It is the policy ofthis newsletter to disallow anyattacks on individuals. Opinionsexpressed are those of the writers,and not necessarily those of theExecutive Board. The deadline forsubmission of all articles is the dayof the monthly membership meet-ing. You must be an APWU mem-ber to submit an article. Name maybe withheld upon request. All arti-cles may be reprinted with propercredit given. Captions/cartoonsmay only be reprinted upon writtenpermission of the editor.
Southwest Florida Area LocalMembership News
We wish to extend our welcome toall new employees coming onboard at the United States PostalService by inviting you to our nextSWFAL APWU meeting onFebruary 9, 2014, at the UnionHall located at 11000 MetroParkway, Unit 8, in Fort Myers.
Meetings are held once a monthon Sunday at 9:30am. Be united,protect your job and discover themany benefits of becoming amember of the SWFAL APWU.
Join us at our next local meeting- united we can make a positivedifference in our workplaces. Welook forward to seeing you there!
For those of you that haverecently retired who wish tocontinue receiving The Eagle’sEye newspaper, please emailthe Editor at [email protected] call Karen at our SWFALAPWU office at 239-275-1007.
We want to encourage our mem-
bers to email information to theeditor regarding marriages,graduations, special events orachievements of our employees,or their families, [email protected]. We will bepleased to include as manymember announcements as pos-sible.