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the detroit postal worker december 2010

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The President’s Report . . . From The President Christopher “Chris” Ulmer President The DETROIT D ETROIT D ISTRICT A REA L OCAL A MERICAN P OSTAL W ORKERS U NION POSTALWORKER December, 2010 Special Double Issue December, 2010 Hello Brothers and Sisters. It is always good to come to you keeping you aware of the struggles and the progress of our efforts to minimize the effects of the struggle on our members. The APWU contract with the USPS ends November 20, 2010. Our National Officers be- gan Contract negotiations September 1, 2010 with the USPS. The reports coming out of the negotiations are not positive so far. The APWU remains hopeful that they will reach an agreement with the USPS before expiration of the present contract. The talks however have not proceeded the way that the Union would have liked for them to proceed. President Bur- rus. the lead negotiator for the Union, will be leaving office November 12, 2010 and he had hoped to have a new contract before his term ended but it does not look like that will hap- pen. In the event the Union does not reach an agreement by the 12th of November, newly elected President Cliff Guffey will become the chief negotiator for our Union. President elect Cliff Guffey and all the other newly elected of- ficers of the APWU were sworn into Office on November 6, 2010. The swearing in will take place in Washington D.C. The leadership of our Union conveyed to the Presidents at the National Presidents Con- ference (NPC) that was held in Kalamazoo, Michigan October 23-25, 2010, that the focus of negotiations will be on JOBS. The Union believes the most pressing thing facing our The Hard Work Is Starting To Payoff membership is jobs. The Union has lost over 100,000 members in the last 10 years with most of the reduction coming through retire- ments, and the USPS contracting out the work that our members perform. The Unions, focus will be to try and negotiate the return of the contracted out work so that our employees can be more gainfully employed and they hope the return of the contracted out work will reduce the need for the USPS to excess people due to the reduced workload across the entire coun- try. The present CBA does not allow the Un- ion and the USPS to make the needed changes for getting back the work that has been con- tracted out. The Union and USPS must first make changes to the CBA that would clear the way for the Union to negotiate the return of contracted out work. The union might have to give something back in order to achieve their goal. The goal is to be able to guarantee the present work force that they will have a job where they presently work without being moved or excessed like so many of our mem- bers have experienced in the last two years. Another key focus of the negotiations will be to modify Article 12 of the CBA. Article 12 is the article that controls and governs how our membership is excessed or moved from one facility to another one. The leaders of this great union have a lot of hard work in front of them, but I am one that knows that they will succeed in their endeavors and believe the Unions best days and biggest achievements are still in front of us. LocaL News Negotiations of Local Memorandums of Understanding (LMOU’s) will began after the National Contract is successfully negotiated by our National Officers and ratified by the membership. So I am urging you to submit any ideas or changes that you think would be beneficial to our members, the Union and the USPS if implemented. On October 8, 2010 the leadership of the DDAL began Contract Negotiations with the Teamsters who represent the secretaries. The Secretaries contract also expires November 20, 2010. The Union is hopeful to have these negotiations complete before November 20, 2010. On October 12, 2010 the DDAL along with Chief Negotiator, National Officer of Support Services Bill Manley began contract negotia- tions with CSC; the present contract expires on November 18, 2010. CSC was the success- ful bidder on the M-tech contract that was formerly held by Serco & RCI. Bill Manley successfully negotiated a bridge agreement which allowed most (90%) of the workers at Serco to be hired by CSC without losing any time off from work. Those who were laid off in late October of 2009 were recalled by January of 2010. The Union plans to have an agree- ment with CSC before the contract expires. Updates Again I have this opportunity to bring you information on the things that have taken place since the last time we had the chance to talk. The Union continues to meet with USPS Management on many of the issues that ex- ist in the Detroit District. Since the last time I wrote to you, all the Arbitration decision about the events that took place in December of 2008 and January of 2009 have been ren- dered. The union position was not sustained. I put a flier out about the decision to inform the membership, but all might not have seen it so I will tell you about it now. The Arbitrator ruled against the Union and its positions about the things that USPS management did and how they did it. The Union was hoping that the Arbitrator would rule in our favor but he did not. I am happy to tell you that once the present administration took office some of the same contractual violations the USPS were doing then, they were continuing to do, so we filed new grievances on these violations. While the USPS was doing some of the same things, the Union has modified its arguments and we are confident that the outcome with these new grievances will be different than the ones we lost. The issue of excessing is an issue that will be around until it is removed from the con- tract. But until then we will continue to in- form the members of their rights and the obli- gations of the USPS. Excessing is here and the USPS is excessing from everywhere. We have attempted to stop it but the USPS continues to come up with numbers that do not match their own documentation. We have made it our business to ensure that all rights of the members are given to them. When those rights are not given to the members we filed grievances on their behalf and have informed the members of their rights, options, and re- “The goal is to be able to guarantee the present work force that they will have a job where they presently work without being moved or excessed like so many of our members have experienced in the last two years.” continued on page 5

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The Detroit Postal Worker December 2010

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Page 1: The Detroit Postal Worker December 2010

The President’s Report . . .

From The President

Christopher “Chris” UlmerPresident

The  DETROITDetroit District AreA LocAL AmericAn PostAL Workers Union

POSTAL WORKERDecember, 2010

Special Double IssueDecember, 2010

Hello Brothers and Sisters. It is alwaysgood to come to you keeping you aware ofthe struggles and theprogress of our effortstominimizetheeffectsofthestruggleonourmembers. The APWU contract with the USPS endsNovember20,2010.OurNationalOfficersbe-ganContractnegotiationsSeptember1,2010with the USPS. The reports coming out ofthe negotiations are not positive so far. TheAPWU remains hopeful that theywill reachanagreementwiththeUSPSbeforeexpirationof the present contract. The talks howeverhave not proceeded theway that theUnionwouldhavelikedforthemtoproceed.PresidentBur-rus.theleadnegotiatorfortheUnion,will be leavingoffice November 12, 2010andhehadhopedtohavea new contract before histerm ended but it doesnotlooklikethatwillhap-pen.IntheeventtheUniondoesnotreachanagreement by the 12th of November, newlyelectedPresidentCliffGuffeywillbecomethechiefnegotiatorforourUnion.PresidentelectCliffGuffeyandalltheothernewlyelectedof-ficersoftheAPWUwereswornintoOfficeonNovember6,2010.TheswearinginwilltakeplaceinWashingtonD.C. The leadership of our Union conveyed tothePresidentsattheNationalPresidentsCon-ference (NPC) that was held in Kalamazoo,MichiganOctober23-25,2010,thatthefocusof negotiationswill be on JOBS. The Unionbelieves the most pressing thing facing our

The Hard Work Is Starting To Payoffmembershipisjobs.TheUnionhaslostover100,000members in the last 10 years withmostofthereductioncomingthroughretire-ments,andtheUSPScontractingouttheworkthatourmembersperform.TheUnions,focuswillbetotryandnegotiatethereturnofthecontractedoutworksothatouremployeescanbemoregainfullyemployedandtheyhopethereturnofthecontractedoutworkwillreducetheneedfortheUSPStoexcesspeopleduetothereducedworkloadacrosstheentirecoun-try.ThepresentCBAdoesnotallowtheUn-ionandtheUSPStomaketheneededchangesforgettingbacktheworkthathasbeencon-tractedout.TheUnionandUSPSmust firstmakechangestotheCBAthatwouldcleartheway for theUnion tonegotiate the returnofcontracted outwork. The unionmight haveto give something back in order to achievetheirgoal.Thegoalistobeabletoguaranteethepresentwork force that theywillhaveajobwheretheypresentlyworkwithoutbeingmovedorexcessedlikesomanyofourmem-bershaveexperienced in the last twoyears.Anotherkeyfocusofthenegotiationswillbetomodify Article 12 of the CBA. Article 12is the article that controls and governs how

ourmembership is excessed ormoved fromonefacilitytoanotherone.Theleadersofthisgreatunionhavealotofhardworkinfrontofthem,butIamonethatknowsthattheywillsucceed in their endeavors and believe theUnions best days and biggest achievementsarestillinfrontofus.

LocaL News Negotiations of Local Memorandums ofUnderstanding(LMOU’s)willbeganaftertheNational Contract is successfully negotiatedby our National Officers and ratified by themembership. So I am urging you to submitanyideasorchangesthatyouthinkwouldbebeneficialtoourmembers,theUnionandtheUSPSifimplemented. On October 8, 2010 the leadership of theDDAL beganContractNegotiationswith theTeamsterswhorepresentthesecretaries.TheSecretaries contract also expires November20,2010.TheUnionishopefultohavethesenegotiations complete before November 20,2010. OnOctober12,2010theDDALalongwith

ChiefNegotiator,NationalOfficer of SupportServicesBillManleybegancontractnegotia-tionswithCSC; thepresentcontractexpiresonNovember18,2010.CSCwasthesuccess-ful bidder on the M-tech contract that wasformerly held by Serco & RCI. Bill Manleysuccessfully negotiated a bridge agreementwhichallowedmost (90%)of theworkersatSercotobehiredbyCSCwithoutlosinganytimeofffromwork.ThosewhowerelaidoffinlateOctoberof2009wererecalledbyJanuaryof 2010.TheUnion plans to have an agree-mentwithCSCbeforethecontractexpires.

Updates AgainIhavethisopportunitytobringyouinformation on the things that have takenplacesincethelasttimewehadthechancetotalk.TheUnioncontinuestomeetwithUSPSManagementonmanyof the issues that ex-istintheDetroitDistrict.SincethelasttimeI wrote to you, all the Arbitration decisionabouttheeventsthattookplaceinDecemberof2008andJanuaryof2009havebeenren-dered.Theunionpositionwasnotsustained.Iputaflieroutaboutthedecisiontoinformthemembership,butallmightnothaveseenitso

Iwilltellyouaboutitnow. The Arbitrator ruledagainst theUnion and itspositionsaboutthethingsthat USPS managementdid and how they did it.The Union was hopingthat the Arbitrator wouldrule in our favor but he

didnot.Iamhappytotellyouthatoncethepresentadministrationtookofficesomeofthesame contractual violations the USPS weredoing then, they were continuing to do, sowe filed new grievances on these violations.WhiletheUSPSwasdoingsomeofthesamethings,theUnionhasmodifieditsargumentsandweare confident that theoutcomewiththesenewgrievanceswillbedifferentthantheoneswelost. Theissueofexcessingisanissuethatwillbe arounduntil it is removed from the con-tract. But until thenwewill continue to in-formthemembersoftheirrightsandtheobli-gationsoftheUSPS.ExcessingishereandtheUSPSisexcessingfromeverywhere.Wehaveattemptedtostop itbuttheUSPScontinuestocomeupwithnumbersthatdonotmatchtheir own documentation.We havemade itour business to ensure that all rights of themembers are given to them. When thoserightsarenotgiventothememberswefiledgrievancesontheirbehalfandhaveinformedthemembersoftheirrights,options,andre-

“The goal is to be able to guarantee the present work force that they will have a job where they presently work without being moved or excessed like so many of our members have experienced in the last two years.”

continued on page 5

Page 2: The Detroit Postal Worker December 2010

page 2 detRoIt postaL woRKeR december, 2010

Detroit Postal Worker This newspaper is the official publication of the Detroit District Area Local, APWU, published quar-terly, and affiliated with the Postal Press Association and the AFL-CIO. Please send all correspondence in care of: Editor, 20530 Southfield Road, Detroit, MI 48235.

Editor: Christopher Ulmer

Associate Editor: Danny Sawicki

Opinions expressed in this paper are those of the writer and not nec-essarily those of the Editors or the Detroit District Area Local.

Detroit District Area LocalUnion Officials

Christopher Ulmer .................. Page 1 PresidentPatrick Chornoby ....................Page 3 Executive Vice-President

Jane Duggan ............................Page 2 Secretary/Treasurer

James Stevenson ....................Page 5 Clerk Craft Director

Jason Rushing ........................Page 6 Maintenance Craft Director

Keith Combs ...........................Page 11 Director of Human Relations

Alvin O. Branch ........................Page 6 MVS Craft Director

Debbie LaMay ..........................Page 7 BMC Facility Director

Sharonda McCullom 480-481 Director

Iva E. Williams .........................Page 7 PMC Facility Director

Regina “Gina” Favors ..........Page 12 Director of Legislation

Marcus D. Smith Director of Organization

Tony Corbin ............................Page 11 Assistant Clerk Craft Director

Anthony “Tony” V. Latimer Assist. Maint. Craft Director

Raymond Allen Morgan Assistant MVS Craft Director

Stacey Carr ...............................Page 4 Recording SecretaryAl Fouche ................................Page 11 Retirees’ President

TRUSTEESClerk Craft: MVS Craft:Dana A. Beard & Carl Williams Manuela R. WebsterMaintenance Craft: Mail Handler: Michael Griffin Ruqayyah Bobo

SGT.-AT-ARMS

Everett Hall Dorothy Malone

Associate Editor’s Report

Danny SawickiAssociate Editor

A Note From The Associate Editor— Thank You —

Secretary-Treasurer’sReport

Jane DugganSecretary-Treasurer

Protecting The Investment

DETROITDistrict Are A LocA L AmericA n PostA L Workers Union

THEDETROITPOSTALWORK-ER and the Detroit District AreaLocalwould like to thankyou forhelpingusmakeyourfirstnewspa-perahugesuccess.Wehavebeentold thatourpaper isamodel forothers to follow. Your ideas, sug-gestions,comments,etc.helpedustremendously.Weknowthispaperwouldnotbepossiblewithoutourloyalandsupportivemembership.

We keep that inmind when put-tingtogetherthisnewspaper.Onceagain, all of us at THEDETROITPOSTAL WORKER and the staff,stewardsandofficersoftheDDALthankyou. Some of youhavenoticed thatwe don’t have many puzzles,games,crosswords,etc.inourpa-per.Thesimplereasonisthatwedon’thaveenoughroom.Wewantto jam-packyourpaperwithper-tinent information that will pro-vide knowledge and guidance forthemembership.Thisadministra-tion’s goal is tomake this papera source of information, inspira-tionandsomecomfortwhichyou

canturnto in these tryingtimes.However, we will continue to ac-knowledgeourmember’sand thefamilies with accolades and spe-cial achievements.We think it isimportant to honor these specialevents. If there is an event (an-niversary, birthday, graduation,etc), thatyouwantprinted inthepaper,pleasebringittomyatten-tion via e-mail, letter, phone callandwewill add it in thenext [email protected] orcellphone586-943-3950DDALmailing address Attn: AssociateEditor, 20530SouthfieldRd., De-troit,MI48235.

Our building is our primaryinvestment. Since taking office,our administration has tried towork on repairing and improvingthe building. Some of our mainconcernsare theelectricalsystemandthelightsinparticular. We started by buying cases oflight bulbs and replacing lightsthatdidnotfunction.Wehavealsoreplaced some fixtures that couldnot be fixed and have repairedsome others. We have installeda case of new lenses and havemore ordered. The lenses provideprotection first and improve theoverallappearancesecond. Wehadasizablerepairdoneontheairconditioningsystemwhenitbrokedownthissummerandwillhaveadditionalmaintenancedonethisfall.Wearealsohavingunionrooferslookattheroofaftersomeleaking occurred recently. Thefirst estimate calls for a new roof($20,000)whichwecan’taffordtodoatthistime.Itdoesmakeitclearhoweverthatwewillhavetobeginsavingtohaveafullroofdoneinayearorso. With winter coming, we arehaving our outdoor flood lightsrepaired to provide a saferenvironmentforallwhoworkandvisithere.Becauseofthebuilding’sage and the constant activity, weknowthatwemusthaveabudgetfor upkeep and repairs. Thesethingsareimportanttoprotectourcollectiveinvestment.

ReVIsItING tHe INHeRItaNce Since the last issue, we havecontinued to work at paying

off our “Inheritance”: a debt ofover $100,000. This has beenpossible due to making paymentarrangementswithseveraldebtorsandbybeing fiscallyconservativein all our spending. At the sametime,wehavecontinuedmaximumrepresentation and done sometraining too. All thiswas done inayearwhenwehostedtheAPWUnationalconvention. We have paid off over$105,000.00debtforthefollowing:dental plans, office supplies andequipment, 2009 retiree stipends,the 2009 election, 2009 stewardstipends and 2009 officers’benefits. We still have four moreinstallments to pay on our dentalplan debts. Other debts we areaddressingastheycomeforward. AsofPayPeriod20,Ihavebegunto reduce my hours and we willsee how many hours are neededto do the Secretary-Treasurer’sjob.Thehourswillvarysomewiththe activity levels which changethroughouttheyear.Mydaysawayfrom the office are based on theactivities andmeetings scheduledforeachweek.

a poINt oF peRsoNaL pRIVILeGe

Sometimes something happensthat can not gowithoutmention.Something that is far above andbeyondtherealmofanyonereport.This is one of those times. Thisweekthewholeworldwascountingdown the hours until the Chileanminerswere finallyrescued.Theyhadbeenundergroundforseventydays. This group of 33 men hasshown the most extraordinarysolidarityofanygroupofworkersin decades. Their rescue was themost dramatic of its kind butnothingismoredramaticthanthe

story of their life underground. Ittookaninternationalteam17daysofdrillingtobeableto learntheywere alive a half mile below theground. The men had organizedthemselvestostayalivebysharingthe minute amount of food andwater. After their discovery, threeteams from different countriescame in toworkwith theChileanmine institute to try and reachthem.Duringthe7ormoreweeksofdrilling,theminerscontinuedtoshow amazing solidarity and thetremendousstrengthofthehumanspirit. I think it is summedup inthe fact that they argued aboutwho would come up LAST. Eachmaninafinalgestureofsolidaritywanted all his brothers to go upfirst. If you attend ourmembershipmeetings, you know that PatChornoby always ends hisreport by leading us in “HIP,HIP, HOORAY”. If we weremeeting today, I would lead usin the “VIVA”s. VIVA/long liveis the cheer ringing throughoutthe world today. Long live theChilean miners. Long live theinternational working class. Theminers of Copiapo, Chile havebrought new meaning to theslogan“THEWORKERSUNITEDWILLNEVERBEDEFEATED”.

Page 3: The Detroit Postal Worker December 2010

december, 2010 detRoIt postaL woRKeR page 3

Vice President’sReport

Patrick ChornobyExecutive Vice President

It’s Not Your Fault

GreetingsBrothersandSisters: It seemsmore widespread nowthan everbefore, and trustme, itisn’t going away anytime soon.I call it . . . “MANAGEMENTSBLAME GAME”. It’s the tool su-pervisionusestotakeallerrorandblame out of their mismanagingskillsandtheircostlypostalblun-derswhile inchargeofPostalOp-erations.Inotherwords,theirrun-ningthecompanyintotheground! Since the 9-11 terrorist attackson the United States, the PostalService has been experiencing adecliningmail volume.This, add-edtotheverycostlypurchasingofchemicaldetectionequipmentandsterilizingvariousPostOffices,hasdriven up operating costs. Thenyoucanaddon the fuel costs thePostal Service faced a few yearsago when gas prices skyrocketedtoalmostfivedollarsagallon,andremember our communicationsbusiness is one hundred percenttransit, which means we dependonfueltofunction. During all this time from 2001through 2007, the Postal Servicedidnothingtocontroltheirspend-ing. They purchased new equip-ment(totakeawayourjobs),theyboughtnewbuildings(oneliketheMetroplex, which was way overbudget),hirednewemployeesANDeven promoted Supervisors, Man-agers, Postmasters and DistrictManagers! All poor managerialskillsifyourcompanyislosingrev-enue. Duringthesameperiodoftime,other communications compa-nieslikeUPSandFederalExpressaddedsurchargestotheirdeliveryrates, charging their customersanadditionalamountofmoneytohelp cover the rise in fuel prices.Duringthistime,thepostalservicedidnothing!Again,alltheydidwasadvertisehowtheirratesdidn’tin-creaseduringatimewhenmostofthepublicwouldhaveunderstoodarise instampstohelpcover theadditionalfuelcosts. Mypointis,thatupuntil2008,management did absolutely noth-ing about the declining revenuethe Post Office was losing. Thatsixyearperiod,from2001through2007, was the most irresponsiblefinancial blundering that Post Of-fice management has ever beenresponsible for. On top of all thatmismanaging of the company,theOfficeoftheInspectorGeneralconducted an audit on the PostalService using an outside auditingcompany. Their findings revealedthePostalManagementteamover-

paid the Civil Service RetirementandDisabilityTrustFundawhop-ping SEVENTY-FIVE Billion dol-lars!Yes,thatwasBILLION!WeallknowthatifaClerk,Maintenance,or Motor Vehicle craft employeemadesuchanenormousmistake,itwouldhavecostsusourjobs. This is where Managements“BLAME GAME” comes in, andthisiswhereItellyouthat...IT’SNOT YOUR FAULT. Managementhas taken the position that all oftheir past irresponsible spendingandmismanagement is our fault.Up until 2008, there was no ac-tiontakenontheoverspendingormistakes made by Management,yetsincethat time,wehavebeenblamed for all of their errors! In-stead of Management taking re-sponsibilityfortheirowninappro-priate actions, they blame us byexcesssingus,conductingfunction4’stoeliminateourjobs,theyrideus about ourbreaksand lunches,tellingusthatwecan’ttalkonthejob. They are disciplining us be-cause we forgot to scan a parcelor letterbythecut-off time,disci-plining us because we have beenabsent for three days within thepastyear,tellinguswecan’thaveawaterbottleatourworkstationswhenthetemperaturereachesover90ninetydegreesFahrenheit,justtonameafewthings. Everythingisourfaultbecausemanagementmadefinancialmis-takesover thepastseveralyearsthat ended up running the PostOffice into the ground— but re-member,IT’SNOTYOURFAULT.Wehave to remindmanagementthat THEY drove the Postal Ser-vice into the financial cesspoolthatitistoday,NOTUS!Weneedtotellmanagementthatitistheir

fault,andnotours. The purpose of my article isto let youknow that it is not ourfault.Whenmanagementharassesyou to do thework of two peoplebecause they excessed too manyemployeesfromyouroffice,ortheytellyouthatyoucan’thaveawaterbottleatyourworkstationbecauseittakesawayfromtheirproductiv-ity,orthatyoucannolongertalktoyourco-workersbecausethereistoomuchworktodoanditslowsyou down, then ask them to seeyour Steward. It is not your faultthatforseveralyearsManagementhasbeendrivingthePostalServiceintotheground,itistheirfault. Talk to your co-workers, don’tletmanagementplay the “BLAMEGAME”onyou.ItisNOTyourfaultthat Management is struggling toget thePostalServicebackon it’sfeetoriftheyevencan.Ithinktheyneed to eliminate those top heavyjobs in management and let usbargaining unit employees have avoiceinhowthecompanyoperates.I’lltellyouonethingforsure,ifwerantheServicewewouldn’tbebil-lionsofdollarsindeficittoday.

YoU Get paId to do oNe Job, doN’t do tHe woRK oF two

More and more we get com-plaints from employees who areaccusedofdoingtheworkoftheirSupervisors. If a bargaining unitemployeeneedshelpinperforminga task theyoften call out to a co-workerforhelp.Thiscausesfrictionamong some employees becausethey all have job assignments todo,andwhencalledoffofajobbyacoworker,ittakesawayfromthatcoworkers original assignment. Itismorenoticeablenowwhenman-

agementisplacingmoreandmorepressure on each of us to get ourjobsdonemorequickly.Employeesneed to stay focused. Rememberthatmanagementassignsdutiestoemployees, not employees assign-ingdutiestootheremployees.Foranexample,ifyouareworkingonthewindowandthelineisoutthedoor,don’tyellthroughthebuild-ingcallingyourcoworkersforhelp.Weshouldnevercallcoworkersbynameandsay“Ineedhelp...willsomeonepleasecomeandhelpmeonthewindow!” Whenyouneedhelponyouras-signmenttheonlyoneyoushouldcall is your Supervisor. It is yoursupervisorsjobtogetyouhelponanassignment ifyouneed it.Thesame goes for maintenance em-ployeeswho are given awork as-signment,andtheyknowthattheycannot finish the assignment inthetimeallotted,theyneedtotelltheir Supervisor, not yell to yourcoworkersforhelp. Trust me, management getspaid goodmoney tomanage, andtheygetpaidtomakeworkassign-ments for employees. When wetake that duty away from them,they havemore free time to playaround(anddisciplineemployees).Don’tdo their job for them.Makethemdotheirjob. If your coworkers give you in-structions to report to an assign-ment, kindly tell them that youwouldpreferaSupervisorgiveyouyour orders — nothing personal.Thisworks toprotectall involvedemployeesbecauseyouknowthatifyoumakeamistakeorgethurtwhenhelpingacoworker,thefirstwordsoutofmanagementsmouthwillbe“whotoldyoutodothat?”Don’tletthathappen.

Steward Talkby danny sawicki,associate editor Ineachissuewearegoingtofeature a steward from one ofourfacilitiesandaskafewques-tions about serving the mem-bership as a steward. This is-sue’s featuredsteward isMariaJohnsonfromtheP-1FacilityinRomulus.

1)Hi Maria, how long have you been a steward at the p-1? Since February, 2010.

2)daily, what are your big-gest challenges that you face being a steward? The biggest challenge is be-ing recognized as a steward by management and being able to do my duties as a steward. Be-ing released as a steward is a big problem.

3)what is the number one management infraction that you come across? Currently, management is al-lowing a hostile environment in our facility.

4)what is the biggest mis-take employees make during the grievance process. The employees put too much trust in management during the grievance process.

5) Finally Maria, what is the best advice you can give to em-ployees during these trying times? Stick together, a house divided against itself a house that can’t stand.

Thank you for your service Maria, and remember mem-bers, USE YOUR STEWARDS!

Ifyouwouldliketheopportu-nitytobeasteward,sendPresi-dent Ulmer a letter with yourname, facility, tour, craft, NSdays,starttime.

Maria Johnson

Page 4: The Detroit Postal Worker December 2010

page 4 detRoIt postaL woRKeR december, 2010

The P.O.W.E.R. Pointby sandra carey, poweR coordinator - ddaL GreetingsSistersandBrothers, Ihopeyouallhadanenjoyablesummer!

2010-2011 aNNUaL scHoLaRsHIp wINNeRs

ThisyearthePOWERcommitteewasable toagainaward itsAnnu-al Academic/Technical/VocationalScholarshipstocurrentgraduatingHigh School Seniors of our mem-bers. There were 4 scholarshipsavailable each in the amount of$500.00Applicants had to submitan application, official transcriptandanEssayononeof three top-ics/subjects facing our country to-day.Inpartthetopicsincluded:1) Smoking ban in public places 2) Business municipalities “bargain-ing” for its employees to take con-cessions and 3) New law surround-ing the no “texting” while driving. Wewould liketocongratulateandthank the young adults who tookthetimeouttoapply,youaretobecommended.Scholarshipsarepre-sentedinthenamesofsomeofouroutstandingwomenwhohaveandcontinue to make great impact inour local for theLaborMovement.Thewinnersare: Keiara A. Stevenson, attendingthe University of Nevada-Las Ve-gas (parent Abimelech EI-clerk atGreenmead Office) Judy beard award Jessica E. Lietaert, attendingCentral Michigan University (par-ent Charles Lietaert MaintenanceatRosevillePostOffice)elisabeth “betty” Littsey award MiguelA.Olivera,CentralMichi-

ganUniversity(parentsLucilleOl-ivera-ClerkatTaylorPostOffice&Idel Olivera-Clerk at DNDC)Jane e. duggan award (There were only 3 applicants.ThefourthAwardisinthenameofRegina Favors).

poweR coMMUNItY pRoJect(s)

The committee decided to do-nateHygieneKitstoashelter.Wedecided on two different sheltersfor the Spring and Summer Sea-son. The shelters were CovenantHouse which is located on M.L.King Blvd. in Detroit. CovenantHouse provides shelter and sup-portive services to SoutheasternMichigan area youth and youngadults ages 13-22who are home-less or at great risk. 23 kitswereassembled and donated. NationalPOWER “Sisters helping Sisters”Campaign presented themwith acheckintheamountof$1,100.00aswell.ThesecondshelterchosenwasCOTS(CoalitiononTemporaryShelter)locatedonPeterboroinDe-troit. COTS provides shelter andsupportive services to individualsaswellasfamilieswhoareatgreatriskand/orhomeless.Wedonated58 forAdultsand23 forchildren.Each kit contained items such assoap,toothbrushw/cap,toothpaste,comb,lotion,shampoo,deodorant,hand sanitizer, washcloths anda yo-yo for the children. SpecialThankstoGoldenDentalandHAPfortheirverygenerousdonationofsomeoftheseitemsandalsomem-ber Rose Wilson (Grand River Ofc.)whodeliveredherowndonationpersonally. Special thanks to the

committeememberswhodonatedand helped assemble these kitsandbrother,KeithFletcher(GWY-Maintenance). Ournextproject is for theFall/Winter and itwill be for ourVet-erans.ThisdonationwillgototheVAHospitalandtheywillbesimi-larinnaturewithtoiletriesandun-dergarments.Lookforinformationasitwillbeprovidedoncewehavedetermined the specific items al-lowed and needed.We appreciateallofourveteransandSaluteandThank You for the service(s) youhaveprovidedandstillareprovid-ingonyourbehalfandbeliefofourfreedoms.THANKYOU!!!THANKYOU!!!THANKYOU!!!

apwU-aFLcIo 20tH bIeNNIaL NatIoNaL

coNVeNtIoN poweR caUcUs The POWER Caucus was heldon Monday August 23, 2010 at4:30p.m.ThecaucuswasatributetoNationalPresidentWilliamBur-ruswhowillberetiringattheendofthisyear.Mr.Burrusisastrongadvocate of women’s rights. Hehasbeen in the forefront fightingalongwith theAPWUsistersandbrothers,sinceAPWUPOWERin-ception in 1979. He took part inthestruggletoincorporateAPWUPOWER into APWU’s NationalConstitution and Bylaws at the1980 National Convention heldhereinDetroit,Michigan.NationalDirectorofResearch&Educationand APWU National POWER lia-sonJoyceB.Robinson,presentedPresident Burrus with five indi-vidualMoneyOrdersof$1,000.00a piece representing each of the

5 regions ofPOWER,yesthat totals$5,000.00 30 years

and still going

strong in the fight “Don’t mess with Bill . . .”THANKYOU! ! !andENJOY! ! !Retirement.

caLeNdaR oF eVeNts: October 10, 2010—Out of theDarkness Community Walk forSuicide Prevention Sponsored bytheAmericanFoundation for Sui-cide Prevention. Location-LakeErie Metro Park (Metro-DetroitDownriver). In the United States,suicide is the 4th leading causeof death among adults 18-65 yrs.of age, and the 3rd leading causeof death among teens and youngadults.Thisisapublichealthissuethatdoesnotdiscriminatebyage,gender,ethnicity,orsocio-econom-icstatus.Youcanwalkormakeadonationorsimplyformoreinfor-mationcall1-888-333-AFSP(2377).

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Breast Cancer/Health ForumProgramwillbeheldlookforinfor-mation as it is forthcoming. Pro-moting awareness through earlydetection is essential in the fightagainst Breast Cancer. Help sup-portthePOWERCommitteeonbe-halfoftheDetroitDistricttohelpin the fight for a cure. Togetherwecanmakeadifference...Onewomanatatime!!!Menyouarenotexemptfromthisdisease. Insolidarityandsisterhood.

A.P.W.U. – P.O.W.E.R.2010 Scholarship Winners

KeIaRa aNGeLIse steVeNsoN(Father) – Abimelech El,

Clerk Craft (Livonia Greemead)

JessIca eLIzabetH LIetaeRt(Father) – Charles H. Lietaert,

Maintenance Craft (Roseville Post Office)

MIGUeL aLFoNso oLIVeRa(Father) – Idel Olivera, Clerk Craft,

(Detroit NDC) and Lucille Olivera (Mother), Clerk Craft (Taylor Post Office)

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Clerk CraftDirector

James StevensonClerk Craft Director

Switching To Part-Time Regular

Members are being forced tomakesomeverydifficultandlifeal-teringdecisionsastheydecidetore-locatehundredsofmilesfromhomeor convert to a Part-Time Regularin lieu of being excessed from theinstallation.AsaPTRtherewillbeanobviousreductioninworkhoursandworkhourguaranteebutthesearenot theonly thingsyoushouldconsider.Yourretirementannuitiescouldbesignificantlyreducedifyouwere previously full-time and thenconverttopart-timelaterinyourca-reer.Ithasbeencommonlyreferredtoasthe“Part-TimePro-rationFac-tor”.Congresspassedalawin1986(P.L.-272) which has changed thewayfederalannuitiesarecalculatedforpart-timeemployees.Youshouldseekretirementadviceasyoumakedecisions to convert. Another areathatcouldbesignificantlyaffectedistheprotectionoftheFamilyMedicalLeaveAct.Employeesare requiredtohave1250workhourstoqualifyforprotectionunderFMLA.There-duced work hours of a Part-TimeRegularmaypreventyoufromreach-ingtheminimumrequirements.Forthose employees or eligible familymemberswithserioushealthcondi-tionsyoushouldalsotakethisintoconsideration. The postal servicehaseitherrefusedtotellemployeesaboutunemploymentbenefitsorun-deremployment benefits. The com-ments concerning unemploymentmadebymanagement in theiroffi-cialcapacitieshasnotbeenbasedinstateregulations. Ifyouhaveques-tions regarding your eligibility forunemployment/underemploymentbenefits you should contact theUnemployment Insurance Agencydirectly. Declining a reassignmentoutsideyourcommutingarea(state)maynotdisqualifyyou forbenefitssoitisbestnottorelyonpostalorunion official’s advice. Go straighttothehorse’smouthonWestGrandBoulevard and ask an unemploy-mentofficialwhoisfamiliarwiththespecificrequirements.

FaMILY MedIcaL LeaVe act Manymembersaregettingfedupwith management harassing themordenyingthemrightfulprotectionsunderFMLA.FMLAisarightgrant-ed to workers by Congress. Theserightsarefullyenforceableandviola-tionsareactionableinUnitedStatesDistrictCourt. InDotsonv. Pfizer.,No. 07-1920 (4th Circuit March 5,2009)ajuryawarded$1,055,874.00indamagesarisingoutofFMLAvio-lations. IfcallingtheFMLACoordi-natorandmanagementdoesnotre-solvetheissue,insteadtheychoose

to illegally interfere,harassyou,orimproperly denies you FMLA ben-efits,contacttheWageandHourDi-visionoftheDepartmentofLaborinadditiontoyourunionsteward.

eeo’s Anemployeewho feelsdiscrimi-nated under Title VII of the CivilRights Act must file a complaintwithin45daysofbecomingawareoftheallegeddiscriminatoryaction.Donot allowamanagement official todiscourageyoufromexercisingyourrightsbytelling“youdonothaveacase.”TheauthoritytodismissyourcaserestonlywiththeAdministra-tiveLawJudgeandtheEEOC,notwithcounselorsormanagementoffi-cialswhoareemployedbythesameagencyyouarecomplainingagainst.OftenthepostalservicewillmakeanagencydecisiontodismissyourcasebutanemployeehasappealrightstotheEEOCortotaketheiractionstofederalcourt.Yes,anemployeecanfile a grievance under article 2 ofthecontract fordiscriminationanda separate action under EEO. Thecontract recognizes and allows forbothavenues.Someofourmembershave complained about the EEOcounselor being present at the re-dressmediation.Thisisaviolation.Chapter 3 of the MD-110 manualspecificallyprohibitstheEEOcoun-selorfromanyinvolvementoncethecomplainantelectstoparticipateinredress.Anyattempts tomaskherpresent as an “observer” shouldbe challenged since all employeesknowhowafterwetalktotheEEOcounselor, management and yourco-workersmysteriouslyareabletotellyoumoreaboutyourcasethanyouknew.

bacK-datING 3971’s aNd 3189’s

Theunionhasclassactiongriev-ances in for employees to obtainoutof schedulepayand fornotal-lowing our clerks towork 8 hourson theirNSDay.Management hasbeen back-dating 3189’s (changeof schedules) and 3971’s (leave re-quest)andaskingorinstructingem-ployeestosignthemgoingbacktoJanuary2010.Theywant employ-eestosignthe3971’ssaying“Ididnotwant toworkmy full8hours”sotheywouldnothavetopaythou-sands of dollars in violations. It isfalsification of documents to back-datetheseforms.Whenwasthelasttimemanagementgaveyouastackof3971’sback-datedfor8monthstocover you andmake your absencescheduled. Theywould say that is“fraud” and against our policy butifitcankeepusfrompayingoutonmanagementsviolationitisaccept-able.Theemployeeswhoareengag-ingintheseactionsarenotonlykill-ingyourownjobbutyouarehelpingtosendyourco-workerstoKansas.

LaboR cHaRGes Sevenmonthsofpersistenceand

hard work paid off as your unionwassuccessfulinhavingtheNation-al laborRelationsBoard issueover25 charges in a formal complaintagainst thepostalservice for refus-ingtoprovideuswith information.This information is crucial as wearebeginningtoseewhatwehaveknownallalongthatalotoftheac-tions, particularly with excessinghavenotbeenjustified.Threedaysbefore the hearing Christopher Ul-mer,PatrickChornoby,andmyselfwere scheduled to testify in a trialagainstthepostalservicewhenthepostal service abruptly backed outand wanted to sign a settlement.The information which is tricklinginiscrucialtoourupcomingcaseson contractual violations. The suc-cessfullaborchargewassomethingthat was not present in the casesthataroselastyear,butweareopti-misticastheunion’spositionintheupcomingcases.

eXcessING The union is challenging thecontinuedexcessingofourclerks.A few important issues raised inthegrievancesprocedureonbehalfofexcessedclerksarethefactsthatattritionhasnotbeenproperlyac-countedfor,Part-TimeRegularem-ployees are working beyond theirbidscheduleandhours,lettercar-riers are still performing work inourcraft(clearingthecage,passingout tubs, staging DPS, scanningparcels, etc.) supervisors are do-ingourwork(dispatch,cage,scan-ning, working the window, work-

ing box mail, doing distribution,etc.),standbyemployeesstillwork-inginthevarioussections(becausemanagementshouldhaveneverre-movedthem),andthelistcouldgoon.Theunionhasalsochallengedthepostalserviceonhowcantheyinvoluntarilyseparateanemployeewho declines their reassignmentwhen there is no provision underarticle12todoso.

caLL tHe poLIce ! ! ! Thatwasthetacticmanagementhad begun to use against me as Iinvestigated grievances and repre-sented ourmembers. Managementhadgotsickandtiredofmecomingto their facilities at 4:00 and 5:00a.m.astheyweresneakingPTFlet-ter carriers in to distributemail orthesupervisorsweredoingtheworkthemselves.Sotheybegantousethepostalpolicetoremovemefromthebuilding. At Northend Station themanagement officials lockedme intheparkinglotandcalledtheDetroitPoliceDepartmentafterIdiscoveredthey were hiding a Priority MailClerk in the basement of the Fish-er Building working as a WindowClerk.ComplaintstoformerDistrictManager(NancyRettenhouse),post-master Lloyd Wesley, and othersproved to be futile and theharass-mentonlyintensified.Ittookanac-tionbythenewDistrictManagertoterminate the improper behavior.Management has resorted to newlowsbutyourunionrepresentativeswill not be deterred in fighting foryourrights.

continued from page 1

The Hard Work Is Starting To Payoffsponsibilities ourselves. The fightcontinues and some of the issuesare still unresolved but are pres-ently being adequately addressedbytheUnion. The Union has been address-ingthefinancialissueweinheritedfrom the last administration. Wehave been successful in address-ingthefinancialissueandhopetohavepaidoff90%ofthedebtthatwe were faced with upon takingoffice. The Union will be invest-inganysurplusfundsthatwemayhave.Thechangesweimplementedhavepaidoffandthereisstillroomfor more improvements. Improve-mentsthatwillhelptheUniongettoaplaceoffinancialstability.TheBudgetCommitteewillmeetinear-ly December to plan a budget forthemembership’sapprovalinJan-uary of 2011. This year has beenvery hectic and busy for all of usandbecauseofthishecticscheduletheAPWU-DDALwillbealotbetteroffin2011,despitetheprogresswehavemadetherestillmaybeaneedtomakeotheressentialchanges. DDALLocalOfficersandFacili-tyDirectorshavebeenimplement-ing the contract, as it is suppose

to be implemented and followed.Followingthecontracthascreatedsomeminor problems and incon-veniences to the membership insome of the different facilities. Iwouldliketoexpress,thatjustbe-causethelastorotheradministra-tionshavedonethingsorallowedthingstobedonethatwentagainstthe contract does not mean thatthis administration will continuethose violations just because itisconvenient fora fewmembers.TheDDALwillnotcontinuethosebadandimproperpractices,there-foreIwouldliketoapologizetoallthemembershipforanyinconven-iencesduetousfollowingthecon-tractcorrectly. TherumorsoftheP-1closingareactively being investigated, but tothisdatetheUSPSmanagementhasdeniedanysuchofficialdiscussion.WhentheUniongetsanyofficialin-formationfromtheUSPSwewillno-tifythemembershipimmediately. Your Union officers, stewardsand committee members havebeen very busy representing you,takingyourpositionsonthework-room floor and planning the up-comingevents.

continued on page 7

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Reminder About PAR And PER’sMaintenanceCraftReport

Jason RushingMaintenance CraftDirector

HelloBrothersandSisters. Letmestartoutwithaquickre-minderaboutPARandPER’s.AsItalked about before, PreferredAs-signmentRegistersandPromotionEligibilityRegistersareitemsthatrun in thebackground.PARandPER fills, will take place and be-comeeffectivemostofthetimebe-foreyouevenseeapostingorhearaboutthem.Pleaseraiseyourrighthand,I [stateyourname]promiseto look at the PAR and PER listsat leastevery6monthstosee if Iamlistedthere.Bystayingontopof the lists you will remember ifyouputyournameonalistornot.ThatwillsaveyouandyourAPWUstewardmanyhoursofheadaches

tryingtofixsomethingyouwantedbeforebutdon’twantnow.APARandPERwillstayactiveuntilyouareawardedyour1stchoiceoryouwithdrawyournamefromsaidlistseitherbyletterorbyadeclinationform. Get everything in writingand keep copies. If your in an of-ficegoingthroughexcessingorthethreatof,youneedtoknowwhereyouareonthelists.Therewillbemovement of employees. Enoughaboutthat. Delegates just returned fromourAPWUNationalConventionatCoboHallinDetroit,MI,August21throughAugust 28.Hopefully allwho attended retained somenewknowledge and had a good timewith fellow brothers and sisterunionmembersattheconvention.TherewereveryonpointdebatesregardingthefutureoftheAPWUand theUnitedStatesPostalSer-vice.Oneof thekeyopeningdaydiscussions, was that our unionis alive andwell andwe need tokeepgoing.Thisideawasempha-sizedwiththeattendanceofunder

35yearolds.TheNationalUniongave an incentive for 35 and un-der year olds, young activists, toattendtheNationalConventionata slightly discounted rate. Therewasagood showingof themandPresidentBurrus addressed themataspecialmeetingtoemphasizethe importance of their participa-tion in their union. There was arally/march onTuesday from theconvention hall to Campus Mar-tiusParktoreinforceourdesiretoSaveOurSaturdayService-5DayNoWay! Itwas attended by con-ventiondelegationofapproximate-ly2500alongwithguestUnions.The march was highlighted withaddress’s by APWU PresidentWilliam Burrus, Detroit APWUPresidentChristopherUlmer,Rev.Jesse Jackson and CongressmanJohnConyers.Theoverall themeof the convention was CHANGE.Changeiswhatisdramaticallygo-ingon in thePostalService rightnow.Thereare somanychangesgoingonrightnoweveryoneneedstostayontheirfeettomakesure

what is changed is changed cor-rectly. This applies to all aspectsofyour job, thebiggestandmostseriousoneistheexcessingofem-ployees.Anotherhottopicontheconvention floor was a proposeddues increase. There are manyargumentsforandagainstaduesincrease.Thedelegatesfinallyde-batedandvotedagainstaduesin-crease.Since this isMr.Burrus’slast convention, not seeking re-election, therewas a dinner hon-oringhis long timeservice to theAPWU. The Maintenance Craft,the Clerk Craft, MVS Craft andSupport Services all had impor-tant resolutions they brought be-fore theconvention floor.Besidestheconventionbusiness,thedele-gatesgottoparticipateinthenor-malconventionactivities suchastheparadeofstates,COPAnight,Burrusdinner,honoringVeteransand other activities. I thank you,the membership for allowing metorepresentyou,attheAPWUNa-tionalConvention2010. InUnionSolidarity.

MVSDirector

Alvin O. BranchMVS Director

MVS, The Plain Truth

I have come to realize thatthere are a lot of issues inMVS,andVehicleControlattheDNDC,but nevertheless it is incumbentupontheuniontoassess,andbeable to prove our claims of con-

tractual violations we initiateagainst management pertainingtoovertime.Wehavetheburdenof demonstrating that overtimewasactuallyneededat the time,i.e.; the workload at the time oftheallegedviolationdictatedthatanotheremployeebecalledupontohandletheincreaseinthework-load.ItisattheDISCRETIONOFMANAGEMENT, NOT THE EM-PLOYEES WORKING THERE, toassessifovertimeisneededbaseduponthese,andonlythesecrite-ria.Ifthereisaperiodintheday

when work is slow, and we allknow these timesexist,manage-ment ISNOTobligated to call inanother employee for overtime,andpaythemtimeandahalfsim-plybecause there isonly (1)em-ployeewherethereareusually(2)ormoreassigned. We are killing our own initia-tives when we continue to keepoperations runningwithinPostalFacilities that are understaffed,by changing our bided work as-signments, and the like to fill inwhere management’s failure toproperly institute a work sched-uleforcoverageexists.Aslongasmanagement can get employeesto change their schedules, andmakeallowances for their inabil-itytoscheduleproperly,IasMVSCraftDirector,oranyMVSStew-ardappointedtoafacility,willbeable to convincemanagement toinstitutechangewithin,andtheirrequest for change becomes anexercise in futility for the Craft,Steward, and the Union, for fullstaffing. You are accomplishingnothingotherthanthechaosthatcurrentlyexistsasaresultoftheselfish actions by the namelessemployees who work there, andhave effectively proved manage-ment’s point that they can oper-ate the office understaffed, andstillmeettheiroperationalneeds.ItbecomesextremelydifficultformeasCraftDirectortorepresenttheemployeeswithinthecraftinafacility/office,whenIdonothavethecooperationfromtheemploy-eesworking in that facility/officetosubstantiatewhattheyclaimis

wrong in that facility/office, butinsteadaremoreconcernedaboutwhat they can obtain fromMan-agement through the Union freeand easy, with little or no sacri-fice from themselves, other thanpaying union dues, for represen-tation. The peopleworking here havetocometotherealizationthatthePostal Service has changed; nolongerareweasemployeesgoingtobecompensatedforjustshow-ingupatwork,andcontinuingtodo the things we have assumedovertheyearsareourjobassign-mentsaccordingtous.Wedonotpay ourselves,we are employeescompensated by the Postal Ser-vice for the duties we perform,and the time has come that wehave toperformtheduties to re-ceive the compensation. If anyemployeeisunsureofwhattheirdutiesconsistof;theunionhasalistofjobdescriptionsandqualifi-cations foreverybargainingunitposition,offeredbytheService. AsMVSCraftDirectorIamnotgoing to accept ignorance of theContract as an excuse from myconstituency, because you haveproven to me time after time,your ability to use/interpret thecontract to your benefit or per-sonalgain,andquoteitverbatimfor your situation, so therefore IexpectmyCraftbrothersandsis-ters toworkwithin the contract,and not use if self-servingly butinstead to strengthen our rightsas Union members working to-gether for a common solution toourmanygrievances.

TheWelcome

Mat The APWU-DDAL would like to give a big round of applauseto the followingnewmembers.Aswe all know, there is strengthin numbers. We appreciate and acknowledge all who make theendeavortobecomeunionists.Weinviteyoutocomeinandplayanactiveroleinhelpingthisunionflourish!

RuthieBartholomewLinnieWilliams-BinionChristopherCizioLauraCondronLarryJohnson

TerriJohnsonDeniseMachuskoMaryMcCulloughThomasMcGowan

RondallMurrayTraceyThornsLarryShultisAndrewSchultzAnnZiegman

Ifyouraddresshaschanged,pleasenotifytheunionandthePostOffice of your address change. If you do not, the Post Office willcontinuetosendyourpapertotheoldaddress.

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What Is Solidarity?DNDCFacilityDirector

Debbie LaMayDNDCFacility Director

SOLIDARITY: union or fellow-shiparisingfromcommonrespon-sibilitiesandinterests,asbetweenmembersofagroup . . . stability,soundness, reliability. We are atthe cross-roads of the most diffi-cult time inUnionandPostalhis-tory. We are dealing with issuesand settling grievances that ourprior unions never had to dealwith.What alarmsmemore thananything is thewillingness of ourmembership to work against thecontractifitbenefitsthemperson-ally.Remember,thecontractisn’talways our friend and sometimesitwillhurttheindividual.But,thecontractwillalwayshelpthemem-bershipasawhole. Atatimewhensolidarityshouldbewitnessedinrecordnumbers...theoppositeisoccurring.Iknowthat I have personally struggledwithmyownissuesregardingthePostal Service and at times onlyconsideredmy own agenda espe-cially when it came to personalissues and my family. Being anelectedofficerprivilegesmetoin-formation that clearly has givenmeanewagendaandsetofgoals.Not to disrespect any membersthat have concerns of their ownbut as a whole we need to lookat thebigpicture.Employeesaretrying to secure bids, maintainseniority, detail out of their as-signments to assistmanagement,change of schedules etc. The is-sueisnotasindividualswhatourgoals are . . . but as individualshow do we accomplish them butnottothedetrimentofthecraftorourfellowemployees.Someoftheissues thatwe are fighting aboutamongsteachotherwillbeamootpoint if thePostalServicecontin-ues down the path that they areheaded. Article3whichis“ManagementsRights”makesmeveryuncomfort-able.Ibelievemanagementnolon-gerhastherighttomismanage.Ihavewatched inmy opinion . . .ThePostalServiceperformingex-perimentsonhowtogetthemailoutofthefacilityefficiently.Theyhave reports for reports to justifytheirmistakesandbaddecisions.They repeatedly have new plansonhowtomanipulatethesystemandmailprocessinggoals.Perfectexampleishavingmailinthesys-tem and not starting secondarysorters until after 12:00 a.m. ontour3over theSummermonths.WhenquestionedinaLabor/Man-agementmeetingitwasstatedthiswas a management decision andnoother informationwasoffered.

Now in the month of Septembersecondary sorters are not start-ed until after 11:30 a.m. on tour2. I’m very confident either deci-sionwastotryandmanipulateonpaper what is actually going onin the facility. Hey managementhere’sanidea:“Ifthereismailinthe building process it nomatterwhattimeit is . . .Customersdonot care about your DOV scoresoryourpencilpushingtactics...theyjustwanttheirmail”. At this time the union wouldlike to thank the members whohave provided us information re-garding conditions at the DNDC.Informationhasbeenbroughtfor-ward regarding all types of mis-

managementthatmightadverselyaffectservice,operationsorsafetyat the DNDC. The union is ask-ingforanyinformationregardingoperational codes, standby roomhours,unsafeactstoprocessmailduetothelackofemployeesfromexcessing, etc. Several memberscameforwardtoinformtheunionthattheywereputinthestandbyroom due to no available equip-ment. They weren’t put in theroom for lackofmail . . .but forlack of equipment to process themail.HaveyouevergonetoTacoBellandnotbeenabletopurchaseatacoduetothemnothavinganyshells while the employees satin the lobby and played cards? I

didn’tthinkso . . . this isaclearindication of why the Postal Ser-viceisintheconditionthatitis. ReflectingbackonthedefinitionofSolidarity. . .workingtogetherwe can promote stability, sound-ness and reliability. In solidarity,wewillcontinuetoprovideforourfamilies,payour rent, tuition,va-cationandcontinuetolivethelifestylesthatwehavebecomeaccus-tomed to andworked for. As em-ployeesofTheUnitedStatesPostalService,wearerequiredafairdayofwork fora fairdayofpay.Ouronegoalshouldbeforthecustom-erandtheintegrityofthemail...forthisthereshouldbenoopposi-tion.

The Hard Work Is Starting To PayoffUpcoMING aNd past eVeNts The Unions Adult ChristmasPartywillbeDecember18,2010attheKarrishouseonPlymouthRd.in Redford, Michigan. The partyevents will be as such; cocktailswillbeservedfrom6p.m.until7p.m.Thepartystartsafterdinnersomakesureyouarethere. TheunionhaditsannualpicnicJuly18,2010;itwaswellattendedandthemembershipwaswellrep-resented. Iplan tohave the infor-mation on the 2011APWU-DDALAnnualPicnicbytheendofJanu-ary 2011 so all themembers canmakeplanstoattend.Iwouldliketoseemoremembershipparticipa-tionandabetterpresencefromallthefacilitiesandareasthatwerep-resent. August 23-28, 2010 the DDALUnion hosted the APWU 20th Bi-ennial National Convention hereinDetroit,MI.Theeventwaswellattended by the APWU member-ship from around the country. Itwas the last National Conventionthat President Burrus would pre-sideoverasAPWUNationalPresi-dent, due his retirement. He washonored and is really appreciatedfor his 53 years of service to themembershipof theAPWU.ThirtyofthoseyearswereservedeitherasExecutiveVicePresidentorPresi-

dentof theAPWU.PresidentBur-rustoldthecommitteethatworkedattheconventionthathehadbeento all the National Conventions(20) and thisNationalConventionwas in his opinion the best ever.ThankyouPresidentBurrus!Thenext National Convention will be2012 in Los Angeles. On behalfof the entire DDAL membershiptheDDALgivea verymeaningfulthankyou to all thepresidents ofthe MPWU (Gaylord, Travis City,480-481,GrandRapids,SouthwestMichigan, FarmingtonHills & theMPWU)fortheirgiftsandcontribu-tions to the Hospitality suite dur-ingtheNationalConvention. DaysaftertheNationalConven-tionwasover(September6,2010)theDDALalongwithitsmembers,stewardsandlocalofficersattend-edtheLaborDayParade.ThePa-radewasveryeventfulandfun.Wemarched with our other brothersandsistersintheLabormovementdown Woodard Ave. in Detroit,Michigan from Warren Ave. toHartPlazawherewetookpicturesand mingled. The Marchers wereaddressed by our National, StateandLocalpoliticians. Iwould liketothankallwhoattendedandaskthatmoreofyoutoplantoattendtheLaborDayParadenextyear.Iwould love tosee100%participa-tionfromourmembers.

continued from page 5 The Motor Vehicle Services(MVS) craft had its 22nd AnnualMVS Awareness Day on Septem-ber 18, 2010 and National MVSDirectorBobPritchard,Asst.MVSDirector Michael Foster (Detroit’sown)andNationalBusinessAgent(MBA)fortheMVSCraftMerleBellattended the event. Each personspokeandaddressedthemember’squestions. THANK YOU APWU-DDALMEMBERSHIP!!! I say this to youandplease re-member this quote “Let everyoneknow, whether they wish us wellorill,thatwe(DDAL)shallpaytheprice, bear any burden,meet anyhardship, support any friend, op-poseanyfoetoensurethesurvivalandthesuccessofyourrightsandliberties”. John F. Kennedy saidthis and I changed the words toreflect this administrations viewsandposition. Iwould just like to thankJohnMarcott, MPWU President, MikeLong MPWU Editor, Jim FierosCMAL President, Ron KrumbrieTraverse City President and Wil-liam Jones Executive Vice Presi-dentofPittsburghMetroAreaLocalfor looking after the DDALmem-bers that were excessed to theirfacilities.Ifanymemberneedsourhelpnomatterwhereyouarejustcallus.

That’s right the Priority MailCenter has another plantmanag-er.SheisoriginallyfromSaginaw

We Have Another One ! ! !Priority MailFacility Director

Iva WilliamsPMC Facility Director

by way of Kalamazoo. Her goalseemstobetogetthePriorityMailCenter clean and properly run.GOODLUCK!!! Ms. Wood is like maybe thetwentysomethingmanagerintenyears.Let’sseehowlongshewillbe around. Not long, now JackieBowmanisback. Onanothernote,weare losingsomeofourclerksduetoexcess-ing. Bidswentuparoundtheendof

May andwe have a few new fac-es that should be coming in lateJune. Everyone please do yourpart inbeinghelpful if theyneedanyassistance. ContractualFacts.Didyouknowthatemployees shouldbepermit-ted,undernormalcircumstances,to have a reasonable amount oftime to consult with their stew-ard? Reasonable time cannot bemeasuredbyapredeterminedfac-tor.

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APWU Picnic On July 18th

Labor Day Parade 2010

OurpicnicwasheldattheLowerHuronMetroPark inBellevilleonJuly18th.WehadaDJ,abouncertentforthekids,games,rafflesandfan-

Ruqayyah bobo and family.

the associate edi-tor chilin’ with Geoff Higgins.

Legislation director Regina Favors and her lovely family.

the children in the bouncing tent.

pictured left to right: J. Merritt, R. cooper, c. Holbrook and R. Holbrook.

It’s a family affair.

the Membership enjoying the festivities.

the president mingling with the members. one of the raffle prizes.

tasticfoodanddrinkcateredbyT.E.Catering.Aturtlecoveaquaticcenter(wavepool)wasavaila-bleforthechildrenandadults.BIGFUNFORALL!

the president mingling with the kids.

480-481 president Larry Miller and Robin cooper. Minnie and sheriff Mark Hackel.

chris and shuronda poses for the camera at the end of the march.

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Labor Day Parade 2010

John Merritt gets the official apwU-ddaL Vehicle ready.

tonya stone and Letter carriers from the Joyfield station. alvin Hall and his son.

andrea and alfreda marching past the Fox with ddaL banner blowing in the wind.

apwU member Johnette Holt’s son smiles while salena looks on.

shuronda, Regina, senator carl Levin, Mar-cus, congressman sander Levin, and alvin take a picture while dana looks on.

ddaL marching strong 2010.Karen, Robin and Vanessa holding up the ddaL banner.

Mrs. Ulmer, bystander, senator stabeinaw and president Ulmer.

MVS Awareness Day

executive Vice president patrick chorno-by, MVs member and Marcus support MVs awareness day.

dana beard joined the MVs craft on their awareness day.

Ladies of the MVs craft. more photos on page 10

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Manuela and other MVs craft employees ask questions of their National officers.

MVs asst. dir. Ray, MVs Nba Merle bell, president Ulmer, MVs dir. branch, Nation-al MVs director pritchard.

seaborn listens along with his fellow MVs members.

National MVs craft asst. director Michael Foster. ddaL secretary-treaurer Jane duggan.

the ddaL Local officers MVs dir. branch, asst dir. Morgan, org. dir. Marcus and Min-gus.

MVS Awareness Daycontinued from page 9

National Convention

Jerome, Liz powell National secretary-treasurer, and Greg.

president burrus, Mrs. burrus and ddaL trustee Manuela.

V. peterson, Jesus Mohammad, and M. smith.

Newly elected president cliff Guffey and president Ulmer. president burrus and Mrs. burrus. president burrus and president Ulmer.

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Filing Of The Proper GrievancesAssistant Clerk Craft Director

Tony CorbinAssistant Clerk Craft Director

Mycurrentnewspaperarticleper-tainstothefilingofpropergrievanc-es.Tobeginwith,thedefinitionofagrievanceasstatedinpartinArticle15, “GRIEVANCE-ARBITRATIONPROCEDURE”, Section 1, underDefinitionintheCollectiveBargain-ing Agreement (CBA): A grievanceis defined as a dispute, difference,disagreementorcomplaintbetween

thepartiesrelatedtowages,hours,andconditionsofemployment. Agrievance shall include,but isnot limited to, the complaint of anemployeeoroftheUnionwhichin-volves the interpretation, applica-tionof,orcompliancewiththeprovi-sionsofthisAgreementoranylocalMemorandumofUnderstandingnotinconflictwiththisAgreement. Themostimportantaspectoffil-inggrievancesisthefollowing:Anyemployeewhofeelsaggrievedmustdiscuss thegrievancewith theem-ployee’s immediate supervisor andanAPWUStewardwithinfourteen (14) days ofthedateonwhichtheemployeeortheUnionfirstlearnedor may reasonably have been ex-

pectedtohavelearnedofit’scause. Moreoftenthannot,themajorityof employees have misconceptionsof the aforementioned fourteen (14)days allotted for the filing ofGriev-ances.Forexample:EmployeeSmithisissuedaLetterofWarning-Attend-anceonSeptember1,2010.Employ-ee Smith files a grievancewith theUniononSeptember12,2010.Whenquestionedwhyhe/orshewaitedap-proximately eleven (11) days afterbeing issued the disciplinary actionto file a grievance, employeeSmithanswers, “I have fourteen (14) daysto file a grievance”; however, whatemployeeSmithneglectedtorealizeisthefactthatsinceeleven(11)ofthefourteen(14)daysallottedinthetime

frametofileagrievancehasalreadyexpired; this leavestheUnionthree(3)remainingdaysinwhichtoholda Step-1 meeting so the grievancewould not be considered UNTIME-LY by POSTAL MANAGEMENT.In addition, once an employee filesa grievance, a Union’s Request forInformation Form is submitted toPostal Management, once received,Managementhasfive(5)days,(some-timeslongerorshorterdependingonwhatisagreedto),tosubmitthere-questedinformationtotheAPWU. So in essence,whenever an em-ployeeisissuedDisciplinaryActionof any sort; needless to say, theyshouldfileagrievanceASSOONASPOSSIBLE.

Stamp out supervisorswho do your work!

If you witness a supervisor performing clerk work, this is a violation of the National Collective Bargaining Agreement Article 1. Section 6.A, which states: Article 1, Section 6. Performance of Bargaining Unit Work A.Supervisorsareprohibitedfromperformingbargainingunitworkatpostofficeswith100ormorebargainingunitemployees,except: 1.inanemergency; 2.forthepurposeoftrainingorinstructionofemployees; 3.toassuretheproperoperationofequipment; 4.toprotectthesafetyofemployees;or 5.toprotectthepropertyoftheUSPS. This means that they cannot: Jog mail, case mail, move GPMCs, load the feeders, sweep mail, carry trays of mail, load/unload mail on conveyor belts or from containers, etc.

Incident Report Nameofsupervisor performingClerkwork:

Dateofincident:

Timeofincident: From: To:

Locationofworkperformed:

Didyounotifythissupervisorthathe/shewasinviolationof YES NO(circle) theNationalAgreementArticle1.6.A?

DescriptionofClerkwork performed:

YourName (printed) Contactinformation (Workand/orCell#)

YourPayLocation/ Station/Facility

Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself! Fill this form out and give it to an APWU steward, fax to 313-532-5433 or mail to:

20530 Southfield Road • Detroit, MI 48235Protect your job! Report all incidents of supervisors doing YOUR job!

Witness

A Humble And Sincere Thank You

Hello membership, I’m writingthis article to introducemyself to

alltheAPWUmembers.MynameisKeithCombsandIwasappoint-edtothepositionofDirectorofHu-man Relations on July 22, 2010.Iwouldliketogiveahumbleandsincere thank you to our LocalPresidentChrisUlmerforconsider-ingandappointingmeforthispo-sition.Iintendtodomyverybestfor each and every member thathas a Human Relation need. Intheseverydifficulttimeswhenwe

havemanymembersdealingwithissues pertaining to injuries andNRP,itisextremelyimportantthatyouthemembernotifyyourUnionassoonasyouhaveanissue.Itis

mybeliefthatmytermherewillbeapleasureaswellaseducational.Iwant tobeginmy termby thank-ingyouallwellinadvanceforyoursupport.

Director ofHuman Relations

Keith CombsDirector ofHuman Relations

At the APWU National Conven-tionheld inDetroit,MIAugust21-27,2010,during theRetireesCon-vention August 21, 2010 thru Au-gust 23, 2010, many resolutionswerepassedaffectingonlyRetirees.Forreasonsunknown,alloftheRe-tirees resolutionswere voted downbytheAPWUgeneralmembership.(NORETIREES).WHY??? With that being said,my articlewillconsistof itemsIrecentlyreadinHealthMagazine.

aLcoHoL aNd tHe bReast Alcohol raises the risk of somebreastcancersandnotothers,saysa new study. Scientists looked atnearly 3,000 womenwho were di-agnosedwithinvasivebreastcancerduring the five year study. Thosewhoconsumed1to7drinksaweekwere 50% more likely to developcancerinthemilkproducinglobulesofthebreastthannondrinkers.Andthosewhodrankatleast14alcohol-ic beverages aweekwere twice aslikely to be diagnosedwith lobular

breastcancerthannoondrinkers. However,drinkerswerenomorelikelythannondrinkerstobediag-nosedwithcancerinthebreast’smilducts.About70%ofallbreastcan-cers are ductal,while only 10% to15%arelobular. Drinkerswerealsomorelikelytohave breast tumors that are sensi-tivetoestrogenthantumorsthatarenot.WHATTODO.Consider limit-ing your alcohol consumption tocurbyourriskofbreastcancer.

VItaMIN d & dIabetes PeoplewithhigherbloodlevelsofvitaminDhadalowerriskofType2diabetesinthelargeststudytolookat the link. Researchers comparedlevelsofvitaminDinbloodsamplestaken in 1990 from roughly 1,200participants in the Nurses’ HealthStudy, half ofwhomwere later di-agnosed with diabetes and half ofwhomwerenot. WomenwiththehighestvitaminDbloodlevels(theyaveraged33ng/mL)werehalfaslikelytogetdiabe-tes as thosewith the lowest levels(they averaged 14 ng/mL). WHATTODO.Scientistwon’t know if vi-taminDlowerstheriskofdiabetesuntillarge-scaletrialscomparingthevitamintoaplaceboaredone.Inthemeantime, it’sworthtaking800to1,000IUadayofvitaminD ifyouareover60and400IUadayifyouareyounger.

Retirees’DepartmentNotes

Al FoucheRetirees’ President

Retirees Department

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Legislative News & ViewsLegislationDirector

Regina ‘Gina’ FavorsLegislation Director

Greetings sisters and brothers. Isincerelyhopethateveryonehasen-joyedasafeandwonderfulsummer.I alsohope that (those of youwhocouldattend)enjoyedtheAPWUNA-TIONAL CONVENTION, especiallythosewhowerefirsttimeattendees.Ialsoattendedtheretiree’sconven-tionandIwon’tduplicatewhatwillbe reported by the retiree director.Therehasbeenalotgoingonsinceourlastpaper.Wehavehadrallies,wehavebeenonradiotalkingaboutsaving Saturday Delivery, we heldourannualpicnic,andtheprimaryelectionsaredoneandbythetimethis paper gets out the Labor DayParadewillhavecomeandgone. Ihopethatyoucameouttosupportyourunionaswellandallof laborwhoputsmuchtimeandeffortintohavingasuccessfulparade.Now itistimetoturnourattentiontotheupcomingelections.Iknowthatit’sbeensaideveryyear(atleastforthelastsixyrs.)thatthiswillprobablybe thee most important electionyet but this timemay tend to thetruest “most important”. This yearwhenyouvote,youmaypossiblybedecidingwhowillcontrolthecoun-try,stateandcountypoliticalsceneforthenextdecade.Thereasonforthis isbecause thepoliticaldistrictboundaries will be redrawn aftertheU.S.Censusnumbersaremadeavailablenextyear.InMichigan,theStateLegislaturedrawsthebound-ariesfortheHouseandSenateSeats,and the party in power controlswherethoseboundariesfall.Duringtheprimaries,someareaslostseatsbecause of re-districting. Please, Iimploreyou,ifyoudonotnormallyvoteintheseelections,changeyourrule.Theseelectionsareas critical

asthePresidentialElection.Also,ifyou supportedPresidentObama in2008,nowmorethaneverheneedsyourcontinuedsupport.WeneedtoKeep,aswellaselectlaborfriendlyrepresentatives, thosewho supportmiddle class, working and jobless,everyday people. There are far toomany who have lost jobs, homes,andtheirfamilyandinsomecasesallhope. During our retiree’s convention,National Legis-lative Director,MykeReidspokewith us aboutthe importancevoting in thiselection cycle.He talked aboutthecampaigntosave Saturdaydelivery, andwhere we areright now. Therallieshavebeengreatbutgettingandkeeping thepublic involvedand aware arekey.We have tremendous supportinthehousebutwecouldusemore.Weneedtokeepcontactingourleg-islatorsandhaveourfamily,friends,churchesetc.dothesame.Wemustcontinuetoletthepublicknowthatthe Postal Service’s projections arenot true and that we are the onlyGovernmentAgencythatisrequiredto pre-fund retiree benefits. MykealsotalkedabouttheGPO(Govern-mentPensionOffset) and theWEP(WindfallEliminationProvision)andhow even though we have Demo-craticcontrol,itisseriouslydoubtfulthatitwillevergetoutofcongress.Oneof themainreasons for this isbecauseitcouldbeextremelycostlyfortheGovernmenttomakeupthedifference or pay their way out of.Butwhileweneverknowwhatmayhappenwe should still continue tostayvigilantandkeepourcongress-personsawareofourfeelingsonthisissue andkeeppressuring them to

MOVETHEBILLS! Another issuewemust fight forissaVING socIaL secURItY. Idon’tknowifanyofyouhavefamilymemberswhohavehadthebenefitofSocialSecurityoryoupersonallyhave benefited from it, but SocialSecurity is definitely needed. Onceagain it is imperative thatweelectthosewhobelieve(aswedo)thatso-cialsecurityisavaluableretirementaidtoallwhocannotordonotretire

with pensionsandor401k.Un-der Social Secu-rity, you EARNTHE RIGHT toparticipate byWORKING ANDCONTRIBUT -ING. It is one ofAmerica’sMOSTeffective, effi-cient intergen-erational socialinsurance pro-grams, says theNCPSSM (Na-tional Commit-tee to Preserve

Social Security and Medicare). So-cial Security provides guaranteedincome to the elderly, disabled,survivorsandfamiliesofthosewhohavePAIDintothesystem.Person-allyIwilltellthatif itwerenotforSocial Security, my Father-in-law,whoworkedmore than fortyyearsatChrysler,wouldbepovertystrick-enwith justhispensionalone.Hismedicine and monthly living ex-pense(whenhewashome)waswaymore than what his pension pro-vided.IamsurethisistrueofmanywhodependontheirSocialSecuritychecks and they have WORKEDandEARNEDthesebenefitsandweshouldfighthardtoinsurethatSo-cialSecuritystaysinplace.TheNa-tionalCommissiononFiscalRespon-sibility andReformwillmore thanlikely be targeting Social Security.This commission is charged withimproving the nation’s fiscal posi-tionandthenewco-chairshavean-nouncedtheirintenttoaimsquarelyat Social Security and Medicare.They say these should be cut be-cause“thatiswherethemoneyis”!Theco-chairsareformerRepublicanSenatorfromWyomingAlanSimp-sonandformerClintonChiefofStaffErskine Bowles. Now, the truth betold,SocialSecurityhasnotcontrib-utedonedimetoournation’sdeficit.TheSocialSecurityTrustFundwasbuiltupinpreparationfortheBabyBoomers retirement.Rightnow,asof today, Social Security is owed$2.6trillionpreviouslyLoaNedtothefederalgovernment.Sonowthebudgethawksarearguingthatthereisnotenoughmoneytopayitbackso their answer is to cut it. Soundfamiliar?Thewealthiesthavetakenfrom and availed themselves of allthatweasworkersandmiddleclasscitizenshavefinallyearnedandnowas with everything else they want

to just cut it, end it all.Whenwillwestandandsay“THAT’SIT,I’VEHAD ENOUGH, I WON’T TAKEITANYMORE”!!!IsaythetimeisNow ! ! !WeneedtostandupforSocial Security, stand up for ourjobs(postalservice),standupforourrights.Don’tcontinuetofallforthehype, we are not bankrupting ourchildren and grandchildren, corpo-rateAmericaandthebigwigCEO’sare. They are getting richer whilewearegettingpoorer.Theyareen-joyingthe“fruitsofOURlaborandwecannotandshouldnotletthemcontinue.Howdowestopthemyouask? We stop them by using ourvoiceandourvoteatthepolls.Westopthembyelectingpersonswhoshare and understand our beliefs,passions andwho understand thatchoicemeans just that! ItdoesnotmeanthatIsupportornotsupportabortion, gay rights, gun rights orwhatever; it justmeans that I sup-portYOURRIGHTTOCHOOSE. Lastly, pleasemake sure that ifyou have moved, you have regis-tered to vote in your new area. Ifyou have not, you have until Oc-tober 2nd to do so. Please do notmake themistakeof thinking thatthiselectioncycleisnotimportant.Do investigate, check, and look atwhat your candidate of choice be-lievesin.IfyouthinkthatRighttoWork isnotan issue, thinkagain.The republican candidate has al-readysaidthathewillsignthebillif it reaches his desk and let metellyou“RighttoWork”does Not guarantee you a job. It doesnotguarantee you a chance for a job.AllRighttoWorkdoesisguaranteeyou a right to work for less ! ! ! Itguaranteesyouarighttoworkfor littleorNObenefitsandnojobsecurity IF you happen to find ajob!!! Understand that a lot is rid-ingontheupcomingelectionsandwhether(ornot)youparticipatedinor listenedto therallyspeechesofRev. Jesse Jackson, Rev.WendellAnthonyandothersornot,wheth-eryouheardanyofthespeechesattheAPWUNationalConventionandrally,whetheryoubelievethisnewsletterornotyourvoteISimportantandmuchneeded.Michiganagainisabattlegroundstateandweneedto keep it BLUE! Please take thetime to volunteer to walk, phonebank,and/orsomehowhelpinthiseffort, talktoyourneighbors, fam-ily, churchmembers and folk youmaymeet in thegrocery storesorwhereveraboutsavingSocialSecu-rityandMedicare,aswellastalkingabout voting and it’s importance.Please get INVOLVED! GET THEFACTS!Youcancall theNCPSSMat 1-800 998-0180 or go online towww.NcpssM.oRG. You mayalsocontactmeforanyfurtherin-formationandforthebillsrelatingtoanyoftheissuesraisedinthisar-ticle. Untilnext issue. . .peace,pros-perityandsolidarity.

New Appointment OfHuman Relations Director

Attention:APWUMembers: InaccordancewiththeAPWU-DetroitDistrictAreaLocalConsti-tution,By-Laws,ArticleVII-DepartmentandAdministrativeOffice,Section3–thefollowingappointmentismade. KeithCombshasbeenappointedastheHumanRelationsDirectorfortheLocal.

New Appointment Of480-481 Director

Attention:APWUMembers: InaccordancewiththeAPWU-DetroitDistrictAreaLocalConsti-tution,By-Laws,ArticleVII-DepartmentandAdministrativeOffice,Section7(K)–thefollowingappointmentismade. SharondaMcCullomhasbeenappointedas the480Director fortheLocal.

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december, 2010 detRoIt postaL woRKeR page 13

Ask The PresidentCommittee Talk – Part 1

In this segment, I sat downwith PresidentUlmerandwediscussedyourcommitteesandhow they serve the membership. Concerningthecommittees,wediscussedthisadministra-tionsgoalsfortherestoftheyearandmovingforwardin2011.Mandatedbytheconstitution,it is important for themembership to under-standwhateachcommitteedoesandhowtheyserveus.Duetospaceconstrictions,thisissuewill focusontheLEGISLATIVECOMMITTEE,the EDUCATION COMMITTEE, and the OR-GANIZATIONCOMMITTEE.Thenext issueofTHE DETROIT POSTAL WORKER will focusontheHUMANRELATIONS,theENTERTAIN-MENT,theRI-399andARCHIVISTcommittee.Wewillbreakdowneachcommitteeseparately.

LeGIsLatIVe coMMIttee

Q. president Ulmer, what is the function and duties of the legislative committee? A. Danny, the main function of the legisla-tive committee is to keep our members abreast and up to date on legislative issues. That enti-tles making sure they are made aware of dif-ferent proposals that would affect the working class and every private citizen. Also, we want to make members aware of “good” candidates and proposals for our cause and make aware-ness of those that are not so good for the mem-bership and the public. We want to make sure our members are legislatively connected, so when they go out and vote they will make an informed vote.

Q. as the president, what are your goals for this committee for the rest of 2010 and moving forward in 2011? A. The goal for 2010 was to try to have a picket every month to let the public know what issues we are dealing with regarding the postal service. The 5-day delivery proposal, the reduced services, etc. It took some time and planning, but we finally did have success-ful pickets keeping members and the public informed. The main goal of the pickets was to make the public aware of the service that the postal service actually gives them. If we don’t do this, the public doesn’t realize what is go-ing on, then the service is gone. We also want the membership to get involved in the pickets and committees. Those were our main goals for 2010 and I think we achieved them. Moving forward in 2011, we want to move

on in the same degree, but on a greater scale. We want more involvement not only on caus-es of our local and our issues, but we want to make sure we’re supportive of other locals and other unions to support their issues. What I find is, the issues that other locals and unions deal with today, we deal with tomorrow. The same goes for us, different issues we deal with today, other locals/unions may deal with to-morrow. Because it all happens one piece at a time. Those will be our goals for 2011, and to get more people involved in our committees’ and have more of a buzz on the workroom floor concerning the committee.

edUcatIoN coMMIttee

Q. Function of this committee? A. The function of the education committee is to make sure our members are well educat-ed. Educated on the contract of our local, the national contract, and educated on issues all around us that they may deal with on a daily basis.

Q. Goals for this committee? A. The number one goal of the education committee is to make sure our members are informed, kept informed and abreast of a host of issues that surround us. Also, we want to get more participation, more involvement from our members. We want to fully educate our members. In 2011, I want to give some type of train-ing to people who just want to know what’s going on and how the contract should work. This training will be for all members, not just for those who may want to be a steward. We want them to be able to say that when some-one says something is wrong, they will be able to say NO! THAT IS WRONG! Our goal is to set up a “weekend education”; schooling for our members. It might be a 3 weekend course at the union office to learn the basis of the contract so they will be educated on the contract. We are at the beginning phase of discussion on the dynamics of this course. More information will be posted at your work-place and in The Detroit Postal Worker. Others might want to get involved in stew-ardship and training is provided for that, but the education committees main issue is to make sure EVERY member on the workroom floor is educated on their rights.

oRGaNIzatIoN coMMIttee

Q. Function of this committee? A. The function of this committee is to make sure the members and our local are organized. What we mean by organized or organizing is that we want 100% of all people employed in the bargaining unit to be members. That is one of the main functions that the Organiza-tion committee goes out and does. They go out there and recruit those people that are not signed up. We have a health plan that has a open sea-son. They go and solicit that health plan to our members and other federal agencies, so that we will have more participation in our federal health plan as well as our local’s plan. Also, the Organization committee plans a Labor Day parade, and different events that

typically goes on a yearly basis that represents labor issues. Those are the basic functions of that committee.

Q. and that entitles the goals of the or-ganization committee for 2011, the Labor day parade and such? A. Well, the main goal will be to get more participation in this committee, to make this committee more visable on certain important issues, and as I said earlier, the real goal is to get more organized and to become 100% organized to make this committee stronger. That is our goal for 2011. One factor of the Organization Committee I forgot to mention is their involvement with the ABA, Accident Benefit Association. The ABA is a member benefit that states when you get in-jured on the job, THAT MEMBER automatical-ly has coverage with accident benefits where they get approximately $13-$15 a day. Over a 30 day period, that is good money if your not receiving a full check. (Danny) Yes, is very important especially in these days where every penny counts.

Q. president Ulmer, in conclusion on part one of this segment, what do you want to say to the members regarding their com-mittees. A. Danny, the committees are mandated by the constitution to serve the membership in the most efficient manner possible. The com-mittees are there for you! We urge the mem-bership to use the committees in any manner that may help them. If you have any ques-tions and/or concerns regarding the commit-tees, contact myself or the staff, officers, stew-ards of The Detroit District Area Local. (Danny)Chris,thankyouforthisimportantinformation, andwewill cover the rest of thecommittees in the next issue of The DetroitPostalWorker. (President Ulmer) Thank you Danny.

Duetolimitedspace,the“AskthePresident”interviewwithPresidentUlmerhasbeenedited.Themostimportantpointshavebeenprinted.AninternetpodcastoftheentireinterviewwillbeavailableonlineinJanaury.Thesecondpartof“CommitteeTalk”willbe inthenext issue.Theassociateeditor. Ifyouhaveanyquestionsforthecolumn“AskthePresident”,emaildsawickieapwudetroit.orgorsenttoDannySawicki,20530SouthfieldRoad,Detroit,MI48235.

Keep up with all the news,

christopher “chris” Ulmer, president

Attend Your Union Meetings!

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“The Local Buzz”

49of50HealthGrades2010BestHospitalsintheAPWUHealthPlanNetwork.GlenBurnie,MD,March04,2010—EveryyearHealthGrades,anindependent healthcare ratings organization, releases a list of thetop50hospitalsinthenation.Hospitalsareratedindependentlyandobjectivelyonarangeofcriteriaincludingdiagnoses,proceduresandpatient-safetymeasures.HealthGrades is theweb leader in doctorandhospitalratingsandisthegotoplaceforpre-visitinformation. Thisyear,49ofthe50hospitalsonthelistareapartofAPWUHealthPlan’sextensivepreferredprovidernetwork.Preferredpro-

by Jane dugganactIVItY coRNeR

In July, we held our annualpicnic at Lower Huron MetroPark.All themembers and theirfamilieswhoattendedhadagreattime.GoldenDental brought outaGoodHumortruckandprovidedawidevarietyoficecreamtreats.Twomemberswonchildren’sbi-cyclesprovidedbyH.A.P. YourEntertainmentCommitteehasstartedmeetingagaintoplanand guarantee the Halloween party, the Stewards’ Apprecia-tionDinnerandtheAnnualAdultChristmas Party. A lot of workgoes into making these eventssuccessful. InAugust,wehostedtheAPWUNational convention.COBOHallwas the convention site for 2419delegatesfrom359locals,50states,Guam, PuertoRico andVirgin Is-lands.Alsoinattendancewere84national officers and five RetireesDepartment delegates. At the Pa-

rade of States, a large contingentofinternationalguestsmarchedatthefrontofthedelegates. Duringtheconvention,twoim-portant things happened awayfrom the main convention floor.Firstofall,ontheweekendbeforethe National Convention started,the Retirees held their biggestever Retirees’ convention. Atthe close of the two day event anumberofpeopleweregivenspe-cialawards—amongthemtwoofourown:AlFoucheandElisabeth“Betty”Littsey.Quiteafewmem-bersofBetty’s familyshowedupto surprise her and witness thiswonderfulevent. Second, at the end of the con-vention,theauxiliaryconcludedseveralmonths of activitywith apresentationtoChildren’s’Hospi-talofMichigan.Theygavethehos-pital a check for $11,000.00 andaveritabletonofstuffedanimals,coloringbooksandothertoysandsuppliesthehospitalhadnotedon

itswishlist. Early last spring, the Auxil-iary came to town to meet withthe hospital’s representativesand Legislative Director, ReginaFavors and Secretary-Treasurer,Jane Duggan. The auxiliary hadasked the local to name a localcharity and Regina was able tosuggest Children’s based on herfamily’sexperiencesthere. Regina’s grand daughter, Fan-chonFavors,waspresent for theeventat the conventionandwastheInspirationfortheAuxiliary’shard work. In fact four genera-tions of the Favors Family werepresentforthepresentation. Onlytwelvedaysafterthecon-vention concluded, we partici-pated in the annual Labor day parade. Our contingent woreblackshirtsdesignedforourcon-vention.We followed the lead ofthe Detroit Symphony Orches-tra unionmembers who led thisyear’smarch.

Following close behind theconvention,MVSheldtheir22nd“MVs awareness day”. Mem-berscameouttomeetwithMVSDirectorPritchard,Asst.MVSDi-rector Michael Foster and MVSNBA Marlie Bell. Nine local offi-cerswere present. After the pre-sentationsandalivelydiscussion,everyonesharedagreatmeal. Ourlocalhostss.o.a.R. (SaveOur Ailing Retirement) once amonth. Also p.o.w.e.R. (PostOffice Women for Equal Rights)meets every month immediatelyfollowing the monthly member-ship meeting. Our retirees meetthethirdSaturdayofeverymonthfrom9-NoonatKerby’sKoneyIs-landat10Mile&Evergreen. In addition to meetings, thehall isusedwithsomeregularityforarbitration.Wearegladtoseeso much activity here. All thesefunctionsgiveusmorereasontoupdate and maintain our build-ing.

The Money You Could Be Saving From Changing From Your Current Health Plan To The 2011 APWU Health PlanOpen Season - Monday, November 8, 2010 through Monday, December 13, 2010

2010 Health Plans COSTS APWU Member APWU Member Savings for Non-APWU PER PAY Savings Savings Represented Employees

PERIOD Per Pay Period Per Year Becoming Associate Members

Basic Health Plans $35 Per Year

APWU Consumer Driven PlanSelf Plan - Bi-Wk APWU Member #474 $7.77 0 0 0Self Plan - Biweekly #474 $24.09Family Plan - Bi-Wk APWU Member #475 $17.48 0 0 0Family Plan - Biweekly #475 $54.19

Blue Cross Blue Shield BasicSelf Plan - Biweekly #111 $32.44 $24.67 $641.41 $182.36Family Plan - Biweekly #112 $75.97 $58.49 $1,520.74 $531.28

GEHA StandardSelf Plan - Biweekly #314 $24.80 $17.03 $442.78 No SavingsFamily Plan - Biweekly #315 $56.39 $38.91 $1,011.66 $22.20

GEHA High Deductable (HDHP)Self Plan - Biweekly #341 $27.24 $19.47 $506.22 $46.90Family Plan - Biweekly #342 $62.22 $44.74 $1,163.24 $173.78

Mail Handlers Consumer OptionSelf Plan - Biweekly #481 $28.24 $20.47 $532.22 $72.90Family Plan - Biweekly #482 $63.99 $46.51 $1,209.26 $219.98

Mail Handlers Value PlanSelf Plan - Biweekly #414 $20.45 $12.68 $329.68 No SavingsFamily Plan - Biweekly #415 $48.76 $32.28 $813.28 No Savings

SAMBA Standard PlanSelf Plan - Biweekly #444 $35.90 $28.13 $731.38 $272.06Family Plan - Biweekly #445 $81.98 $64.50 $1,677.00 $687.54

The Money You Could Be Saving From Changing From Your Current Health Plan To The 2011 APWU Health PlanOpen Season - Monday, November 8, 2010 through Monday, December 13, 2010

2010 Health Plans COSTS APWU MEMBER APWU MEMBER Savings for Non-APWU PER PAY Savings Savings Represented Employees

PERIOD Per Pay Period Per Year Becoming Associate Members

HIGH OPTION HEALTH PLANS $35 Per Year

APWU HIGH OPTION Self Plan - Biweekly #471 $34.13 0 0 0Family Plan - Biweekly #472 $77.17 0 0 0

Compass Rose Health PlanSelf Plan - Biweekly #421 $36.52 $2.39 $62.14 $27.14Family Plan - Biweekly #422 $92.41 $15.24 $396.24 $361.24

Blue Cross Blue Shield StandardSelf Plan - Biweekly #104 $63.81 $29.68 $771.68 $736.68Family Plan - Biweekly #105 $148.70 $71.53 $1,859.78 $1,824.78

Foreign Service Benefit PlanSelf Plan - Biweekly #401 $35.34 $1.21 $31.46 No SavingsFamily Plan - Biweekly #402 $90.81 $13.64 $354.64 $319.64

GEHA Benefit Plan High OptionSelf Plan - Biweekly #311 $58.74 $24.61 $639.86 $604.86Family Plan - Biweekly #312 $141.35 $64.18 $1,668.68 $1,633.68

Mail Handlers Benefit Plan Std.Self Plan - Biweekly #454 $78.85 $44.72 $1,162.72 $1,127.72Family Plan - Biweekly #455 $191.10 $113.93 $2,962.18 $2,927.18

NALC High Option PlanSelf Plan - Biweekly #321 $51.56 $17.43 $453.18 $418.18Family Plan - Biweekly #322 $100.57 $23.40 $608.40 $573.40

Rural Carriers Benefit Plan HighSelf Plan - Biweekly #381 $57.91 $23.78 $618.28 $583.28Family Plan - Biweekly #382 $82.68 $5.51 $143.26 $108.26

SAMBA High OptionSelf Plan - Biweekly #441 $102.15 $68.02 $1,768.52 $1,733.52Family Plan - Biweekly #442 $264.71 $187.54 $4,876.04 $4,841.04

vidernetworksaredesignedtogivemembersthebestcostsavingswhen using an in-network provider. APWU Health Plan is dedi-catedtogivingourmembersaccesstothebestcareavailableandhelpingthemlive lifewell.Living lifewellconsistsofgettingtheregularcareyouneed,prescriptioncoverage,emergencycare,andmaintainingahealthylifestyle. Contact: RockyMidgett,ChiefManagingOfficerAPWUHealthPlan410-424-1500pr-marketing@apwuhp.com open season begins in November 8, 2010 – december 13, 2010.

Open Season Begins November 8, 2010 – December 13, 2010

Page 15: The Detroit Postal Worker December 2010

december, 2010 detRoIt postaL woRKeR page 15

National News That We Need To Know

Call a representative/politi-cian today and tell them to co-sponsor resolution 173 to con-tinue 6-day delivery, our jobs might depend on it!!! Membersareencouraged tocon-tact theirU.S.Representatives andurge themtosupportH.R.5746,abill to restore financial stability tothePostalService. “This crucial legislation is a vi-talsteptowardreturningtheUSPSto solvency,” saidAPWUPresidentWilliamBurrus.Thebill,introducedJuly15byRep.StephenLynch(D-MA), would alter the methodologyfor allocating the Postal Service’sshare of pension costs for employ-eeswhosecareersspanned the for-merPostOfficeDepartmentandtheUSPS.Undercurrentlaw,thecostsaredisproportionatelysplitbetweenthetwo, to thedisadvantageof thePostalService. The bill cleared its first hurdleJuly 21,when itwas approved bytheHousepostaloversightsubcom-

mittee.Whilethe8-1voteinfavorofthelegislationwasanimportantfirststep, it still must be approved bythe fullOversightandGovernmentReformCommitteebeforeitcanbevotedonintheHouse. H.R. 5746 directs the Office ofPersonnel Management (OPM) todetermineiftherehasbeenanover-paymentandtotransferanysurplustothePostalServiceRetireeHealthBenefitsFund.ThistransferoffundswouldalleviateamajorsourceofthePostalService’seconomicproblems. Theobligationtopre-fundfutureretiree health benefits, a provisionofthePostalAccountabilityandEn-hancement Act of 2006, costs theUSPS$5billionannually.Nootherfederal agency or private companybearsthisburden. The pre-funding requirement,combinedwiththeeconomicdown-turn,hasprompted thePostalSer-vice to propose severe cutbacks inservice, such as closing stationsand branches, consolidating instal-

DBARTSTUPAK.....................202225-4735.....................MARQUETTER PETEHOEKSTRA................202225-4401.......................... HOLLANDRVERNONEHLERS................202225-3831.................GRANDRAPIDSRDAVECAMP.........................202225·3561............................MIDLANDR FREDUPTON.......................202225-3761.....................KALAMAZOORMIKEROGERS......................202225-4872............................LANSINGRCANDICEMILLER................202225-4961..........SHELBYTOWNSHIPRT.MCCOTTER......................202225-8171.............................LIVONIADSANDERLEVIN....................202225-4961........................ROSEVILLEDCAROLYNKILPATRICK.......202225-2261............................DETROITDJOHNCONYERS...................202225-5126............................DETROITDJOHNDINGELL....................202225-4071............................DETROIT

lations, and eliminating Saturdaymaildelivery. “Thisbillcouldgoalongwaytoalleviating the Postal Service’s fi-nancialdifficulties,”saidMykeReid,APWU Legislative and Political Di-rector.“Itwouldrelievemuchofthe

pressureontheUSPS—andonus,”hesaid. “We urge unionmembers to getactiverightawayinsupportofthiscruciallegislation.” Thebillcurrentlyhas51co-spon-sors.

Michigan Representatives

Fixing USPS Finances:

Urge Congress To Support H.R. 5746

If the UPSP Eliminates Saturday Mail Delivery . . .

The Postal ServiceWould Fall Apart If congress approves the Usps plan to end saturday mail deliver: • Your service would be at risk. Millions of Americans de-pend on Saturday delivery toreceive prescriptions, checks,newspaper and magazine sub-scriptions, greeting cards, andnoticesfromchurchesandcom-munityorganizations. • High-priced couriers would step in–butonlyinthemost profitable locations. Cus-tomerswouldpaymore–alotmore. • the Usps would be weak-ened–perhapsfatally.ThePost-alservice’sabilitytoserveeveryAmerican at an inexpensive,uniform ratewouldbe compro-

mised. Privatization could soonfollow.

the loss of a national, pub-lic postal system would be bad news for our country and our financial system: The USPS is a powerful en-gine in the nation’s economythat operates a vast network,enabling citizens, businessesand government to communi-catequicklyandinexpensively.

SAvE SATURDAY SERviCE!

Ask Congress to stop theelimination of Saturday deliv-ery.WriteyourU.S.Represent-ativeorcall202-224-3121. For more information, call the American Postal Workers Union at 202-842-4210 or visit www.apwu.org

Guffey Elected President, Bell Wins VPGeNeRaL aNd depaRtMeNts

president cliff “c.J.” Guffey .................... 32,242 Jim“Moose”Musumeci..................10,222RichardD.Cornell............................4,403

executive Vice president Greg bell ................................... 35,050 MarkCase......................................11,579

organization director Martha shunn-King .................. 16,595 MarkDimondstein..........................15,397MoeLepore.......................................9,962KathrynShelleydePoo.....................4,575

Health plan director william “bill” Kaczor ............... 28,411 TerryFinnerty................................17,853

ReGIoNaL cooRdINatoRs southern Region princella Vogel............................. 4,117 TonyMcKinnon................................3,594FrankieSanders................................2,314

cLeRK dIVIsIoNdirectorRob strunk ................................. 21,740DebbySzeredy.................................11,174

NatIoNaL bUsINess aGeNts, ceNtRaL ReGIoNchicago Region (b)Mike o’Hearn ............................... 1,559DaveBaskin.......................................1,282

cincinnati Region (c)Mike schmid ....................................988Randall“Randy”Downard....................826AngelaHoltgrefe...................................442MarkGraham.......................................143

Minneapolis Region (b)Martin J. “Marty” Mater .............. 1,102MarkPietsch.........................................660

MotoR VeHIcLe seRVIce dIVIsIoN directorRobert c. “bob” pritchard (1) ..... 2,605 ThomasMatuszewski.......................1,548

assistant director Michael o. Foster (1) .................. 2,639PhilElefonte......................................1,477

RetIRee NatIoNaL coNVeNtIoN deLeGatescentral Regionbeverly M. shealy (I) ................... 1,949AlLabrecque.....................................1,533

UNcoNtested NatIoNaL oFFIcesGeneral and departmentssecretary-treasurer ..............................

Elizabeth“Liz”Powell(I)

Industrial Relations director ...............MikeMorris

Legislative and political director .........MykeReid(I)

asst Legislative & political director ....StephenA.Albanese(I)

Research and education director .................. JoyceB.Robinson(I)Humans Relations director

SusanM.“Sue”Carney(I)

ReGIoNaL cooRdINatoRscentral Region .......... SharynM.Stone(I)eastern Region ............MikeGallagher(I)Northeast Region ........JohnH.Dirzius(I)western Region ......OmarM.Gonzalez(I)

cLeRK dIVIsIoNassistant director (a) ...........................

Patricia“Pat”Williams(I)assistant director (b) .......... LyleKruethassistant director (c) ............................

LamontAveryBrooksNATiONAl AgENTS, CENTRAl REgiONchicago Region (a) .........LindaTurney(I)chicago Region (c) .. LynnPallas-Brber(I)cincinnati Region (a).............................

RussellP.Bugary(I)cincinnati Region (b) .......... PaulHern(I)Minneapolis Region (a) ...WillieMellen(I)st. Louis Region (a) .RobertD.Kessler(I)st. Louis Region (b) ..........DennisTaff(I)wichita Region (a) .............TomMaier(I)wichita Region (b) ..........ChristinePruitt

MaINteNaNce dIVIsIoNdirector....... StevenG.“Steve”Raymer(I)assistant director (a) .. GaryKloepfer(I)assistant director (b) ............................

Gregory“Greg”See(I)National Representative-at-Large ........

IdowuBalogun(I)NatIoNaL bUsINess aGeNtcentral Region (a). VanceZimmerman(I)central Region (b) Joe“Deam”Hathawaycentral Region (c) ..........TroyRorman(I)Northeast Region ...................................

Richard“Rick”Logan(I)southern Region (b) .TerryB.Martinez(I)western Region (a) ................................

Charles“Chuck”Sundgaard(I)western Region (b) .... JimmieWaldon(I)

MotoR VeHIcLe seRVIce dIVIsIoNNatIoNaL bUsINess aGeNtscentral Region ...............MerlieH.Bell(I)

support services divisiondirector...............................BillManley(I)

otHeR NatIoNaL bUsINess aGeNtsalaskan area ..........JamesM.Patarini(I)pacific area..................NildaR.Chock(I)

Retirees department director ..............JudyBeard(I)

cLIp aNd saVeHand out to friends, family and neighbors. our jobs could de-pend on it!

Page 16: The Detroit Postal Worker December 2010

page 16 detRoIt postaL woRKeR december, 2010

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Next Membership MeetingssUNdaY, NoVeMbeR 14, 2010

sUNdaY, JaNUaRY 9, 2011sUNdaY, FebRUaRY 13, 2011

sUNdaY, MaRcH 13, 20111:00 p.M. - 3:00 p.M.

by cari sawicki Wefinallygotit!!!NicejobbyeveryonebyputtingpressureonCaritogiveouttherecipe.ENJOY! Ingredientsyouneed: 11/2lb.burger 2headslettuce(choppedfinely) 5largetomatoes(chopped) 3greenpeppers(diced) 212oz.cansofdarkredkidneybeans(drained) 2largebagsofDoritos(crushedup) 1packetoftacoseasoning 28oz.bagsofsharpshreddedcheese Brown meat, drain and add taco seasoning, drainagainandletchillinrefrigeratoruntilitiscold. Inlargepanmixallingredients. Asforthespecialsauce,Istillcan’tgiveuptherecipe.ButifyougotoKrogersandbuytheirbrandofdressing“Bacon&HoneyFrench”youcannottellthedifference.Usethree16oz.bottlesofdressing. If you would like to submit a easy, delicious recipe, please let me know. Danny.

Terrific Taco Salad

With Deepest Sympathy The APWU offers our deepest sympathies to the families of the fol-lowing postal employees who have passed away. DebraWillispassedawayonOctober18,2010 WilliamE.CallumpassedawayonOctober12,2010 CharlotteCrowderpassedawayonAugust8,2010 KeithChamberspassedawayonJuly16,2010

We would like to express our condolences to the following employ-ees on their loss of a love one; StacyCarr GwendolynD.Farrell DeleciaParker DonnaMarieWhite EurisiaShields JeanWilliams CynthiaGooden FaridaJenkins JackieJenkins DavidRush MichelleThomas MarieRobinson MaryJozwiak ConnieBeauford

Our condolences to the families of retired employees; LeroyDeramus MamieEvans MaryIverson JohnUchwart HankWarren

We apologize if there are any employees that we may have overlooked. For those we have missed, please call me so we can honor them in the next issue.

— Bereavement Leave — APWU represented employeesmayuseatotalofuptothreework-days of annual leave, sick leave orleavewithoutpay,tomakearrange-ments necessitated by death of afamilymemberorattendthefuneralof a familymember. Authorizationof leave beyond three workdays issubject to the conditions and re-

quirementsofArticleoftheNationalAgreement, Subsection 510 of theEmployee and Relations ManualandtheapplicableLocalMemoran-dumofUnderstandingprovisions.

deFINItIoN oF FaMILY MeMbeR

(a)SonorDaughter–abiologi-cal or adopted child, stepchild,

daughter-in-law or son-in-lawforsister-in-law,or (b)spouse; (c)Parent;or (d)Sibling–brother, sister,brother-in-lawor sister-in-law,or (e)Grandparent Use of Sick Leave for em-ployeesoptingtouseavailablesick leave, the leave will becharged to sick leave for de-pendentcare,ifeligible.

docUMeNtatIoN Documentation evidencingthe death of the employee’s

family member is required onlywhenthesupervisordeemsdocu-mentation desirable for the pro-tectionoftheinterestofthePost-alService. The Joint Contract Interpre-tation Manual (JCIM) furtherstates: Note: As a point of clarifica-tion,thein-lawsreferencedintheMOUappliestochildren, includ-ing adopted, children, stepchil-drenandspousesthereof,spouseandparentthereof;andbrothersandsistersandspousesthereof.

—reprinted, Flash Report

by christopher Ulmer, president attention apwU Members: Everymonth,Representatives fromtheLawofficeofRobertD.StarkmanwillbeattheunionofficetoprovideFREElegaladvicetoourMembers. IfanyMemberisexperiencinganylegalmatters,orhaveques-tions,pleasecall theunionofficeat313-532-9305 toscheduleanappointmenttomeetwithanAttorney.Also,callfordatesandtimes. ThisconsultationwiththeAttorneyisprovidedfreetoourMem-bers.Iencourageeveryonetotakeadvantageofthisvaluableserv-ice.InUnionSolidarity.

FREE Legal Consultation

Attend Union

Meetings!


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