"Monthly Membership Meeting"
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NOTICE TO INJURED EMPLOYEES
EEOC Decision is Final: National Reassessment Program (NRP) Discriminated Against Injured Workers The time is now for all current and former permanent-rehabilitation and limited-duty postal employees who were subjected to the USPS National Reassessment Process (NRP) between May 5, 2006 and July 1, 2011 to file a timely claim with the Postal Service to seek monetary damages and other relief. POWER POINT PRESENTATION BY ATTORNEY JERMAINE WATSON QUESTIONS & ANSWERS HOW TO STATE A CLAIM REPRESENTATION COME JOIN US FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 2018 @ 11:00 A.M. AND SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2018 @ 11:00 A.M. 2010 POSTAL WAY DALLAS, TX 75212 CAUTION: The APWU makes no representation about the accuracy or quality of the information being provided by the law firm. The claim form provided by the law firm commits claimants to being represented by these attorneys. Claimants should carefully review the terms of the retainer agreement, including how their chosen representative is paid. Claimants are not required to use a lawyer to make a claim. The APWU cannot endorse the use of any law firm to submit their claims and cannot give legal advice on making claims to the Postal Service or whether to retain legal assistance for any part of the claim process. Lawmakers call for federal probe of postal time card fraud
By: Eric Rasmussen , Erin Smith Updated: Jan 24, 2018 U.S. representatives Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch say nearly 100 post office managers are suspected of cheating employees out of overtime pay, according to a letter dated Nov. 30 they sent to the USPS Inspector General. It’s unclear why Boston managers would doctor postal workers’ time cards, but a similar scandal surfaced in 2016 at USPS facilities in Richmond, Virginia. In the Richmond case, postal managers got bonuses in exchange for keeping overtime costs down, according to a pending federal lawsuit. Now Capuano and Lynch are calling for a federal investigation of time card fraud in Boston. 25 Investigates obtained letters from Capuano and Lynch – sounding the alarm to the USPS Inspector General as early as August. Postal employees “were surprised to find several minutes of unpaid leave on their time sheets for times they were actually working, or would have had no reason to punch out,” Capuano and Lynch wrote in a letter dated Aug. 15. The two congressmen followed up with another letter to the USPS Inspector General on Nov. 30, citing “a sense of urgency” to investigate the matter. The letter also cited that postal union leaders had identified more than 7,000 cases of “time manipulations” in less than three years, resulting in nearly 4,000 missing work hours with 97 managers and supervisors suspected of cheating the system. In statements to Boston 25 News, both Capuano and Lynch said the USPS Inspector General’s Office told them it had launched an investigation earlier this month. But 25 investigates discovered the inspector general has yet to open an official investigation. A spokeswoman for the postal inspector general's office said its auditors are still researching the complaint in a “fact-finding process” and it will be weeks before the agency decides whether to launch its own investigation or open the books at Boston area post offices. “Based on the new information that we received from Representatives Michael Capuano and Stephen Lynch, we are actively considering work to look into the possibility of a broader or systemic issue around unauthorized timecard manipulation,” said a spokeswoman for the USPS Inspector General. “We will know in the next few weeks what that body of work will entail.” The spokeswoman could not say why the decision to open an investigation or audit would take months. Statement from U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D- Boston) “After learning about troubling reports of manipulated time cards at USPS locations in Massachusetts, Congressman Capuano and I called on the Office of the Postal Inspector General to investigate these allegations. I have been informed that, as a result of our request, a full investigation involving multiple locations is in progress. Once that investigation is complete, any person suspected of illegal activities will be prosecuted by executive branch authorities. In the meantime, my office will continue to provide any useful information to the appropriate investigators to ensure a thorough and timely investigation into this matter.” Statement from U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Somerville) “I was troubled when postal employees brought their concerns about manipulated time cards to my attention and I have been working with Congressman Lynch to address this matter. We have been told by the Office of the Postal Inspector General that an investigation has begun, which we expect will be thorough and deliberate. We will closely monitor this investigation to be sure that the issues raised by the employees are resolved with appropriate action.” © 2018 Cox Media Group CALL 844-402-1001 to tell your Member of Congress How You Really Feel About the House Budget
Say NO to Moving the Postal Service “On Budget” The Postal Service currently operates “off budget” and relies solely on the sale of postage and other postal services for funding. Moving the Postal Service “on budget” would severely hinder Postal operations and is an obvious attempt to move the Postal Service closer to privatization. Moving the Postal Service “on budget” could: • Put caps on Postal Service spending—By dictating how the Postal Service can spend its money, the government can prevent them from using their funds to provide improved services and invest in infrastructure. • Subject the Postal Service to Federal shutdowns Oppose Cuts to Pay and Retirement Benefits The House 2018 Federal Budget calls for: • Increasing employee pension contributions into the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). This could result in a pay-cut of thousands of dollars a year for each FERS postal employee. • Ending the Social Security supplement currently covering the gap in FERS benefits for those who retire before they are eligible for social security benefits. • Eliminating pensions for new hires. There is also a concern that Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) on FERS retirement benefits will be eliminated and COLAs on current civil service retirees will be reduced, as previously proposed by the White House. TO ALL, USPS HAS CANCELED ALL LETTERS DATED JULY 12, 2017 ISSUED TO THE 185 EMPLOYEES FROM THESE FACILITIES:
1. ADDISON 2. CARROLLTON 3. FRISCO 4. GARLAND 5. IRVING 6. LANCASTER 7. TERRELL 8. WILLS POINT 9. DALLAS NDC 10. NORTH TEXAS P&DC 11. DALLAS APWU FROM THE NATIONAL TO LOCAL LEVEL FOUGHT TO STOP THIS MADNESS. DON'T THINK FOR A SECOND THAT MANAGEMENT WILL NOT TRY AGAIN. MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS AT HQ LEVEL, THEIR MAIN AGENDA IS REDUCING THE CLERK CRAFT STAFFING BASED ON FAKE PROGRAMS CALLED "DASHBOARD COMPLEMENT AND JOB BID MANAGEMENT". THE LOCAL UNION HAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO FILE GRIEVANCES ON THE EXCESSING FOR THE NEED OF THE SECTIONS, ABOLISHING JOBS AND REPOSTING. To ALL CLERK CRAFT EMPLOYEES
June 14, 2017 Brothers and Sisters, The long-expected USPS Excessing outside the Installation, Reversion and excessing for the need of the sections has begun in bits and pieces nationwide, with Nine (11) Installations in our local now being identified as impacted office. Management intended to Excess outside the Installation 180 Full Time Clerk Craft Employees from these offices by September 16, 2017. These are the offices so far Identified as Impacted; Addison, Dallas, Frisco, Garland, Irving, Lancaster, Terrell, Dallas NDC, NTX P&DC, Willis Point, Carrollton. Postal Service is being arbitrary and capricious in the manner they are reverting/abolishing duty assignment in an effort to circumvent the Collective Bargaining Agreement rather than posting the positions for Career employees first and convert the PSE to Career and placed them into the residual vacancies. This is the game USPS Official at the HQ level have been playing every 3-4 years, the only difference is the name, this time, management using these Two application so called Workforce Dashboard application and Bid management, even though they don’t admitted that they are using this application for excessing, reversion purposes, they are using the same generic wording they have used in past such as “the decrease workload reduction in staffing resulting in changes in operation” In order to excess employees outside the Installation Management must follow the CBA. The question is, are these Installations over staffed? Every one of you knows that there are not enough clerks in those Nine (9) facilities, as a result of that management officials are harassing employees, denying annual leave, management officials are working bargaining unit work and employees are forced to work on DBCS alone. Understaff limit the ability to serve the customers and grow the business. Reducing staff makes existing employees responsible for more work, and increased workload adds stress to complete work and meet performance expectations. Increased stress lowers morale and employee job satisfaction, takes a toll on an employee’s mental and physical health and can increase time needed off work. Some of you are experiencing uncertainty of your job and a large number of our members will be impacted as a result of excessing including PSE’s whom work hours will be reduced. Upper management officials are not concerned about their employees, their goal is to reduce work hours at the expense of Bargaining Unit Employees. The following contractual language regarding excessing can be found in the CBA. • Meetings with the union at the area/regional level are required no less than 90 days (six months if possible) in advance of any anticipated reassignments from an installation under Article 12. In such case, the union will be advised of the following: 1. The anticipated impact, by craft. 2. The installations with available residual vacancies for the employees to be reassigned. 3. When a new installation is involved, the new installation’s anticipated complement by tour and craft. The above information must be updated periodically and provided to the union at the area/regional level. PROPOSED EXCESSING Field managers and/or supervisors should not discuss with bargaining unit employees proposed excessing outside the craft or installation until the area/regional parties have held their discussions. This should prevent employees from receiving erroneous information from management or the union, and control the appropriate flow of information. We will keep you informed as we meet and discuss with management officials at the area level. We will use all available resources at our disposal in addition to filing grievances, we will inform the public through Informational picketing at various stations, social media and all Media outlets i.e., print and broadcast, Contact State and Federal officials to stop these blatant violation of the CBA, I can assure you, we will prevail on these grievances. The buck does not stop here. The Arbitrators have the final say so. In closing, we as postal workers and union members need to work together to fight injustices. We need to stop bashing each other and the union that is working for us. We need to redirect our displeasure and criticism towards the people who are truly trying to destroy us. Yours In Union Solidarity! Yared Wonde “Robbing workers to pay the rich, this budget is Robin Hood in reverse.”
White House Budget Proposals Slash Postal Workers’ Pay and Benefits What can you do? Click Here 
Human Relations Project
We are asking all Locals in the State of Texas to participate in our Human Relations Project at the State Convention on June 9, 2017. To make this a successful event we need all of our Members here in the Dallas Area Local to participate. We are asking you to fill a quart size zip lock bag with as many of the following items as it will hold. If you work in one of the large facilities, turn in your donations to the Union Office to one of the Stewards or drop them off at the Union Office. If you need someone to pick them up call Jenifer Fulbright at 214 725-9441 or Angela Ellington at 214 529-4899 and we will work with you to retrieve those. These bags will be donated to a Local Church to be distributed by their Homeless Ministry. These are the items we need you to put in your bags: Toothbrush, tooth paste, mini deodorant, hand sanitizer, hand wipes, chap stick, socks, fruit cups, peanut butter crackers, tuna/chicken salad, plastic spoon, any small non-perishable food items, and bottle water. We need all bags in house by Monday, June 5, 2017 "SRT Positions assigned to Clerk Craft"
After extensive discussions, the parties were not able to agree to a financial remedy and the case has been rescheduled before Arbitrator Goldberg, who retained jurisdiction on the financial remedy for April 19th-20th. The Postal Service was required to cease and desist the violation of assigning injured employees to the SRT and that violation is ongoing and still a subject of the continuing violation for the financial remedy. The USPS will be eventually assigning those employees utilizing Section 546 of the ELM. The APWU position is that they still have to abide by Article 37.3.A.1 and the Rehabilitation MOU. Arbitrator Goldberg ordered the following directives in his award (attachment #3): 1.Cease and desist from the violations of the National Agreement found in this case; 2. Assign SRT positions to Clerk Craft employees; 3. Post SRT work assignments for bid by clerks without delay. The Postal Service was required to post the SRT duty assignments for bid for the clerk craft within the installation. Page four of the first attachment lists the following information as of 2/24/2017:
As a result of the notice to the APWU, a meeting was requested and the following was resolved:
On March 3, 2017, the national APWU was provided a copy of the job posting dates and award dates for each SRT site (attachment #5) The other issue unresolved is the identification of the standard position description and the pay levels of the duty assignments in the SRT. We will be filing a national dispute over the USPS identification of the duty assignments as Customer Care Agent Tier-1 (level-6) via their notice to the APWU dated February 10, 2017 (attachment 2) and their unilateral change to already existing standard position description only authorized only in Customer Care Center (Corporate Call Centers in the Clerk Craft Jobs MOU). Those sites are only located in Troy, Los Angeles, Edison (Kilmer) and Wichita. The Postal Service stated they mirrored these jobs only to expedite the posting of the assignments. APWU takes the position that the standard position description should have been based on the duties that established the SRT modified assignments. We are also reserving the right to challenge the levels of the pay based on the duties expected to be performed. The duty assignments should have been posted as some form of Sales Retention Team Agent. In the event the pay levels are challenged and the APWU is successful, Article 37.3.A.9 is applicable. It is very important that this information is shared with your members so that they can make informed decisions. 
The Staples boycott is over!
Postal management informed the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) in writing that the “Approved Shipper” program in Staples stores will be shut down by the end of next month, concluding our three-year struggle. I salute and commend you along with every other member and supporter who made this victory possible. I never doubted that if we stayed the course, stuck together and kept the activist pressure on, we would win this fight. This is a victory for all the people of this country who have the right to good quality, secure, and public postal services. It also helps stop the transfer of good living-wage union jobs to low-wage jobs and thwarts postal privatization efforts. I also applaud the many local and state organizations that joined in the fight; allies who honored the Staples boycott; our retiree and auxiliary chapters who stepped up with enthusiasm; APWU National officers and staff who stayed the course; and especially the many Stop Staples activists, active and retired, career and non-career, who worked day-in and day-out to see this struggle through and were the heart and soul of the campaign. A job well-done! In Solidarity, Mark Dimondstein, APWU President New Pay Rates to Take Effect Aug. 6 Retroactive Pay Expected Nov. 4
WEB NEWS ARTICLE #: 150-201607/23/2016 According to information provided by the Postal Service, the new pay rates under the new APWU-USPS contract will begin on Aug. 6 (Pay Period 17) and will be reflected in paychecks dated Aug. 26, APWU President Mark Dimondstein has announced. Retroactive pay for the period from Nov. 14, 2015, through Aug. 4, 2016, are expected in Pay Period 22, with an expected pay date of Nov. 4, 2016. We Have a New Union Contract!
The Full arbitration award available in APWU website. WEB NEWS ARTICLE #:140-201607/08/2016 - The big news is in – 200,000 postal workers represented by the APWU have a new union contract! On July 8th, Arbitrator Stephen Goldberg issued his arbitration award that sets the wages, hours and conditions of employment in our new union contract. This award concluded a two-year struggle for “Good Service, Good Jobs, Good Contract” that included contract negotiations, mediation, arbitration hearings – and solidarity actions on work floors and in communities around the country. “We have gained many positive results in these difficult times,” APWU President and lead negotiator Mark Dimondstein said. “We, as a union, should be proud of the results. We made some real progress on most of our major goals. We gained an all-career workforce in our Maintenance and Motor Vehicle Crafts. We secured real general wage increases. We preserved our COLA and no lay-off protections. We strengthened conversion opportunities for PSEs and improved PSE wages and benefits. We strengthened job security by limiting subcontracting, particularly in relation to MVS. We achieved a temporary moratorium on new plant closings and consolidations. We laid the basis for better protecting retail services and for expanding postal services. While we were unable to stop management’s demand that employees pay a greater share of health insurance premiums, we successfully fought back the main concessionary demands of postal management-- for increased percentages of non-career employees, a new tier of lower- paid career employees, the elimination of COLA and the weakening of our no layoff protection.” Below is a summary of the main highlights of the new award. (for a full copy click here) All provisions of the previous contract that remain unchanged carry forward into our new contract including seniority and bidding rights, the grievance procedure, protection against unjust discipline, annual and sick leave, holiday and overtime pay and all the other important union benefits we have won over many decades of struggle. Length of the Agreement May 21, 2015 - September 20, 2018 (40 months) Career Employee General Wage Increases There will be across-the-board pay increases of 3.8% for career employees over the life of the Agreement:
The COLA for career employees is maintained under the current formula. Cost of living adjustments will be made in March and September of each year of the Contract. PSE Wage Increases PSEs (who do not receive COLA raises) will receive wage increases as follows:
The no lay-off protections of Article 6, for employees with more than six years of service, remain in full force. In addition, no lay-off protection is extended to all career employees who are on the rolls as of July 8, 2016. This protection covers the 32,000 postal workers recently converted to career who have not yet achieved the six year threshold of no lay-off protection. Job Security Provisions
Preference Eligible Veteran hiring will be greatly enhanced with the creation of the all- career workforce in the Maintenance and MVS Crafts where Veterans will now be hired directly into career positions. Career Employee Health Benefits The Health Plans and benefits for career employees remain in effect. Over the next three years, the employees’ portion of the health premium will increase 1% a year. For the APWU Consumer Driven Health plan, the Postal Service will continue to pay 95% of the premium. PSE Health Benefits and Holiday Leave Pay
During the life of the CBA, no employees can be excessed beyond a 50 mile radius. Bereavement Leave Clarification on expanded bereavement leave coverage to “in-laws.” Enhanced and Expanded Services Parties established a joint Service Enhancement and Innovation Task Force authorized to discuss research, and consult experts with a goal of agreeing to programs including pilots to implement agreed upon services and practices. At least one pilot program must be implemented within 12 months. Uniform and Work Clothes for Eligible Career Employees Allowances for uniform and work clothing programs will be increased
PSEs employed in retail for the first time will receive an annual uniform allowance for three shirts, subject to the normal eligibility requirements. Clerk Craft
LABOR TALK
"While the U.S. Postal Service is obviously not a product of the New Deal, that same conservative agenda is behind the attack on the Postal Service we're witnessing today. Cutting the workforce, closing post offices and plants, and moving toward privatization through outsourcing and divestiture of assets--these are all part of an effort to shape the postal system in ways that serve the interests of an elite business class rather than the good of the country as a whole. The free-market ideology and greed for profits that drove efforts to undo the New Deal are basically what's driving the 'postal reform' movement today." Source: Historian Kim Phillips-Fein In her book ~ Invisible Hands: The Businessmen’s Crusade Against the New Deal 
APWU Family day and Mortgage Burning event was a success, those that came out to the celebration had a good time, thanks to the Members, Officers and Vendors for making the celebration a success.
Click here to see pictures of the event. 
Fired Up and Ready to Go!
Day of Action Kicks Off APWU President Mark Dimondstein at the National Day of Action event in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Post Office in Washington, DC “Are you fired up? Are you ready to go?” That’s the question APWU Secretary-Treasurer Liz Powell asked dozens of supporters who kicked off the May 14 National Day of Action in front of the post office on 14th and L Streets in Washington, DC – just one week before the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires. Read full Article 
Dallas Area Local members standing up and fighting back 05/14/2015
Contract negotiations are set to begin on Feb.19, 2015, and APWU members across the country are busy preparing. At the national level, officers have been studying data, weighing input from union members, plotting strategy, and honing contract proposals.
But to win a good contract, we will need support from union members across the country, as well as from the people we serve. Here’s what you can do: Feb. 19, 2015: On the opening day of negotiations, wear stickers and union T-shirts, caps and other gear as a show of solidarity. Stickers have been mailed to local and state presidents for distribution. Today and every day: Join your local or state Contract Action Team (CAT) to help share information with union members throughout negotiations and spread the word about upcoming activities. If there’s no CAT in your area, help your local president form one! Every APWU member can and should get involved. Take the message to your family, friends and neighbors. In solidarity, Mark Dimondstein, APWU President Follow-Up Statement to APWU Members from President Mark Dimondstein
Re: New Revelations on USPS Cyber Security Breach 11/20/2014 New revelations about the security breach in the Postal Service’s data systems are raising additional concerns about this very troubling incident. The APWU remains fully committed to protecting the rights of our members and demanding information from the USPS about what management knew and when they knew it. Unfortunately, it appears the breach was worse than originally thought. Apparently, information regarding OWCP records that were shared with the Department of Labor exposed medical records, bank account and routing information for tens of thousands of employees and retirees. The Postal Service plans to issue follow-up letters to those impacted by the latest findings shortly. Because the Postal Service has refused to bargain in good faith and continues to take unilateral action in response to the data breach, the APWU is pursuing the unfair labor practice we filed on Nov. 10 with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) and the National Rural Letter Carriers (NRLCA) have also filed charges. The APWU is committed to protecting the rights of our members and will do whatever is necessary to make sure our members are protected and made whole for any damages suffered as a result of the security breach – now and in the future. We are working with our sister unions to ensure that postal employees and retirees receive the information you need and that every effort is made to protect you. I will continue to be personally involved and will keep you posted as more information is obtained. Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service!
Today, the American Postal Workers Union and more than 60 national organizations have come together in A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service! OUR MISSION A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service The United States Postal Service is a wonderful national treasure, enshrined in the Constitution and supported by the American people. Without any taxpayer funding, the USPS serves 150 million households and businesses each day, providing affordable, universal mail service to all – including rich and poor, rural and urban, without regard to age, nationality, race or gender. The U.S. Postal Service belongs to “We, the People.” But the USPS and postal jobs are threatened by narrow monied interests aimed at undermining postal services and dismantling this great public institution. Even some postal executives have been complicit in the drive toward the destruction of the Postal Service and ultimate privatization: They have slowed mail service, closed community based Post Offices and mail processing facilities, slashed hours of operations, tried ceaselessly to end six-day service as well as door to door delivery, and eliminated hundreds of thousands of living wage jobs. Good postal jobs are vital to strong, healthy communities, and have provided equal opportunities and the foundation for financial stability for workers from all walks of life, including racial and ethnic minorities, women and veterans. Postal services are essential to commerce and bind together families, friends and loved ones. In the day of e-commerce, a public postal service is as relevant as ever. Yet those corporate forces who want to privatize public services allege that curtailing postal services and eliminating jobs are necessary due to diminishing mail volume and “burdensome” union wages and benefits. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, a Congressionally-manufactured USPS “crisis” imposed an unfair crushing financial mandate on the Postal Service that no other government agency or private company is forced to bear. (The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 compels the USPS to pay approximately $5.5 billion per year to fund future retiree healthcare costs 75 years in advance.) Without this unreasonable burden, the USPS would have enjoyed an operating surplus of $600 million in 2013 and over $1.4 Billion in 2014. The people of this country deserve great public postal services. We advocate expanded services, such as non-profit postal banking and other financial services. We call on the Postmaster General and Postal Board of Governors to strengthen and champion the institution. The public good must not be sacrificed for the sake of private investment and profit. A strong public Postal Service is our democratic right. Join us in the fight to protect and enhance vibrant public postal services now – and for many generations to come.
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