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The Postal Service Wants To Make Deep Cuts To Worker Benefits, Internal Plan Shows
 June 18, 2019 --
The U.S. Postal Service wants Congress to help it make significant cuts to employee benefits as part of a plan to balance the agency’s books, according to a draft business plan HuffPost obtained.
The proposal would save an estimated $18 billion on employee compensation over a decade by shaving paid leave, raising workers’ share of pension contributions, and shifting new employees into less secure 401(k)-style retirement plans.
The change to pension contributions would amount to a cut in take-home pay for hundreds of thousands of workers, while saving the agency nearly $7 billion. And while excluding new employees from a pension plan is common practice for private corporations these days, it would mark a significant shift for a federal-sector job long seen as a steppingstone to the middle class.
The change in employee leave policy would combine vacation with sick days, likely resulting in fewer overall days off for workers. That element is estimated to save the agency more than $5 billion.
The proposals obtained by HuffPost were marked as preliminary and subject to change. The postmaster general, Megan Brennan, is expected to present a business plan to the House Oversight Committee this summer
12       Union Meeting & Dates to Know for 2016
  1. February 10, 2019 - Regular Union Meeting @ 2 pm.  
  2. April 14, 2019 - Regular Union Meeting      @ 2 pm  Nominations of Officers
  3. May 19, 2019 Special Union Meeting
  4. ​June 09, 2019 - Regular Union Meeting     @ 2 pm.
  5. August 11, 2019 - Regular Union Meeting @ 2 pm.
  6. October 20, 2019 - Regular Union Meeting @ 2 pm.
  7. December 6, 2019 Christmas Dinner 6am to 6pm
  8. December 08, 2019 - Regular Union 
Union Membership on the Rise
This article first appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) 
By Research & Education Department Director Joyce B. Robinson
According to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, membership in labor unions rose by about a quarter million this year. In 2017, 7.2 million employees in the public sector belonged to a union, compared with 7.6 million workers in the private sector. Although the union membership rate for private-sector workers increased by 0.1 percent, their unionization rate continued to be lower than that for public-sector workers (6.5 percent versus 34.4 percent).
Data Highlights:
  • Workers in protective service occupations and in education, training, and library occupations had the highest unionization rates (34.7 percent and 33.5 percent, respectively).
  • Men had a higher union membership rate (11.4 percent) than women (10.0 percent). However, the gap between their rates has narrowed since 1983 (the earliest year for which comparable data is available), when the rate for men was 24.7 percent and women was 14.6 percent.
  • Black workers had a higher union membership rate (12.6 percent) than workers who were White (10.6 percent), Asian (8.9 percent), or Hispanic (9.3 percent).
  • Union membership rates were highest among workers aged 45 to 64.
  • Union membership among full-time workers was higher (11.8 percent) compared to part-time workers (5.7 percent).
  • Median weekly earnings for non-union workers were 80 percent of earnings for union member workers ($829 versus $1,041).
  • New York continued to have the highest union membership rate (23.8 percent), while South Carolina continued to have the lowest (2.6 percent), though it is an increase from 1.6 percent in 2016.
Industry and Occupation of Union Members
  • Within the public sector, the union membership rate was highest in local government (40.1 percent), which employs many workers in heavily unionized occupations, such as teachers, police officers and firefighters.
  • Private-sector industries with high unionization rates included utilities (23.0 percent), transportation and warehousing (17.3 percent), telecommunications (16.1 percent), and construction (14.0 percent). Low unionization rates occurred in finance (1.1 percent), food services and drinking places (1.4 percent), and professional and technical services (1.7 percent).
  • Among occupational groups, the highest unionization rates were in protective service occupations (34.7 percent) and in education, training, and library occupations (33.5 percent). Unionization rates were lowest in sales and related occupations (3.2 percent); farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (3.4 percent); food preparation and serving related occupations (3.8 percent); and in computer and mathematical occupations (3.9 percent).
Union Membership by State
  • States in the East South Central and West South Central divisions had union membership rates below the national average, while states in the New England, Middle Atlantic, and Pacific divisions had rates above it. Union membership rates increased over the year in 25 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 21 states, and were unchanged in 4 states.
  • Nine states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent, with South Carolina having the lowest rate (2.6 percent). The next lowest rates were in North Carolina (3.4 percent) and Utah (3.9 percent). Two states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent: New York (23.8 percent) and Hawaii (21.3 percent).
  • The largest numbers of union members lived in California and New York. Over half of the 14.8 million union members in the U.S. lived in seven states (California, 2.5 million; New York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 0.8 million; Michigan and Pennsylvania, 0.7 million each; and New Jersey and Ohio, 0.6 million each), though these states accounted for only about one-third of wage and salary employment nationally. 
Excerpts in this article are from the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
               Pat Davis Scholarship
 The requirements for one of the two $750.00 scholarships are listed below. Completed applications must be received no later than the second Sunday in June of the year applied for. You may pick up, call and request an application with rules and regulations be sent to you, &/or download it from our website. REMEMBER ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN THE SECOND SUNDAY IN JUNE FOR CONSIDERATION. Completed applications can be mailed to “The Scholarship Committee, Dallas Area Local, APWU, 2010 Postal Way, Dallas, TX 75212. You can also walk in your application within the time limit specified.  Read more
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           The US Mail is not for sale
  Postal Clerk's union president Yared Wonde said that he was very pleased with their action at the Staples store at I-30 and Cockrell Hill Road on April 24. The letter carriers came out strong, as did the AFL-CIO, Transport Workers, Jobs with Justice, Texas Alliance for Retired Americans, and others. Both Spanish TV stations and the Dallas Morning News covered it.
USPS SLASHES MAIL SERVICE STANDARDS
On January 5, 2015 the United States Postal Service took the unwarranted step to degrade mail service standards, virtually eliminating overnight delivery of first-class mail and periodicals nationwide. This action, Phase Two of the USPS Network Rationalization Plan, further delays America's mail, enables the closure of up to 82 mail processing plants, and threatens up to 15,000 jobs. While the USPS recently postponed further closures until 2016, the drastic slowdown in mail processing and delivery continues unabated. Read More
2019 Elected Officers, Business Agents and Delegates
                                               CELEBRATION OF LIFE EVENT 10/20/2018
We're overjoyed you made it to our event. It was wonderful to see you and we really appreciate you coming out to be there with us. Thanks!!!
Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee Convenes
WEB NEWS ARTICLE #: 
45-2018 05/02/2018 
Members of the Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee. L-R: Yared Wonde, Dallas Area Local; Tiffany Foster, New York Metro Area Postal Union; Daleo Freeman, Cleveland Area Local; Robert Johnson, Greater Connecticut Area Local; Fred Wolfmeyer, St. Louis Gateway District Area Local; Scott Hoffman, Boston Metro Area Local; Doris Orr-Richardson, Florida Postal Workers Union; Arrion Brown, Nation’s Capital Southern Maryland Area Local; Roscoe Woods, 480-481 Area Local; Ashley Cargill, Oklahoma Postal Workers Union; Sandra Munoz, Broward County Area Local (FL); Arthur “A.J.” Jones, Eastern Montgomery County PA Area Local. Not pictured are Aulby Gillett, San Angelo Local (TX), and Timothy Maynard, San Fernando Valley Area Local (CA)
 
 Members of the APWU’s Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee held their first meeting in Washington, DC, on April 24. The committee advises the union’s National Negotiations Committee on bargaining demands and must approve any tentative agreement reached before it can be sent to APWU members for a ratification vote.  During deliberations the committee heard presentations from APWU President Mark Dimondstein, Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman, and Craft Directors Clint Burelson, Steven Raymer, Michael Foster, and Steve Brooks about preparations for the 2018 contract negotiations. Throughout the meeting, the committee engaged in discussions about the path moving forward. 
 The 14-member committee selected Scott Hoffman, president of the Boston Metro Area Local, to serve as chair.  Arthur “A.J.” Jones, president of the Eastern Montgomery County PA Area Local, will act as co-chair, and Doris Orr-Richardson, president of the Florida Postal Workers Union, will serve as secretary.
“The National officers each gave their take on their aspect [of contract negotiations],” Hoffman said. “There was some good back-and-forth, it wasn’t a one-sided presentation. We had questions for the negotiators on process, procedure and some of the specific concepts.”
 The committee’s next meeting will coincide with their return to Washington, DC for the Opening Day of negotiations on June 26. 
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President Dimondstein: "Let's Deliver Mail, not Myths"
​05/11/2018 - APWU President Mark Dimondstein busts myths and sets the record straight on the Postal Service, "a national treasure belonging to all the people of the United States." 
​Click here to read the entire column as it appears in the Boston Globe.
.Cuts to employee benefits is part of the Postal Service’s plan to balance the Postal Service’s books!!!!
 June 18, 2019 --
  The U.S. Postal Service wants Congress to help it make significant cuts to employee benefits as part of a plan to balance the agency’s books, according to a draft business plan HuffPost obtained.
The proposal would save an estimated $18 billion on employee compensation over a decade by shaving paid leave, raising workers’ share of pension contributions, and shifting new employees into less secure 401(k)-style retirement plans.
  The change to pension contributions would amount to a cut in take-home pay for hundreds of thousands of workers, while saving the agency nearly $7 billion. And while excluding new employees from a pension plan is common practice for private corporations these days, it would mark a significant shift for a federal-sector job long seen as a steppingstone to the middle class.
  The change in employee leave policy would combine vacation with sick days, likely resulting in fewer overall days off for workers. That element is estimated to save the agency more than $5 billion.
  The proposals obtained by HuffPost were marked as preliminary and subject to change. The postmaster general, Megan Brennan, is expected to present a business plan to the House Oversight Committee this summer.
Congratulation to the 2019 Pat Davis Scholarship winners
​Left to Wright: Diep Ngo (Mother of Debra Ngo), Scholarship winner Debra Ngo,
Hing Wong (Mother of Adrian Wong), standing in the back Brother of Adrian Wong,
Scholarship winner Adrian Jaden Wong,
​Dallas Area Local Sec/Tre Tanya “Tan” Daniel,
Dallas Area Local President Yared Wonde,
Health Plan Director JoAnn Williams.
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“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 
The labor protections in the Protecting the Right to Organize Act would also extend to those not currently classified as employees, such as rideshare drivers.
JARED RODRIGUEZ / TRUTHOUT

  A record number of workers in the United States decided to go on strike in 2018. Now congressional Democrats are trying to harness that momentum to pass a massive labor reform bill that would make it easier for workers to join unions and collectively bargain.
  The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act was introduced on May 2 by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Virginia). The bill would usher in a multitude of protections for workers and give them more bargaining power.
Some of its features include penalties for businesses that illegally fire employees, sped-up union elections that prevent employers from holding anti-union meetings with their staff, and National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protections for many independent contractors who aren’t currently classified as employees. The bill also specifically offers new safeguards for workers that go on strike. Employers would be prohibited from permanently replacing striking workers with scab labor. Plus, the bill would repeal a longtime ban on boycotting “secondary” companies. The current ban makes it illegal for a given union to boycott a separate corporation in solidarity with a strike.
  Boosting Bargaining Power
 “The PRO Act is an important effort to bring U.S. labor law into the 21st century — giving working people more power at a time when it is desperately needed,” said Celine McNicholas, the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) director of government affairs and labor counsel, in a statement. “Congress should pass the PRO Act immediately and give working people what they need most: fairness and a voice on the job.”
During the first legislative hearing on the PRO Act, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Connecticut) cited the recent Stop & Shop strike as an example of why collective bargaining rights are so important. In April, over 30,000 grocery store employees went on strike across a number of New England locations to fight proposed pension cuts, bonus rollbacks and an end to overtime pay. The employees prevailed despite being up against an enormously powerful company: Stop & Shop is owned by Ahold Delhaize, a Dutch retailer that claims to have generated $44 billion in U.S. sales in 2018.
Click Here to read more:
New CBA 2015-2018 Power Point Presentation Click Here
                                            New  2015-2018 CBA Benefits at a glance 
Clerk Craft    Click Here 
Maintenance Craft Click Here  
Motor Vehicle Craft  Click Here
                                         Texas  AFL-CIO Scholarship Applications Due
Every year, the Texas AFL-CIO offers $1,000 scholarships to high school seniors from union families. The deadline for applications is Feb. 1. Students whose parent or legal guardian is a member of a union that is affiliated with the Central Labor Council and the Texas AFL-CIO are eligible. (On occasion, the union member is the student.) Applications are available from the Dallas Central Labor Council or online.
NTX CAT team getting members involved, making sure they were signed up for the conference call and signing up non-members.
 How to Distinguish between Pittman            and McConnell EEOC Cases
  As I stated in my previous communication there are distinctions between the McConnell and Pittman EEOC discrimination cases. It is possible for an APWU member to be a member of both of these class action cases. However an individual’s decision to participate in one (Pittman) will not impact their ability to participate in, or the grievances or other complaints connected to the other (McConnell). To keep it simple this is how to distinguish between the two, and how best to determine which grievance files are attached to which EEOC discrimination case: Regardless of the alleged discriminatory acts or contractual violations committed by the USPS, or when; anything that occurred as a result of the National Reassessment Process falls under the McConnell case.
  Acts that were committed independent of the National eassessment Process, even if they occurred when the NRP was ongoing fall to Pittman.

  Note: McConnell includes both limited duty employees (temporary medical restrictions) and permanent rehab employees (permanent medical restriction – reached their maximum medical improvement as per their physician). Pittman only includes permanent rehab employees.
For informational purposes I am providing a brief synopsis of each EEOC case. Despite their differences and similarities, the differentiating question remains, “Was the contractual violation or discriminatory act a result of the NRP, or not?” More
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     American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO
                 CONGRESS MUST ACT TO STOP
                      DRASTIC CUTS IN SERVICE

     CLOSING MAIL PLANTS, SLOWING THE MAIL
In 2012, the USPS went forward with a plan to close or cons­olidate mail processing plants. This plan – called Mail Processing Network Rationalization – had two phases.  Phase One consisted of the closure or consolidation of 141 processing plants and lowering mail service standards, slowing our mail from overnight delivery to a 1-2 day standard nationwide.  Absent congressional action, USPS is implementing Phase Two in January 2015, closing or consolidating 82 additional plants and eliminating overnight mail standards.  Soon, mailing a letter across the street will be a 2-4 day standard for all Americans.

          THE HARMFUL IMPACT OF CLOSING 82                                       PROCESSING PLANTS
·  Slow down the mail
·  Make mail delivery unreliable
·  Lower revenue & drive away patrons
·  Hurt seniors, small businesses,
   and mailers
·  Eliminate up to 15,000 jobs nationwide
·  Damage local economies in 37 states facing mail     processing closures
   
        EXAGGERATED SAVINGS FOR DIMINISHED                                               SERVICE
The Postal Regulatory Commission recently took a critical look at the USPS mail processing cuts.  Noting that Phase Two will trigger enormous revenue losses, the PRC forecasted net savings as low as $46 million, which is only 2% of the $2.1 billion in savings the USPS claims. The PRC urged the USPS to pursue alternatives that preserve service levels and to delay Phase Two implementation until a study is performed to ascertain the actual net savings of Phase One.  The USPS has ignored these recommendations.

        YOUR SUPPORT IS URGENTLY NEEDED
To stop these sweeping and radical changes in postal operations, Congress must act.  Please send a letter to the Appropriations Committee leaders requesting any omnibus appropriations bill or continuing resolution include language to:

·   Prevent the USPS from closing or consolidating        any more mail processing plants in FY2015
·   Maintain current mail service standards for First        Class Mail effective on July 1, 2012

 GROWING BIPARTISAN CONSENSUS FOR SPEEDY   MAIL NETWORK
To date, 51 Senators and 160 Members of Congress have signed letters to the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and relevant subcommittees requesting a one year hold on Phase Two implementation.

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