Express Scripts Click on image for more information
By Don Cheney
April 26, 2015 A National Labor Relations Board decision issued April 16, 2015, in United States Postal Service (10-CA-134589, et al.) out of Alabama is similar to one last year from Roswell, Georgia (10-CA-120885). The NLRB must be getting tired of USPS scofflaws. It includes the same language as before: “Supervisors or managers who fail to reasonably supply relevant information to the Union will have this fact mentioned in the ‘corrective action’ column of the semi-annual audit report provided to the district manager and district manager of human resources. A repeated violation could lead to discipline of said supervisor or manager.” The National Labor Relations Act does not require a request for information (RFI) from a steward to be in writing. A RFI may be submitted orally or in writing, as in these NLRB cases. Supervisors that require a RFI in writing for routine requests, like work schedules and clock rings, before providing it are using an unlawful delaying tactic. Medical information is an exception, due to HIPPA. If the manager or supervisor believes that they need additional time, the manager or supervisor is supposed to inform the Union in writing, request additional time and explain the need for the additional time.            Click here to read more.
12       Union Meeting & Dates to Know for 2016
  1. February 11, 2018 - Regular Union Meeting @ 2 pm.
  2. April 08, 2018 - Regular Union Meeting      @ 2 pm
  3. ​June 10, 2018 - Regular Union Meeting     @ 2 pm.
  4. August 12, 2018 - Regular Union Meeting @ 2 pm.
  5. October 14, 2018 - Regular Union Meeting @ 2 pm.
  6. December 09, 2018 - Regular Union 
               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
Picture
           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
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. 
Picture
APWU WEB NEWS ARTICLE 31-2018 03/22/2018 
Contract Action Team Liaisons Appointed
They are Fired Up and Ready to Go Assist Local CATs!
 Front (L-R): Janalee Banks, Wanda Harris, Ahlona Miranda, Angela Ellington 
​Back (L-R): James Donohoe, Arrion Brown, Jennifer Lemke, Larry Guarnero
 To assist local and state organizations with developing strong grassroots organizing and activism in support of the APWU’s upcoming contract negotiation fight, President Mark Dimondstein appointed the following Contract Action Team (CAT) Liaisons... Read more
Picture
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.
Picture
Power to the Workers – New Bill to Strengthen Unions
05/10/2018 - On Wednesday, May 9, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Workplace Democracy Act, with Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) introducing the companion bill in the House of Representatives.
​Read more
Wishing the 2017 Pat Davis Scholarship Award winner good luck and good fortune.
Picture
​From Left to Right Blanca Woodard (Mother),
Selena Woodard (scholarship recipient),
Presented by:
​Tan Daniel (Sec/Trea) and Yared Wonde (President Dallas Area Local)
From Left to Right: Horace Williams (Assistant Health Plan Driector), Yared Wonde(Father) not Pictured: Zauditau Case(Mother), Luleet Wonde (recipient) and Presented by: Tan Daniel (Sec/Trea).

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. TERRLL 
  8. WILLS POINT
  9. DALLAS NDC
10. DALLAS MPO & P&DC
11. NORTH TEXAS P&DC
​
 APWU UNION FROM THE NATIONAL TO LOCAL LEVEL FOUGHT TO STOP THESE MADNESS.
 DON'T THINK FOR A SECOND THAT MANAGEMENT WILL NOT GOING TO TRY AGAIN. 
 MANAGEMENT OFFICIALS AT HQ LEVEL, THEIR MAIN AGEND 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.
“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 
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.
October 27, 2015
 
Dear APWU Local Officer:
Numerous inquiries have been and are being received concerning the increase in the APWU Health Plan premiums for 2016.
Please consider this the Health Plan’s response to 2016 Health Plan premium increases.
Premium increases for the Consumer Driven Option range between $1.13 for Self Only and $4.09 for Self and Family per pay period. These increases seem reasonable and the premiums remain extremely competitive.
Three primary factors attributed to the 2016 premium increase for the High Option.
  1. Pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the APWU and USPS, beginning in 2016, the USPS contribution for health insurance decreased from 77% of the weighted average to 76%. This increased the employee’s share by $6.78.
  2. The implementation of the Self Plus One Option, is projected to have an adverse shift in the Self and Family enrollment pool for 2016. Approximately 59% of the High Option Self and Family memberships have only two covered lives and will move to Self Plus One for 2016. To compound matters, a majority of the 59% are covered by Medicare A or Medicare A and B. The Health Plan’s liability for this group is only 20% for hospital and outpatient services excluding prescription drugs. Therefore, the Self and Family risk pool will no longer enjoy the subsidies they have been receiving through the Medicare population.
  3. The increase in health care utilization, especially prescription drugs, exceeded projections for 2014. While the Health Plan was able to minimize premium increases for 2014 and 2015, continued increases of health care utilization required the High Option 2016 premium increases to maintain financial stability of the APWU Health Plan.
The APWU Health Plan recognizes the High Option premium increases for many members will be difficult and may cause some members to look for alternatives during this Open Season. However, the APWU Health Plan’s High Option premiums are still competitive with both the Blue Cross and Blue Shield and GEHA’s High Option premiums. These are two of the largest PPO Plans in the FEHBP. As stated earlier, many members in the High Option will move to the Self Plus One Option which will lessen the impact for that group. We also encourage all High Option Self and Family members to consider the Consumer Driven Self and Family Option. We believe the Consumer Driven Option is an outstanding alternative to the traditional PPO product.
While there may be other plans that have lower premiums, we believe the APWU Health Plan provides more value than many of these plans. Take for instance the Health Plan’s Diabetes Management Program where members can receive treatment for their diabetes, including office visits, labs and generic medications and supplies at no cost to the member. We also offer a Hypertension Management Program where members can receive treatment for hypertension, including office visits, labs and generic prescription drugs at no cost. These are only a few of the programs we believe provide a financial incentive to remain with the APWU Health Plan. In order to make an informed decision, you should not select your health insurance based on premium alone. You should review the premium, deductibles, coinsurance, catastrophic limits and Disease Management Programs.
Yours in Union Solidarity,
​William J. Kaczor, Jr.
Director
2015 - Dallas, Tx. Area Local Pat Davis Scholarship Recipients
Picture
 
Recipient  of the Pat Davis Scholarship Award 2015
 Jerik Justin Wong, is the son of King Y Wong a distribution clerk at the NTX facility. 
 Jerik is planning to attend Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Jerik's GPA was 4.675 and he ranked 124 out of 868 students at Flower Mound High School. Biological sciences are Jerik's favorite and strongest subjects, which is why it is no surprise he is considering majoring in biology and biomedical engineering.
Picture
Recipient  of the Pat Davis Scholarship Award 2015
 Tyler J Wu is the son of Mike H. Wu, who is also employed at the Dallas NTX facility. Tyler is planning to attend the University of Texas in Austin, Texas. Tyler's GPA was 4.346 and he ranked 33 out of 1,319 students at Piano Senior High School. Tyler's first love is science and he pushed himself with multiple AP classes (he took a senior level double-blocked AP Chemistry class as a junior while taking AP Calculus BC). Tyler is also a winner of the Hallbeck Scholarship offered through the National APWU.
Picture
COPA Challenge prize winners: left to Right front row Lewis Fulbright, Sonya Warren, Keisha Melton, Angels Ellington, Nichelle Hill, Donna Johnson, and Jonathan Cage. Back Row Kim Ervin, Margaret Hunter, Tanya Morgan Daniels, Jerome Cavitt, (not pictured are Lecia Styles, Timberly Lyimo
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
Picture
Click on image to enlarge
Picture
click on image to enlarge
     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.

    Comment/Contact Form