by Dan Van Minnen
Congratulations to our entire workforce and I would like to express considerable thanks for all the efforts of those involved in these past negotiations. We have a contract and this will carry us through September of 2018. For more information about the details check your Union bulletin board or the local’s website.
Workers Deserve Respect! That has always been something that your local has told each and everyone of the employees that we represent. In both the Maintenance and Clerk Crafts that has been strongly emphasized by your local officers and stewards. So when it comes to down to it, Do You Feel like Postal Management Respects You?
Only you can answer that question. I know that that they don’t respect our Collective Bargaining Agreement. In fact they have paid out in excess of $100,000.00 alone in the past 12 months just because of that fact. In both the Maintenance and Clerk Crafts, and for many of our PSE employees, there have been a multitude of settlements at the local level, with more on the way. So remember to request your steward and enforce your rights under the Collective Bargaining Agreement. We will see very soon how much management respects the new agreement between the parties. I will keep you posted.
PSE’s are getting converted and congratulations to all of those newly converted within this last 12 months. It is not management that has been so gracious as to make your conversion happen. In fact with each conversion the APWU has had to get involved, due to a lack of cooperation on management’s part to get those hard working employees converted in a timely fashion. Either a grievance needed to be filed, a phone call made or continual e-mailing and monitoring or attendance of meetings had to occur for these PSE conversions to take place. Our local president Shelly Lucido has been working very hard to ensure that all PSE conversions have been done properly and she has been the driving force in ensuring that management is doing their job when it comes to getting new employees converted to full time regulars.
In closing, I would like to remind the APWU Clerk Craft and Maintenance Craft employees, especially at both the Tower and Gateway stations, that your requests and updates of contractual violations throughout your station start by your requesting a steward. Remember that management violates the contract constantly. We just need to challenge that. I know that we are doing the best with what we have and that we are all trying to work smarter but that does not mean that you give them a pass when it comes to our contract. Management has reaped the benefits of that over this past contract and is looking to cut deeper so pay attention, request your steward and keep on your toes because management is not your friend! Instead, just ask for your APWU representative to get the facts.