Effective February 5, 2005, the eight senior part time flexible clerks at the Denver installation were converted to regular status. This was accomplished through a settlement signed by management and the union on January 26, 2005. The Denver Metro APWU is dedicated to pursuing PTF maximization to the maximum possible extent. There are a number of ways by which part time flexibles can achieve full time regular status under our contract. In this particular instance, the union was able to demonstrate a need to maximize the number of full time employees and minimize the number of part time employees under Article 7, Section 3.B of the National Agreement. We acknowledge and appreciate management’s willingness to enter into this settlement agreement. If it had been necessary to pursue a grievance into arbitration, the conversions of the eight employees could have been delayed for many months and perhaps even several years. Many thanks go to Tour 3 Denver GMF steward Shane Allen for his excellent assistance with preparing this case, and to Director of Industrial Relations Paul Pearman for helping to coordinate this project. Almost 20 Denver PTFS Clerks have made regular in the past year. Several more PTF maximization cases are pending in other offices around our local. We will not rest until every Part Time Flexible employee within our jurisdiction is converted to full time regular status.

Field Coordinator Joe Quintana reports that he has successfully negotiated to convert the two senior PTFS Clerks in the Westminster office to regular status effective February 5, 2005. Congratulations to these two employees and many thanks to Joe for his excellent efforts. We will continue to pursue this issue everywhere we can.

The National Association of Retired Federal Employees (or NARFE) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to looking out for the interests of federal and postal employees. Recently, NARFE National Field Vice-President Morris Lewis gave an excellent presentation at the January 2005 union meeting about the benefits of NARFE membership. All current and retired postal workers and their spouses are eligible to join NARFE, which costs just $33 per year. NARFE lobbies Congress on issues vital to retirement and health benefits issues, provides information and assistance to current and retired postal and federal workers and provides a constant flow of useful information through a national magazine, a hotline, newsletter and a website. Learn more at www.narfe.org or by calling 1-800-627-3394. You may also request an information packet by contacting the union office at 303-365-1524. It’s never too early to start thinking out protecting your retirement benefits!

The APWU’s Human Relations Committee needs your help. We are looking for volunteers to help plan and organize events on behalf of the union. These events include the Breast Cancer Walk, the Walk for the Cure, March of Dimes and the Martin Luther King Parade, to name a few.

Scholarship opportunities are available to Denver Metro APWU members and their dependents. The national APWU is offering several $1000 E. C. Hallbeck and Vocational Scholarship Programs. Applications for these are accepted until March 1, 2005.

Do you wish to advertise your business so that all union members are aware of your business? Do you desire to tap into the union members base to benefit your business? Are you willing to negotiate a discount for union members that patronize your business?

On Monday, February 14, 2005, another class of 15 successful applicants will begin attending 12 weeks of on the clock training to help them qualify for promotion to higher-level skilled Maintenance Craft assignments. These training opportunities are the result of a union negotiated national Memorandum of Understanding between the APWU and the Postal Service. The Denver Metro APWU has been a pioneer in on the job promotional training opportunities. This is our third MSDP class to date. We are proud of our highly successful participation in the program. We look forward to many more successful MSDP classes in the future. Many thanks to Nimrod Salazar for his continued support of the MSDP in the Denver District and to our excellent APWU facilitators, Dave Villalva and Rodger Moeller, for their hard work in making MSDP an ongoing success. Good luck to all of our students! We hope you enjoy your union won on the clock training opportunities!

The national APWU has received two major national arbitration awards. The first award pertains to postmasters routinely performing bargaining unit work in smaller offices when such work is contained in the postmaster’s job description. The union had argued that such work cannot occur on a daily and routine basis. The arbitrator ruled that such work can continue if it has occurred on an historical basis, but that work historically performed by craft employees cannot be transferred to a postmaster to facilitate a reduction in clerk staffing. This represents a partial victory for the APWU.

• It appears that the Postal Service has a national plan that will result in the eventual closure of a majority of the Air Mail Centers around the country. While no specific information is yet available, we believe the target date for Denver’s AMC is late summer to early fall of 2005. We will follow this issue very closely and do everything we can to protect APWU employees from adverse impacts if and when it transpires.
• The next regular union meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, February 23, 2005 at the union office. We will be discussing and considering approval of the 2005 budget proposal. Please mark your calendar now!
• It is probable that the March union meeting will be rescheduled a week earlier than normal due to scheduling conflicts. If this happens, the March meeting will begin at 9:00 AM on Saturday, March 19, 2005 at the union office. Please watch future bulletins for confirmation of this change if and when it becomes official.
• The Postal Reform issue is dormant in Congress so far. However, it could arise at any time with very little notice. Please remain alert and be prepared to act quickly if called upon!
• Our current National Agreement expires on November 20, 2005. The national APWU is gearing up for negotiations in the very near future. Stay tuned for more news in the weeks ahead.

I have spoken recently to some of our members about transferring to other postal installations. I have been informed that a lot of our members do not know about “E-Reassign” on the postal web site liteblue.usps.gov. Once logged on the site you can input as many requests that you want to transfer to. You can even request to switch crafts if you want to better your chances. But, remember this is a transfer request, not a swap! You will begin a new seniority date as a PTF even if you transfer within the same craft. In the last few weeks Brighton and Greeley hired off the street because no one had requested a transfer to these locations. I know there are people out there that live up north that would have liked to work closer to home. You have to apply to be considered. An employee must have an acceptable work, attendance and safety record and meet the minimum qualifications for all positions to which they request reassignment. This is a great free service provided by the USPS.       

Be a part of your union publication, The Mountaineer. Members may submit articles, letters, photos, artwork, etc. by February 25, 2005 for the next edition of the Mountaineer. Send to Mountaineer, Denver Metro APWU, 15677 E. 17^th Ave, Aurora, CO 80011 or email to Mountaineer@DenverAPWU.com.