We are pleased to announce that the Executive Board has appointed Robert Helmig as our new Motor Vehicle Craft Director. The Board unanimously approved my recommendation to appoint Robert to fill this officer position effective March 30, 2006. Robert fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Fred Morin, and will serve the remaining part of the three-year term until the next officer election in March 2007. Previously, Robert has very capably served our members as a union steward and as a Trustee for the Local. Please join us in congratulating Robert and in thanking him for accepting this new challenge. We are confident that Robert will provide excellent representation for all members of the Motor Vehicle Craft!

Denver Senior Plant Manager Roland Fuentes has given notice that approval has been given for Mailhandler hiring to staff the AFSM 100 machines after the ATHS and AI retrofits are installed. Previously, consideration had been given to excessing junior clerks into the Mailhandler craft to address staffing needs based upon the headquarters level decision to award primary jurisdiction of the modified AFSM 100s to the Mailhandler craft. (The APWU has challenged this decision at the national level.) Approval of this hiring request means that all displaced clerks will be placed into other clerk craft duties within the Denver installation once the impact occurs later this year.   We are pleased that this highly contentious and potentially destructive issue has been positively resolved. While many serious challenges remain, this gets us moving in a more positive direction.

The NRP is coming, perhaps by this fall. If you haven’t heard, San Diego has had 27 clerk craft employees’ rehabilitation job offers withdrawn, employee identification badges confiscated, and the employees escorted to the door by management. The National Reassessment Program is gearing up. Most of you have heard rumors about his move by management to get rid of injured employees (also known as the Out Placement Pilot Program). If it is done right, and that is a big if, then it is legal and contractual. The laws and rules have existed for years. However, in San Diego, which is the primary battleground now, it appears that the Postal Service is not interpreting the laws and regulations correctly. The fight is on but for those 27 who are sitting at home and getting “retrained”, it is traumatic and depressing.

So the best advice I can offer injured on the job employees at this time, is make sure that your restrictions from your doctor are up to date and reflect any improvement you’ve made. When this rolls into town, don’t let management make a decision about your job with old restrictions that may have been lifted, or could be lifted. Look around the plant and see if there are jobs that you can do within your known restrictions with reasonable accommodation and bid them if you find any. Be prepared, this is an issue we will all be dealing with soon.

We are creating an APWU Cookbook, which will be sold as a fundraiser for the APWU Human Relations Committee. The income will be used to fund the DMAL emergency fund to help members in need. This is a fun project, but we need your help to pull it off! Our office staff, Rita Burns and Jean Daniel, will be producing the cookbook in-house. If you are not a cook, submit your family’s favorite recipes. There will be a special diabetic section in the book. So we need any and all: soups, salads and vegetables, main dishes, breads, cakes, pies, desserts, etc. We would really like to get a recipe from members at every facility, station and associate office.

On page 22 of the Spring 2006 edition of the Mountaineer an incorrect address was printed for submitting military buyback forms. DMAL members should submit form RI 20-97 (Estimated Earnings During Military Service) and form SF 2803 (Application to Make Deposit) to Human Resources in the Denver District. We sincerely regret the error. If you are going to submit these forms, the correct address is:

APWU members can now help the union fight for their interests with the click of a mouse: The union’s Committee on Political Action (COPA) has made it possible for contributions to be made online. The new COPA feature on the APWU’s Web site uses state-of-the-art security measures to protect contributors’ personal and financial information. COPA accepts online transactions from credit cards issued by MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover. Online COPA contributors will receive an online acknowledgement of their donations, which will be credited toward the fund-raising targets established for their local and state organizations. To contribute, visit the APWU COPA pages of the union’s Web site at: www.apwu.org

We recently received notice that APWU President William Burrus has appointed Robert Helmig to serve on the APWU’s National Private Sector Organizing Committee. Robert will be working with this committee to help organize employees who work for USPS contractors to form APWU locals of their own. This is a very prestigious appointment for Robert and we are very proud that one of our own has been selected for this vital committee. Private sector organizing helps to strengthen our union by adding new members, and by ensuring that all individuals who help move the mail receive quality union representation. Robert has pledged that his service on this committee will never interfere with his duties as Motor Vehicle Craft Director. Congratulations to Robert for his appointment to this committee! We know that he will succeed and make us proud!

The Human Relations Committee has recently begun a relationship with the Fisher House. The Fisher House is a non-profit organization serving veterans and their families. Located in Aurora, the house offers a place to stay for veterans and family members while the veteran is receiving medical care in the metro area.

Some Thrift Savings Plan participants recently received a scam e-mail, the agency reported, in an apparent attempt to obtain personal information. The subject of several federal investigations, such scams are known as “phishing”.

Some time ago, the Postal Service transferred authority for internal investigations from the Postal Inspection Service to the Office of Inspector General. OIG Investigators are law enforcement officials just like Postal Inspectors. Please don’t be fooled! If you are called into an interview with either a Postal Inspector or an OIG Investigator, always request a union steward! It is your legal right and it is always in your best interests. Also, never sign a waiver of your rights and never make a written statement before consulting with your steward.

The APWU Legislative Department has established an e-mail alert system to help union members react quickly to important developments. Union members, retirees, and family members can register on the union’s Web site, www.apwu.org. When they enroll, activists will be asked to provide their e-mail address and home address. Using the e–Team system, the national union will transmit legislative news, action alerts, and other relevant information. The messages may ask recipients to contact their U.S. senators and representatives on issues of importance to union members.

The next regular Membership Meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 at the union office. As always, meetings are open to all members of the Denver Metro Area Local APWU. Food will be served. Please mark your calendar now and plan to attend!