Why I Support Our New Contract
by Dennis Enderson, President
I am thrilled with our new tentative 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement! While nothing is ever perfect, this new proposed contract provides superb economic benefits, preserves all of our most important protections, and breaks new ground in many areas that will help move our union forward for decades to come.
Conservatively speaking, the eleven pay raises contained in this agreement will yield cumulative annual increases of at least $4900 for a Level 5, Step O employee. Conversely, the annual one percent increases in an employee’s share of our health benefits premiums will, on average, result in an offset of only $322 per year, leaving a net annual increase of almost $4600. If our COLA’s grow even modestly faster than anticipated, then this could rise several thousand dollars more. No arbitrator would ever award larger pay raises.
The one level increases are real. The “new pay scale” referenced in the tentative agreement merely refers to the renumbering of the existing levels to acknowledge the elimination of previously unused levels nine and ten. This represents a minimum of a 2.6 increase for every single APWU employee! Also, President Burrus has secured an agreement with the USPS that Saved Grade employees will also receive the one level increase as well.
This agreement would eliminate the existence of Part-Time Flexibles in 200 man year installations, while capping casual staffing at no more than 6% nationwide and per District. It would also prohibit casuals from working on Tour 2, ban casuals from working assignments requiring testing or training, and afford career volunteers priority over casuals when scheduling overtime in 200 man year mail processing facilities. These are huge gains for our union!
We have also gained, for the first time, guaranteed time off for bereavement upon the death of family members, as well as expanded opportunities for administrative leave for the purpose of tissue and organ donations. We have also gained Article 13 protections whenever employees from other crafts are reassigned to APWU crafts based upon light or limited duty. This means that APWU employees will have reciprocal transfer rights into these non-APWU crafts, and that incoming employees will become APWU craft members eligible for full union membership and representation.
This tentative contract is far too good to pass up. We simply could never hope to achieve a better outcome through arbitration. Please vote YES and return your ratification ballot as soon as you receive it! Thank you for your participation and support!
My Vote --- AN Unconditional YES!
by Sandy Carruthers, Assistant DIR
I have long said that my union membership is the best insurance policy and investment plan I own. This belief is reaffirmed by the success of our national leadership in bringing to us an offer of a negotiated four year contract.
I am happy that the proposed contract not only includes two wage increases and continues COLA adjustments, but also upgrades every represented craft position one level! Other significant changes include making the entire clerk craft work force regulars and making the casual complement rules much more enforceable at the local level.
The fact that our health insurance and retirement options remain the same is enough to get my support. I am very glad we still have all the choices available through the federal employee health insurance benefit plan. Given the high cost of health insurance and care, I will happily pay the 1% increase in premiums for four years to retain the same coverage I now have. I hope our health insurance and retirement options remain intact long past my last day of USPS employment until the day I die.
You can say my opinion is a narrow, personal one—it is! But I also believe in a broader sense my opinion reflects the collective best interest of all APWU represented craft members and our families. I am looking forward to receiving my ratification ballot in my mail box through the best postal service in the world and returning it with U.S. postage paid fully from my union dues. MY VOTE----AN UNCONDITIONAL YES!!
My Vote Will be Yes!
by Brian Thomason, Director Clerk Craft
By the time you read this you may have already received your ballot for the new tentative APWU contract. You will have only one option, Yes or No. I am personally going to vote Yes on the contract. I am doing this because I believe it is a good contract and a fair one. Our national union officers have negotiated a contact that is fair and that will provide good raises, continuation of cost of living (COLA), two per year and the biggest of all, a full level upgrade for all APWU represented employees on February 16, 2008. If you are a Level 5 Step O, you will go to a Level 6 Step O. You will not start over in your steps. This represents about a 2.6% raise alone besides the other raises.
We will now get the overtime work before the casuals are called and we did not give up penalty pay to get it. We retained the “No Lay Off” clause also. This is very big to me knowing I have job security. No other unions outside of the USPS has this protection! There are a lot of other details that are good about the contract too.
The one negative is, we as USPS employees, will have to pay an additional 1% more per year for the four year contract for health insurance. I, like all of you do not like this part of the contract but put it in perspective. How much does the private sector employee pay for the same health plan? A lot more! Did you know that the percentage paid by all other federal workers in the United States for their health plans is 28%? At the USPS we have enjoyed only paying 15% during our careers until now. At the end of this four year contract, we will be paying only 19%. This is still 9% less than other federal workers. Look around you, health care costs have been skyrocketing over the last few years for everybody. Is it realistic to believe that we at the USPS would never have to eventually pay more like everyone else? On the other hand, if you elect to take the “APWU Consumer Driven” plan, the USPS will pay 95% starting in 2008! If you are a level 5 step O, you will go to a Level 6 step O. You will not start over in your steps. This represents about a 2.6% raise alone besides the other raises.
Overall, I think the new contract is a good one. Our union officers at the national level can not possibly negotiate a contact that pleases everyone. There is always going to be something that doesn’t sit well with some of us. As for me, I will vote Yes
Supporting the Contact
by Paul Pearman Director of Industrial Relations
With the skyrocketing of health care costs, I was fearful in our contract negotiations that postal management was going to follow the trend of other large organizations, and try to increase the employees share of contributions to health care premiums. In these negotiations, management did propose exactly that! They wanted to raise our current contribution of 15% to 30%. President Burrus explained; the tentative agreement will reduce the USPS payment by 1% each year for four years, beginning in 2008, your share would have increased by $3.31 per pay period in net pay. Using this example, and assuming total premiums remained the same for three additional years, your share of the premium would increase by a total of $13.24 per pay period at the end of four years.
During the four years of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, we will receive these adjustments, two pay increases (of 1.3 % and 1.2%) and an upgrade. The estimated total pay increases will be approximately $4,751 annually, compared to $344.24 for increased healthcare costs.
Realistically, I do not think or believe a better settlement in these areas could have been achieved. For these reasons alone, I am in full support of ratifying the proposed contact. I hope all APWU members exercise their rights and have their voices heard through their vote.
Yes or No…Duh?
by Gary Scott, Executive Vice President
I firmly believe that you, the membership, deserve the right to vote for or against this tentative agreement. There are some things I don’t like about this agreement, like the career casual, but without hesitation I will be voting Yes!!!
Members of the local have been calling all week (prior to the blizzard) inquiring as to how we view what has been agreed to. Collective Bargaining Agreements are not the easiest read and they can be confusing even to some of us who use it regularly. I take no exception to anyone debating the good or bad of this agreement and I encourage you to review the agreement in detail and familiarize yourself for information discussion. I am pleased the entire Denver Metro Area Local Executive Board has agreed to endorse the ratification. Do not take that to mean we all think it is a perfect agreement. Personally speaking, I believe anytime I can control my own destiny and make economic and non-economic improvements as opposed to going to arbitration is a no-brainer. In addition to the pay increases (and they really are pay increases, no shell game to upgrade and create a fake pay chart) many of these improvements will be enjoyed years after this agreement expires. I do not think we would have done better in an arbitrated setting. And let us not forget memories from the last two arbitrated contracts. Two thoughts, TE’s and the arbitrator saying, in his opinion, postal workers are overpaid for the work we do compared to the private sector.
As you would expect, health care increases ranks as the top concern for members who have been calling. Because we own the APWU Health Plan, we were able to create additional benefit options for the membership. Sorry we weren’t able to bargain for those other health plans in the FEHP as they are outside the reach of our negotiating team. And if you haven’t taken a look lately, the APWU Consumer Driven Health Plan has risen to become one of the best plans available. It is considered a low option plan where the premiums are low for the employer and the employee. You might want to take a look for next year as it will certainly improve if this is ratified. Every contract I have been a part of since employed by the Postal Service in 1983 has been evaluated and critiqued by many. A contract is a win – win for both parties and should never be lopsided. I believe this to be the best agreement, negotiated or arbitrated, obtained by the APWU. Please vote and let your voice be heard.
A Good Contract
by Robert Helmig, Director Motor Vehicle Craft
By the time you read this you should have received your ballot to vote on the new contract. I hope you stop and think about what our National Officers have fought for and gotten for us. Raises, continuation of the no layoff clause and bereavement leave, to name a few. I believe this is a good contact. Do I think it’s great? No! Could we have gotten this or that? Maybe. But that would mean arbitration and who knows how that would have played out. So I say vote yes and lets move on to the next battle, whatever that may be.
Why Vote Yes on the
Terms of the Proposed Contract
by Miguel Salazar, Director Maintenance Craft
The terms of the contract is good for all members overall. There maybe some down sides of the contract but, when you look at the contract in total we have made some great advances. The economics of the contract will give you, the member, a 5.1% over the life of the contract. In the first 14 months of the contract you will receive a 3.9% raise without COLA’s. Therefore, a Labor Custodian PS-3 step O who currently makes $46,086 will make $47,899 as of February 16th 2008 which is an annual increase of $1,813 making them PS 4. An Electronics Technician Level 11 who currently makes $56,632 will become Level 10’s making $58,860 as of February 16th 2008 which is an annual increase of $2,228.. The level increases equal to a 2.6% at a minimum. The healthcare premiums effective in 2008 for the APWU Consumer Driven Plan will amount to an annual savings of about $1,300. For the other plans the premium costs will increase one percent each year which will cost employees about $322 more or $240 over the life of the contract. The average salary increase will equal about $4,900 and once you factor in the salary plus any premium increases the average salary increase will be $4,660. For maintenance only, we have made all training opportunities by senior volunteer and mandates for training by juniority. I believe that this contract is an overall win for all employees. Therefore, I recommend a vote of Yes on this contract.
APWU Health Plan
By Miguel Salazar, Health Plan Rep/Maintenance Craft Dir.
Many questions have come in about the APWU Consumer Driven Health Plan. I have been a member of the health plan for four years and find it to be a great plan. I do not think it is a plan for everyone. However, if you are considering on switching this year or even next year, you need to know when you talk to your doctor and ask if he/she accepts the APWU Health Plan or even Definity Health, they may not know if they do or do not accept the plan. The reason that your doctor may not know is because the health plan is managed by United Health Group. If you want to see if your doctor is on the plan please see the Health Plan web site at www.apwuhp.com or call 1-800-PIC-APWU.
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