A Colorado State Representative has announced plans to introduce a bill that, if adopted, would attack the very foundation of your job security. Representative Sara Gagliardi apparently believes that the biggest problem facing Coloradoans today is overstuffed mailboxes, because she wants to create a “don’t mail” list similar to the don’t call lists created by various laws. Given that over fifty percent of postal revenues come from Bulk Business Mail, it is easy to see how such a law could harm the financial well being of all postal employees. Representative Gagliardi, to her credit, called for our input prior to introducing her bill. However, given the theatrical presentation she gave at a later press conference announcing her bill, she obviously doesn’t care about our interests.

• The American Postal Workers Union, for a variety of reasons, is staunchly opposed to any such effort to artificially restrict mail volume.
• There is no such thing as “junk mail”. It is deeply insulting to postal employees to refer to any mail as “junk”. All United States mail is sanctified when it enters the system and is afforded the protection of federal regulations pertaining thereto. Theft and/or destruction of any mail, including Bulk Business Mail, is a federal crime subject to severe penalties under law.
• Unlike telephone calls during dinner, mail never intrudes upon one’s privacy. Millions of Americans look forward to and enjoy receiving mail every day. The proposed bill is a “solution” looking for a problem rather than the opposite.
• Mail is not a significant environmental concern because it is biodegradable and almost 100% recyclable.
• Only a tiny portion of identity theft is in any way related to Bulk Business Mail. Most identity theft is caused by other means such as sorting through trash, physical theft of credit card information, and electronic commerce.
• Many, many family owned small businesses depend almost entirely upon direct mail marketing to generate business. Banning the distribution of such “unsolicited” mailings could destroy their businesses.
• There are many kinds of advertising that most people would characterize as “annoying”, especially billboard, radio and television ads. Why single out direct mail for curtailment and/or elimination?
• There may even be legal issues that could render such a law invalid.
• The proposed bill would exempt political mailings. How hypocritical would that be? Why should politicians be exempt from such a law?
• Many employees work for companies that depend upon reaching out to potential customers through Bulk Business Mail, which generates lots of revenue that translates into higher wages, more job security and better benefits for employees.

During some tile work on the floor of the sorting area at the Boulder High Mar Post Office, asbestos fibers were detected during a routine air sampling. To their credit, postal management immediately moved to alleviate the potential hazards to employees by first moving operations to the basement, and later evacuating the building altogether. It now appears that the High Mar office will be closed for up to several months while it is cleaned and tested. All impacted employees have been relocated to other facilities, and normal operations have resumed. The Denver Metro APWU has analyzed and evaluated managements actions in response to this incident and we are satisfied that everything that could have been done to protect employees has been done and is being done. We appreciate management’s response and we hope similar future events will be handled in the same manner.

The Postal Service has notified the APWU that it has cancelled nine more Area Mail Processing studies. In a statement on Feb. 9, the Postal Service told the APWU that “it has been determined that there are currently no significant opportunities to improve efficiency or service through consolidation of mail processing operations” in: Carroll, IA; Glenwood Springs, CO; Hutchinson, KS; McCook, NE; Sheridan and Wheatland, WY; Fox Valley, IL; and Bryan and McAllen, TX. The addition of the facilities listed in the Feb. 9 statement brings to 12 the number of AMPs cancelled this year and means that 23 of approximately 55 studies begun since October 2005 have been halted or placed on indefinite hold. “We are pleased that so many of these ill-advised studies have been abandoned,” said APWU President William Burrus. “This is a direct result of the efforts of postal workers and community leaders, who have demanded that individuals and small businesses continue to receive the postal services they deserve.”

New pay rates established in the 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement will be implemented on March 3, 2007, and will appear in paychecks dated March 23, APWU President William Burrus has announced. Increases in wages and uniform allowances will be paid retroactively. Checks for the back-pay period (from Nov. 25, 2006) will be disbursed at a later date, which the union will publicize as soon as the date is known. Other changes will take effect Feb. 3, unless otherwise specified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Burrus said. Union negotiators and their management counterparts are compiling a series of “Questions and Answers” regarding the agreement. Because new circumstances and questions are expected to continue to arise, this process will be ongoing. When the Questions and Answers have been finalized, they will be posted on the union’s Web site, www.apwu.org; additional subjects will be published as issues are resolved. The official signing of 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement will take place in March 2007, but the union will prepare the contract for printing in the interim. Copies will be distributed as soon they are available, Burrus said.

USPS employees with job-related injuries now have a new drug benefit including a personal card to use when purchasing medications. These cards are included in all injury packets and should be provided to all employees that complete a form CA-1 Claim of Traumatic Injury. The new workers compensation benefit replaces out-of-pocket costs for medications purchased before the acceptance of a claim. The benefit also means injured workers don’t have to pay for prescriptions even if the Office of Worker Compensation Program (OWCP) denies a claim. Cardholders will not have to file reimbursement forms or save prescription receipts. More than 58,000 pharmacies throughout the country, including all major drugstore chains, accept the card.

Question #1: The new contract says that full-time regular clerks on the Overtime Desired List will be given priority scheduling for overtime work over casuals doing overtime work. Is this on a day-by-day basis? How will we monitor the overtime that casuals work? How will it work for penalty pay?

The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against DHL on Jan. 30, accusing the company of “interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights” to a union-representation election at DHL Express in Wilmington, OH. The charges are based on allegations made by the APWU in an Unfair Labor Practice filing in November. APWU representatives and activist workers have been trying to organize approximately 3,000 ground workers at the global delivery company’s plant for two years. DHL operates ABX Air, and the ABX site in Ohio is the main hub for the company’s network of regional sorting operations. “The campaign to unionize ABX is part of our long-term plan to organize private-sector workers who are increasingly getting a share of postal jobs,” said Mark Dimondstein, the APWU’s lead field organizer. The APWU organizer said management began a harsh program of intimidation, coercion, and discrimination shortly after the union field office was set up in early 2005. ABX was quick to hire a well-known anti-union “consulting” firm. Shortly after it came on the scene, Dimondstein said, all the workers received a letter from the company’s CEO. Workers at ABX perform work similar to that performed by APWU members at processing and distribution plants. At their top step, ABX workers earn approximately $6 per hour less than their Postal Service counterparts.

We recently met with Denver Postmaster Alan Catlin and his staff to clarify a number of pending issues in Denver Customer Service offices. We learned the following: