The last two Casuals in Lieu of Grievances filed in the Denver installation have been settled for $35,000. The sections involved and due to receive monies from this settlement are the Computer Forwarding Section Tour 2 and Tour 3, and the MPA Priority Section Tour 3. The union is preparing the paperwork necessary for management to submit the payroll adjustment. A lot of resources went into both cases and we would not have had a chance for resolvement without the hard work of a number of people. Stewards Charlie Garcia and Monica Lipscomb were the stewards who initiated the grievances and deserve most of the credit. Brian Thomason oversaw the projects and assisted whenever things needed a little shove. All are to be commended and thanked for a job well done. It pays to be union.

A meeting was recently had with Denver Plant management regarding a proposal under consideration of returning to a Centralized Attendance Control Program. This union grieved this process several years ago and a national grievance was filed. In July 2006,Arbitrator Das ruled the Postal Service was allowed to have someone other than your immediate supervisor review and issue corrective action. However, Arbitrator Das also ruled that the union had legitimate concerns that should be addressed. In our meeting we were asked of our concerns and we received responses to those concerns. While I remain convinced this plan will be rolling out, a decision to implement was not presented to us at this meeting. This union reserves the right to grieve each and every infraction of the CBA that occurs. If and when a decision to implement this program is announced, we expect to get an implementation date and the conditions of that implementation.

As previously advertised, either party in any of our 26 installations had until April 16, 2007 to declare its intent to open negotiations in those offices. The only installation that called and declared was Wheat Ridge. An introductory meeting has occurred and management’s proposal was presented. The members of that office are being consulted and these negotiations should come to a quick conclusion. Several suggestions were received from the Denver operations, one from the stations and one from the plant. While both deserve merit and are being addressed, neither were considered weighty to open discussions. The trend nationwide has been to sit with the hand we’re dealt since so much has been achieved and not much to gain. Management everywhere has concerns that too many are allowed off on leave at the same time. You can be assured that all LMOU’s have been reviewed and I will be proud to offer my signature on all of them.

At the April 25^th Membership Meeting held at the DMAL hall, a motion was made and adopted to move the May 26^th Membership Meeting to May 19^th to avoid the Memorial Day weekend. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you and I hope to see you at the meeting Saturday at 9:00 AM on May 19^th.There was a winner of the grand door prize for being in attendance. Miguel Salazar won $225 by having his name drawn from the membership and being present. In the future, be looking for names of would-be winners in the Union News Express.

The Local has been in discussions with Evergreen management over their desires to eliminate two of the best jobs in that city. After lengthy debate and discussions management agreed to disagree with the union’s position. Management’s staffing committee has decided that Evergreen is over staffed. The current crisis involves two clerks that normally work the window on Saturday. One is retiring, the other one is transferring. They seem hell bent on reposting four jobs and impacting full time regulars without impacting the part time flexibles. There is also two part time regular positions that we believe should be full time positions. We believe this to be in conflict with the contract and we will be pursuing grievance activity to prevent this adverse impact from standing. Stay tuned.

There have been two (2) meetings since I last reported and not much has been changed in addition to what is already been communicated. The previously announced date for closure of June 2007 appears to be leaking. How much of a delay is unclear as management continues to tweak their plan. I remain confident work can be done to minimize the impact on the members, but plans to out source work that can be done in-house remains covert. I wish I had more solid information, but the pieces are not coming together very quickly.

It has come to the union’s attention that we have members in these offices that are “career full time flexibles”. This simply cannot stand as status quo. Article 37.4.D in the National Agreement clearly states: “When the number of full time clerk craft duty assignments in an installation is less than the number of full time clerks, a full time employee remaining unemcumbered for a period of 120 calendar days shall demonstrate the need to post the newly established full time regular duty assignment.” I have communicated this to both Postmasters of these offices and will file a grievance if necessary to achieve our goals for bids, dignity and respect for these members. They are not PTF’s and will not be treated as such.

I would like to thank you for expressing your confidence in my abilities by electing me to this important office. I am very excited about my new position and am looking forward to the next three years. The first month of my term has been a busy one, taking care to ensure that the members best interests are served in our day to day transactions. Because of my experience with union finances, I was able to take over Gary’s former duties with minimal instruction. This has enabled our new President to concentrate on the important issues facing the membership.

By Phil Desautels, Human Relations Director

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS – The DMAL picnic is now confirmed to be held Sunday, August 12, 2007. Volunteers are needed to help set up, cook, tear down, plus other activities. As many of us as possible really need to get involved in any way we can for the benefit of all of us in our Union family. If you would like to help out, please call me at 303-365-1524 ext. 339. Rewards (to be determined) will be given to all volunteers.

On April 26^th, this local co-hosted a legislative lunch for Colorado representatives at the State Capitol to discuss issues that are important to all postal workers. This was the last legislative lunch sponsored by the AFL-CIO and it was very important to sit down face to face with law makers and enlist their support for working people. It was important also for me to see how energized they seem to be and how honored they are to carry our flag. While they all seem happy to get a free meal they were clear cost and reward would be greater.

Sometimes timing is everything. A year and a half ago, management nor the union expressed much excitement in exploring any 4/10 work sites. Inquiries have been made and there appears to be some interest by Craft and Management to explore deeper the possibility. The MPA seems uniquely situated and customer services has indicated CFS has possibilities as well as introducing a 4/10 work schedule. No commitments have been given but more research is underway to see if this is doable. We will keep you informed of our progress.

Time is running out for those interested in applying for the 2007 DMAL Moe Biller Scholarship. I know a number of you, including myself, who have sons and daughters attending college this year and any help financially would be appreciated. Submit your application today. The deadline is May 31, 2007.