2006 Denver Regional Assembly Report
by Dennis Enderson, President
We are pleased to report the 2006 Denver Regional Assembly was a huge success. The Denver Regional Assembly is an annual gathering of APWU officials from the five state Denver Region consisting of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona. Hosting responsibilities are rotated around to each state every five years, and the Denver Metro Area Local APWU agreed to host the 2006 Assembly on behalf of Colorado. Hosting the conference is a big job, and cannot be accomplished without the coordinated efforts of many individuals. At the suggestion of Denver Metro Area Local APWU Recording Secretary Gail Kirby, we elected to host this year’s event at the Denver West Marriott Hotel in Golden, Colorado. We are very happy we took Gail’s advice, because the hotel did an outstanding job in all respects. Nearly 200 delegates attended the assembly, including the local’s Executive Board, and a number of our union stewards and other officials. Also in attendance were an impressive group of National APWU officers including President William Burrus, Director of Industrial Relations Greg Bell, Secretary Treasurer Terry Stapleton, Clerk Craft Director Jim McCarthy, Assistant Clerk Craft Directors Rob Strunk and Pat Williams, Maintenance Craft Director Steve Raymer, Assistant Maintenance Craft Directors Gary Kloepfer and Idowu Balogun, Motor Vehicle Craft Director Robert Pritchard, Regional Coordinator Omar Gonzalez, and National Business Agents Mo Merow, Steve Zamanakos, Chuck Sundgaard, Richard Shepard and Bruce Bailey.
Delegates began arriving on the afternoon of June 8th, some of whom participated in our local COPA fund raising golf tournament. Over $320 was collected for COPA during this event. On Friday, during an all day session, delegates viewed an excellent presentation by the Albuquerque APWU local showing how they successfully employed the public and the press to cause much needed hiring in their area. We also received reports from several of our national officers including Mr. Burrus, Mr. Stapleton, Mr. Bell, Mr. McCarthy, Mr. Raymer, Mr. Pritchard and Mr. Gonzalez.The information they supplied will prove highly useful in our ongoing efforts to better serve our members. On Saturday, the delegates divided into a number of training breakout sessions. These included Safety and Health, Local Negotiations, and classes specific to each of our three crafts. All classes were well attended and very informative. On Sunday, the delegates dealt with a large number of resolutions designed to establish our union’s bargaining priorities in the upcoming round of national negotiations for our Collective Bargaining Agreement. These resolutions covered a broad variety of important and sometimes controversial topics. All of these resolutions, as well as many more from around the country, will now go forward to the National Convention for final action.
Our sincere gratitude and appreciation goes out to everyone who helped make hosting the 2006 Denver Regional Assembly a triumph for our local. Special thanks go to the following: Paul Pearman, Bobby Rollins, and Mark Kirby for coordinating the pre-conference golf tournament; Gail Kirby for masterminding our local’s hospitality room; Chris Arellano, Bonnie Hollomon, Dawn Kraut and Mark Kraut for their help with staffing the hospitality room; Rita Burns, Jean Daniel, Sharon Wiser, Sandy Carruthers and Muriel Ponder for running and staffing the registration table; Tina Desautels, Lawanda Davis and others for coordinating our COPA fundraising activities; Miguel Salazar for providing music during our Saturday afternoon barbeque and the hospitality room; Robert Helmig, Brian Thomason, Gary Scott, Miguel, John Ancona and many others for running countless errands during the conference; Steve Claeson for taking photographs; Charlie Garcia and Steve for covering the union office during our absence; Mo Merow for serving as master of ceremonies and many more that I’m sure I’m forgetting and apologize to in advance. My very special thanks go to Executive Vice-President Gary Scott, who was directly involved in every aspect of ensuring the success of the assembly. Gary served as the other half of my brain, remembered everything I forgot, and rescued us on more occasions than I can possibly count. Thanks Gary!
We also thank the staff of the Denver West Marriott Hotel, all of whom did an outstanding job to ensure the success of our event. We would never hesitate to return to this hotel in the future. The feedback we have received from all in attendance has been universally positive. We are very proud to have hosted the 2006 Denver Regional Assembly and very pleased that our efforts to ensure a successful event were appreciated by our colleagues in the Denver Region. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it.
Postal Reform Legislation Update
by Dennis Enderson, President
The United States Senate and the House of Representatives may be close to a compromise that could remove a major obstacle to the passage of a comprehensive postal reform bill during the current session. The key sticking point has been a disagreement over the usage of a huge escrow fund created by overpayments to the Postal Service’s CSRS retirement fund. The original bills differed in the amounts of the escrow fund that would be earmarked to pay for future employee health benefits as opposed to being used to offset possible rate hikes. The proposed compromise would resolve this issue. However, another major issue remains unresolved with regard to both bills proposing to shift the costs of postal workers’ military pensions to the federal budget, a move that would add $27 billion to the federal deficit, which the White House has promised to veto if included in the final bill. In any event, Senate leaders have stated that final proposed postal reform legislation could be approved by the House and Senate prior to the July 4th recess.
Arbitrator Upholds
Clerks Assignment to LMLM
by Greg Bell, Director Industrial Relations APWU
On April 22, 2006, Arbitrator Joseph Sharmoff denied a Mail Handler grievance challenging the assignment of jobs on the Letter Mail Labeling Machine (LMLM) to APWU Mail Processors. The arbitrator ruled that Mail Handlers have not met their burden of proof to demonstrate that the assignment of LMLM operations to the Clerk Craft was improper under principles set forth in RI-399 and the six guidelines. He found that though he did not agree that the LMLM operation itself is distribution work, the work related to reject mail which has already been partially processed on OCR/BCS machines with information from envelopes stored and ready to be sprayed on envelopes once a label is in place “is related sufficiently to the ‘distribution’ process to be assigned appropriately to Clerks”. With regard to implementation criteria set out in RI-399, the arbitrator found that the Postal Service acted appropriately in assigning the duties associated with operation of the LMLM to APWU Mail Processors.
Driving
by Rick Romero, APWU Western Area Safety and Health Coordinator
Nearly 18 million Americans lack basic driving knowledge and exhibit dangerous on road behavior. One in 11 U. S. drivers – nearly 18 million people would fail a state drivers test according to results from the second annual GMAC Insurance National Driver Test. Furthermore, the study shows drivers deliberately disregard pedestrians and treat driving as the new “down time”, where they catch up on the day’s activities, diverting their attention from the road. The results come one year after GMAC Insurance first set out to gauge the knowledge of the American driving public, when licensed drivers were administered 20 questions found on a typical DMV written drivers test. The 2006 findings indicate drivers still do not have adequate knowledge of basic rules of the road, and they exhibit bad habits behind the wheel. For the second year in a row, Oregon drivers ranked highest on the test, with an average score of 91 percent (70 percent or higher is required to pass a standard drivers test), and Rhode Island ranked lowest, with an average score of 75 percent. “The rules of the road should not be something you learn once when you are 16 years old,” said Gary Kusumi, CEO and President, GMAC Insurance Personal Lines. We want to remind everyone that they need to work on their driving skills every day. If we’re all diligent, we can avoid many accidents and stay safe.” The drivers test administered in the study is available to the public online at www.gmacinsurance.com, as well as additional resources such as tips to stay safe on the road and the most common accident causes.
Drivers Disregard Pedestrians: Results suggest that many Americans exhibit shocking driving behaviors that not only endanger themselves, but jeopardize others both on and off the road. Roughly one in three drivers usually do not stop for pedestrians – even if they’re in a crosswalk or at a yellow light. At least 1 out of 5 drivers do not know that a pedestrian has the right of way at a marked or unmarked crosswalk or at a yellow light according to the findings. According to the Insurance Institute or Highway Safety (IIHS), pedestrians constitute the second largest category of motor vehicle crash deaths after vehicle occupants, accounting for 11 percent of fatalities. Forty three percent of all pedestrian injuries and 22 percent of fatal injuries to pedestrians occur in collisions with motor vehicles at intersections. In addition, many pedestrians are killed on sidewalks, median strips and traffic islands.
Driving is the new “Down Time”: The study unearthed a growing trend in which Americans treat driving as a time to catch up on activities they didn’t get to in their hectic day. Results show that while driving, American drivers engage in a variety of distracting behaviors, including chatting on a cell phone, sending text messages, e-mailing friends, selecting songs on iPods, applying makeup, changing clothes and reading. Eating and talking on a cell phone are by far the most common activities (42 percent eat and 40 percent chat on cell phones). Younger drivers aged 18-24 who are accustomed to always being “plugged in” have the most mentions for every distracting situation while driving: Eating – 62 percent, Talk on a cell phone – 71 percent, Send text message – 24 percent, Select songs on a iPod – 20 percent, Apply makeup – 8 percent, Change clothes – 8 percent, Read – 4 percent, Send e-mails – 1 percent.
“We need to remember that when we turn the car on, we need to turn the gadgets off”, Kusumi said, “It is critical that all of us focus on the roads, so that we are better, safer drivers”. How drivers rank by state: Overall drivers in the Northeast region are most apt to fail the test, with state failure rates of 16 percent or more, Drivers in the Pacific Northwest and Midwest regions are the most knowledgeable, with state failure rates ranging from 1 percent to 7 percent. Drivers under 35 years old are most likely to fail a written driving test (18-24 year olds have the lowest average test scores); experienced drivers ages 35-60+ are most likely to pass a written driving test.
More bad driving habits: Nearly one-quarter of Americans believe there are circumstances in which it is acceptable to not wear a seatbelt. One in seven Americans have packed their car so tightly that their vision was obstructed. At least one in five drivers do not know when to properly use their high-beam headlights or what to do when bright headlights come at them at night. Highways are the most slippery just when it starts to rain after a dry spell, In fact, this is the question most often answered incorrectly for the second year in a row. Fortunately, 97 percent of those tested know what to do when they hydroplane.
OPFs Going to Electronic Format
by Napus hotline May 25, 2006
This week the Postal Service provided a briefing to union and management association representatives on the conversion of employee Official Personnel Folders (OPF’s) from hardcopy to electronic format. The eOPF program will enhance record recovery in the event of disaster and will comport with the Human Resources Shared Services strategy. Conversion to electronic files is also consistent with planned Office of Personnel Management (OPM) modifications to retirement and separation processing systems.
Dates to Remember
by Dennis Enderson, President
Sunday, June 25, 2006 – Membership Appreciation Picnic from 11 AM to 6 PM at Lowry Park located at the intersection of 11th and Dayton in Denver. (Please watch your mail for a detailed flier about this event).
Wednesday, June 28, 2006 – Membership meeting from 5 PM to 7 PM at the union office located at 15677 E. 17th Ave. in Aurora. Food will be served.
USPS Reassessment
Program on Hold in Pacific Area
June 7th – The Postal Service has temporarily halted its Reassessment Program in the Pacific Area, according to APWU Western Region Coordinator Omar Gonzalez. The Pacific Area covers California, Hawaii, American Samoa and Guam. Gonzalez told delegates attending the May 18 California State APWU Convention that USPS Vice President Al Iniquez and USPS Human Resources Manager Manuel Vetello had informed him the day before that the Reassessment Program was being put on hold in the Pacific Area to allow the Postal Service time to assess the impact of EEO complaints, Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) appeals and grievances filed over the controversial program. “We’re teaching our stewards how to fight this using every avenue, including Congressional contacts, EEOs, MSPB appeals and the filing of multiple grievances:, Gonzalez said. The American Postal Workers Union has already conducted training session on how to fight the Reassessment Program In Los Angeles and San Jose, Gonzales said, and there are plans to put on similar training seminars in Seattle and Denver.
COPA Funds Flowing!
by Tina Desautels, Political Director
The Denver Regional Conference was a great success for our COPA fundraising efforts. We raised $3286.00 over the course of the three day conference. I would like to thank Chris Arellano, Gail Kirby and Muriel Ponder for all the energy they put into our fundraising efforts. Contributing to COPA is the one way you can “buy in” to the political process. The money we raise comes right back to our state in the form of contributions to candidates who support working families.
/jd
opeiu #5
afl-cio
