Denver Metro APWU Executive
Board Says “YES” to Ratification
by Dennis Enderson, President
The Denver Metro APWU Executive Board reviewed the tentative 2006-2010 National Collective Bargaining Agreement at a special meeting on Friday, December 8, 2006. After careful consideration of all relevant factors, the Board voted unanimously to support ratification of the new contract. We believe this contract is an excellent deal for the vast majority of our members. We strongly urge our members to vote YES when they receive the ballots!
APWU Members to Vote
on Tentative 4 Year Agreement
Mailing Starts Dec. 18; Vote Count, Results on Jan. 9
APWU News Bulletin #14-2006, Dec. 12, 2006
With a mailing set to begin on December 18, the referendum process concerning the tentative 2006-2010 APWU-USPS contract has begun. The single question ballot offers a choice of ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on a tentative agreement that would run from Nov. 21, 2006 to Nov. 20, 2010. Completed ballots must be received by Tuesday, Jan. 9, when the vote count will take place. The ratification mailing includes a summary of the changes, a copy of the tentative agreement, a ballot, a return envelope, the statement of the Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee, and a letter from APWU President William Burrus. The Rank and File Committee voted unanimously on Dec. 7 to approve the tentative agreement. In accordance with Article 13.9.C of the APWU Constitution, the committee must approve a tentative agreement before members are given the opportunity to vote on it. The panel is also responsible for supervising the vote. Talks over a successor to the 2000-2006 National Agreement began in August and continued two weeks past the Nov. 20 expiration.
Statement of Rank and File Committee
The Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee, comprised of one appointee from each APWU National Executive Board member plus a representative from the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Task Force, was called to APWU Headquarters on Dec. 7, 2006 to begin deliberating on a tentative agreement. The committee received numerous presentations from President Burrus, national craft directors, other national officers, and staff. After examination, consideration, and debate of all documents, issues and responses to the committee’s in-depth questions, the Rank and File Committee has unanimously approved the contract to be released for ratification vote by the members. The committee’s rationale included the following:
- Basic annual salaries will be increased by 1.3 percent, effective November 25, 2006. All APWU represented employees will receive a Level Upgrade on February 16, 2008. Basic annual salaries will again be increased, by 1.2%, on November 21. 2009. The cost-of-living allowance (COLA) will continue under its current formula for the life of the contract. The contract will provide eight COLA increases.
- Although employee’s share of healthcare cost will increase one percent in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, the committee believes the increase is palatable. The committee considered the rising cost of healthcare throughout the nation, the percentage currently paid by other federal employees (28%), and the probability of an arbitrator imposing his own justice on the parties. Effective in 2008. employees will have the option of enrolling in the APWU Consumer Driven Health Plan, and the USPS will pay 95 percent of those premiums.
- The conversion of 10,205 clerk craft part-time flexible employees to full-time in 200 man year offices. In addition, these facilities will always be staffed with regular clerk craft employees. The conversions will begin upon ratification of the agreement and must be completed by December 1, 2007.
- The restrictions placed on casuals working in skilled positions and the requirement to utilized the OTDL prior to casuals in 200 man-year offices. These changes are expected to impact over 450 facilities throughout the country. In addition, these improvements will continue long after the expiration of this contract.
- There were improvements achieved by the Clerk, Maintenance and Motor Vehicle Divisions within their craft articles. If this contract had gone to arbitration, these improvements could have been lost in the argument over wages and health benefits.
- The inclusion of bereavement leave into the contract is a much-needed addition to our rights under Article 10. The ability to take up to 3 working days of annual leave, sick leave, or LWOP during these difficult times in our member’s lives will be well received by the membership.
- The changes to Article 30 that will establish a model “Local Memorandum of Understanding” which will be applied in those offices not covered by any LMOU because of the absence of a local union structure.
- The importance of extending the no-layoff provisions to November 2010, for all employees on the rolls on November 20, 2006.
- The increase in uniform and work clothes allowance of 2.5 percent per year.
- The improvement to Article 32, which requires local union notification when subcontracting is initiated at the field level is also significant.
- Improvements were achieved in Article 13 when making assignments to APWU crafts and local notification of such assignments.
In conclusion, the Rank-and-File Bargaining Advisory Committee believes that the tentative contract provides sufficient wage increases to offset the increases in health benefit premiums. The upgrade for all APWU members fulfills a convention mandate. The improvements in non-economic areas of the contract extend beyond the end date of this contract. These negotiated contractual provisions will benefit our membership for years to come.
If You Don’t Receive a Ballot…
The referendum mailing to APWU members will take place Dec. 18-20. Returned ballots must be received by 9 AM on Tuesday, Jan. 9. The vote count will begin immediately. If you have not received a ballot by Dec. 26, contact the American Arbitration Association at 800-529-5218 to request a duplicate. (You may also make the request via e-mail to
apwu@adr.org.) Provide your name, the last four digits of your Social Security number, your craft, and your mailing address.
Non-Members to Receive Ballot Mailing
APWU Web News Article #84-06, Dec. 15, 2006
As part of an unprecedented organizing campaign, the APWU will send a “ratification packet” to workers represented by the union who are not members. The mailing will include a summary of new contractual provisions and invite the non-members to vote. There’s a catch, of course. The vote will only be counted if the non-member completes a union sign-up card, which will also be enclosed.
In a letter accompanying the mailing, APWU President William Burrus wrote, “If you approve of these changes, the only way you can have a voice in whether or not they are enacted is if you become a union member. “The stakes are too high for you to defer to others the decision on your future pay raises, Cost-of-Living Adjustments, and upgrade. The issues are too important to leave to others the decision on whether PTFs will be converted to full-time regular; whether you will be guaranteed bereavement leave, and whether you will receive many other benefits,” he continued.
A new contract is an ideal opportunity for the union to recruit new members, Burrus said. “Non-members may believe that their pay and conditions of employment are determined by their work performance, but the fact is that every aspect of the job is governed by the agreements between the APWU and postal management. “If the contract is approved, these non-members will receive the benefits,” he said. “They have an obligation to themselves — and their co-workers — to join the fight for better working conditions for postal employees. The way to do that is to join the union.”
The mailing to non-members will be sent as soon as the ratification mailing to APWU members is complete. Union members will receive a ballot, a summary of the changes, a complete copy of the tentative agreement, a letter from the Rank-and-File Bargaining Advisory Committee, and a letter from Burrus. The single-question ballot offers a choice of ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on a tentative agreement that would run from Nov. 21, 2006, to Nov. 20, 2010. Ballots will be mailed Dec. 18-20, 2006, and must be received by Jan. 9, 2007, at the offices of the American Arbitration Association, which will count the votes.
Congress Passes Flawed Postal ‘Reform’ Bill
Burrus: Legislation Good for Major Mailers, Bad for Postal Workers
Burrus Update #18-06, Dec. 11, 2006
In a flurry of activity on the last day of the 109th Congress, the House and Senate passed postal "reform” legislation and sent the bill to the president for his signature. The American Postal Workers Union fought hard — and successfully — to preserve restrictions on excessive work sharing discounts. These discounts have subsidized the major mailers at the expense of small businesses and individual citizens for more than a decade. We intend to use the provisions of the new law to end these subsidies.
We also supported the transfer of responsibility for military pension payments from the Postal Service to the Treasury (as is the case for all other military veterans), and we advocated the release of the escrow account that was created in 2004 after overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System fund were discovered. These provisions were included in the legislation, as was the Harkin amendment, which requires public involvement in plant consolidations.
The legislation gives the Postal Service freedom to increase postage rates without lengthy regulatory proceedings, but the increases must be less than the rate of inflation. This limit on rate increases — without regard to the actual costs the Postal Service incurs — will result in an artificial cap on postal workers’ wages. The goal of the large mailers was to limit postage increases and to take control away from postal management. An all-powerful Postal Regulatory Board was created to enforce the restrictions.
The final insult in the legislation is the imposition of a three-day waiting period for payment to postal employees who are injured on the job. The waiting period, which does not apply to any other federal workers, is inhumane and wrong. Imagine if this law had been in effect during the anthrax attack: APWU members would have been required to use their sick leave while recovering — or go without pay — and the families of Brothers Curseen and Morris — who died from anthrax inhalation — would have been denied payment. How cruel.
The American Postal Workers Union has never supported this effort to artificially limit rate increases and by extension influence collective bargaining, and we did not engage in collective efforts with the large mailers to work for passage of the legislation. This bill is not yet law, but effective immediately we pledge our efforts to repeal its onerous provisions. The last chapter of Postal Reform has not yet been written.
Human Relations
by Phil Desautels, Director Human Relations Committee
Both houses of Congress passed the Postal Reform Bill on December 9th, just before departing for the Christmas break. The bill now goes to President Bush, which he is expected to sign. In this bill is a provision that will change the continuation of pay procedure for workers injured on the job. Currently, when you are injured while performing your duties, you are entitled to receive COP for 45 calendar days from the day after your injury (with paid work time or administrative leave the day of the injury). With the passage of this bill, there will be a three day waiting period before you can receive COP. You will have to use either LWOP or sick leave, and you will not be able to have sick leave converted to COP within one year for that three day period. This provision applies to ONLY postal workers. I don’t know about you, but this is highly insulting to me as a postal worker. The Postal Service and the Bush Administration insisted this had to be in the final bill because of concerns of frivolous OWCP claims.
As Human Relations Director, I plan to do my part to amend this provision back to its original form. I plan to write and meet with our Representatives and Senators to enlist their help within the new Congress. I also will ensure that the National APWU is fighting to repeal this provision. I encourage every postal worker to write their Representatives and Senators encouraging the same. Hopefully, in the near future we can organize a letter writing campaign on this matter.
NPMHU and NRLCA Agree to Tentative Contracts
from USPS Newslink
The Postal Service and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) have reached a tentative five-year contract agreement. Upon ratification by union members, the agreement will run through Nov. 20, 2011, and affect approximately 55,000 career employees who are engaged in bulk transfer, loading and unloading of mail. The Postal Service and NPMHU formally opened national contract negotiations Aug. 21, 2006.
The U. S. Postal Service and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA) have reached a tentative four-year contract agreement . Upon ratification by union members, the agreement will run through Nov. 20, 2010, and affect approximately 66,000 career employees and 52,000 non-career employees who deliver mail to residences and businesses on rural delivery routes.
National Postal Mail
Handlers Union Re-joins AFL-CIO
from www.postalreporter.com
The 50,000-member National Postal Mail Handlers Union (Mail Handlers) returned to the AFL-CIO today and became the 54th affiliate union in the 10-million-member AFL-CIO. The union—an affiliate of the Laborers (LIUNA) which left the AFL-CIO in May—is the first union to take advantage of an August AFL-CIO Executive Council decision to allow the re-issue of charters to once-independent unions that were AFL-CIO affiliates before merging into one of the unions that disaffiliated from the AFL-CIO in 2005 and 2006. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney presented the charter to Mail Handlers President John Hegarty and other union officers this morning. Hegarty says he is confident that nearly 50,000 Mail Handlers across the country will benefit from this continuing partnership between the [Mail Handlers] and the AFL-CIO. Mail Handlers have a long history with the Federation, with our first affiliation beginning nearly 70 years ago, and we certainly look forward to a long and productive relationship well into the future.
/rb
opeiu #5
afl-cio
