President's Report
by Mark Kirby, President
On behalf of the Denver Metro Area Local Executive Board and Staff, we would like to honor and give thanks to all of our Veterans who served our country. We are privileged to have many of our Veterans as part of the DMAL/APWU Family. If you know a Veteran, thank them for protecting and for providing us the freedom to pursue the dreams of our choice!
I would also like to thank our members for all you have done and all that you’ve had to put up with! It is so discouraging to a lot of us who have dedicated half of our lives or more to this company and have seen the disintegration of this great company called the United States Postal Service. We’ve seen a lot of changes in upper management positions and yet not enough changes in supervisory positions on the work room floor. It appears to be the same old supervisors with the same old attitudes. Does anyone else care about the future of our Postal Service??? We had special teams come in to evaluate all mail processing procedures and what was the result of that? Does it appear that operations are running smoother and more efficiently? Have any major issues been identified that contributed to the processing problems in Denver? NO, as usual, “the bargaining unit employees are the problem”, not mismanagement.
I am hopeful that our working environment can improve, and that we get the Dignity and Respect from management that we deserve. This has been the key to Denver’s success in the past. When relations have been good between the Unions and Management as well as supervision and the bargaining unit employees, we are one of the best in the nation. When relations are bad, and communication is poor, the end result is we hit rock bottom.
We should be able to come to work in a safe and clean facility and have proper staffing where needed so that our coworkers who don’t want to work overtime can count on 2 days off or go home to their families after 8 hours.
If the last few days/weeks or years have been any indication of what’s to come this season, then we are in for another demoralizing season and that is depressing. It’s sad that management thinks that turning off the TV’s in the break rooms is the key to the mail getting dispatched on time. Are you kidding me?
Mandating everyone for the Veterans Day Holiday or any Holiday, preventing people from celebrating with their friends and families is not heading in the direction of improving the working relationship in the work place. Example: management has 190 automation clerks scheduled at noon on Veterans Day, yet only room enough for 104 clerks to staff 52 machines; the FSS machines require 6 clerks to fully staff that operation, yet management is bringing in 11 clerks for those machines. Then, come to find out, the day before and even the day of the holiday, that management over mandated and really doesn’t need you. Want to go home? Sound familiar?
Is having a clean break room to eat our meals too much to ask for? A properly cleaned and supplied bathroom is a must! Did you know that a 1767 can be filled out and submitted to safety for unacceptable break room and bathroom conditions? A lot of you ask, “Why fill out 1767’s?” We need these documents so please make a copy for yourself and give one to your union steward because we know how these 1767’s can disappear!
If you are a non volunteer for overtime and are mandated and not all volunteers are working please contact your union steward. And when I say get a hold of your union steward, be prepared to write a statement, we cannot just go to management with hearsay, we need statements!
Training is another quality tool to improve the productivity that management keeps telling us sucks yet training has been nonexistent for years. If you are not sure on the procedures of your job to do it safely and efficiently please tell management you need help. If they don’t provide any assistance then please write a statement and provide it to your union steward!
I am hoping we can establish a professional and fair working relationship with management as good communication is vital to everyone’s success. The union cannot be viewed as evil by management just because we enforce your rights under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
With the upcoming holidays and the extra hours you will be working this Holiday Season I hope you keep safety in mind. We need to work safe and stay healthy for our families!
Happy Veterans Day From the Denver Metro APWU
by Bobby Rollins, Executive vice-President
On behalf of the Denver Metro, we would like to extend a special “thank you” to all Veterans who have served our country. These are the courageous people who have put themselves in harms way to preserve our freedom and rights as Americans. Can you imagine what life would be like in America today if it were not for the dedication and commitment of each and every one of our Veterans?
Happy Veterans Day To All!
I would also like to extend my gratitude and thanks to all Members and Representatives of the Denver Metro APWU. You are the people who fight tirelessly to enforce the contract and preserve our rights in the workplace. Can you imagine what life would be like in the Postal Service if it were not for all of the efforts you put forth in securing and upholding our contract? I sense that Amendment 70 (Minimum Wage) on our Colorado Ballet would have been of greater importance to us as Postal Workers, in the absence of our union and our contract.
We need to rally together to keep our Union strong and sustainable far into the future. I can’t emphasize the importance of everyone documenting and writing statements when you are a witness to our contract being violated. We can’t afford to turn a blind eye. We must all stand and fight together and let management know that we take our contract seriously. We cannot allow for people to make “Sweet Heart Deals” with management which violate our contract. If we veer from the contract in any aspect, management will expect us to veer from it in every aspect.
If you come in contact with a Veteran, I would ask you to thank them for their service and for protecting our freedom and rights as an American. If you come in contact with your Union representative, I would ask that you thank them for protecting our contract and rights as U.S. Postal employees.
The following is a link which provides free meals, discounts, sales and deals to all Veterans.
http://militarybenefits.info/veterans-day-discounts-sales-deals-free-meals/
