by Bill Lewis, APWU President Trenton Metro Area Local #1020 

The first round of in section bidding has concluded.  This restricted bidding will go on for many months before every one is in place.   The award notice is posted on the web site.

The excessing to the needs of the installation is on hold; no one has been excessed to the mail handler’s craft.  The potential for excessing still exists, since management has never withdrawn their notification.   I have requested that the USPS withdraw it’s excessing notification in writing.  We await their letter.

Many members have approached me with concerns about excessing to the needs of the section.  I will try to answer your questions and concerns about this troubling issue.  First, we need to clarify one very important allegation, it is not the union who gave away our work and it is not the union who wants to abolish your jobs and excess you out of your section.  It is the employer, the USPS, who should get the credit for this. Your supervisor.  I realize this is hard for anyone to affix blame on your supervisor, it’s much easier to blame the union.

Superseniority

This seems to have been a topic of many conversations. This provision of the contract was not something I just made up to take care of my own stewards, it has been in the contract for over 28 years, clearly not new or something I just created.  This contractual protection prevents management from removing stewards from their tour and additionally allows the stewards to maintain Superseniority for the purpose of bidding on initial vacancies over excessed employees wishing to exercise their retreat rights.

The following is from the Joint Contract Interpretation Manual, page 79.  The JCIM can be found on Bill’s Resource page or at the APWU’s Web Site

STEWARDS - SUPERSENIORITY

When it is proposed to reassign a steward or chief steward, the employee will not be involuntarily transferred to another tour, station, or branch of the particular post office, or to another independent post office or installation unless there is no job for which that employee is qualified on such tour, or in such station or branch, or post office.

Following excessing, stewards maintain this “Superseniority” for the purpose of bidding on initial vacancies over excessed employees wishing to exercise their retreat rights.

Excessing to the needs of the section

Why am I being excessed when I am a fsm keyer?

All excessing is done by seniority and grade level; in this excessing event there is a need to excess employees in the flatsorter section.   This section was locally established per Article 30, Item 18.  The section is the flatsorter area on each tour by grade level.  Without established sections, the section could have been the whole building.  In this situation the section is FSM by grade level and all contractual provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement have been adhered to.

During the last local negotiations, the local union desired to change the flatsorter section to automation and mechanization, meaning keyers would be separated from automation.  We had a tentative agreement on this issue but management refused to sign the new local agreement.  If management would have signed the agreement the FSM Keyer would not be excessed. 

You cannot compare overtime opportunities and holiday scheduling with excessing.  They are totally different issues.

NO “BUMPING” CLAUSE

No employee shall be allowed to displace or bump another employee, properly holding a position or duty assignment, pursuant to Article 12.5.B.3. The “no bumping” clause prohibits a senior employee whose job may be abolished from bumping a junior employee from his/her bid duty assignment. The senior employee, however, would be entitled to exercise his/her seniority through the bidding procedure, and accept the duty assignment formerly held by the junior employee who was excessed out of the section and/or installation.

Why didn’t we have a meeting before the excessing began?

When the parties were meeting about the excessing it was agreed that the union and management would meet with the impacted employees on all 3 tours.  When management was ready to issue the excessing letters I called about the meetings and was informed they did not recall agreeing to meet with the impacted employees.  I cannot just hold informational meetings on the workroom floor.  We do have union meetings and over the last several months we have had many discussions over excessing at the meetings. 

Remember who gave away your work, who excessed you, who abolished your job, who changed your drop days and who denied your travel pay. The USPS.

Who is the only one fighting for your rights?  The APWU.

Please check out the web page at www.trentonmetroarealocal.com