Postal Rhino?
August 2007
Monthly Archive
Photo: Rhino Dressed in Postal Carrier Uniform
NALC Extends Ratification Ballot Deadline For Some Members
Message fron NALC:
Votes in the rank-and-file ballot referendum on ratification of the tentative agreement for a new five-year contract must be received by the Ballot Committee by 11:59 p.m. on August 27 in order to be counted
However, the deadline is being extended to 11:59 p.m. on September 6 for 16,630 members whose ballots were misaddressed due to a problem in the mailing software, as explained in the latest NALC Bulletin.
A list of affected members and their branch numbers is posted here. If you are on the list, a new ballot has been mailed and you will be given extra time to vote. If your name is not on the list and you have not received a ballot, contact your branch president immediately to request a replacement ballot.
source: http://www.nalc.org
Kelly Girl Arbitration Award To Cost USPS Millions
“Kelly Girl” Award Is Issued - $19,717,431.00 plus $128,142.74 in lost union dues. Payout not to exceed $9,694 will be made individually to 2,034 Clerks
From PostalReporter.com reader:
It was just announced by the Arizona local APWU that the arbitrator has awarded the union nearly $20 million ($19.7+). The PO had they’re chance to settle on a dollar amount but balked, so it was sent back to the arbitrator to settle it for them.
No word on what they could have settled at. This concerned people who worked at Postal call centers and jobs that were contracted to Kelly Girl temp services.
Between this case the Mail Handlers, and MVS grievance wins the PO will have paid out nearly $36 million within the last year and a half alone.
Kelly Girl Award Dated August 7, 2007 (PDF)
Note: According to National APWU, “ management has informed the APWU that the contract with Manpower for casuals terminated on April 30, 2007. There is only one office, nationwide, that is still reporting the use of Manpower temporary employees and we are informed that is a temporary situation.
Brief synopsis of Kelly case from the Phoenix, Arizona APWU :
APWU VICTORY!
The Phoenix Metro Area Local has just received the arbitration award regarding the “Kelly Girl” case. Arbitrator Henderson ruled the Employer violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement when it hired over 200 “Kelly Girl” employees to work at the Phoenix Telephone Center in April 1996. The Center remained open for just over 3 years. The APWU argued the Telephone Center should have been staffed by Level 6 Phoenix Clerks. The arbitrator agreed with the Union.
The arbitrator has ordered the Employer and APWU to begin the process of settlement. Steven Zamanakos, National Business Agent, will reach out to Area Management in an effort to resolve the remedy portion in a way that is fair to Phoenix Clerks who worked during this period.
Related link: Previous National Level Award on Kelly Girl
Photo: Jay Em, Wyoming Post Office
Post Office: Jay Em, Wyoming 82219
USPS Board Chairman Gets Blue-Collar Name Tag
Postal Service’s Miller gets blue-collar name tag
By Bill McAllister Washington Correspondent
At the Aug. 8 meeting of the United States Postal Service board of governors, chairman James C. Miller III was back at the podium wearing a blue uniform shirt similar to those worn by Postal Service workers.
But something was different this time. He was sporting an employee name tag, which he had not been able to get from Postmaster General John E. “Jack” Potter previously.
”A New York team came through,” Miller explained, as he showed off his name tag inscribed “Jim.”
The first time Miller, a Washington-based economist, showed up at a Postal Service board meeting with the blue work shirt, Potter joked that Miller would need to join a postal union before he could get a name tag to go with it.
source: Linn’s Stamp News via PostalReporter reader
Because of his repeated calls for privatizing the U.S. Postal Service, James Miller III, the chairman of the Postal Service board of governors, has not been regarded as a friend of the nation’s large postal unions.
Perhaps in an attempt to show his appreciation for postal workers, Miller showed up at the board’s May 2 meeting sporting a light blue Postal Service postal worker shirt.
He said it was a great shirt, and he was honored to be working for the same organization, but he needed a name tag.
He asked Postmaster General John E. “Jack” Potter if he could use his influence to get him a name tag.
Without pausing, Potter shot back, “When you join the union, we’ll give you a badge.” With that Miller announced that he would be known as “Clerk Miller.”
Photo: Post Office Jumping Branch, West Virginia
Post Office: Jumping Branch, West Virginia 25969
APWU: Latest COLA Will Yield $686 Annual Increase
APWU News
Even with the Consumer Price Index falling slightly in July, the latest Cost-Of-Living Adjustment under the National Agreement will give APWU-craft employees an annual raise of $686.
July was the last month of the second six-month COLA measuring period in the 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The COLA will be effective Sept. 1, and will be reflected in Sept. 21 paychecks (Pay Period 19-07). The adjustment will amount to a 33 cents per hour increase, or $26.40 per pay period.
This will be the third largest COLA increase since 2000. APWU-represented employees received an $812 cost-of-living raise last September, and a $728 COLA in September 2005.
USPS and Mexico Sign Agreement to Improve Cross-Border Mail Services
USPS Press Release
MEXICO CITY — The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and the Servicio Postal Mexicano (SEPOMEX) have signed an agreement to improve mail services between the United States and Mexico.
USPS has agreed to assist SEPOMEX in efforts to transform its management structure and processes and re-engineer its operations. SEPOMEX has agreed to collaborate with USPS in exploring and developing joint business opportunities and improving cross-border services.
“USPS and SEPOMEX are very pleased with the agreement,” said Paul Vogel, USPS managing director of Global Business and senior vice president. “It sets a framework for us to work more closely together, collaborating on improvements that will benefit customers in both of our countries.”
“This agreement is the basis for permanent cooperation between SEPOMEX and the U.S. Postal Service,” said SEPOMEX Director General Lic. Purificación Carpinteyro Calderón. “It will guide us as we seek to establish a seamless distribution network on both sides of the border that will trigger stronger commercial exchange between our two countries.”
USPS will draw on its own transformation experience in assisting SEPOMEX. Since embarking on strategic transformation in 2002, the agency has taken an average of $1 billion out of its cost base annually — while making productivity gains and achieving continuous service improvement each year as well.
The two agencies will form a Joint Service Improvement and Business Development Team to pursue initiatives in international express mail service, air mail parcels, and package services.
Another key component of the agreement is collaboration to develop enhanced security procedures for all mail products. USPS has agreed to support SEPOMEX in developing its own postal inspection group, including the selection, hiring and training of postal inspectors.
“Our countries have a long and rich tradition of mutual aid and cooperation,” said Alexander Lazaroff, chief postal inspector of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “This agreement will promote the integrity of both of our postal systems and result in improved security and better service on both sides of the border.”
USPS and SEPOMEX also will establish a joint work group to improve customs clearance procedures.
Injured On Duty& postalAug 13 2007 07:24 pm
Ex-Postal Worker Admits Defrauding OWCP out of $392,000
A former U.S. postal worker admitted in federal court this morning that he defrauded the federal government out of $392,000 in workers’ compensation payments over the past 16 years.
David P. VanDeusen, 56, pleaded guilty to fraud in obtaining workers’ comp benefits.
VanDeusen went out on workers’ comp in 1991 with a back injury he says he suffered on the loading dock at the U.S. Postal Service’s distribution center on Taft Road.
To collect workers’ comp, he had to sign a form every year saying he was not collecting income from another job or a business he owned. He admitted in court that he falsely claimed he had no other income.
The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)
Note from PostalReporter.com: OWCP form CA 1032 states in part that “The kinds of services which you must report includes such activities as carpentry, mechanical work, painting, contracting, child care, odd jobs, etc. Report activities such as keeping books and records, or managing and/or overseeing a business of any kind, including a family business. Even if your activities were part-time or intermittent, you must report them.”
USPS Flat Sequencing System Strategy
FSS will reduce city carrier work load by 85 per cent. Three-fourths of city carrier volume is flats, most City Carriers spend 2 hours in office and 6 hours on street with 30 minute fixed office time break. FSS will reduce office time and increase street time.
The Memorandum of Understanding included in the USPS, NALC proposed contract agreement states “FSS Implementation that stipulates that once FSS is fully implemented in a delivery unit, management will determine the methods to estimate the impact of FSS and adjust routes accordingly.
See video of FSS in action, photos, deployment and other information