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11/04--2004 Scholarship Winners 10/25/04--Red Bank Local Officer Candidates Announced 10/18/04--Nominees for Red Bank Local Officer Positions 10/17/04--Monmouth P&DC to Lose 087 Flats? 4/26/04--Red Bank Local Celebrates Mike Levine 2/4/04--Red Bank Local Delegates to State Convention 11/12/03--Red Bank Local contributes to Robert and Sean 8/24/03--Monmouth P&DC Makes GAO List of "Vacant" Land 8/18/03--Vito Doesn't Care. Why Should You? 8/4/03--Red Bank Local To Assume Dues Assessment 7/17/03--Scholarship Applications Available 7/16/03--Donation to Muscular Dystrophy 6/15/03--Proposed Change to Constitution and Bylaws 4/30/03--Donation to American Diabetes Association 3/29/03--Safety Committee Representatives 1/31/03-12/26/02--Change In Local Constitution & Bylaws 12/6/02--Contract Extension Message From Joe Shevlin 11/7/02-12/5/02--Local Officer Elections 10/29/02--Local Officer Nominations 10/9/02--2002 Scholarship Winners 10/3/02--Local Officer nominations 8/27/02--Anthrax tests negative
To: ALL ET’s and MPE’s RE: Holiday Work The Union is grieving the excessive scheduling of maintenance employees on holidays which has resulted in employees being forced (drafted, mandated) to work who do not wish to work. The Union is asking ALL ET’s and MPE’s who work on a holiday to ACCURATELY record work performed on your "Employee Assignment Work Sheet". For instance, if you are assigned a daily PM on a machine that has not been run since the last time it was PM’ed, use action code B9 for "bypassed – not run since last PM". There is no need to show 7.0 hours either. Arbitrators have ruled that holiday maintenance staffing must be based on operational requirements: how many machines are actually running and minimal daily PM only. Holidays are not for "Projects" and "Catch up work" such as weekly, monthly and quarterly routes. No one should be lead to believe that doing this will reduce our staffing or cause management to not schedule volunteers. Our staffing is based solely on the data entered into the staffing package software and bypassed routes is not one of the factors. Actual Run Hours (ARH) is a major factor. Our Collective Bargaining Agreement states in Article 11.6.B: "As many full-time and part-time regular schedule employees as can be spared will be excused from duty on a holiday or day designated as their holiday". If you have any questions, ask your supervisor for union time and talk to a steward. Union time is one of your rights. For more information on this issue including the arbitrations cited (in PDF format) e-mail Ray Glasser: KIOSK COMES TO MONMOUTH, TOO editorial comment by Martin Johns With neither fanfare nor, indeed, any notice whatsoever, a "Personnel Kiosk" has magically appeared at the Monmouth P&DC. The kiosk has been placed in what is commonly called "the TV room," across from the Swing Room. So far, the kiosk does not work...at all. The timing of the arrival of the kiosk is curious, at least, as a now ancient grievance on the removal of Clerks from Personnel has finally been scheduled for Arbitration. At the time, management argued there was no need for anyone in Personnel, anymore. Shortly thereafter, the "no longer needed" Clerk was replaced by multiple Rehabs. On any given day, you can find between 3 and 6 people in the Personnel Office who, combined, cannot seem to do the work of the ONE Clerk they replaced. Having said that...Jeff, you'll have to do the bids from now on; I doubt they'll let me in there anymore. A Good Man Passes by Ray Glasser and Joe Leddy Rick Baldwin passed away on Thursday
August 28, 2003. Rick was a Union member who paid attention to what his Union was doing and always spoke his mind. It would be a better Union if more members felt that this is their Union, asked questions and stated their opinions, as Rick did. Rick was a recovering Alcoholic who was
active in a twelve step program; he let us know that he was willing to
help any one with that problem that wanted help. Indeed, Rick was
always willing to help anyone in any way that he could. Rick was 50 years old. Viewing was held Thursday, September 4, 2:00--4:00 p.m. and 7:00--9:00 p.m. Funeral services were held Friday, September 5, at 12:00 noon. Monmouth P&DC Makes GAO List of "Vacant/Underutilized" Properties (Eatontown, NJ)--In a recently released GAO
report, the Monmouth Processing and Distribution Center in Eatontown, New
Jersey, is See the complete list (from GAO report, via Lu's News) Lu's News: Why the GAO did the study
VITO ON SERVICE CUTS: "I DON'T THINK AMERICA WOULD CARE" by Martin Johns Would Americans care if the U.S. Postal Service cut back service in an effort to save money? USPS Central Jersey District Manager Vito Cetta doesn't seem to think so. "I don't think America would care," Cetta told Red Bank Local Union leaders and Congressional aides at a meeting held at the Kilmer facility in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on Wednesday, August 6, 2003. Cetta apparently based his view of America's will on his personal feelings, saying he wouldn't care if services were reduced, that he doesn't need six-day delivery, and that all he ever gets in the mail are bills. While stating that the USPS is "very sensitive" to the needs of its customers, Cetta was quick to add, "It all comes down to dollars and cents." The meeting was arranged by representatives of N.J. Senator Frank Lautenberg's office at the request of Red Bank Local President Joe Shevlin to discuss the removal of Saturday cancellation operations from the Monmouth Processing and Distribution Center and the closing of the Monmouth Annex. Cetta explained to Union leaders and Congressional aides that the Central New Jersey district had been directed to trim millions from its budget and that other options for doing so were "less palatable." When pressed by Mail Handler Union representative Robert Blum, Cetta admitted that no other "options" had truly been considered. Pointing out that the Annex lease has a year left to run, at a cost to the USPS of over $200,000, Union leaders stressed that it has not been demonstrated that the changes at Monmouth would result in savings for the Postal Service. Cetta promised to provide the Union with a "financial summary" which would show the projected savings. To date, the Union has not received the promised information. Saturday cancellation operations ceased at the Monmouth P&DC as of August 2nd. The operations were consolidated with those at the Kilmer facility in New Brunswick, where Cetta has his office. Operations at the Monmouth Annex were moved to the main facility about a week earlier. Service takes another hit: NJ Mailboxes disappearing RED BANK LOCAL TO ASSUME DUES ASSESSMENT by Martin Johns At a meeting held July 29, 2003, the Executive Board of the Red Bank Local voted to "assume" the cost of the $8 dues assessment authorized by the APWU National Executive Board. This means that individual members of the Red Bank Local will not have the assessment deducted from their paychecks, but that the total Local assessment (roughly $4000) will come from the treasury of the Red Bank Local.
Attention Members: Applications for 2003 Scholarships from the Red Bank Local are now available.
PRESS RELEASE 4/30/03 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The membership of the Red Bank Local, at the meeting of April 27, 2003, approved a $500 donation to the American Diabetes Association. The $500 charitable donation was authorized in honor of John E. Smith, a National Business Agent for the APWU Motor Vehicle Craft, who passed away at the 2003 NJSPWU State Convention on Monday, April 14, 2003, following the convention banquet. A dedicated unionist, John Smith had represented members of the Motor Vehicle craft as an NBA since 1983. Prior to that, he served as a Motor Vehicle Area Representative. Mike Levine, Vice-President of Red Bank Local and NJSPWU, noted that John died surrounded by the people he had dedicated his life to serving and shortly after winning a 50/50 drawing for COPA. In short, he died a winner. John Smith's family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, those wishing to express condolences send contributions to the American Diabetes Association. This action by the membership of the Red Bank Local continues a long tradition of community service marked by regular donations to such organizations as the Missy Maloney Fund, the MS Walk, the Lukemia Lymphoma Society, Red Bank Regional High School's "The Source" program, as well as Veteran's groups and other local organizations.
Mark Byers and Bob Tort are the current APWU representatives on the Joint Labor-Management Safety and Health Committee at Monmouth P&DC. Safety concerns, especially those of long-standing, should be transmitted to Mark and/or Bob. Mark is an ET on Tour 2 and represents the Maintenance Craft, while Bob represents the Clerk Craft and works in the Bulk Mail Entry Unit. For information on filing a report of a safety hazard, using form 1767, use the Articles link on the "Home" page and click on Article 14. THE BLIZZARD OF 2003! (FROM MY LITTLE WINDOW ON THE WORLD) by Martin Johns Click on any of the thumbnails below to enlarge
(Eatontown, NJ, 2/17/03)--The largest snowfall in 7 years, and one of the top 5 all-time, brought the Garden State and, indeed, the entire Northeast to a virtual standstill on President's Day, 2003. Snowfall totals for the storm ranged from 49 inches in Western Maryland to better than a foot most everywhere else. Governors in several states, including New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland, have declared States of Emergency and are requesting that all but emergency vehicles stay off the roads. 20 deaths have, thus far, been blamed on the storm, including at least one in New Jersey. Roofs collapsed, under the weight of the snow, on buildings in Edison and Clifton.
Totals in Monmouth County, New Jersey, prior to 12 noon on President's Day, were reported at better than 19 inches. Weather experts were predicting that the worst of the storm would be over by late this afternoon, but that snow may continue through mid-day Tuesday with additional accumulations ranging from one to six inches. Blizzard warnings and Coastal Flood warnings remain in effect. A Snow Emergency has also been declared for the state. The National Weather Service advises that, even after snowfall stops, driving conditions will remain "extremely dangerous."
Locally (in Eatontown), the snow began falling shortly after 2 PM Sunday. The winds descended quickly thereafter. Within an hour, roads were slippery and treacherous. Within three hours, 4 inches had fallen. By 9:00 AM Monday, winds had resulted in drifts of as much as ten feet, in some areas.
By the time the snow began here, localities in Ocean County and Southern New Jersey were already reporting snowfall totals of 8 to 10 inches. Officials in Stafford, New Jersey, declared that town a Disaster Area shortly after 5 PM Sunday, banning all non-essential travel on roadways there.
The combination of high winds, rapid and heavy snowfall (note: blizzard designation is not dependent on snowfall), low visibility, and the duration of the event led to "white out" conditions and officially qualify this storm as a blizzard. It is the largest single snowfall in Central New Jersey since 1996, when a nor'easter dumped better than 30 inches on local residents and then Governor Whitman essentially closed the state of New Jersey down. Average winter snowfall for the tri-state area (since 1888) is about 15 inches (source: WCBS, Channel 2). And last winter was the driest on record. The previous New Jersey snowfall record for February 17 was 1.9 inches in 1956.
New Jersey Transit bus service was suspended and there were significant delays in train service. Newark airport, officially, remained open, but virtually all flights in or out were cancelled. Speed limits on the Garden State Parkway were reduced to 35 mph Sunday afternoon, were occasionally dropped to 25 mph, and currently remain at 35 mph.
Although the timing of the storm was fortuitous (a holiday, when many businesses and schools were closed anyway), local authorities believe it will be Wednesday before any sense of normality is restored. New York City Mayor Bloomberg estimated it would take at least 42 hours for streets to be cleared and strongly urged that anyone coming into the city use mass transit and leave their cars at home. "No one," he said, "should be bringing their car into the city." In Washington, DC, the Federal Government has announced that they will remain closed through Tuesday, at least.
At the time of this writing (4:50 PM, 2/17/03), moderate to heavy snow is still falling. It is 26 degrees with sustained winds over 20 mph and gusts over 30 mph. Wind-chill is currently 14 degrees. And, on a personal note, the *##!&%#!*! who was parked next to me is shoveling his car out by throwing the snow on MY car! Yeah, I needed that! I cannot even see the roof of my car, at this point, thanks to him! What a Dick!
Sources for this story include: The Asbury Park Press, The Weather Channel, Weather.com, InJersey.com, NJ.gov, iwin.nws.noaa.gov, and assorted local television news and weathercasts. The motion to participate in a Union established program to compensate Local officers and stewards for retirement contributions forfeited due to LWOP for Union business was approved at the January 26, 2003 membership meeting. (See below for wording of this amendment to the Local Constitution and Bylaws).
12/26/02 At the November 24, 2002 Membership Meeting, a motion was made to amend the Red Bank Local Constitution and Bylaws as follows: Article 14. Add as Section 2: "The Red Bank Local will match funds to a Union established retirement fund to compensate Local officers and stewards for contributions lost due to Union LWOP. Contributions will correspond to matching contributions afforded through the USPS retirement program." It is anticipated that discussion and voting on the proposed amendment will take place at the next Red Bank Local general Membership Meeting. FROM JOE SHEVLIN, PRESIDENT (12/6/02)
LOCAL OFFICER ELECTION RESULTS: Ballots in the election of Red Bank Local Director of Clerk Craft were counted on Monday, December 2, 2002. Results are as follows: Jeff Brents..............69 Nicole Sestito...........65 3 ballots were blank or invalid. 34 ballots were unopened as the exterior envelopes were not signed. All other candidates for Red Bank Local officer positions were unopposed. See below for names. All new officers will officially take office in January.
11/27/02 LOCAL OFFICER ELECTIONS UPDATE: The Ballots will be collected from the special Election PO Box at approximately noon on Monday, December 2, 2002. Ballots will be counted at Morgan's (Holiday Inn, near Exit 105 of the Parkway). Candidates may observe the ballot count or, in the alternative, may designate a representative who may observe the ballot count.
11/14/02 LOCAL OFFICER ELECTIONS UPDATE: Ballots for Local Officer Elections have been mailed. These ballots must be received by December 2, 2002. Any member who does not receive a ballot, please contact Election Committee Chairperson Cathy Tighe at 732-389-7104.
11/7/02 The Election Committee has been named and shall consist of Cathy Tighe, Robert Tort and Michael Levine. The President reserves the right to select additional members or volunteers if needs require. The Committee will be meeting shortly to prepare and mail ballots. At present, it is expected that ballots will be mailed by November 11, 2002 and must be returned by December 2, 2002. If your address has changed recently, please notify your shop steward ASAP. Please check this page often for updates as the process moves forward. Nominations for Red Bank Local officers were taken at the October 20, 2002 membership meeting. Prospective candidates were given 7 days to accept nomination. Nominees not appearing below have declined nomination. The following nominees have accepted nomination for the listed positions: President: Joe Shevlin Vice President: Mike Levine Secretary/Treasurer: Martin Johns Director of Clerk Craft: Jeff Brents, Nicole Sestito Director of Maintenance Craft: Joe Leddy Director of Industrial Relations: John Seery At the next regularly scheduled membership meeting, in accordance with established procedure, the Secretary/Treasurer will cast the ballot for those candidates who are unopposed. If there is no objection at that time, those unopposed candidates will be declared elected. An Election Committee will be selected to administer the election for the contested position(s). Congratulations to Leah Danielle Roundtree (stepdaughter of Tour 2 clerk Ed Booker) and Christopher Scheidt (son of Tour 1 clerk James Scheidt), the recipients of the two $1,000 college scholarships awarded annually by the Red Bank Local. The members of the Scholarship Committee wish it to be known that all of this year's applicants were exceptional and that this year's selection process was the most difficult ever. The Red Bank Local thanks all of the applicants for participating and wishes them all good luck and good fortune as they pursue their education and their dreams. Nominations for election of Local Officers will be the only business conducted at the next Red Bank Local membership meeting, scheduled for 12 Noon, October 20, 2002, at the Freehold Knights of Columbus (70 E Main St) in Freehold. Nominations will be accepted for Red Bank Local President, Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Director of Clerk Craft, Director of Maintenance Craft, and Director of Industrial Relations. In accordance with the Red Bank Local Constitution & Bylaws, candidates, to be eligible to run for Executive Office, must have been members in good standing of the Red Bank Local for a minimum of 12 months (one year). Any individual who has served as an Acting Supervisor (204B) in the last 12 months (one year), whether for an extended time period, for one day, or for any portion of one day, is not eligible to hold office in the Red Bank Local. Retired Postal Workers are not eligible to run for office in the Red Bank Local. Candidates wishing to accept nomination must submit the acceptance, in writing, to the current Secretary/Treasurer within seven calendar days of the nomination. The Secretary/Treasurer wishes to express that written acceptance should be on regular paper (no napkins, paper towels, or the like). Any candidate who does not submit written acceptance to the Secretary/Treasurer within the designated time-frame will be presumed to have declined nomination. Write-in votes will not be considered. With nominations for Red Bank Local officers upcoming, ballots for New Jersey State Postal Workers Union elections already mailed, and Congressional and Senate elections looming in the background, this is a good time to remind everyone to VOTE. Your vote, in any election, is your right and your voice. The right to vote is never "given" to anyone. People, through the ages, have fought and died to win and protect the right to vote. Rights that are not exercised tend to disappear. To preserve your right, you must take advantage of it...exercise it...VOTE. Many Union elections are decided by a handful of votes. Many Congressional races are decided by a few hundred votes. Your vote does count. As the Local election process moves forward, information (candidates, ballot mailings, results, etc.) will be posted here on the Up Front page. THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
According to the United States Postal Service, precautionary anthrax tests conducted at the Monmouth and Kilmer facilities were negative. This means that no traces of anthrax were found in the samples taken on Sunday, August 18. The decision to take additional samples from the two facilities followed closely the discovery of anthrax contamination of a Princeton mail drop box. Authorities speculated that this mail box may have been the original drop site for the anthrax tainted letters mailed last fall. Under the direction of the CDC, an independent contractor collected 16 samples at Monmouth and 17 at Kilmer. Samples were collected with a HEPA vacuum. The Monmouth samples were exclusively limited to the dock and the 010 (opening unit) areas. The USPS announced the results of the testing on Wednesday, August 21. Hardcopy test results have not yet been made available to the Local Union. When the full results are released to the Red Bank Local, we will examine them closely. Central New Jersey District Manager Vito Cetta stated the following: "We are pleased that no evidence of anthrax was found at either the Kilmer or Monmouth plants. We want to emphasize that these tests were purely precautionary. They do not in any way suggest a renewed threat to the health and safety of our employees or the public, either at these facilities or anywhere in the postal system. Indeed, the absence of anthrax at Monmouth and Kilmer should reassure the facility's employees and the public they serve." Additional tests were conducted on August 21 at the Princeton Post Office, South River Distribution Center and Hamilton Township dock transfer. These tests were also announced to have been negative. It has been ten months since at least four letters containing anthrax moved through the Postal Service mailstream, resulting in the deaths of two Washington, DC Postal Workers and anthrax-related illnesses of several more, including our New Jersey brothers and sisters in Trenton. To date, no one has been arrested and charged with the crime. The Brentwood facility in Washington and New Jersey's Hamilton facility remain closed pending clean-up efforts. THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES
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"Union members who
attended the [Trenton] meeting Saturday, October 16, 2004," says Lewis,
"advised that the 087 mail has already begun to be processed in Monroe." 
At the September 28 membership meeting, the Red Bank Local
voted to donate $500 to the Robert and Sean fund. Robert and Sean Smith are
area children who suffer from
listed as having 12
acres of "vacant or underutilized" property. One of four New Jersey sites
listed in the study, the 12 acre total at 307 Industrial Way ranks 8th,
nationwide, among 114 individual parcels of land. The report indicates
that the 12 acres are currently being held for possible future construction. 
