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FROM JOE SHEVLIN, PRESIDENT (12/6/02) I urge every APWU member throughout the country to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming contract extension ballot. Casting your vote is more important than how you vote. Send a message to the Postal Service and our elected APWU leadership that even though we may not agree or disagree on extending the contract, we do care enough about the future of our jobs that we are willing to voice our opinion by voting. If every member votes, it will not matter the outcome because we will have already won by displaying true unity. Remember that unity has never meant uniformity. Solidarity Forever!
As I'm sure
most of you are aware, you will each be receiving a ballot in the next few
days concerning whether or not we, as APWU members, want to extend our
present contract for two (2) more years until November of 2005. I am not
going to get into the specifics of what is being offered by the Postal
Service to extend the contract since you should be receiving a detailed
explanation along with your ballot, if you haven't heard or read about it
already. These are not ordinary times and this is not an ordinary vote. The
Postal Service, alleging serious financial difficulty and business downturn,
approached APWU President Burrus with the idea and he, in turn, attempted to
negotiate what he felt was a fair deal to present to the membership for
their consideration. Prior to sending the vote to the membership, Burrus
brought the rank and file bargaining committee together in order to review
the proposal and make their recommendation on whether or not it should be
sent to the membership for a vote. The rank and file bargaining committee is
made up of Local Union officers, stewards and members who are selected by
each member of the National APWU executive board. The committee voted to
send the proposed contract extension to the membership for a vote. So here
we are.
As you are, by now, aware, the APWU and the USPS have agreed upon terms for a two year contract extension. The Rank and File Committee has endorsed the sending of this tentative agreement to the membership for a vote. You will soon be receiving a ballot from APWU on this issue. Additionally, President Burrus has promised to send a letter to each member urging you to approve the Extension. President Burrus has described the proposed extension as a "unique opportunity." It is, indeed, a unique opportunity--an opportunity to require management to live up to their end of the bargain BEFORE we sign away the next two years of our lives. Under the proposed agreement, management promises to agree to an Excessing Memorandum of Understanding, petition the OPM for "special retirement opportunities," and place a moratorium on excessing until May 2003. All of these promises can be fulfilled prior to the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. Let management show that they are bargaining in good faith by completing these obligations first. If they do so, then we can talk about agreeing to extend the contract. Until then, VOTE NO on Contract Extension!
I will address each point of the proposed Contract Extension in a moment, but, first, let me tell you why, most of all, I (personally) oppose it--even at the risk of tainting the arguments that follow (in the eyes of some, at least). I have watched the Postal Service become a miserable, abusive environment over the years. This began to escalate about 1996. It has gotten to the point where it is unbearable to get out of bed just to face another day of this "waking death." But, I reasoned, we've always had a strong Union...a Union that fights for its members. And so I became a Steward. I don't think I thought I would change the world; I just wanted to make a small difference in someone's life. I wanted someone to know and understand that someone believed that they had value. See, I DON'T believe that you pick your battles. I believe your battles pick you. I believe you FIGHT for what's RIGHT because it's right. You give it everything you've got, no matter the odds and obstacles. You expect the worse, but you hope for the best. And you JUST...KEEP...FIGHTING! Anyway, that was the Union I was a member of. The Postal Service has DEVALUED me as a human being. They tell me I'm nothing but a replaceable part in an obsolete machine. Remember, these are the same folks who showed little concern for our welfare when Anthrax was released in our workplace. The Union has a responsibility to tell me that I HAVE VALUE! So, now, I turn around and the Union tells me my value is 1.3%, probably less, and that I'm NOT worth fighting for. The cost, they say, would be $1.5 million. (And never mind that man behind the curtain with the $27 BILLION DOLLARS in his pocket; that's not real money). They tell me an Arbitrator isn't going to think that I have value and that they're not even willing to try to convince him that I do. If it's a losing fight, so be it; the fight alone would convince me that the Union, at least, understands that I have value as a human being. Now, more than ever, I and the members that I represent need for the Union to make that fight (to make that statement). I keep going back, in my mind, to one of the first grievances I ever did. Simple case, cut and dry. Overtime bypass. Management agreed to a make-up and never gave it. All the requisite "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed. Should have been settled. Manager, instead, threatened the poor girl and said even if she won, they wouldn't pay her. Expedited case. Well, it's been THREE years and it hasn't been heard. Now what do I tell her about her value? Do I tell her the Union values her so much, they can't get her simple, winnable case heard? And what do I tell her about the $27 BILLION DOLLARS? Get back to me on that. And now, the proposed extension, point by point. And, know this, the USPS came to President Bill Burrus with the idea of "early outs," crying poverty all the way. This tells me 2 things: 1. They were going to do it anyway and wanted to see if they could get something for it, and 2. Bill Burrus was in an unexpectedly strong bargaining position; they want something from you, get something from them. EARLY OUTS: By February 1, 2003, the USPS agrees to petition the OPM (Office of Personnel Management) for "special retirement opportunities for all eligible APWU represented employees" and provide a copy of the petition to the APWU. That's all. The USPS promises there will be no incentives and, according to Bill, the penalties are set in law and can't be changed. Oh, and the opportunities will be staggered over the next 3 years, meaning the USPS will decide when you can leave, not you. By the way, do you really think the USPS is going to get "early outs" for APWU and not for the other unions? So we got NOTHING. MORATORIUM ON EXCESSING: Management agrees to a moratorium on excessing employees outside of a fifty-mile radius until May 15, 2003. According to the USPS, this does not apply to any excessing already in the works, or to planned plant closings and consolidations. According to Bill, exceptions will have to be approved at "the highest level." Wait! "Exceptions?" THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS! And, let's see, management is announcing the plant closings at the end of February. Hmmm. Yep, just about 60 days. So we got NOTHING. EXCESSING MOU: The USPS and APWU will, jointly, create an agreement on how excessing is to be administered, final product due on Bill's desk by January 2003. This agreement, like a JCAM (Joint Contract Apllication Manual), will be made up of EXISTING AGREEMENTS AND AWARDS. In other words, they'll agree to do what they've already agreed to do. By the way, do your managers abide by your JCAM? Didn't think so. So we got NOTHING. UPGRADES FOR ETs and CFS CLERKS: Level 10 and 11 ETs will be upgraded to Level 11 and 12 in November 2003. CFS Clerks (those left standing after PARS) will have to wait for November 2004. Why only these positions? Well, Bill says it's because we can make the strongest case for them. They are our most highly skilled and underpaid workers. These are the only upgrades management would consider. EXACTLY! In other words, we would have gotten these upgrades, anyway, and management knows this. If you couldn't, then shame on you. So we got NOTHING. EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENTAL TRAINING: Ah, finally, something real--something tangible. Opportunities for on-the-clock training for positions in Maintenance and MVS. Mind you, Maintenance and MVS are none too happy about this. After all, THEIR training was off-the-clock. And then there are the seniority issues. But, still... What's that? The program is still being developed? No time-table? DAMN! NOTHING again. TWO EXTRA BIDS: According to Bill, proportionally, five bids in three years equals two bids in two years. ............... HUH? All I know is that every new contract comes with FIVE bids. And bids on what, exactly, when every vacant position is immediately reverted? So we got LESS THAN NOTHING. NO LAYOFF PROTECTION EXTENDED: Covers no new employees, but extends protection to those who already have it for the life of the contract/extension. This is a given. As Bill, himself, says, a contract extension is, "by definition," an extension of the existing agreement. So we got NOTHING. If you think we'd lose this in Arbitration, all we've done is postpone the inevitable for a brief time. But I have come to believe that no Arbitrator would put himself in that position. He might or might not extend that protection to those hired after 2000 (the few, the proud, the...), but I doubt he'd take it away from those who already had it. Just my opinion. That's about it. Bill says an extension cannot change the current terms of the contract ("by definition"), so he couldn't talk about things like Postal Attendance Terrorism (rule #1: NEVER NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS) and the broken grievance procedure. Bill's priorities? Maximization of PTFs and upgrades for Window Clerks. What happened there? Bill says management was "not receptive." No kidding! Negotiating means each side giving something to the other. If they're "not receptive," just walk away from the table. THEY GAVE US NOTHING! Oh, yeah, I almost forgot (it's such a small thing, really), the money. 1.3% per year and we keep the COLAs. According to Bill, the other Unions have contracts in place with "roughly" 1.3% increases and the USPS was not willing to exceed that for us. As before, Bill, the idea is to get what they don't want to give. Geez, did you even think about asking for the lousy three tenths of a per cent the Mailhandlers beat us on in the last contract? I'd argue that an Arbitrator would (at minimum) apply the USPS logic and give us (at least) 1.3%. So we wouldn't do worse and we COULD do better. I'd take that risk in a heartbeat. So we got NOTHING. But, Bill says (and, on this, I agree with him), with the USPS announcing plant closings, an Arbitrator would be reluctant to turn savings thusly acquired into salary for the workforce. And, were that the end of the story, he'd have a case. But the story did not end there. Right after Bill announced the extension "discussions," the USPS "discovered" that they had seriously over funded the retirement fund. At least $27 BILLION DOLLARS worth. I've overpaid a $2000 insurance bill by $24, but not by $10,000! You'd have to be real stupid (or real clever) to do that! This was Bill's SECOND golden opportunity! This is when you go BACK to management and say, "You lied to me! Now you owe me something BIG! Something HUGE! Or the deal's off! Let's talk about a CLOSED SHOP!" That's what THEY would have done. Instead, Bill has danced and danced around this money. I guess the ballots were already at the printer's. It means nothing, he says. I doubt even Bill Gates would call $27 BILLION DOLLARS nothing. It's not new income, he says. No, it is money that the USPS had budgeted and is now free to spend elsewhere. It doesn't change the financial outlook for this "sick industry," he says. HO, HO, HO, IT SURE DOES! The USPS now projects better than $3.5 BILLION profits for next year (and so on)! $27 BILLION DOLLARS will change anyone's world! Even in Arbitration. An Arbitrator is going to look at a USPS shooting for less than 1.3% and say (or at least think), "But didn't you just find $27 BILLION?" Any human being would. So, with, not one, but TWO "once in a lifetime" opportunities presenting themselves so unexpectedly, WE GOT NOTHING! Proponents will say that we lost nothing. But that's not entirely true. Remember what I said at the beginning? (I know it was a long time ago) At least when you are FIGHTING for what you know is RIGHT, you have HOPE for a better day ahead. To me, Unionism is all about fighting for what's RIGHT, not settling for what's safe. I would rather fight and lose than tell the members you're not worth fighting for. To this, some would say, better to settle today and live to fight another day. I would respond, then, that management has already won. If you believe you are right, you believe you will win. If you do not believe you will win, then you cannot believe you are right. Then what's it all about, really? And what is there to HOPE for? The toll that this Extension will exact upon the HUMAN SPIRIT...THAT is what I, ultimately, find unforgivable.
The Red Bank Local has not taken a position for or against the contract extension. We are a Local of about 500 members. Some days it would be hard to find ten of them that agree on anything. We survived last year's Anthrax attack that closed down our sister facility in Trenton NJ. We have had a long chain of Plant Managers (Bad and Not Too Good). We have had A Local President fired. At one point, we had three Local Officers out on the street because of their Union Involvement. Either because of or in spite of our history, we have remained a strong and well organized Local. We still have good people who are willing to step up and take positions as Shop Stewards and Officers. The proposed Contract Extension is disappointing for any Maintenance Steward. We expected to see upgrades for all those Maintenance Employees that were left out in the last contract. I have not decided how I am going to vote but I will Vote and I expect a large number of our members to vote. This is an important decision at a difficult time in the history of the Union, the Postal Service, and the United States. The APWU, under the able leadership of Bill Burrus, is doing the right thing by presenting this offer to the Membership. It is sad to see that so many are afraid of the Democratic Process. Let the Members VOTE and DECIDE there own future. People speak about a free and Democratic Union and then they attack our elected leaders. Bill Burrus was the only candidate in the last National Union Election that this Local actively supported. On more then one occasion during his term as Vice President, he went out of his way to come to the aid of this small Local. Bobby Donelson is the National Officer that has done the most to improve communication with the membership. His E-Mails give us up to the minute reports from negotiations, meetings and conventions. Those that have been around long enough will remember when the only contact with the officers in Washington was the outdated articles we got in the Union Paper. For me, as the local Maintenance Craft Director, Bobby Donelson has been a trusted advisor who always seemed to have time to help with a union question, no matter whether it affected one member or was a broad issue that affected maintenance as a whole. These fine Officers have served the Union well and do not deserve to be attacked when all they have done is send an issue of importance to the members of the Union. The members will Vote and the members will Decide.
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