THE BULLETIN BOARD
March 2005
[March 23rd]APWU Private Mail Haulers Strike
APWU News Article, #11-2005
Rood Trucking Company drivers who are covered under the Pittsburgh Metro Local 081 are not alone in their struggles to be properly treated, bargained with, and compensated. The bad faith practices of the owners of these postally-contracted companies takes place all over the nation. Unity and the continued fight for what is right and fair is necessary.
Here is an excerpt from the most recent web news articles page at the national APWU website:
"More than 100 APWU members in Des Moines, IA, and Kansas City, KS, who are truck drivers for the private-mail hauler Mail Contractors of America, went on strike March 22, demanding the company negotiate a fair contract.
"Workers are picketing truck terminals operated by Mail Contractors of America (MCA) in both cities. Union members are demanding an end to policies the companies imposed in September 2004 that reduced their pay by close to $10,000 per year.
"Last fall, MCA stopped paying a portion of health insurance premiums, forcing drivers to assume the costs— totaling approximately $5,000 for family coverage— if they wished to maintain their health insurance.
"The company also began denying the drivers pay for required rest breaks— breaks they were paid for under a collective bargaining agreement covering the Des Moines workers that expired Sept. 30, 2003. The Kansas City workers, who have never negotiated a contract with the company, also received pay for breaks until Sept. 1, 2004."
Please get all the details at the APWU Web News Articles page.
[March 22nd]Postal Reform Legislation Introduced in Senate
APWU News Bulletin, #04-2005
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), chair of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, introduced a postal reform bill March 17 that is similar to legislation approved by the panel last year. The measure was co-sponsored by Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-DE) and Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH).
Senate bill S.662 does not contain controversial anti-union language requested by the USPS Board of Governors that would have required postal unions to bargain for healthcare and retirement benefits that are currently guaranteed by law. The bill also omits the Board's proposal that would have required arbitrators to consider a selective set of economic criteria when ruling on postal workers' contracts.
The bill contains an important provision— opposed by the White House— that would relieve the Postal Service of responsibility for the retirement costs for military service of USPS employees, returning the obligation to the U.S. Treasury. No other federal agency pays these costs.
Please get all the details at the APWU News and Events Page.
[March 13th]Action on Postal 'Reform' Legislation Expected Soon
Burrus Update #3-2005
Legislation to overhaul the Postal Service is on track to be presented in the Senate soon, and discussions between the White House and the Senate and House committees with jurisdiction are ongoing.
The APWU identifies six major issues of concern and two blantant anti-union proposals. To view these eight items in detail, please visit the latest Burrus Update online.
[March 3rd]Top 100 Contractors of 2003, USPS
If you are interested in who gets contracts from the USPS, how much they get paid to fulfill their contracts, and what it is that they are contracted to do, then visit this webpage at Wickwire.com, 2003 USPS Top 100 Contracts
If you take a look, you will see things like $87.5 million for deploying the Biohazard Detection System paid to Northrup Grumman, or that the number one expenditure was $315.32 million for the APPS machines, paid to Lockheed Martin... or you might notice $9.6 million spent on 50-pound cases of rubber bands. Go see for yourself!
[March 1st]Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Update
In January, the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) rose to 554.9. After the final month of the six-month measuring period, the seventh Cost-Of-Living Adjustment under the extended 2000 National Agreement will give employees an annual raise of $208. The adjustment amounts to a 10 cents per hour increase, which works out to $8 per pay period. The seventh COLA will take effect March 19, 2005 (pay period 7-2005, pay date April 8, 2005).
Under the 2000 National Agreement and the Operating Services Agreement, employees as of April 8 will have received the following cost-of-living adjustments totaling $1893: $208 (April 8, 2005); $624 (Sept. 4, 2004); $208 (March 6, 2004); $291 (Sept. 6, 2003); $250 (March 8, 2003); and $312 (Sept. 7, 2002). Note: Due to a falling CPI-W index late in 2001, employees did not receive an increase for the first cost-of-living adjustment period..
[March 1st]Northrop Grumman, Siemens Team in Bid For Next Generation Mail Processing System
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has teamed with Siemens Dematic Postal Automation L.P. to compete for the United States Postal Service's Flats Sequencing System/Delivery Point Packaging (FSS/DPP) program.
FSS/DPP continues the Postal Service's letter and flat-mail automation program to provide the next generation of postal automation that will sort and merge letter and flat mail in a series of delivery point, walk-sequenced mail bundles. Contracts will be awarded in several phases over the next four years: design and simulation; prototype development and in-plant test; field test; and system production, should the Postal Service decide to install these new technologies.
Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector will be prime contractor for the FSS portion of the program, and Siemens will serve as prime contractor for the DPP portion of the program. Northrop Grumman will provide systems engineering, as well as flats processing technology. Siemens will also provide systems engineering in addition to letter processing and Optical Character Recognition technology.
Past Issues of the Bulletin Board
[February 2005]
[January 2005] [December 2004]
Use our Search function to look up further back-issues of the Bulletin Board.
