[July 31st]

AFL-CIO NATIONAL BOYCOTT LIST
May - August 2003

Building Materials & Tools

JET EQUIPMENT & TOOLS, INC.
Auburn, Wash., distributor of "JET" brand metal-and-woodworking power and hand tools for home and commercial use.    (International Brotherhood of Teamsters)

Entertainment & Recreation

BIG LEAGUE THEATRICALS ROAD COMPANY
Performing the "The Music Man"   (Actors' Equity Assn./American Federation of Musicians)

BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION
BET cable television, Action pay-per-view, BET on Jazz
(International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers)

ECHOSTAR DISH NETWORK
Satellite Television Service     (Communications Workers of America)

Food & Beverages

ALGOOD FOODS
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups    (International Brotherhood of Teamsters)

DIAMOND WALNUT CO.
Diamond brand canned and bagged walnuts and walnut pieces
(International Brotherhood of Teamsters)

MT. OLIVE PICKLE CO.
Pickles and relishes sold under the Mt. Olive and other labels, including the Food Lion and Harris Teeter supermarket "house" labels.    (Farm Labor Organizing Committee)

PICTSWEET MUSHROOM FARM
Fresh mushrooms and frozen vegetables with the Pictsweet label.
(United farm Workers of America)

Transportation & Travel

BEST WESTERN-GROSVENOR RESORT
Hotel in Lake Buena Vista. Fla.; located at Disney World, but separately owned and operated.    (Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union)

FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON
Hotel in Waterbury, Conn.    (Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union)

NEW OTANI HOTEL & GARDEN
Hotel in downtown Los Angeles
(Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees International Union)

HOLIDAY INN SUNSPREE HOTEL
Hotel in Kapaa, Hawaii     (International Longshore & Warehouse Union)

Others
CF&I STEEL and OREGON STEEL MILLS, INC.
Steel, including rod, bar, rail, pipe, and steel plate   (United Steelworkers of America)

R.J REYNOLDS TOBACCO CO.
Cigarettes: Best Value, Camel, Century, Doral, Eclipse, Magna, Monarch, More, Salem, Sterling, Vantage, and Winston; plus all Moonlight Tobacco products.
(Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers & Grain Millers International Union)

        [July 24th]

Congratulations, Sam— APWU Vocational Scholarship Winner!



Samuel N. Talerico, son of PMAPWU members Elizabeth and Fred Talerico, won one of the Vocational Scholarships awarded by the National APWU.

Vocational Scholarship winners are given $3000 to use toward a three-year program in specialized training. Winners are selected from among 450 finalists, and must be children or grandchildren of current, retired, or deceased APWU members. Winners are chosen by an independent selection committee drawn from the academic community. Applications are reviewed for outstanding skills, accomplishments and talents, and recipients are chosen based on these qualifications.

Sam graduated from South Side High School, is a Distinguished Honor Roll Recipient, has won a South Side Education Association "Student of the Month" award, and received the Prudential Spirit of Community Certificate of Excellence award.

The scholarships are open only to high school seniors. March 15th of each year is the standing deadline for APWU to receive completed applications for the Selection Committee to consider. Applications are available on the APWU website, through our local APWU office, or by phone request from the office of APWU Secretary-Treasurer Robert Tunstall (202-842-4215). Additional scholarship information is available through the Life Care Program (800-873-4636)or on the Life Care web site.

        [July 24th]

Final Recommendations Made Public: Technology and Workforce Subcommittees

The Workforce Subcommmittee for the President's Commission on the Postal Service has made public its final report on both Technology and Workforce issues. Naturally, of concern to our members is the Workforce Subcommittee's recommendations.

It comes as no surprise, however, that this subcommittee wants to dismantle collective bargaining at the same time they feel that top management compensation should be unlimited!

This corporate-friendly group pulls no punches in their attack on labor, and the sole labor representative member on the panel, Norman Seabrook, found his dissenting opinions disregarded.

Read a summary of the Workforce Committee's Recommendations at PostCom.org.

Read President Bill Burrus's comments about the Workforce Subcommittee report,
Burrus Assails Commission's Work at the APWU website.

        [July 22nd]

Special Dues Assessment
(excerpted from Vol. 33, No.13 APWU News Service Bulletin)

The APWU's National Executive Board has approved a special $8 dues assessment to finance a media campaign to combat efforts by the Presidential Commission or Congress to dismantle the Postal Service and attack our jobs, wages, benefits, and collective bargaining rights.

The assessment, to be collected in $2 increments over the course of four pay periods, is authorized under Article 16.3 of the APWU Constitution and Bylaws. Approved on July 8 in a nearly unanimous vote by the 12-member board, it will help our union respond to the commission's report, which is due July 31.

Please note that the assessment is temporary and was sought only in response to a critical need identified by our elected national union leaders. The special assessment should not be confused with efforts to raise money for the APWU Committee On Political Action.

A strong COPA fund to support the campaigns of pro-worker congressional candidates is another important part of the union's overall efforts but, by law, COPA cannot be financed by dues money: Only separate, voluntary contributions to COPA may be used for this purpose.

Read the text of the entire bulletin on the APWU's News Service Bulletin page.

        [July 21st]

Possible Class Action FMLA Suit Could Take on National Basis

Do you feel that you have been unduly plagued with problems when requesting FMLA from management? A member of the Colorado Springs local started a class action suit, Cyncar vs. Potter, and as the case has progressed, it has widened from Colorado Springs to the Denver District all the way to the entire Western Area. It is very possible that it will widen to take on a national scope.

The class-action revolves around the following precept:
"Violations of the FMLA by the USPS against personnel who can meet the statutory definition of having a disability".

Judge Kelly Humphrey, EEOC Administrative Judge, Denver District EEOC, certified this class action on April 1, 2003. Judge Humphrey issued a twelve-page Order recognizing the class action the class attorneys brought against the United States Postal Service(USPS) for having:

"...discriminated against qualified individuals with disabilities when it (1) unreasonably required re-certification of FMLA requests; (2) unreasonably delayed and/or denied FMLA requests or stated they were "not currently approved;" (3) systemically required second and third opinions to support the FMLA requests; and (4) designated disability-related absences as AWOL and/or disciplined employees for disability-related absences when FMLA was disapproved."

The USPS has appealed this decision to the Office of Federal Operations and submitted a brief in support of the appeal on June 23, 2003. The class attorneys are subsequently submitting a rebuttal to the USPS appeal to the OFO. This appeal will be forwarded on July 23, 2003.

A note from John Cyncar, a career-long member of the APWU, asks for our help: "This class action will have ramifications at the National Level, and the USPS realized that possibility and had so stated in a motion to extend their appeal deadline. Because of the potential scope of the class action, we will also need your help financially. Should we win, this financial help will be refunded to the donors, barring any restrictions set forth by the EEOC."

Please visit the special page on the website (PostalFlame.org) Mr. Cyncar has set up to provide all the necessary information for you to decide if you may or may not be included in such a class action suit, and what you need to do.

        [July 14th]

Free Tickets to the Circus!

We have a limited number of free tickets for children aged 12 and younger to attend the Sterling & Reid Bros. Circus at the Mellon Arena July 25-27.

The cost for adult tickets are $20. If you are interested in these tickets, please contact the Union office and based on availability, the tickets will be mailed out.

        [July 8th]

Latest TSP Funds Rates of Return

	G Fund	F Fund	C Fund	S Fund	I Fund
June 2003	0.20%	(0.30%)	1.20%	2.20%	2.30%
Last 12 months* (7/2002 to 6/2003)	4.19%	10.31%	0.25%	4.31%	6.62%

Percentages in ( ) are negative.
* The returns for the G, F, C, S and I funs for the past 12 months, assuming that, with the exception for the crediting of earnings, unchanging balances (time-weighting) from month to month and assuming that earnings are compounded on a monthly basis.

The monthly G, F, C, S, and I Fund returns represent the actual total rates of return used in the monthly allocation of earnings to participant accounts. The returns are shown after deduction of accrued TSP administrative expenses. The F, C, S, and I Fund returns also reflect the deduction of trading costs and accrued investment management fees. The most current G, F, C, S, and I Fund rates of return are shown above. Returns are updated after the monthly allocation of earnings, usually by the fourth business day of the month.

        [July 2nd]

Time Line Set for Early-Out Eligibility
From the Burrus Update #14

An employee will be eligible if he or she:

• is or will be age 50 or older as of Nov. 1, 2003, with at least 20 years of creditable service as of Oct. 31, 2003, or,
• has or will have at least 25 years of creditable service as of Oct. 31, 2003.

The effective date for retirement will be no sooner than Oct. 31, 2003.

Depending on the number of employees who elect to retire with this opportunity, an additional opportunity for retirement may be set for February 2004. If a supplemental opportunity is established, the date for computing creditable service will be moved beyond Oct. 31, 2003, to the last service day prior to the date of retirement. For example: If Feb. 1, 2004, is established as a date for termination of employment, the eligibility date will become Jan. 31, 2004.

Accompanying management's letter to all eligible employees will be a "Statement of Interest for Voluntary Early Retirement." This form will require the signature of an interested employee, but will not represent a commitment to retire. Interested employees must sign and return the form indicating their interest and a request that their eligibility be validated.

Upon receipt of the Statement of Interest form, the Postal Service will begin the process of validating employee's age and years of service to verify eligibility. Employees who are found eligible will receive an early retirement package that will include a retirement application, an annuity estimate, a service history report, and filing instructions.

The agreement to offer voluntary early retirement applies to all APWU-represented employees. Postal management has informed some employees that they will not be eligible. The union intends to enforce the agreement that all APWU-represented employees will be afforded the opportunity for Voluntary Early Retirement. It is not necessary to call or write the union's national office; the issue will be discussed at headquarters with the Postal Service, and if we do not reach agreement, appropriate action will be taken.