THE BULLETIN BOARD
August 2006
[August 22nd]March in the Labor Day Parade!
Pittsburgh's Labor Day Parade will begin at 10:00 am on Monday, September 4, 2006.
This year PMAPWU is marching in the white division, the second rotation. We will gather and line up on Mario Lemieux Place, which is directly behind the Mellon Arena.
Mass will be celebrated at 8:00 at St. Benedict the Moor Church, 91 Crawford Street, 15219— a street just a block further up Center Avenue from the Arena.
PMAPWU tee shirts, hats, and refreshments will be available at 9:00 am behind Mellon Arena. Family and friends are welcome to join us.
All PMAPWU members will meet after the Parade for a catered lunch under the tents at our Union headquarters parking lot, 1414 Brighton Road, 15212.
[August 17th]Latest CPI Rise Will Yield $812 Annual Increase
excerpted from APWU Web News Article #48-06
The final Cost-Of-Living Adjustment under the National Agreement will give APWU-craft employees an annual raise of $812.
The Consumer Price Index rose slightly in July, the last month of the latest six-month Cost-Of-Living Adjustment measuring period in the extended 2000-2003 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The 10th COLA (the second under the 2005-2006 extension) will be effective Sept. 2, and will be reflected in Sept. 22 paychecks (Pay Period 19-06). The adjustment will amount to a 39 cents per hour increase, or $31.20 per pay period.
"COLA raises have made important contributions to our members' wages," said President William Burrus. "This further shows the value of a union contract and strengthens our resolve to negotiate a strong new agreement."
The current collective bargaining agreement expires Nov. 20. Bargaining with the Postal Service is set to begin Aug. 29.
[August 16th]Delegates to Protest Decline in Service Tomorrow
excerpted from APWU 18th Biennial Convention News Bulletin #1
Philadelphians are keenly aware of a decline in area mail service in recent months, and Thursday afternoon the APWU will help make sure that residents hear that the dramatic deterioration in service is the result of ill-advised postal policies that can— and should— be changed.
Postal workers will take to the streets Aug. 17, in a rally at the 30th Street Post Office. The protest will coincide with the convention's traditional "Blue T-Shirt Day," when approximately 3,000 delegates will wear the union colors.
The deterioration in service has been caused in large part by the transfer of mail processing operations from 30th and Market streets to a new facility near the airport. The Lindberg Boulevard facility opened last November. As local news stories have pointed out, it is unlikely that the service problems are only temporary. The fact is that the new facility is grossly understaffed.
More than 700 jobs have been cut— many workers have been "excessed," some of them hundreds of miles away and with only a few weeks notice— and casuals have been hired to replace career employees, in blatant violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Read more about this and all the other Convention Updates at the APWU's
18th Biennial Convention News.
[August 16th]Window Clerk Polo Shirt Available This Fall
The new polo shirts were modeled at the first weekend of the APWU Clerk Crafk Conference in Philadelphia this past weekend.
The long- and short-sleeved shirts have been the subject of long and short discussions, tests, and reviews since 2003. Vendors will begin taking orders on these shirts early in October and clerks will be able to wear them starting November 18th. One of the last issues to be resolved grants retail clerks the right to wear this style any day of the week that the window is open.
They can be purchased using the Sales and Service Associate uniform allowance. The cost is expected to be in the $30-$35 range.
[August 14th]PMAPWU Website Search
We provide a site-wide search function for our members and other visitor because of the volume of information stored on the website. We also have a Site Map to provide a general navigational tool to help access information here.
Also, over time, certain items of information may become less easily accessed as site organization changes. However, we do our best to keep an eye on the search statistics, noting what members search for, what they find, what they don't find.
Having reviewed our latest set of search statistics, we've prepared a list of general responses to what looks like specific areas of interest to our searching members. To take a look at this material, please visit our Search Response Information Page.
[August 12th]APWU, USPS Reach Agreement on Transfer Opportunities
excerpted from APWU Web News Article #46-06
APWU-represented employees at installations where excessing is occurring will have an opportunity to be placed on a preferred listing and will receive other accommodations to minimize the impact of reassignments under an agreement signed recently by the union and postal management.
Under the modified memo, in facilities where excessing is occurring, APWU-craft employees in impacted crafts may voluntarily submit a request for transfer through eReassign. The eReassign procedure places such employees on a preferred listing by date order and allows them to transfer out of their impacted installation as long as they meet the minimum qualifications for the position being considered.
Under the modified agreement, installations accepting transfer requests will do so on a seniority basis (craft seniority in the losing installation). In the event of a seniority tie between employees, the tie-breaker method will consider total career postal time and "entered-on-duty" date. An employee’s seniority in the gaining installation is established by the respective gaining craft article in the collective bargaining agreement – an employee is a voluntary transfer, not an "excessed" employee.
To get all the details and view a PDF copy of the agreement, read APWU Web News Article #46-06 in its entirety at the APWU National website.
[August 7th]Management Must Restore Local Retirement Counseling
excerpted from APWU Web News Article #45-06
The APWU and USPS signed an agreement Aug. 4 requiring the Postal Service to restore individual and group retirement counseling, which management had discontinued. The counseling sessions were suspended beginning in April 2005, when management applied the Human Resources Shared Services program to retirement and separation activities. Under the Shared Services plan, personnel activities were moved from local postal facilities to a centralized site in Greensboro, NC.
According to the settlement, previously established local counseling methods will be reinstated. The settlement is in accordance with provisions of the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM), which outlines management's obligation to provide retirement counseling to employees.
Read the entire article at the APWU News Article Page.
[August 1st]FedEx, USPS Renew Delivery Deal
from Reuters News Wire
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Package-delivery company FedEx Corp. (FDX.N) and the U.S. Postal Service on Tuesday said they had renewed through 2013 an agreement for FedEx's FedEx Express unit to transport domestic mail by air.
The contract, expected to generate about $8 billion in revenue over its seven-year life span, calls for Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx's express delivery unit to transport about 4 million pounds (1.814 million kilograms) of mail between U.S. airports each day.
The deal comes just over a month after FedEx's main rival, United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS.N), announced it had a deal with the U.S. Postal Service increasing the amount of packages it would deliver to more than $100 million annually. UPS, the world's largest package delivery company, said at the time that it would seek to gain more business from the postal service over time.
FedEx has been far ahead of its rival in hauling packages for the postal service, carrying 1 billion pounds of mail in 2005 and generating revenue of around $1.3 billion.
[August 1st]Pay-For-Performance Plan Boosts Managers Salaries
excerpted from FederalTimes.com, Dan Davidson
"Postmasters, executives, supervisors and administrative workers in many cases are seeing higher annual raises and bonuses under the U.S. Postal Service’s nearly 3-year-old pay-for-performance system than they did under the previous system. Increases are averaging 5 percent under the new system, compared with 4 percent previously.
"About 74,000 postmasters, executives, supervisors and administrative workers participate in the new pay-for-performance program, which replaced the Economic Value Added program in October 2003.
"The new system allows all participants to score at the highest level, compared with the EVA merit pay, which by design permitted only 10 percent of managers to be rated excellent. The pay schedule is also considerably more generous. The highest possible performance raise under EVA was 6 percent. Under the new system, participants can receive a raise that ranges from 0 percent to 12 percent, said Anthony Vegliante, Postal Service chief human resources officer and executive vice president.
"A further financial benefit of the new program for employees is that unlike EVA, the performance pay awarded is added to regular pay, up until the recipient reaches the top-most pay level in his work category. After that the bonus pay comes in the form of a lump sum, Vegliante said."
Read the entire article at FederalTimes.com. Please take the time to educate yourself regarding how Postal Management is so well taken care of! You NEED to know these things.
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