[September 13th]

Job Vacancy Witholding Affects Pittsburgh REC Site

Management has decided to include Pittsburgh in the withholding of Level 4 and Level 5 clerks, and Level 9 Electronic Technician vacancies to accomodate excessing from the Salem, VA and Syracuse, NY REC sites. Pittsburgh is included because we fall within a 250-mile radius of these affected facilities.

What this means:

If Pittsburgh withholds jobs, all residual vacancies occurring in these job categories in Pittsburgh would be held and these jobs could then be filled by people excessed from the Salem, VA and Syracuse, NY REC sites. Pittsburgh could become a gaining facility, in this event.

RP

        [September 12th]

Blood Donation Update

As you all probably have heard by now, there is a need for blood donations, however... the Blood Banks do not have enough space and staffing to handle everyone at once.

There has been an overwhelming response by the Pittsburgh Postal employees to donate blood due to the recent catastrophe that occurred in New York, Washington D.C., and Somerset County. The General Mail Facility as well as the NALC Union Hall has been offered to both the Central Blood Bank and the American Red Cross although neither have the personnel to staff individual blood drives at this time.

A blood drive is scheduled in the near future at the General Mail Facility on September 25, 2001, from 7:00 a.m. through September 26, 2001, at 4:00 a.m. The blood bank is encouraging the Pittsburgh Postal employees to wait until these dates to donate blood because the need will be as great then, as it is now, due to the massive amounts of anticipated patients.

Any eligible employee that is unable to donate on these dates are asked to call the Central Blood Bank at 1-866-DONORS1(1-866-366-6771) or American Red Cross at 1-800-542-5663 to schedule an appointment over the next several weeks to prevent excessive waits for the blood donation process.

New York Blood Center (NYBC) distributed 500 units of blood over their normal levels yesterday. However, victims continue to be pulled from the sites and many will need surgeries over the next few days and weeks.

        [September 12th]

Priority Mail Processing Center Update

"Pittsburgh is one of two centers (out of 10) that have not received staffing packages from management. Without staffing surveys, the transfer process cannot be started in Pittsburgh.

The parties have agreed that employees who transfer to the PMPC will retain their current craft seniority. Employees within a fifty mile radius of the PMPC can apply for a transfer to the PMPC."

Continue....

        [September 11th]

Emergency Blood Donations Needed

The attack on the United States this morning has left blood banks nationwide asking for people that are eligible to donate blood. The Central Blood Bank in Pittsburgh issued the following alert:

"It is not known what the blood needs are for the current crisis nationally or locally, but, all eligible blood donors are asked to immediately present to donate blood at community donor centers.

There is a national coordinated effort to determine areas in need of blood and methods to transport it. Once this is established, blood banks throughout the country will support the effort."

There is an attempt being made for a joint effort between the PMAPWU, NALC, the Mailhandlers Union and Postal Management to organize a blood drive to support the crisis. Additional information will be forwarded as it becomes available.

        [September 11th]

Agreement Reached on Step-Increase Waiting Time

This issue involves time not credited toward an employee's first step increase from his or her date of hire. Most employees, when hired, start on Day One of the Postal pay period. Occasionally, new employees do not start on Day One, and these people are the ones who may be affected by this agreement.

Since they were not given credit for the remaining work days of the entire pay period in which they were hired (because they did not start on Day One, Saturday) they were not properly credited for time worked, in many cases almost two whole weeks. This caused discrepancies in when they received their initial step increases, both from date of hire and when changing pay grades. All subsequent step increases would also have been affected.

The salary histories of eligible employees hired from PP-01 1985 to present will have to be reconstructed, but salary adjustments will only be made from the pay period starting October 3, 1993, the date the grievance was filed. The list of eligible employees is available at the national APWU website-- we've provided a link for you here:

Nationwide Members List

You will need to have a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this file, which is in PDF format.
Don't have it? Go get it free at Adobe's website.



If you think you might be eligible, go check the list, but be warned... it's not a very fast download. (PDF files never are!) If you do appear on the list, you need do nothing. If you believe you should be on the list, the APWU would like you to forward a copy of your Form 50 the the office of Bill Burrus.

A time-saving hint... When your browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, etc) opens the file, you'll see that it is 100 pages long. Instead of clicking the "next page" button on the toolbar over and over again, try clicking on the tiny binoculars in the toolbar instead. This opens a search box that will ask you to enter a word.

Enter your last name and allow the few seconds it will take for the name to be located. Once the name is highlighted, make sure that it really is you. This is a list of the affected members nationwide so the only truly effective way to make sure is to look at the Finance number listed right after the last name of the member. To find out your finance number, get the latest copy of your paystub and look at the top left of the grid, next to your pay location.
(Example: The Pittsburgh GMF is Finance no. 416609)

Many of our members will be found on pages 23-27. Good Luck!

Pgh-metro.net Website Team

        [September 10th]

Fargo Arbitration Case Comes to Pittsburgh!

National Business Agent Mike Gallagher has agreed to go forward with Pittsburgh's Fargo case at the Regional level. It is anticipated that Mike will be able to meet with our Business Agent, and Advocate Charlene Gilchrist, to begin preparing our Local's case, sometime in late September.

In the Fargo award, Arbitrator Mittenthal ruled that management must upgrade all Level 4 Mail Processors to Level 5 OCR Operators, if these employees perform piece by piece verification of mail and/or have knowledge of, and responsibility for dispatch of mail. We believe we have documented such situations in grievances filed on Tours 1 and 3 at the GMF.

Local stewards and advocates will be contacting employees in preparing this case. Please cooperate fully if you are contacted so that we have our best chance at winning the case.

The remedy requested, in addition to money, is upgrading some Level 4 jobs to Level 5. In this day when Level 5 jobs are disappearing, it is critical that we win these upgrade cases. To that end, we have sought and secured a commitment from one of our National Business Agents to present Pittsburgh's case. With the assistance of Local advocates and stewards, and the testimony of our members, we believe we can win Level 5 jobs in Pittsburgh.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Rosemary Penascino,
President

        [September 10th]

National Negotiations Update

APWU opened the hearings by repeating the union's demands:

• a 30-month contract
• pay increase of 13.5%
• continuation of existing COLA
• improvements in holiday pay
• improvements in night differential
• improved uniform and work-clothes program

USPS opened by repeating their demands:

• a 4-year contract
• no wage increases, just lump sum payments
• no COLA
• cuts in health benefits
• cuts in night differential
• cuts in Sunday premium pay
• no retroactive pay increase for period from expiration of c

The first round of arbitration hearings took place in Washington, DC and Chicago IL and concluded on August 29. Hearings will resume on September 27 in Washington, DC.

        [September 10th]

BMC Arbitration Case-- ODL Violation Decision is In

In Local arbitration, the union challenged management bypassing an ODL employee to schedule non-ODL employees who possessed the skills to operate the radio. In this ongoing battle between the parties, the union believed that management must abide by the strict rotation of ODL employees and make adjustments in assignments to accommodate radio coverage on the tour. In clear language, the Arbitrator disagreed:

"The Union, on the other hand, argues that the grievant was the proper person on the ODL to call for this overtime assignment. That the Postal Service could have simply moved another MOS 5 from Tour 3 to do the radio assignment thus created the overtime opening for the grievant.

The evidence clearly establishes that the grievant was not qualified to operate the radio. Evidence indicated that the grievant was offered training on the radio, however, he elected not to take the training.

The evidence also establishes that the Postal Service did follow the proper procedures by calling out employees to work the overtime who were qualified.

Nothing in the Collective Bargaining Agreement or the LMOU requires that the Postal Service must rearrange schedules by moving another MOS 5 on Tour 3 out of her assignment to work the radio so that the grievant may have overtime work for which he is qualified simply because he is the next person on the ODL to be called."

        [September 7th]

Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Coming Soon...

There's a nice site on the Internet that will help you decide which charities you might want to give to. Included are links organized by charity types, ways to notify your charity and just about anything else you might want to know.

The site is run by the IGA, or Independent Givers of America, a non-profit, non-governmental organization.

Do your homework ahead of time this year by visiting Best of the CFC.

        [September 2nd]

Are You Ready to March in the Labor Day Parade Tomorrow?

The PMAPWU has loads of wonderful things for you, and for you to do on Labor Day... come out, bring the family and make sure our contingent is one of the largest marching!
Mark September 3, 2001 on your calendar and show Pittsburgh your Union Pride....

Free parking is available at the Pittsburgh Brewery (3340 Liberty Avenue in Lawrenceville)
and the Port Authority will again provide free shuttle service from Mellon Arena and back.

Click on over to our Events page to get all the Freebies details!

        [September 1st]

APWU's Member Transfer System Back Online

The site will provide you with information on how the transfer process works and can aid you in making a transfer to a new postal installation.

Visit the Member Transfer System for more detailed information.

        [September 1st]

Entertainment Books Available (Reposted)

Both the Pittsburgh edition and the Pittsburgh-East edition will be offered by the Pittsburgh Social and Recreation Committee again this year. For more information, look for the flyers in your installation, or even better-- sign up to be on the committee's mailing list.

Tentative delivery date is the week of October 1, 2001. Limit of one per employee.
LAST DAY TO ORDER IS SEPTEMBER 12, 2001.

        [September 1st]

Coat Drive for Homeless Begins in September (Reposted)

Light of Life Ministries Annual Coat drive will begin September 4 through October 12. Drop your gently used winter coats off at your neighborhood drycleaners anywhere you see the Western Pennsylvania Cleaners and Launderer's Association (WPCL) logo displayed.

These participating drycleaners will clean the coats free of charge and deliver them to the mission. Coats will be distributed to the homeless and the needy on Saturday, October 27, 2001.