THE BULLETIN BOARD
September 2010
[September 5th]2010 Pittsburgh Labor Day Parade
Monday, September 6, 2010
PMAPWU will gather behind Mellon Arena at 8:00 AM
This year PMAPWU is again marching very near the front of the parade, so we will need to be in place by 9:00 AM.
Labor Day Mass will be held at 8:00 AM at St. Benedict the Moor Church located at Freedom Corner in the Hill District; those of us attending will head down to the gathering spot after mass. For all of the details, visit our Events page.[September 5th]A REMINDER: APWU Urges Members to Boycott "Voice of the Employee" Surveys
excerpted from APWU Web News Article 085-2010
The APWU is asking union members to boycott USPS "Voice of the Employee" surveys in order to prevent management from manipulating the results to undercut the union during upcoming contract negotiations.
The results of the survey are likely to be misrepresented by the Postal Service in an effort to reduce employee wages and benefits, APWU Director of Industrial Relations Greg Bell wrote in an Aug. 6 letter to local and state union presidents.
The Postal Service recently notified the union that it would conduct a two-part survey of employees and customers "to gain insight into the public's perception of the USPS brand and how the Postal Service has impacted them." The first survey took place between July 26 and Aug. 6; the second is scheduled to begin the week of Sept. 20 and conclude by Oct. 1. Bargaining began Sept. 1; the current contract expires Nov. 20.
Surveys have long been a point of contention between the union and the Postal Service; since 1998, the APWU has discouraged union members from taking part. A motion by the National Executive Board adopted that year opposed "the use of all surveys, focus groups, polls and audits as a means of interviewing employees and union officials to evaluate job-related and internal issues."
Read the entire article at the APWU website.
[September 4th]Union Label Week, September 6 - 12, 2010
from APWU Web News Article 089-2010
As Labor Day approaches, we pause to reflect on the contributions unions have made to raising the quality of life for American workers.
From abolishing child labor to establishing a minimum wage, the 40-hour week, healthcare and retirement benefits, workplace safety standards and much more, the labor movement helped create the middle class.
Labor Day also marks the beginning of Union Label Week, Sept. 6-12 — a time for consumers to make a special effort to purchase union-made goods and union-produced services when they shop.
"When we 'buy union,' we support good jobs in our communities — jobs that provide living wages and benefits, safe working conditions and dignity and respect," said APWU President William Burrus.
"I urge APWU members to look for the union label," he added, "and to observe Union Label Week by reminding their friends, family and co-workers to buy union."
Union Label Week is coordinated by the AFL-CIO's Union Label and Service Trades Department, which promotes union-made products and services, especially those products and services.
Please visit http://www.unionlabel.org/ where you can use the search function to find Union Made products.[September 2nd]APWU Contract Negotiations to Begin
from postalnewsblog.com
Negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement between the U.S. Postal Service and the American Postal Workers Union began Sept. 1. The current contract expires Nov. 20, 2010.
"Every contract negotiation brings special challenges, and this will be no different," APWU President William Burrus said at the opening session. "Mail volume is depressed and revenue is down, but we have faced similar circumstances before.
"The history of the Postal Service is replete with forecasts of doom and gloom, but such dire predictions have not prevented us from exploring every opportunity to achieve agreement.
"Once again naysayers warn of the imminent demise of the Postal Service," he said. "They demand wholesale changes to the foundation we have built over our 40-year history, ignoring the fact that each provision in the expiring contract has a history of give-and-take, the basic element of contract negotiations.
"The road will be difficult and the outcome uncertain, but there are components of an agreement awaiting our discovery. I pledge the best efforts of the American Postal Workers Union to find a way to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement."
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