APWU MANCHESTER AREA LOCAL #230: Clerk Craft
John Shappy - Director L&DC
August 6, 2007
Sisters and Brothers,
After nearly three months of negotiating we have signed a settlement for the PTF maximization grievances we have submitted over the last two years. Converting the PTF’s to full-time regular may seem like an easy process but is in fact going to be some what laborious.
If you all recall last year, management failed to convert the PTF’s prior to the APPS deployment excessing. At the time, we had warned management that if they didn’t convert the PTF’s prior to the excessing than we would be left with a mess to clean up at some point in the future. This is the position we are in now. Throughout the negotiations the length of the settlement was nearly 4 pages long. Certainly one of the longest grievance settlements I have been involved with. We were able to “streamline” the agreement down to just two pages. The majority of our discussions, during negotiations, circled around the time frame involved with getting every impacted employee placed.
The contents of the agreement, I believe, are straight forward. There is a progression of events that will take place. There will be some disappointment with the fact that there is no specific date as to when the PTF’s will get converted to regular status. The agreement does talk about all PTF’s being made regular as soon as all impacted employees have been either transferred or reassigned back into the clerk craft.
This is a lengthy agreement and if anyone has any questions please feel free to come down to the union office and discuss it with myself or one of the stewards. I have posted two copies, the final draft copy, which is more legible, and the signed agreement.
In Solidarity,
John Shappy
L&DC Director
PTF Max Settlement
http://home.earthlink.net/~sidebarrecordings/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/settlementptfmax.pdf
Mark Wiggin - Clerk Craft Director
Clerk Craft Director’s Report
I would like to thank the membership for their patience with me in posting a report on the new web site. I also want to thank our Vice President for getting the site up and running. This is a wonderful opportunity for you, the membership, to communicate with your officers and representatives.
We have many issues to deal with on all tours with regards to violations of the National Agreement and the Local Memorandum of Understanding. The violations of contract that are continually occurring will be stopped, if necessary labor charges will be filed. We, your representatives, will be proactive in enforcing the contract. I ask the membership to be proactive, too. It’s our jobs that are at stake!
Management on tour – 1 still feels that casuals can be used on overtime prior to the overtime-desired list. Tour –1 Steward Al Lemay is in the process of settling the latest violation of the LMOU to the tune of $9,200. Lead MDO Tim Leonard has assured the Union that this will be the last time this happens. Where have we heard that before? Grievances have been initiated with regards to the improper use of casuals. Casuals are not to work any hours between 5am to 12 noon. This is still being discussed at the national level; until an agreement is reached we will continue to file grievances on this issue. Casuals are not to perform any duties that require skills or accountability. The stewards have filed grievances on this issue, most violations are happening at the CFS unit. So far, due to the efforts of Steward Bill Charron, we have had 5 newly created tour – 2 CFS positions posted.
We still have problems with clerks working by themselves on automated equipment. I have tasked the stewards with stopping this violation of the memorandum of understanding on the staffing of automated equipment. The Union’s concern is that management will continually staff a machine with one clerk, costing the Clerk Craft jobs.
We have had some issues in the Bulk Mail Unit concerning a hostile work environment. President Pat Ahern and myself have made it clear to management that the current work environment is unacceptable. Since our meeting things seem to be looking up for our members in that section.
We began local negotiations on April 26th and have met with management three times. We meet again today, May 9th. Our negotiation team of President Pat Ahern, Vice President Chris Howe, Maintenance Craft Director Keith Moore, Recording Secretary Rich Whalen and myself have met a number of times to iron out our strategy. We are a team that works well together and stands firm together to do what is best for the membership. There was a steward’s meeting on April 26th to keep the stewards informed of the negotiations and to get their input. Another steward’s meeting will be scheduled near the end of negotiations that must end by May 31st.
I want to thank Dave Webster for stepping to the plate as the full-time steward for all our stations and branches. Dave has been an alternate steward at West Station for a number of years and I know everyone will welcome and support him in his efforts.
The NH/APWU State Conventions was held on the 21st & 22nd of April this year in Meredith, New Hampshire. It was a great convention that the state organization put on this year. There were a number of our national officers that spoke. Steve Albanese, the National Assistant Legislative Director spoke on attempts by Republicans in Congress to make FMLA more employer friendly. He feels that since the Democrats are in control now, this most likely won’t happen. National Business Agent Frank Riggerio spoke on the services attempts to aggressively reduce work hours, through driving up productivity and controlling overtime. Regional Business Agent Liz Powell spoke on HR shared services and how it will affect the membership of the APWU. Liz also spoke of the impact on the letter carrier craft with the deployment of the flat sorter-sequencing machine and the potential impact to the APWU. National Business Agent Steve Lukosus talked about the National Reassessment Program.
The NH/APWU will be sponsoring two separate training seminars on Saturday, June 9, 2007, from 9am to 5pm at the Radisson Hotel, The Center of NH, 700 Elm Street, Manchester NH for Retirement Planning or The National Reassessment Process and your Rights. This is your opportunity to get more information on these issues. You can pick up a registration form in the grievance processing room at the Manchester P&DC or call 603-494-0203. Please attend if either one of these topics affects you.
I have been in office for over a month and it has been very hectic with my transition into the office of Director of the Clerk Craft and local negotiations happening all at the same time. I want to thank the membership for all the support that has come my way since April 1st. I want to especially thank the Stewards and Officers of this local for everything that they have done to help make my transition into the position of Director of the Clerk Craft easier.
I can’t say this enough, but you the membership are the Union, not just the officers and stewards, without your activism and solidarity we cannot do our jobs as effectively. I will make this promise to the members of the Clerk Craft. The stewards of our craft, myself included, will enforce the contract and fight management at every turn. If necessary we will fight them till hell freezes over, then we’ll fight’em on the ice!
Yours in Solidarity,
Mark Wiggin
Clerk Craft, Director
Manchester, NH Area Local
APWU
John Shappy - L&DC Director
This week we opened up local negotiations with management at the L&DC and as usual management has proposed sweeping and far reaching changes to our current LMOU. We will continue to bargain in good faith and hope to reach an amicable agreement.
We are still in discussions with management about the conversion of PTF's and the creation of 19 bid jobs. We have yet to determine to the means and processes in which we will be bringing the 21 excessed employees back to the clerk craft. I believe that we will be coming to an agreement in the very near future and will be sharing that info with everyone.
I have decided that it is in the members best interest to make sure management makes the L&DC a safe working enviornment for every APWU represented employee. If you remember, we originally withdrew our support for all cooperative programs due to management's insistence on completely foregoing the National Agreement during the excessing event last year. As such I made the decision to get APWU representatives involved again with the Safety and Health committee.
Several weeks ago the Manchester Area Local sent a number of delegated to the state convention. As an automatic delegate I got to attend and enjoyed the camaraderie and networking that goes on at such meetings. I would like to thank all the people who wished me well in my new endeavor as State President.
Thank you everyone and I hope to see you at the next meeting.
In Solidarity,
John Shappy
John Shappy - L&DC Director
May 30th, 2007
Sisters and Brothers,
We have reached a final and binding new Local Memorandum of Understanding (LMOU) with management here at the L&DC. The following highlights are in addition to existing language previously negotiated:
1. A second round for prime time vacation bidding has established.
2. Expand timeframe for 3971 submittal from 30 days to 60 days.
3. The length of Prime Time vacation scheduling was decreased. April will no longer be a primetime vacation month. The week before Mothers Day will now be a choice vacation pick.
4. Seniority will now rule when putting in for same day leave requests as that are submitted at the same time.
5. The bidding system will be changing with the movement of Human Resources to Shared Services. You will be able, in the very near future, to be able to bid from home via the liteblue website.
6. Contractually assigned parking spaces for the maintenance craft.
Managements proposals going into the negotiations would have completely gutted our current contract. Glimpses of their proposals are:
1. Have employees on extended leave whether it be Annual, Military, Sick, OWCP and union leave for conventions count towards the prime time vacation cap numbers. This would have seriously degraded any employees’ ability to take their contractual right of three weeks of vacation during the prime time vacation period. The smaller sections in this facility such as the Expeditors would have been hardest hit.
2. Completely abolish the current local leave policy and have the union get the next years leave policy dictated to us sometime in January of each year. I don’t think I have to explain all of the negatives that this kind of change would cause.
3. Employees would only be allowed to take two weeks of annual leave during the prime time vacation period. This is clear violation of the employees’ rights to take three weeks during the prime time vacation period.
4. Combine all mail processing sections into one section for overtime considerations. This would have eliminated sectional overtime in our facility.
5. Realign the overtime pecking order to reintroduce mandating overtime. This is a clear degradation of the gains we have made in this facility. It is not in anyone’s best interest to start mandating people on a nightly basis for management’s ease of administering the OTDL.
6. Have the annual leave percentages decrease by 2% for both Choice and Non-Choice vacation periods. This would only allow less people off during the whole year which only serves to deny people there right to take their accrued annual leave.
7. Revert the Holiday Schedule back to fall in line with the National agreement. We won this concession from management in the last round or negotiations and I did not want to give up previous gains.
8. Combine all current mail processing clerks into one section, i.e.; Flats and all automated sections would be come one for excessing purposes. The mail processing clerk job description mandates day-to-day seniority in terms of movement out of sections. To us this was a clear potential violation of seniority rights in your current job bids.
All things considered I believe we came away with a better agreement. We had to give up our current bidding language but I feel allowing management in this facility to use the Shared Services bidding process only serves to enhance your bidding options and ease of use for bidding.
Our agreement is by no means a perfect one but I feel we have made major strides in our last two bargaining sessions to have an agreement that serves the membership well. There will be future opportunities when new national agreements are signed to advance any new issue that may arise in this facility. I would like to thank the members of the negotiating team Local President Pat Ahern whom acted as our teams lead spokesperson, Director of maintenance craft Keith Moore who represented the maintenance craft well and Steward Dale Metzler who kept copious and orderly notes as the teams recording secretary.
We will be putting forth a motion at our next union meeting to have new booklets printed and made available to ALL UNION MEMBERS in this facility. It is the support of the membership that allows us to negotiate our local agreement and I want to thank you for your continued support of us.
In Solidarity,
APWU MANCHESTER AREA LOCAL #230
Welcome to the new Manchester Area Local website!
Here you will be able to contact your local officers as well as stay informed on what's happening with your local.
Please be patient as we learn and develop a system that will work best for all. We also ask that should you use the message board that you keep things constructive, otherwise it will be removed.
More to come...