he lean six sigma – the usps’s dojo · non-profit org. u.s. postage paid fort myers, fl permit...
TRANSCRIPT
Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDFort Myers, FLPermit No. 139
Lean Six Sigma – The USPS’s DOJO
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AREA LOCAL AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION
CONGRATULATIONS TO THECLASS OF 2014
I would like to congratulate all of ourSouthwest Florida Graduating Classof 2014. I would encourage all mem-bers who have children going to col-lege to apply for all scholarships thatare awarded by the State of Floridaand National APWU.
NEW CAREER EMPLOYEES
Congratulations to our PSEs whowere converted to career employeeslast month.
By the time you read this article, allissues of seniority should be cor-rected. We also have grievancespending to get more PSEs con-verted.
MANAGEMENT ATTEMPTINGTO DO MORE WITH LESS
Management will continue to cutstaffing in the hopes that employ-ees will work even harder andfaster in order to get the job done.
It is important to know that if youwork unsafe or get injured, it is youand/or your family members whowill suffer. Just because manage-ment reduces staffing does notmean you have to run around,work unsafe, or even work off theclock. Remember to continueworking at a safe and reasonablepace. If the work does not getcompleted as it did in the past, itwill be due to management notstaffing properly, not because ofyour work ethic.
Also, I must warn you, if you arescanning the box mail as beingcompleted when it is not, youcould be fired. It will be difficult towin these cases in arbitration ifyou are falsifying records. Even ifmanagement gives you a directorder to scan the box when it hasnot been completed, get the directorder in writing or call the PostalInspection Service.
E-MAIL LIST
I occasionally send information outvia e-mail. If you would like to beon my e-mail list, please feel freeto contact me and I will add you.
LEAN SIX SIGMA - USPS's DOJO
The Motorola Corporation createda program that creates a hierarchyof so called experts that pretend toknow how to do everyone else'sjob better than they. This tech-nique was named the "Six SigmaProgram". Managers are awarded"belts" (as you would receive inKarate class) depending upontheir knowledge of the programtechniques. These "belted" man-
agers receive power needed to runaround the office like some bully ina "Karate Kid" movie, wielding orbragging about their color of beltwhile instructing others how to dotheir jobs.
According to Forbes Magazine,of all large companies whoannounced using these Six SigmaPrograms, a whopping 91% trailedthe S&P 500 since implementingthem. It is the consulting firms whoare making money on programslike Six Sigma by payments theyreceive from companies paying a"Six Sigma Tax". The companiesutilizing these Six SigmaPrograms actually believe theywork enough that they not only payto use the program but also hirethose who are already Six Sigmabelted.
Prior to 2008, the USPS SeniorManagement Team began runningits own DOJO of sorts and handingout these belts to their staffers.The USPS utilizes the "Lean SixSigma Program". They post jobopportunities on web sites like"Linkedin" specifically seekingthose holding specific belts suchas "Master Black Belts" with start-ing salaries ranging from$65,000.00 - $126,300.00. (SeeLink)http://www.linkedin.com/jobs2/view/9897339
Most of these belted managers inUSPS's DOJO are not seeking toactually improve the USPS, theyseek to reduce employees whothey believe are the problem.Simply look at the reduction ofUSPS career employees over thelast 10 years and you see how theLean Six Sigma Program hasaffected staffing. Lean Six Sigmabelieves that customer service isnot about employees, it's moreabout the process. Window Clerksshould understand this more thananyone as their staffing levelshave suffered and are tasked dailywith asking the same questions toevery customer regardless of thesituation.
Sam WoodPresident
SWFAL APWU
Southwest Florida Area Local 11000 Metro Parkway, Unit 8 Fort Myers, FL 33966
Alva, Bokeelia, Bonita Springs, Captiva,Chokoloskee, Estero, Fort Myers,
Fort Myers Beach, Immokalee, Labelle,Lehigh Acres, Marco Island, Naples, Placida,
Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Rotunda,St. James City and Sanibel
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
See: Lean Six SigmaContinued on Page 6
June 2014Volume 24 Number 6
IN THIS EDITION OF
THE EAGLE’S EYELean Six Sigma – The USPS’s DOJO . . . . . . . 1
Secretary-Treasurer’s Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Management Is Playing The Shell Game . . . . 3
Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Several Issues Of Concern
For USPS Employees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Union Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Don’t Take Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Thinking Of PEG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
SWFAL Membership News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
National Day Of Action In Fort Myers . . . . . . . 8
PROUD MEMBER
2 THE EAGLE’S EYE JUNE 2014
Southwest Florida
Area Local, APWU11000 Metro Parkway, Unit 8
Fort Myers, FL 33966
239-275-1007
Open 9am-3pm, Monday-Friday
WEBSITE ADDRESS
www.swfloridaapwu.org
PRESIDENT
Sam Wood
239-823-APWU
VICE-PRESIDENT
Dan Gray
239-834-2736
SECRETARY-TREASURER
Felicia Gluhareff
CLERK CRAFT DIRECTOR
Paul McAvoy
MAINTENANCE CRAFT
DIRECTOR
Mickey Szymonik
239-834-2900
EDITOR
Kathy Moyer
MOTOR VEHICLE CRAFT
DIRECTOR
Vacant
TRUSTEES
Daniel Carinci
Grace Baer
David Grant
SAFETY & HEALTH
COMMITTEE
David Grant
Wendy Skaff
CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE
Dan Gray, Chairman
Felicia Gluhareff
Paul McAvoy
Kathy Moyer
NATIONAL MAILING ADDRESS
Per Capita Section
APWU, AFL-CIO
1300 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20005
FLORIDA POSTAL WORKER
The Florida Postal Worker
P.O. Box 8363
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310
www.apwuflorida.org
May 18, 2014
CALL TO ORDER:Time 9:30 a.m. There were 16members in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:The pledge of allegiance wasled by John Franze.
ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS:Felicia Gluhareff performed theroll call of officers. Present wereSam Wood, Felicia Gluhareff,Paul McAvoy, Mickey Szymonikand Kathy Moyer. Paul McAvoymade a motion to excuse DanGray who was on annual leave.The motion passed.
MAP:Barbara Carr told jokes in honorof Charles Glennon.
EXECUTIVE BOARDMINUTES:Jim Edwards requested to bethe maintenance steward forNaples. The executive boardapproved his request. We arehappy to have him onboard.The RI-399 lawsuit was dis-cussed. The acting postmasterand Dorinda Kohlun want to cutovertime and PSE hours andpossibly reduce the number ofPSEs. They are expectingclerks to do more with less help.The PSE seniority list was dis-cussed. There is an active Form50 PSE grievance. An issueregarding safety (PPE equip-ment) was discussed. There isan active VOE survey griev-ance. Remember that VOE sur-veys are YOUR first class mailpiece. Management cannotstop you from keeping it in yourpossession and intimidationtactics will not be tolerated. Youare not required to fill it in andgive it back to management. Ifturned into the union, a $5COPA donation will be made inyour name in lieu of a bounty.
SECRETARY-TREASURER’SREPORT:Paul McAvoy made a motion toaccept the minutes as reportedin last month’s Eagle’s Eye. Themotion passed. Finances werediscussed and financial reportwas provided.
REPORT / SELECTION OFCOMMITTEES:None
REPORT OF CONVENTIONCOMMITTEES:Danny Carinci said the StateConvention was an eye open-ing experience and our localwas very well represented.Those that are on Sam Wood’s
email list received his report onthe convention. Anyone who didnot receive the report andwould like to, please contacthim and he will send it to you.All of the candidates that ourlocal supported for the stateelections were successful.Dave Grant will be attendingthe National convention cour-tesy of the State APWU.
REPORT OF TRUSTEES:An audit is scheduled for May23, 2014.
COMMUNICATIONS:Sam Wood was invited to aTabletop BDS exercise by man-agement. Letter from RobertBurton requesting all of ourdocuments for a step one griev-ance. Sam sent a letter backstating that Mr. Burton hasaccess to all the documents herequested from our local sothere is no need for us to pro-vide them to him. He was alsoinformed that the union is notobligated to share our docu-ments until step two of thegrievance process. Letter fromAPWU President MarkDimondstein informing our localthat there are full time jobopportunities for PTF’s on E-Reassign. Thank you card fromKaren D’Angelo thanking themembership for recognizing heron Administrative Assistant’sDay. Letter from Jim DeMaurothanking us for representinghim in the state elections. Ifanyone is interested in becom-ing an APWU Health Plan rep-resentative contact Sam Wood.
UPDATE OF GRIEVANCES:Scott Wiser is requesting sup-port and information regardinga BBM who was walked off thefloor last week due to a safetyissue. The task in question hasbeen performed safely for yearswithout the requirement of a“safety suit”. The PSE conver-sion grievance addressing the25 PSE’s who were made regu-lar then “unconverted” within 24hours will be met on this week.Management is requesting thatwe drop the grievance sincethey converted 14 at a laterdate. The local is refusing tosettle for anything less than all25 being converted. We arealso asking for hours lost due tothe NTFT positions the 14 wereplaced into instead of the 40hour positions they were origi-nally offered. Management hasexpedited the arbitration of ourRI-399 grievance to August.Our lawyer said that he wouldbe willing to represent our localat this arbitration as long as our
local has noissues withit. He is look-ing forwardto going up against manage-ment regarding this issue onour behalf. Sandee Beckler dis-cussed ongoing grievances inTice.
NEW BUSINESS:In Marco management is tryingto change lunch lengths forFTR. The clerk is entitled toguaranteed time for “lunch”hours beyond what is stated inhis bid. He is also entitled toovertime pay for any hoursworked beyond the end tourstated on his bid. PSE issues atstations discussed. Do not, donot, DO NOT scan box mail asbeing done if it has not been.Do not EVER falsify informa-tion. If your supervisor instructsyou to do so make sure you geta direct order IN WRITING.Falsifying information couldlead to removal. SandeeBeckler spoke about the impor-tance of not holding your breakat stations. Breaks areaddressed in our LMOU’s whichcan be found on the local’swebsite. The union has not got-ten an official notice stating thedate of the Mid-Cape closing.Nor have we gotten a solid non-official date.
LABOR / MANAGEMENT:None
GOOD AND WELFARE:The winner of the COPA 50/50drawing was John Franze whowon $31. The total netted forCOPA was $62. John donated$5 of his winnings back toCOPA. The name drawn for themember’s incentive award wasEileen DiMase. She won $50.The pot will remain at $50 at thenext general membership meet-ing.
ELECTION OF OFFICERSAND DELEGATES:None
ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS: Felicia Gluhareff performed theroll call of officers. The resultswere recorded.
NEXT MEETING:Robert Nowall moved to havethe next meeting on June 22,2014 at 9:30 a.m. at the unionhall. The motion passed.
ADJOURNMENT:Robert Nowall moved toadjourn at 10:58 a.m. Themotion passed.
Secretary-Treasurer’s ReportFelicia Gluhareff
JUNE 2014 THE EAGLE’S EYE 3
The good oldshell game(not so goodin this case).
For those ofyou who maynot know, theshell game iswhere youhave threehalf shellsand a ballunder one of them. The personcontrolling the shells moves themreal fast and you have to figure outwhich shell the ball is under.
Sounds easy, doesn't it? There is acatch; unscrupulous and dishonestpeople will have a little trap doorthat drops the ball, so there is noway you can get the right shell.Sort of a now you see it now youdon't.
Management developed a newversion of the shell game usingPSEs. On April 18 they sent 25PSEs express letters convertingthem to regular, 40 hour per weekjobs at the Fort Myers P & DC.
The letters stated:
CONGRATULATIONS! This isnotification that you are being con-verted from PSE clerk to a careerposition of Full Time Regular.Effective April 19, 2014, you willbecome an unassigned regularwith the temporary work scheduleshown below (different hours ondifferent tours all adding up to 40hours per week).
done with this.
Nope - seven to ten days later,management sent out their benefitpackages to all the PSEs.
On the second page it says con-gratulations on your conversion tocareer employee. This is reiterateda number of times during theapproximately 300 page book. So,now management is offering bene-fits to these people they suppos-edly didn't convert or makeregular.
Ok, so now I guess managementdone messing with these people.
No, not so fast. Management hasmore shell games to play. Whenthey did this whole process man-agement took all their leave theyhad accrued. Most of these clerkshad 20 to 60 hours of leave and itwas gone. It is assumed it wastaken in order to pay them whenthey give them their annual for therest of the year for beingconverted.
Sam Wood has been working tire-lessly on these issues, havingmeetings with Dorinda and Laborspecialist Keith Stanton.Grievances have been filed askingfor make whole remedy(Conversions backdated to April19, 2014, full benefits. out ofschedule pay and FTR salary fromthat date).
Sam has stated we will not dropgrievances for the benefit of a few.I would personally like to thank
Sam for his many hours worked oncorrecting this situation.
Management this week, (effectiveMay 17, 2014) CONVERTED 14Fort Myers Bid Installation PSEs toNTFT Jobs working 30 hours aweek. We (Sam, the ExecutiveBoard and stewards) find thisaction unacceptable and the reme-dy asked for in grievances will beto pay them the other ten hoursalong with the original going backto April 19, 2014.
Let’s find the ball under the shelland end this nonsense for good.
The PSE's in stations and branch-es should not feel left out as this isjust the first part of the conversionprocess. APWU NationalPresident Mark Dimondstein hasvowed to convert as many PSEs,(if not all) as soon as possible.
In closing, I would like to imploreall employees to check their eOPFoften. It is very easily accessiblethrough Lite Blue. It shows yourentire history with USPS. If somePSEs hadn't checked this and letthe union know, we would havehad no way of knowing everythingmanagement did in this situation.
You are the only one with accessto this info. If something is wrongor doesn't belong in it, please askto see your steward so we canhave it corrected. Managementhas been known to leave disciplinein your eOPF file long after itshould have been pulled.
A few hours later, these samePSEs received another letter(which I refer to as the F U letter -and no, they did not get acceptedinto Florida University) which stat-ed the following:
This is notification that we arerescinding the previous letter youreceived regarding your conver-sion to a career position effectiveApril 19, 2014. Remember - thiswas a matter of hours after the firstletter. What could have happenedin that amount of time to so drasti-cally change 25 people’s lives?
So it is bad enough that manage-ment dropped the shell out fromunder them and you would figuremanagement's game is over.
No, not so fast. Managementfound other ways to harass thesenewly converted employees.
On April 19, 2014, managementcut form 50's making them all reg-ular. They also cut RTR(Retirement, Thrift and RIF)reports for these 25 PSEs. Theseprocedures can only be done byshared services when someone isconverted.
Management claims form 50's ruleall changes in employee statusand use it when grievances arefiled concerning employees status.These forms were on the PSEs,eOPF on Lite Blue. That should beproof enough that these PSE'swere actually converted.
Now you figure management is
Management Is Playing The Shell Game
Paul McAvoyClerk Craft Director
SWFAL APWU
In my first fewarticles I triedto cover howimportant it isto the Unionfor each of usto do our partin insuringour localstays strong,starting witho u r s e l v e s .Our ownhealth andawareness is the foundation wemust build on.
So now that we have that covered,“it’s time to get Schooled”. Eversince I became a Steward I haverealized how blind I have beenthrough all these years. Not under-standing or realizing how much ofa role each of us needs to playevery day to ensure that our rightsnot be violated and the contractrespected. A firm understanding ofyour contractual rights is essentialand one can easily obtain informa-tion about this and other issues bysimply visiting our local website atswfloridaapwu.org.
I have to give our local PresidentSam Wood credit - the man puttogether one hell of a site.Anything you need to know isthere, links to the Contract, FMLAforms, PSE info, Veterans info,you name it, it’s there or a link toget you there. A quick visit to thesite can answer many questionsyou might have and arm you withthe knowledge needed.
Recently I had the privilege to rep-resent our local at the BiennialState Convention along with ourlocal President Sam Wood, VicePresident Dan Gray and BusinessAgent Dave Grant. It was a greatlearning experience for me, for likemany of us I did not know exactlywhat occurred at these conven-tions. Basically it was non-stopvoting from 9 to 5 on our constitu-tion and proposed resolutions forthe National Agreement. In otherwords bringing forth problems thatwe face with wordage in the con-tract and proposals to bring to theNational Convention on how tochange them.
For example; there are no negoti-
ated provisions in Article 8 of theCBA for PSEs to receive Sundaypremium pay. A proposal wasvoted on and passed to resolveArticle 8 of the APWU Agreementso that PSEs will receive Sundaypremium pay.
This went on all day; every day,and I could not have been moreproud being a part of it. For me tosay our local had representationwould be an understatement. “TheBoys were on it” and Sam waswearing the podium out! Theywent over every proposal with afine toothed comb and ensuredour local’s voice was heard.
I only wish every one of our localmembers could see the relentlessdedication I am surrounded withand witness every day. Workingalongside Sam, Dan, Paul, Grace,Felicia, Mickey and Scott is noth-ing less than inspiring. I havelearned so much and continue tolearn by simply getting involvedand by taking the time to educatemyself on the rights that our Unionhas fought so hard for.
And so, I ask of you all. Take thetime and visit our website, askquestions, get involved and“COME TO A MEETING”. I prom-ise you will learn and becomestronger at protecting the rightsYOU HAVE FOUGHT FOR. Seeyou there!
“You have to learn the rules of thegame. And then you have to playbetter than anyone else.”
Albert Einstein
Education
Danny CarinciT2 & T3 StewardFt. Myers P&DCSWFAL APWU
4 THE EAGLE’S EYE JUNE 2014
I will oncea g a i naddress theVoice of theE m p l o y e eSurvey (VOE)since it con-tinues to rearits ugly head.
I will continueto do this on am o n t h l ybasis, because it seems membersare not paying attention.
Remember all employees will beparticipating in the VOE one timeeach year. Once every quarter theVOE is given to a group of employ-ees. This now includes non-careeremployees (PSEs, CCAs andMHAs).
The APWU at all levels is askingmembers to boycott the VOE.National, State and local APWUdoes not support participation inthe VOE.
Our own National Officers bothpast and present have repeatedlyspoken out against anyone’s par-ticipation in this program.
Management can make claimsand paint a picture however theylike that the VOE is a good pro-gram and is helping you and yourwork environment.
First question you should ask – Sowhat has it helped or changed?The answer is - nothing.
Now our Plant Manager at the FortMyers P&DC is taking employeeseither one on one or in smallgroups in an attempt to what I call“bullying” employees into partici-pation.
When you are on the clock andbeing compensated to listen, youcannot be required to participateand fill out or return your VOE.This is your first class mail sent toyou, so I recommend that youpolitely decline to participate andtake your VOE with you.
Managers want you to simplycheck a box and mail it back rightthere. By simply checking the boxand mailing it back, this nowcounts as participating. So obvi-ously you see how little they care.
Once again it is your mail, nottheirs. The Union is donating$5.00 to COPA in the member’sname, for any member who turnstheir VOE in to their Union stew-ard.
We have contacted our NationalOfficers on this new process of thePlant Manager isolating employ-ees for a VOE meeting. TheNational Officers have referred thisinformation to APWU legal depart-
ment for guidance. Hopefully bythe time you are reading this arti-cle we will have further informationfor you.
Management recently convertedtwenty-five (25) PSEs within theFort Myers Bid Installation to fulltime career effective April 19th andthen unconverted them back toPSE the next day. Managementissued letters, PS Form 50s andbenefits packages to the twenty-five (25) PSEs and then went,Oops, didn’t mean it.
I used to tell employees, “Don’tbelieve it until you see it in writing”.Now, even that has been provenwrong by Postal Service man-agers. One thing is for certain, ifyou don’t think something can bescrewed up by Postal Servicemanagement, they will eventuallyprove they can.
This PSE conversion issue hasbeen grieved by the Union and ourposition is, as of April 19th theTwenty-five (25) affected PSEs arenow career full-time employees.
We will be seeking restoration ofall benefits and back pay to thedate April 19, plus out of schedulepay based on the hours that man-agement had assigned theemployees until managementproperly places them in full timecareer positions.
The USPS converted and uncon-verted PSEs all over the state ofFlorida. There are some Plantswhere management left theirPSEs in full time status and did theright thing.
At Fort Myers, effective May 17,management converted fourteen(14) of the twenty-five (25) PSEsto NTFT (Non-traditional Full Time)positions of thirty (30) hours aweek. Now granted most of theseemployees have been workingforty (40) plus hours a week, soonce again, this is typical stupidityon the part of management. Onegood thing for the non-OTDLemployees within the Fort MyersPlant, function one and all toursmanagement cannot give non-listovertime outside an emergencywhen NTFT positions are utilized.High mail volume and Christmasmail volume in no way constitutesan emergency. Here are some ofthe rules concerning overtime andNTFTs:
NTFT’s-Overtime Rules:
QUESTION: If, on a particular day,two hours of additional work isnecessary, who should be sched-uled when the 2 clerks availablewithin the section are: a) qualifiednon-OTDL NTFT employee (five –6 hour days ending tour at 3:00PM) for 2 hours of out-of-schedulepremium; or b) qualified OTDL tra-
Daniel M. GrayVice PresidentSWFAL APWU
nated holiday because they areavailable for only their regularlyscheduled 6 hours on that day?
ANSWER: The LMOU peckingorder must be followed. If theLMOU, for example requires full-time holiday volunteers to bescheduled by seniority, all qualifiedand available full-time employees(both traditional and NTFT) wouldbe scheduled in seniority order.
QUESTION: Will full-time employ-ees occupying NTFT duty assign-ments have their annual leaveadvanced at the beginning of theleave year?
ANSWER: Yes.
There are more rules that apply inregards to NTFT positions andusage, so please ask to see yoursteward if your question was notanswered above.
We continually hear about BPI,which stands for BreakthroughProductivity Initiative. This wasstarted by the USPS in 2001. It wassupposed to be used to increase,improve and drive productivitygains throughout the USPS.
Allegedly BPI uses comparativemonitoring and performance rank-ing in operating units across thecountry. Management is supposedto set targets to drive performancetoward the goals they want.BPI isalso a factor in managementbonuses, and that is the real rea-son BPI is so important.
Remember managers are award-ed monetary awards when theymeet or surpass performancemeasures based on work hoursavings and productivity goals. So,now we hear how much our BPIsucks and how we need to workfaster with less employees.
Remember it is a “fair days’ workfor a fair days pay”. There are norequired numbers in which you arerequired to meet.
I would love to see our PlantManager come out and work byherself on a double zone machinefor an eight hour shift. The Unionwould not file a grievance for per-forming bargaining unit work forthis night, but I doubt the challengewill be taken. I don’t think the PlantManager could do this for onenight much less six days in a rowas many of our employees aredoing on a regular basis.
Management is continuallyattempting to staff more and moreAutomation machines with onlyone employee. Remember you are
ditional schedule FTR ending at3:00 PM for 2 hour of overtime?
ANSWER: b) qualified OTDL tradi-tional schedule FTR ending tour at3:00 PM for 2 hours of overtime.Absent an emergency, a non-OTDL NTFT employee should notbe worked beyond their normaldaily schedule.
QUESTION: Are NTFT Clerksguaranteed the number of hours intheir bid duty assignment?
ANSWER: Yes. The NTFT clerk’sbid duty assignment establishestheir minimum daily and weeklyguarantee.
QUESTION: When a NTFTemployee is routinely scheduled towork additional hours (compensat-ed at the out-of–scheduled rate)each week, must the assignmentbe reposted?
ANSWER: NTFT employees willnormally work the number of hours(daily and/or weekly) identified intheir bid assignment, except in anemergency.
QUESTION: Can a NTFT ClerkCraft employee, who is not on theOTDL, be required to work one ormore of their scheduled off days?
ANSWER: Effective six monthsfrom the signing date of the 2010CBA (November 23, 2011), fulltime career clerk craft and motorvehicle employees who are not onthe Overtime Desired List and arein an installation with employeesworking in NTFT duty assignmentsin the same Functional area, willnot be required to work overtimeexcept in an emergency. Article3.F provides the parties’ mutualunderstanding of what constitutesan emergency situation: anunforeseen circumstance or acombination of circumstanceswhich calls for immediate action ina situation which is not expected tobe of a recurring nature. In theMotor Vehicle craft, employeesmay also be required to work over-time in the event of unforeseeablecircumstances (e.g., PVS driversstuck in traffic, weather condi-tions).
QUESTION: May NTFT OTDLemployees be required to workmore than 8 hours on any non-schedule day?
ANSWER: Yes. They are subjectto the normal overtime rules inArticle 8 and the LMOU (includingpenalty overtime).
QUESTION: May managementby-pass a senior holiday volunteerbecause that employee would bescheduled for their normallyscheduled 8 hours on the desig-nated holiday and require a juniornon-volunteer to work their desig-
Several Issues Of ConcernFor USPS Employees
See: Several Issues ofConcernContinued on Page 5
JUNE 2014 THE EAGLE’S EYE 5
supposed to rotate between thefeeder and sweeper positionapproximately every thirty (30)minutes, even if you are alone, asthe Job Safety Analysis signed byboth management and the Unionstates.
Managers, supervisors and laborrepresentatives for the USPS areclaiming that no employee is beingforced not to rotate as requiredevery thirty (30) minutes (to pre-vent repetitive motion injuries) andare blaming the employees for fail-ing to do so in responses to griev-ances filed by the Union at all lev-els.
One thing we need to do is clock tothe proper operation we are work-ing. If you are on a DBCS, pleaseclock to that operation and do notstay on a manual operation. This isimportant in grievance processingand in identifying where you areactually working.
This does in fact make a differencein BPI, and being on the wrongoperation, greatly affects the BPInumbers and does not showwhere proper staffing is needed.This greatly affects managementclaims that there are needs forbids or that we are overstaffed.
I recently attended the FloridaAPWU State Convention inOrlando. Representing our local atthe state convention were SamWood, Danny Carinci, Dave Grantand myself. At the State conven-tion we voted for changes to theState Constitution, NationalConstitution and resolutions werevoted on to address issues during
the next contractual negotiationswhich will be occurring soon.
Remember our present contract isup for renegotiation in 2015. TheNational APWU Convention is inChicago this July. These resolu-tions brought forth by all the statesdelegates will be addressed to allthe delegates at national andvoted on. Sam Wood has sent outupdates via email to most of youon what was discussed and votedon during the state convention somost should be up to date for anymembers who would like to be onSam’s email list please contacthim.
Many National Officers were pres-ent and all addressed the dele-gates. One main topic addressedwas the Postal Contract stations inStaples. This can have a dramaticimpact on window clerk positionsnationwide. The USPS has planson expanding these contract sta-tions into more Staples nation-wide.
We need to tell all of our family andfriends to boycott Staples. Oneway to stop this is to hurt Staplesin their pocketbook and buy all ofyour office supplies elsewhere. Inaddition, The National Officersaddressed issues of grievancebacklogs and RI 399 issues.
This was the first time I met ournew National President MarkDimondstein and was veryimpressed. He was very down toearth and listened to the memberswho spoke with him about theirconcerns.
Remember if you have any ques-tions or concerns please ask tosee your Union Steward.
Remember your health, family andfriends always come first.
Maintenancee m p l o y e e shave beenbarraged bynew safetyrequirementsunder theElectric WorkPlan (EWP).This plan wasput into effectafter theUSPS wasfined byOSHA for electrical safety viola-tions. The Service was threatenedby OSHA for non-compliance tothe tune of millions of dollars. TheService decided to act - or rather,overreact.
Lest I seem soft on safety, let megive an example of overkill.Management at the Fort MyersP&DC is having all of theMaintenance Support Clerks col-lect all the $200 plus volt meters,
the top-of-the-line, good qualityand accurate meters that ourMaintenance employees werealready issued, and replace themwith $90 meters.
It's cheaper to distribute thesecheaper volt meters yearly andthen throw them away, than it is tohave the more expensive voltmeters tested for re-calibration.
According to the Maintenanceemployees who actually have touse these meters, it is much saferto use the more expensive equip-ment and train Maintenance per-sonnel in the certification of theyearly calibration of these meters,than it is to just collect the cheaperversion yearly and throw themaway.
As for the Postal Service's com-plaint, that we are continuallybleeding money - duh, yeah. But Idigress.
Recently we had an employeewalked out and put on emergencyleave in a non-pay status for analleged violation of this new EWPprotocol. Specifically, manage-ment alleges that the employeewas performing work on an ener-gized panel without first donningthe newly required PersonalProtective Equipment (PPE).
Again, I am in no way condoningany laxity in safety by manage-ment or craft workers. The Unionstands foremost in the fight toensure safe working conditions forall employees.
Here's the thing: While theemployee worked as instructed onthe energized equipment panel toensure the continued movement ofthe mail, three of our supervisorsstood on and watched withoutintervening to prevent or protectthe employee from possible harm.
Indeed, one of the supervisorsrequested that the employee usethe not yet confiscated, top-of-the-line volt meter, to ascertain whatlevel of PPE was required to workon the downed equipment.
It seems to me that accident pre-vention should be every supervi-sor’s goal. It certainly is with theAPWU and its members. It was notuntil the Maintenance Managerarrived on the scene that anyonedecided to take any action. Andtaking someone out of the buildingseems too extreme a measurewhen one considers all of the facts
Mickey SzymonikMaintenance Craft
DirectorSWFAL APWU
surrounding the incident.
If the USPS is indeed intent onensuring the safety of its employ-ees, wouldn't you think that allthese EAS employees would haveintervened immediately to protectan employee working in an unsafemanner? Or better yet, how aboutat least one of the three supervi-sors mentioning to the employee,before the unsafe situation devel-oped, that they wear the requiredequipment. Accident preventionmakes more sense to me thanwalking someone off the floor.
Sorry to say, but I am left withthe impression that USPSManagement is more concernedwith avoiding more OSHA finesthan it is with the actual safety oftheir employees.
On a related note, the day after thePlant Manager gathered all of themaintenance personnel togetherto again stress the importance ofworking safely, a couple ofBuilding Equipment Mechanicswere instructed to remove the filtercontainers from our water foun-tains at the Plant.
When asked why they wereremoving the cartridges, a BEMresponded that "the PlantManager doesn't want to pay toreplace the filters. So much for theprior day's exhortation that "Ouremployees are our most valuedassets"!
Solidarity, Prosperity, Peace
Union Matters
Several Issues ofConcernContinued from Page 4
6 THE EAGLE’S EYE JUNE 2014
In case youdon’t know bynow: One ofour mainte-nance co-workers waswalked out onMay 8, 2014and (as of thiswriting) hasnot beenallowed backto work.
The reasonstated is there was a safety viola-tion of the EWP (Electrical WorkPlan). It is alleged that our co-worker was working on energizedequipment without proper PPE(Personal Protective Equipment)affectionately known as the ZuitSuit.
Our co-worker was classified asbeing unsafe to their self as well asto others. This is known as emer-gency placement. This person willremain in a non-pay status untilmanagement decides what theywill do. There is no time limit. It isa very real possibility that this co-worker could lose their job. We
have been told that this has hap-pened in Atlanta and in Tampa forthe same reason.
The main message that everyonein Maintenance needs to know isdon’t take any shortcuts. Put onyour gear. As much of a pain-in-the-butt that it is, it may save yourlife and it will definitely save yourjob. Nobody can say that you haveon too much protection.
Be aware that management is onthe look-out and if they are true totheir word, there is no secondchance. It is true that we haveworked safely for many years with-out the EWP. The reality now is wemust abide by the EWP. We cancomplain all we want, but the factis that a task that you have per-formed safely and effectively formany years without the EWP isnow unsafe unless you follow theEWP.
There is no logic to this reasoning- only the reality that you will loseyour job if you don't abide by theEWP. I hope that this is clear.
Don’t Take Shortcuts
Scott J. WiserTour 1 Maintenance
StewardFort Myers P&DC
SWFAL APWU
These Senior Managers in theLean Six Sigma program oftenbrag or even post their "Belt Color"on social media, in their businessprofile, or in news articles for all tosee. (See Links Below)
http://www.postalreporternews.net/2011/05/18/rucker-named-usps-acting-vice-president-of-sales/
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bill-sampson/6/122/629
http://www.linkedin.com/in/aylinthomas
They want to show just how smartthey think they are compared toeveryone else. Now to be fair, Ihave to admit that these Lean SixSigma managers sat throughcountless meetings, watching their"Sensei's" attempt to create newideas that don't really improve theUSPS. They see their "Sensei" assomeone who can change theirbelt color, improve their own sta-tus, and their pay grade. Now whowouldn't want to earn a "KarateKid" belt without having to sweator get physically beat up?
The Belt Colors for Lean SixSigma are: Yellow Belt, OrangeBelt, Green Belt, Black Belt,Master Black Belt.
These Senior Managers are veryserious about Lean Six Sigma, butthey do have fun during the meet-ings. In fact, they research or thinkof jokes to tell during their classes.
Here are three examples:
"Three statisticians go deer hunt-ing. They creep out through thebrush and find a good place tohunker down. Soon, a big buckwalks up, the first statistician hopsup and shoots, missing 10 feet tothe right. The second statisticianhops up and shoots, missing 10feet to the left! The third statisticianjumps up and yells, “We got him!”
“How many Six Sigma Black Beltsdoes it take to screw in a lightbulb? One, but they'll need 3-6months and a cross functionalteam to do the actual work.”
A man is walking across a foggyfield, when he hears a voice callingfrom above. Looking up, he seesanother man, in a basket suspend-ed below a balloon.
The man in the basket says,“Excuse me, but I told a friend I'dmeet him about half an hour fromnow, but I seem to be lost. Couldyou tell me, where am I?”
The guy below replies, “You are ina basket, suspended below a bal-loon, floating roughly 30 yards,above the ground. You are approx-imately 32.45 degrees north latitudeand 87.11 degrees west longitude”.
Basket-man answers, “You mustbe a statistician, right?”
“How did you know?” answers theman on the ground.
Basket-man explains, “Well, yougave me an answer which is tech-nically correct but doesn't actually
tell me anything. You've put meeven farther behind schedule and Idoubt now that I'll meet my friendin time. Frankly, I'd have been bet-ter off if I hadn't even stopped totalk to you.”
“Well, you must be in manage-ment,” says the man on theground.”
“How did you know that???” asksBasket-man.
“Well”, says the guy on the ground,“You have reached a high place,mostly as the result of a lot of hotair. You've made a promise thatyou have no idea how to keep. I'vegiven you exactly the informationyou asked for and I tried to behelpful, but now you are blamingme for your problems!”
If you speak to managers at thelocal level, most will complainabout being overworked, no over-time pay, and having to attendmany meetings and conferencecalls. These same managers com-plain that they are being paid atminimum wage levels, due to theamount of time they spend work-ing without additional pay. Localmanagers say these meetingsare basically a waste oftime and money. Senior BeltedManagement officials wouldcringe if they heard of thesecomplaints and would probably cutmore jobs.
Now I understand that a few indi-viduals may disagree with this arti-cle by touting that one positivefrom the Lean Six Sigma Program.
But, look at the facts. Just thismonth, the Postmaster GeneralPatrick Donahoe announced thatthe USPS continues to run adeficit. Really? Shouldn't the tech-niques learned utilizing the LeanSix Sigma Program be working bynow? It seems obvious that pro-grams such as Lean Six Sigmathat have been utilized by thisPostmaster General have notbeen working.
Problem solving is the essence ofwhat true leaders do. They mustcreate and sustain momentum forthe organization they run and thepeople they serve. It’s not about acolor of belt you've earned, it's whatyou have accomplished for theorganization that is key. A true leadersees more than others, fartherthan others, and opportunities beforeothers. The true leaders in ourAmerican history have approachedproblems through a lens of oppor-tunity, not through a poor or non-existent vision of the future.
The USPS's DOJO mentality is notand has not been working underthe leadership of the currentPostmaster General PatrickDonahoe.
It's time to find a new Sensei.
Lean Six SigmaContinued from Page 1
management manipulated theaudit (the above three para-graphs). From the apparent lack ofinvestigation by the SafetyStupervisor it appears that hedoesn’t care either.
MS Walker (the acting PlantManager during PEG) was kindenough to have a little get togeth-er (buying things out of her ownpocket) for the administration per-sonnel (stupervision and specificClerks) to congratulate them on ajob well done. MS Walker, thankyou for caring.
I had the luxury of having a privatemeeting with the Plant Manager acouple of weeks ago about myannual Voice of the Employee(VOE). She was very informativeon what she thought the problemswere while she was on detail, butcould not explain why people stillhad bad feelings about their spe-cific stupervisor. I tried to explainto her that you are supposed topraise your personnel in public butcorrect them in private.
It was a nice hour break from work,but I don't think she was listeningto anything I was saying. Hooraythe VOE is definitely working(NOT).
Keith McGee
A few weeks prior to the Safetyand Health Program EvaluationGuide (PEG) one of the stupervi-sors was cooking the books, ie. fill-ing out paperwork that shouldhave been performed during theyear so that when our recordswere audited they would be cor-rect.
Another stupervisor decided thatduring the PEG certain hazardouswaste (that should have been sentfor proper disposal) should beremoved from the facility by plac-ing it into one of the maintenancevehicles and the vehicle storedover at VMF.
During PEG a machine wasplaced out of service becausethere are no current route sheetson it. A stupervisor explained to acraft employee that whenStupervisor Ed Morgan (he retiredabout ten years ago) was hereroute sheets were made, but neverimplemented. The craft employeestated that it sounds like a mana-gerial problem. She (the stupervi-sor) had the gall to state that he(the craft employee) shouldn’t beso condescending.
Directly after the PEG audit, a craftemployee went to speak with theSafety Stupervisor. During theconversation it was stated that
Thinking Of PEG
JUNE 2014 THE EAGLE’S EYE 7
Since I first arrived at the Ft. MyersP & D C, I have personally felt andseen some of the most selfish,petty, stupid, arrogant, totallyuncaring, and unfeeling bone-headed actions, but managementhas now totally out done them-selves. To give, to send letters ofcongratulations to the PSEs, thatyou are now a FTR and then laterto say "Oops'", is beyond the pale!
Going regular means a level ofsecurity, a chance to bid on adesired job, and a raise in pay, araise enough to buy a new car ifneeded, to buy an item for self or aloved one which was out of reach,and then to snatch it away is outright evil. And then the PlantManager jumps on the ActingPlant Manager for submitting badBPI numbers. Comes now thequestion - were these numberserroneous, or numbers that they didnot want submitted?
Since the above was written anumber of the PSEs have beenconverted to Non Traditional FullTime, NTFT, which from what Ihear is basically the same as aPTR. Not all have been converted,and many are being called backfrom the stations.
Was a bit shocked by the PlantManager even thinking that wewould have a deliberate slowdown, it seems like a case of Ithought it, and YOU did not makeit so. Last year when the PlantManager worked a few weeks onTour 1, I showed (did not say,showed) her four (4) things whichwere slowing down our production,she took action on NONE! Randy,when he was here for that shortperiod of time, when I showed himwhat was causing the loss of hoursin machine time, had it correctedthe next day.
One operator for a DPCS, theyhave been trying to creep that infor years, citing light machines,and never setting a figure for light,could be run by one person. I haveno idea how often it happened, buton a night in early May, there werefive (5) machines in the entirebuilding with two (2) persons. I feltso bad that "I" volunteered to helpon a machine, and I hate the damnthings. The Denver studiesshowed them to be slow motionsafety hazards. The idea of killingmyself for an unfeeling manage-ment, is not in my game plan, if Ihave to prove I'm a hero, I'll wearmy medals to work.
One must ask if the Chair of thePlant Manager, Fort Myers P&DCis a promotion, a punishment, or apermanent seat in a wild Postalgame of musical chairs. Sit here,get your ticket punched, addanother line to your resume', andup the ladder you go. Our latest fillin Plant Manager was a HumanResource Manager from Texas, anHR Manager, a head paper push-
er, with how much operationalexperience? I am not totallyagainst unknowing, even cluelesspeople being put into jobs. If thereis a purpose other than puffing upthat resume' for the next rung upthe ladder, often the 'new blood'will have ideas unencumbered bytraditional thinking.
One of my favorite cavalry com-manders, of the Civil War andlater; Benjamin Grierson, (whoseraid through Mississippi was usedas the basis for the John Waynepicture, 'The Horse Solders') wasa music teacher, who hated hors-es. But remember dear heart, weare at the mercy of a bureaucracy,so we have to take what theyshove on us and hope for the best.To add a personal observation,that perhaps the manager in ques-tion tried to understand our opera-tions. I arrived one night to findsaid manager, with a group ofsupervisors and staff wienies, whowere in the process of explainingthe 010 operation; you could nothand pick a worse collection toexplain anything to anybody.
To those of you who do not under-stand the ways of bureaucrats,another reference to movie starsfrom the past. Earl Flynn, (The'Robin Hood!'), wrote in his biogra-phy, about his youth as the son ofa veterinarian in Tasmania. Earlfeeding the ducks one day noticethat pork fat passed almostinstantly through the duck. In oneof his, the devil made me do it,moments, He wondered whatwould happen if he tied the pieceof pork fat to a long string, andagain fed it to the duck, same out-come, and then feed it to anotherduck, and then another, etc, etc.His father coming home put anend to the noble experiment, withdire consequences for Earl.
But the question about the work-ings of a bureaucracy wereanswered, a good bureaucrat fol-lows blindly the bureaucrat ahead(senior to) it, and since the view isrestricted, when the duck aheadbops it's head yes, so then doesthe next, and the next, again etc..Hence nothing new is seen, noth-ing new is considered, but thebonuses will be paid, because as agood duck they had eaten . . . !
A good example of being a GOODbureaucrat, and not letting com-mon sense get in the way. A cou-ple of years ago, at the peak of theChristmas season, a large orangehamper of priority mail arrived forBoca Grande, all having streetaddresses, Boca has only boxdelivery. I took a common senseapproach and sent it on, the sea-son, goodwill to all, you work theboxes, the names stick in yourmind, you take your marker andyou put the box number on them.The next day they all came back,they couldn't find the box numbers,but they could find their BOXDELIVERY ONLY stamp. I amsure that when a package wasreturned to Michigan, or Idaho, thefirst thing the sender did was callBoca and ask for the box number.Oh yeah, it was more like, "Hello,FEDEX." I am sure that those whodid all this got, 'Good and FaithfulServants,' awards.
A week ago I had never heard ofSix Sigma. Now that I have heardand read, I'm almost afraid of it. Itis another 'Big Brain', big brainstrain other big brains to be biggerbrains and to get higher rankedbelts, yep belts right out of yourKARATE class. See Sam's articleabout it, seems that the USPS hasbeen using it for six (6) years,another you don't have to knowanything about a job to tell some-one else how to do it, if you have abig brain, and you can get 125K ayear to think. My little brain seesthem coming up with say a STA-PLES mailing scheme, paringdown the work force, until ifsqueals, and then go a couple ofmore notches. It's the darling theo-ry of the decade.
I cannot in good faith any longerwork for the management of thisplant, given the way that I and oth-ers have been treated, and havebeen exposed to their pettiness,their favoritism, their ignorance,and downright stupidity. Henceforth my loyalties and allegiance isto those inscribed on the back ofmy pay stub: From OurCustomers. They trust us, we oweit to them.
Comes now a question - on anAFSM 100, how many mainte-nance men does it take to change
the light bulb of a Feed On/Offswitch? Stumped? It's a trick ques-tion, we don't know. It has beenburned out for 3 months now, andwe can't get it fixed. Do mainte-nance supervisors get bonuses forsaving on parts?
The Melinda Twotrees Award forthe month goes to THE LEADDUCK, our own PMG Donahoe forthe service he has rendered, forhis stance on the STAPLES deal,and what got my attention on April30, at 0600, (the curse of sleeppatterns screwed, from workingnights for 17 years) in a newscastabout two young men, from thewest coast, who had come up withan innovative way of deliveringFCM.
They were called to THE PLAZA.There, they saw the VP ofInnovation, who told them theirideas would never fly, and then offto see the PMG, who according tothe two young men, went so far asto tell them that he was not thatinterested in FCM, that the mailboxes filling of junk mail (not hiswords) were our bread and butterand our future. Mister PMG if wetake the business mail (ads, offers,the “what's on sale” items) from afirm and place in the hands of acustomer, then we are simply abusiness ourself, and we deservenothing from the government. Butwe are not.
Mr. PMG, read our title, we are theUNITED STATES POSTAL SER-VICE, tasked to connect everymailbox in the U S of A to everyother mailbox in the U S of A; byorder of the Continental Congressand every other congress to thisdate. That sir is what makes it pos-sible for a Grandmother inMarathon Key to send a birthdaycard to her grandson in Nome,Alaska for $.49, that's the createdservice that makes your businessangle possible. Maybe if you andyours stressed our security, howmail payments are for less likely tobe 'hacked', how our lost itemsrate is so much lower than theother biggies. The next timeRepresentative Issa calls you tothe hill, let him know that we offerone hell of a service!
Isaac Yost
The American Labor Movement has consistantlydemonstrated it’s devotion to the public interest.It is, and has been, good for all America.
John F. Kennedy35th President of The United States of America1961-1963
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
8 THE EAGLE’S EYE JUNE 2014
Your ElectedOfficials
President Barack ObamaWeb Site:
www.whitehouse.govE-mail:
[email protected]: 202-456-1414
Fax: 202-456-2461Capital Address:
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NWWashington, DC 20500
Senator Bill NelsonWeb Site:
www.billnelson.senate.govE-mail:
[email protected]: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183Capital Address:
716 Hart Senate OfficeBuilding
Washington, DC 20510-0905District Office:
Tallahassee, FLDistrict Phone: 850-942-8415
Senator Marco RubioPhone: 202-224-3041
Fax: 202-228-5171Capital Address:
524 Hart Senate OfficeBuilding
Washington, DC 20510-0903District Office:
Tallahassee, FLDistrict Phone: 813-207-0509
Our members live in several dif-ferent districts. For your repre-sentative’s information, go towww.congress.org. Enter yourzip code and the web site doesthe rest. You can e-mail most ofyour representatives at oncewith a click of your mouse atthis web site. Their votingrecords are also available here.Check it out! Let them knowhow you feel, it’s your DUTY!
THE EAGLE’S EYE
EDITORIAL POLICY
The Eagle’s Eye is the official pub-lication of the Southwest FloridaArea Local, APWU, AFL-CIO. Theeditor has the right to determinewhether the material submittedshall be printed, and has the rightto edit as needed. It is the policy ofthis newsletter to disallow anyattacks on individuals. Opinionsexpressed are those of the writers,and not necessarily those of theExecutive Board. The deadline forsubmission of all articles is the dayof the monthly membership meet-ing. You must be an APWU mem-ber to submit an article. Name maybe withheld upon request. All arti-cles may be reprinted with propercredit given. Captions/cartoonsmay only be reprinted upon writtenpermission of the editor.
Southwest Florida Area LocalMembership News
We wish to extend our welcome toall new employees coming onboard at the United States PostalService by inviting you to our nextSWFAL APWU meeting on June22, 2014, at the Union Hall locatedat 11000 Metro Parkway, Unit 8, inFort Myers.
Meetings are held once a monthon Sunday at 9:30am. Be united,protect your job and discover themany benefits of becoming amember of the SWFAL APWU.Join us at our next local meeting- united we can make a positivedifference in our workplaces. Welook forward to seeing you there!
For those of you that haverecently retired who wish tocontinue receiving The Eagle’sEye newspaper, please emailthe Editor at [email protected] call Karen at our SWFALAPWU office at 239-275-1007.
We welcome John Franze fromLancaster, Pennsylvania, to theSouthwest Florida Area LocalAPWU! We had the pleasure ofmeeting John when he attendedthe May General MembershipMeeting. John worked automationon “DB’s Tour I” in Lancaster. Johnbrings APWU experience alongwith him, having previously servedas Trustee at his local inLancaster! He is now working atTice and is a SSA/Scheme Clerk.
Congratulations to Ashley Wiser,daughter of Scott and MelanieWiser! Ashley is the 5th GradeSpelling Bee Champ of TreelineElementary School in Fort Myers,Florida!
The Eagle’s Eye wishes to extendour congratulations to our 2014graduates! Good luck to each ofyou as you pursue your dreams!
Amber Bonham, daughter of PaulMcAvoy and Lori Bonham, gradu-ated from the 8th grade atLexington Middle School. Amber isa 3 year Honor Student. Amber willbe attending South Fort MyersHigh next fall.
Chandler Gray, daughter of Danieland Tammey Gray, has graduatedfrom Cape Coral High School.Chandler has been accepted atFlorida Gulf Coast University andwill be attending in the fall.
Chandler GrayClass of 2014
On April 24, the SWFAL APWU participated in theNational Day of Action along with fellow union brothersand sisters at 56 locations in 27 states across the countryin a united effort to Stop Staples and USPS managementin their attempt to privatize window clerk operations.
In addition, the APWU National Executive Board has nowvoted to increase the pressure on the office-supply chainby officially calling for a “Don’t Buy” campaign for all prod-ucts sold by Staples. Other union members from acrossthe country are being called upon to join in the boycott.
In Fort Myers, Sam Wood, President of the Southwest Florida Area LocalAPWU, led a group comprised of USPS Clerks, Mail Handlers and othersupporters of the Stop Staples campaign.
“Staples employees receive minimal training, and the company’s low payresults in high employee turnover,” President Wood said. “With all the con-cern about privacy and identity theft, that’s just not the right way to handlethe U.S. mail. Mail should be handled by highly-trained, experiencedpostal employees, who swear an oath to protect your letters and packagesand who are accountable to the American people. This program is com-promising service to our customers, and taking away good, stable jobsand replacing them with low-wage jobs,” President Wood stated.
In a show of solidarity, Florida AFL-CIO Field Staff RepresentativeMichelle Guerin was also on hand to support the campaign.
Kathy Moyer, Editor
Actionin Fort Myers
National Day of
APWU NBA Mike Sullivanin Fort Myers to Stop Staples
Postal Workers and their supporters uniteat the Stop Staples campaign in Fort Myers