Holiday greetings to everyone. May we all have a safe and enjoyable Christmas and New Year.
It was nice to see some new faces at the Dinner-Dance on November 25th at the BK Club. Overall attendance was down but the state football tourney had something to do with that. If you weren't there, you missed an opportunity to hear our NBA Ron Brown speak on a number of legislative and contractual issues. The KIM region is fortunate to have Ron as our representative and direct link to President Sombrotto.
The food was great, the 'Poet' was entertaining as usual, the vocal talents of Lawson Whitfield echoed through the hall, and the gathering of old friends was heartwarming.
Thanks to Jim and Sue (Tri-Way Inn) Lukaszewski, Mike and Barbara Brubaker, and Jamie and Andrew for all of your hard work.
Well, by now I figure everyone has had it up to here with DPS. I had hoped that the transition to a DPS environment would be a smooth one. Unfortunately local management has gone against every study of walk sequence mail ever done and has tried to recover ALL pivot time. They claim that if you are leaving 45 minutes earlier than your posted leaving time, that you have 45 minutes of pivot time. Even a chimpanzee knows that you have to 'deal with the peel' to get to the fruit. Local management can't seem to figure out that eventually there will be a time savings to harvest, but we must still 'deal with the peel' every day. The peel in this instance is the banding out time that used to take place in the office and now is a street function, the checking of at least one extra source of mail for each delivery point, and the learning period involved with a new work method. All of these items are receiving no consideration from local management, who is now trying to blame long accepted carrier work methods as the reason for the failure of their efforts. It's quite a shock to find out that a work method that you have been using your entire postal career, and have been praised and even rewarded for by other managers, suddenly is unacceptable. Management thinks we are taking them to the cleaners. Since they aren't allowed to blame the machines and they certainly aren't going to admit that their projections and expectations are unreasonable, they have chosen to put the blame on 'unacceptable work methods'. Don't be surprised if a work method that you have been using for years is suddenly declared improper. YO MANAGEMENT! MICRO-MANAGE THIS! If your work methods are suddenly declared improper, contact your Union officers. We will bury this office so deep in grievances that they will need the Mishawaka City Streets leaf vacuum truck to clear a path to the postmasters office. That's not a threat, that's a promise! A promise to the Mishawaka letter carriers to be permitted to work in an environment of dignity and respect, not suspicion and distrust.
The only way to fight this foolishness, barring an unforeseen awakening by local management, is to enforce the work rules we currently have regarding overtime strictly. I am asking ALL carriers to follow this procedure:
1. To the best of your ability, give the supervisor your estimate of the time needed to clean up your assignment on that day. If you feel that you will need overtime to accomplish this, request a PS form 3996 at that time and submit it to your supervisor for approval/disapproval. The supervisor must then get back to you with approval/disapproval in a reasonable time, which we consider less than 20 minutes.
2. If you are told to leave mail in order to keep to eight (8) hours on your assignment, get a PS form 1571, Mail Curtailment Form, from the supervisor, which you should then fill out and place in the same box as the 3996's. If unsure how to fill out the 1571, ask for a Union officer.
3. If you are on the work assignment list or are on NO list at all and are given time to carry or case on another assignment, and you don't think that you have the time, inform the supervisor immediately. Give them a chance to change their mind. If they still insist that you have 'pivot' time, take the mail to the street and as soon as you determine that the 'pivot' time will put you in to 'overtime', call in and inform the supervisor of this situation. Ask the supervisor if you should carry the overtime or bring it back so that an overtime carrier can deliver it. Remind them that you are on the work assignment or NO overtime list. Carry the mail if told to do so, but the first thing next day, either ask to see a steward of get word to a Branch officer of this overtime violation.
The only way to make management drop these unreasonable expectations and stop what we believe to be another attempt at an illegal speed-up is to make them pay! Please don't let even one incident of this type go ungrieved. Also, when you get back to the office, be sure to request a SF 1164 - Claim for Reimbursement for Expenditures on Official Business, which you will then fill out on the clock in order to get your 25 cents returned to you for the telephone call that you had to make.
Local negotiations are scheduled to begin in February. Anyone with any ideas for changes in the local agreement should be at one of the next two regular monthly meetings to get the idea considered for possible adoption as a Union bargaining position.
The amendments to the local Constitution and By-Laws which were mailed to all members in October and voted on a the November membership meeting will be resubmitted for consideration at the December 5th meeting. Anyone with any objections to the proposed changes should be there to voice those objections.
We wish Dennis Decker a speedy recovery. Take your time Denny, I know that this will be hard for you to believe, but this place will be here when you are ready to come back. Don't be in a hurry.
December birthday wishes to: Bob Jacobsen 12/03, John Ammeter 12/12, Tom Powell 12/14, Lawson Whitfield 12/24, Mike Williams 12/29 and Ace Andrews 12/31.
Anyone who would like a DPS mitt that doesn't currently have one, please let me know so that they can be ordered.
I hope to see you at the next regular monthly meeting of Branch 820 Merged at 7:30 at the BK Club in Mishawaka. There will be elections.
I hope that everyone made it through the Holidays without any problems. Only 364 more days and it will be all over!
Thanks to everyone who gave some of their time to the Salvation Army bell ringing this year. I realize that at this time of year, everyone has a lot of extra things to do and your willingness to give of your precious time is greatly appreciated. A special thanks goes out to Ed Shank for his excellent work on the board set up in the breakroom. You're always there anytime we call on you Ed and we are certainly thankful. Check-It-Out Productions (Ed's company) has done a number of charitable jobs for the Post Office, including work on our MDA fundraisers and last years NALC Food Drive. Check-It-Out for your own needs. Ed has prepared some items for my own personal needs, and the work is always first rate and very reasonable.
In case you haven't read the notice on the carrier bulletin board, Mishawaka is scheduled for full scale route inspections between the 13th and 23rd of May. The Union will be scheduling a route inspection workshop shortly. Our State Director of Education, Toni Roeder-Bowles will be here for that workshop and everyone should try to be there. This will be a good time to get all of your questions answered about what you can and can't do during the course of the workday, and what management can and cannot do. I'm sure that those who went through the last route inspection will agree that it is best to go into one of these inspections well informed just for the simple fact that the inspectors don't have all the answers and in the past, some have shown a tendency to answer your question with a guess and make it appear to be fact. Let's get a 100 percent turnout at this class and take all of the guess work out of this inspection. Also keep in mind that there will be a change in the annual leave slots for those two (2) weeks during the inspection. It has not been decided whether to completely block out those two weeks of annual leave or just leave everything as is with eight (8) leave slots for the 2 weeks. I will let you know as soon as the Postmaster and I reach an agreement on this issue. Until then, it would probably be in your best interest not to plan any time off for those 2 weeks.
At this months regular monthly meeting at the BK Club we will be voting on the proposed Local Constitution and By-Laws changes that everyone received in the mail back in October. Anyone with any objections or amendments to those proposals should plan on being there to make your wishes known.
Also at this months meeting, we will be taking ideas from you for suggested changes to the Local Agreement. Any ideas that you would like to see incorporated into the Union bargaining position must be brought up at this time. There have been a few new ideas proposed and adopted at the recent meetings, so if you have any more suggestions you should be there to let the membership hear and consider your ideas. This is a good time to attempt to mold the Local memorandum of Understanding (LMU) to meet everyone's needs.
CONGRATULATIONS to new Branch 820 Merged members Jennifer Juhasz and Stephanie Reecer. We welcome you and thank you for becoming a part of this organization which - to coin a phrase -"Is all for one and one for all. An injury to one is an injury to all." Let us know if we can help you in any way, and if something is going on that you don't think is quite right, don't be afraid to ask an officer. We will sort fact from fiction.
This month's birthday's are: Tom Smith 01/07, Brother Don Brothers 01/13, Jimmy Moore 01/24 and Herb Bryan Jr. 01/25.
This month's anniversaries are both on the same day, January 1st and that day belongs to Bob and Frances Moore and Jimmy and Cynthia Moore. What a way to bring in the New Year! Congratulations!!
I hope to see you at the January regular monthly meeting of Branch 820 Merged at 7:30 PM on January 2nd at the BK Club. You don't have to stay for the whole meeting and kids are welcome. Just stop by to say 'HI' and to give us some of your thoughts and input and maybe get a few of your questions answered. Now more than ever before, Get Involved!
Smarter, not harder.
Back to NewslettersAs of this writing (2/24/96) a good portion of the local agreement is yet to be settled for both Mishawaka and Osceola. The negotiating team is spending many nights working on proposals and counter-proposals in an effort to take care of the needs of the letter carriers. Our main point of focus is in the area of leave, where we are attempting to negotiate additional leave slots for the non-choice period and trying to secure some kind of guaranteed incidental leave package. We are also attempting to spread out the choice leave period to include some of the vacation times(i.e. spring break, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years) so that we can allow a larger number of our letter carrier families to be together during these times when the children are also out of school. I will try to keep you updated as things continue to change. Hopefully, before you read this we will have reached an agreement on these issues. Negotiations are scheduled to end on March 1st.
The annual leave book has now passed through the carrier craft and now all remaining leave is available on a first come, first served basis. Please do not reserve leave in excess of your annual leave balance. The leave requests are being closely monitored and leave requests that do not have sufficient leave to cover the week of request will be disapproved. This is particularly important for those who are using daily incidental leave. Should your use of daily incidental leave cause your leave balance to fall below the amount necessary to cover your requested weeks of annual leave, you will have to return a full week of leave, as partial weeks are not permissible under the local agreement. The postmaster has also indicated that he will not approve LWOP. The responsibility rests with the individual letter carrier. So if you have plans for a trip out of town and have made reservations, but you come up short on annual leave, be prepared to cancel your reservations.
Coming on April 30th will be route inspection training. The class will be given by the ISALC Director of Education Toni Roeder-Bowles at the BK Club starting at 6:00 PM. Anyone who went through the last inspection in April of 1994 will remember how confusing things were and how each inspector seemed to have a different answer to every question, and many times it was the wrong answer. This is our opportunity to get the facts and learn exactly what your rights and obligations are during a route inspection. Let's get 100% turnout at this class and go into these inspections as well informed as possible. Hope to see you there.
Coming on Saturday, May 11th is the 4th annual NALC Food Drive. Last year the NALC collected over 40 million pounds of non-perishable food for the different homeless shelters and food pantries throughout the nation. I hope we can get the same cooperation from employees that we got last year. Anyone who is off that week-end and would like to volunteer some time to help collect and transport the mountains of food, please let me know. It would be nice if we could get some of the retirees involved in this worthy endeavor.
Farewell to Brother Jim Wyatt who will be leaving us to take a job in South Bend as a Mailhandler on March 3rd. Congratulations and good luck Jim.. Stay in touch.
There are also a number of other letter carriers considering similar transfers. Maybe this situation will convince management just how difficult and tedious a letter carrier's job has become in a DPS environment of micro-management and little or no carrier input. I hope that management is prepared for the possibility of having to deal with many new and inexperienced letter carriers who will be replacing these professional carriers. The knowledge that will be leaving with these veteran carriers will take years to replace. Although since there appears to be a lack of concern on management's part about customer wishes, complaints will probably be one of the things that will be a non factor in the "New Post Office". The absence of the word Service was not an error of omission. I hope that common sense will prevail.
Celebrating birthdays this month are Lou Kobold 03/02, Dan Caruso 03/17, Dave Wilk 03/20, and Sandy Stansfield 03/21.
This months wedding anniversaries are Bill and Kathleen Jensen 03/12, and Lloyd and Clara Imus Jr. 03/22.
The General Membership meeting of Branch 820 Merged will be at the BK Club on Tuesday, March 5th at 7:30 PM. There should be plenty to talk about concerning the local contract and the upcoming route inspections. The meeting are usually over around 9:00 PM, but you don't have to stay until then and kids are welcome. Now more than ever you need to 'get involved'. Hope to see you there.
Smarter, not harder.
Back to NewslettersI'm sure that all of you were as happy to see that first robin as I was. This winter, although not severe has seemed kind of like the EverReady Rabbit, it's just gone on and on and . . .
With the coming of spring and warmer days please be aware that the dogs will be more of a presence, particularly on week-ends when the kids are playing outside. Be sure to use your dog warning cards because although you may know where the dog is or that it is not aggressive, the sub that may be carrying all or a part of your assignment needs to be alerted to the possibility of a confrontation with Fido.
The Mishawaka and Osceola local negotiations have now ended with agreement reached on all 22 items in Osceola and on 20 of the 22 items in Mishawaka. The two (2) items unsettled in Mishawaka are item 1: Additional or longer wash-up periods, and item 6: The determination of the beginning day of any employee's vacation period. Those items have been sent to impasse and as soon as there is a decision I will post the result on the carrier bulletin board. In Osceola, there is an agreement between the local parties to meet and discuss the determination of the non-scheduled day for the full time assignment in Osceola.
Back to Mishawaka, there are a few changes that everyone should be aware of.
1. The choice leave vacation period will run from the last week of March through the third week of September.
2. There will be 6% of the carrier workforce permitted leave during the non-choice period. At the present time this calculates out to four (4) carriers per week.
3. The choice and non-choice books will begin passing through the craft by seniority on November 1st. The choice book will precede the non-choice book.
4. At the end of the bidding, all weeks will be available on a first come, first served basis for the remainder of the year. There will no longer be a date where management will block off all remaining unclaimed leave.
5. A proposal which has become known as the William's proposal (named after Mishawaka's Mike Williams, who made the suggestion) will allow a carrier to pass on their choice until the leave book reaches another carrier on the seniority list that the senior carrier is trying to match leave with. An example of this would be in the case of Mike and Susan where Mike will pass on his choice until the book reaches Susan so that they can be sure to get the same weeks off. This could also help in the non-choice period when there are fewer slots available and carriers are simply trying to match-up weeks for a trip south. In the past, the senior carrier would reserve many weeks in hopes of matching up one with a junior carrier who is going on the trip. After matching a week, the senior carrier would then return the other unwanted weeks and put them into the bidding and posting process. Hopefully this will help eliminate that unnecessary step. Thanks for the suggestion Mike.
Don't forget the route inspection training coming to the BK Club on Tuesday, April 30th at 6:00 PM. It is important that we have as much information as possible going into these inspections and State Director of Education Toni Roeder-Bowles is loaded with important information regarding route inspections in a DPS environment. The class will run from 2-3 hours. Please be there to get informed. The route inspections are scheduled for May 13th through the 23rd.
Coming on Saturday, May 11th is the 4th annual NALC Food Drive. Anyone who wants to volunteer time to help is welcome (non-scheduled carriers, retirees, family members or friends). Please contact Dan Caruso at 259-8616 or 778-4878.
This month's birthdays are: Jim Shedd 4/1, Ray Chamberlin 4/3, Cathy Elledge 4/3, Larry Ward 4/8, and Bob Peiffer 4/18.
Celebrating wedding anniversaries in April are: Ray and Stella Chamberlin 4/4, Karen and Bob Bennett 4/9, and Larry and Diane Hillebrand 4/29. Congratulations to all.
The regular monthly meeting of Branch 820 Merged will be on Tuesday, April 2nd at 7:30 at the BK Club. Special guest speaker at this meeting will be local businessman Sam Mercantini who has announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in District 10 for the seat that Doug Hunt is relinquishing. He will speak briefly and then answer a few questions. Hope to see you there. Get involved.
Smarter, not harder.
Back to NewslettersHopefully most of you made it to the route inspection class on April 30th. Toni Bowles had a commitment in New York, so the class was given by ISALC Bob Spear from Carmel, IN.
If you were unable to attend the class and get first hand information about your rights during a route inspection, just remember one thing, if something doesn't seem quite right to you during the course of the inspection, you have a right to move to line 22 on the 1838, which is waiting time and ask for a Union representative to get a clarification. Everything is supposed to be above the table and I have no reason to believe that everything won't be, but as we have seen in past inspections different inspectors have different answers to the same question and normally there is only one correct answer. My advice to you is make sure you are getting the right answer, move to line 22.
I hope that everyone is using their Dog Warning Cards everyday. You need only look at the April 29th Federal Times to understand why. In south Florida (which seems to have more than its share of cranially depraved managers) a 66 year old letter carrier was removed because he was bitten by a dog that was not "flagged" by a dog card, and therefore was judged not to have done everything possible to avoid the dog attack. CYA.
There is some concern among the PTF employees in Mishawaka about the notice posted for casual employment in Mishawaka. Let me assure ALL of you that your officers will be closely monitoring the casual workhours to ensure that PTF employees are being utilized to the fullest extent possible, prior to work hours being assigned to casual employees. Management will be very reluctant to violate your rights, which are guaranteed by Article 7 of the National Agreement. If any of you have questions, please see me.
Branch 820 Merged has made it to the age of communication! We now have telephone service to our Branch office. The number is 257-1865. If there is no one there, leave a message on the answering machine and we will return your call as soon as possible. So if you have a question that you need answered, or if you are looking for claim forms, give us a call.
Remember the 4th annual NALC Food Drive on Saturday, May 11th. We are still in need of non-scheduled volunteers to help with the collection of the non-perishable food items from our customers. Last year we collected about 35,000 pounds of food in the cities of Mishawaka and Osceola. Lets try to double that this year. Anyone wishing to help out can call and leave a message at 257-1865.
We recently had two future postal employees brought into this world, a son to Chris and Lisa Basker and a daughter to Bob and Karen Bennett. Congratulations!
One more candle on the cake in May for Bill Drew 05/01, Martin Madigan 05/04, Chris Basker 05/07, Jeff Maure 05/22, Bernie Rouselang 05/29, Russell John 05/30 and Susan Habart 05/31. Celebrating a wedding anniversary in May are Howie and Darlene Peiffer. Fine job How!
I hope to see you at the regular monthly meeting of Branch 820 Merged on Tuesday, May 7th at the BK Club at 7:30 PM. It would be a good time to get any last minute questions that you may have about the May 13-23 route inspections answered. Get informed. Get involved.
Smarter, not harder.
Back to NewslettersThe route inspections are finally over, and now we will see exactly what changes are in store for us. During the recent route inspections, the office piece count was down 7% from April 1994 inspections. Management has 52 days from the end of the route inspections ( May 23 ) to put any adjustments into place. Management must discuss the results of these inspections with each carrier individually and explain any deductions in time to the demonstrated times of the week of count and inspection. You should question and oppose any proposed time reductions to your demonstrated effort during the week of count and inspection. If a reduction in time is proposed by management, you should make a written objection on the inspection comparison form during the discussion with the manager, sign it, and then have the manager sign it. You should then request time to talk to a steward so that appropriate action can be taken. Don't wait until the adjustments are in place to make your objections known and don't try to pass on the information second and third hand, you were the one sitting there, you were the one who demonstrated the numbers shown on the 1840, you need to request a steward and stand up for your rights. You should also voice objections to any territorial adjustment to your assignment which you think is unfair, in the same way. Now is not the time to be sheepish. Speak up! There is also some confusion concerning the actual demonstrated times of the regular carrier during the count. There are two (2) columns that are important to you, columns "A" (Net Time Used) and "E" (Net Street Time Used). These are the regular carrier's demonstrated times during count and inspection, any "R" or Replacement carrier time has been deducted from these columns. On the other hand, column "F" has the replacement time included in the average. Your assignment will be adjusted on the total of the two averages in "A" and "E". For example, "A" is 2:30, "E" is 5:30 and "F" is 7:45, you would add "A" and "E" which equals 8:00 hours. "F" is disregarded because it includes replacement carrier times. If you have any questions, please ask or call the office at 257-1865 and leave a message. I will get back to you as soon as possible.
The Food Drive was another success. We raised over 21,000 lbs. of non-pershiable items for Northern Indiana Food Bank. I would like to thank everyone who helped make this Food Drive possible, including the city and rural carriers in Mishawaka and Osceola who toted this extra poundage around for the day, Phil Zwickl and Gene Case, because without their contribution of equipment and manhours, none of this would have been possible. Thanks also to the Chamberlins, who took some of the load off of the northside carriers, the family of John Kostry who took most of the load off of spouse and dad, and to Pat Keller who had an enjoyable day collecting food for Conrad and walking on sidewalks for the first time since she left Long Island. A very special thanks goes out to Kathy Adelsperger for her excellent work in keeping things organized on the dock, helping off-load the carrier vehicles, and yes, she even made the rounds in an LLV to lighten the load of some routes on the southwest side of town. Thanks again to all!
We are still awaiting the results of the two (2) items which we sent to impasse from local negotiations in Mishawaka. I will let you know as soon as a decision is made. Once the impassed items are settled, new local agreements will be issued to all dues paying members from Mishawaka.
For those who have requested CSRS, FERS, or Survivor pamphlets and haven't received them, please be patient. We have ordered more from NALC in Washington and will get them to you as soon as we get them.
June's Birthdays belong to Jim Lukaszewski 06/02, Mike Kelly 06/05, Ed Shank 06/10, Terry Bates 06/14, Karin Urschel 06/17, Karen Caruso 06/22 and Connie Boyd 06/25. I missed a birthday last month for Naser Ferwanah 05/14.
Celebrating June wedding anniversaries are Pete and Jean Auwenrogge 06/16, Joe and Sandy Sadural 06/07, Bob and Debbie Jacobsen 06/11, Cindy and Bruce Shidler 06/21, and Dane and Sherry Macon 06/28.
Please register to vote if you have not already done so. Vote for the candidates who support your issues be it workplace safety, job protection, pro-life or choice, gun control, etc., but make your voice heard.
Hope to see you at the next regular monthly meeting of Branch 820 Merged on Tuesday, June 4th at the BK Club on the corner of 9th and West in Mishawaka starting at 7:30 PM. Children and spouses are welcome.
Smarter, not harder.
Back to NewslettersSeptember 17th we held a labor/management meeting at the Mishawaka Post Office. Among the topics of discussion was one's right to have a steward present during a discussion with management. The National Agreement states in Article 16, Section 2, that for minor offenses by an employee "management has the responsibility to discuss such matters with the employee. Discussions of this type shall be held in private between the employee and the supervisor." Management asserts that this prohibits the presence of a steward at this session. However each person has a thing called Weingarten rights which allow that person to have a steward present at an investigatory interview or counseling session where the employee "believes that the interview could lead to discipline." Interviews can be on a number of issues including absenteeism, accidents, compliance with work rules, damage to company property, theft, lateness, poor work performance, poor attitude and a number of others. There can be no notes kept by the supervisor at these interviews but the discussions can be "relied upon to establish that employees have been made aware of their obligations and responsibilities." The position of Branch 820 Merged is that the previous phrase from Article 16, Section 2, establishes the beginning of the line of progressive discipline, and should the employee who is being interviewed, advised or counseled, wish to have a steward present, one must be provided before the session can proceed. If you are denied your right for a steward either before or during the interview, politely decline to answer any questions or make any statements until one is provided. Remember, you cannot refuse to go into the interview, however you can make the choice not to answer questions or make comments. Do not be enticed or irritated into a discussion without proper representation. If a steward is not provided and the interview or discussion takes place, upon termination of the interview or discussion immediately request to speak to a steward. You are advised to never waive your right to have a steward present at a discussion, interview or counseling session.
Also at this meeting was a lengthy discussion on DPS work methods. The postmaster had prepared a seven (7) page document which gave management's view of both recognized work methods. He explained the pros and cons of both and also had a photocopy of an item called the "sling" which would make it easier for carriers on foot and park 'n' loop routes to handle a bundle of mail which has letters and flats combined. At the conclusion of the discussion he asked the officers in attendance to take the prepared document and "tear it apart" with reasons why the Vertical Flat Casing (VFC) Method wouldn't work, because since he is not a carrier he may be overlooking something. There are several copies of this information which will be circulated around the workroom floor for the next 30 days, and you are invited to put your concerns in writing. There will also be discussion of this at the next union meeting, so you should try to be there to have your voice heard and maybe learn a few things which you weren't considering. As always, keep an open mind because we are an organization which is not opposed to change and even welcomes change if it is for the good of everyone. We recognize that in the computer age there has to be change in order for the Postal Service to be competitive. What we are opposed to are the foolhardy plans of management to implement these changes without taking care of the glitches that exist before impacting service to our customers, and the fact that they have done so without any input from those of us who are the messenger, the final link between an accurate and a mis-delivery, the ambassadors of the Postal Service. Postmaster Zwickl has given us the opportunity to voice these concerns and to give our input, let's not let this opportunity go by in silence or apathy.
During our remodeling project, a number of people have approached me concerning asbestos exposure. There will be a meeting held during September to try to answer any concerns that you may have about exposure, past and present. If after this meeting you still have concerns and questions, please get them to Branch 820 Merged Safety Director Bob Eberlein, so that we can further the effort to have your minds put at ease. Any retirees who have some concern about their possible exposure to asbestos over the years are encouraged to call the union office at (219) 257-1865 and leave a message, or if possible make it to the next union meeting on Tuesday, October 1st at the BK Club in Mishawaka.
It is your responsibility to inform management well in advance of your scheduled leaving time if you are unable to complete your assignment in eight (8) hours. After determining this, it is then your responsibility to request a PS Form 3996, CARRIER AUXILIARY CONTROL, and fill it out with your estimate for how long you believe it will take you to complete your assigned duties that day. The supervisor must either authorize the overtime (if you are on the ODL lists), provided auxiliary assistance or order the curtailment of mail. Whether overtime is approved or not, get your 3996 back from the supervisor, in duplicate if you desire. If curtailment is decided upon, request a PS form 1571, UNDELIVERED MAIL REPORT, and record any mail that you leave behind and submit that 1571 along with your denied or approved 3996 into the appropriate box on the supervisor's desk. It is best to use piece count rather than linear foot count in determining curtailed mail. A rule of thumb is 250 mixed pieces of letter mail per foot, making a 2 foot three-sided tray full of letter mail approximately 500 pieces of mail, and 115 flats per foot which would make a full cardboard tray approximately 115 pieces and one of the plastic tubs which is stacked normally, approximately 115 pieces. The mix of mail will vary these figures and you can determine that yourself, especially by looking through the tubs for "double-stacked" flats, which could double your count for a tub of flats. Talk pieces, not feet.
Coming Saturday, December 14th is the annual Christmas Dinner-Dance at the Eagles in Mishawaka. Although plans aren't finalized yet it looks to be another enjoyable evening for everyone in attendance. Try to reserve that night to come and break bread with your brothers and sisters, both active and retired. For the young carriers, it's a good time to put the faces with the names of Mishawaka postal folklore. I hope to see you there.
Our best wishes and prayers go out to brother Merle Wallace. We'll try to keep this place running until you get back Merle, but there's no guarantee what kind of shape it's going to be in! You are constantly in our thoughts.
October birthdays belong to Clem Hunsberger 10/09, Larry Hillebrand (who just happens to have the greatest mailman ever to don a uniform deliver his mail) 10/28 and Margaret Karwatka 10/28.
Wedding anniversaries in October will be celebrated by Jim and Sue Lukaszewski 10/01, Brian and Kathleen Eby 10/02, Chris and Lisa Basker 10/03, Cathy and Junior Elledge 10/06 and Ben and Cheryl Smith 10/13.
I hope to see you at the regular monthly meeting of Branch 820 Merged on Tuesday, October 1st at 7:30 PM at the BK Club in Mishawaka on the corner of 9th and West. Stop in and be heard. Get involved now!
Smarter, not harder
Back to Newsletters1. Keep outer and subsequent layers of clothing clean. Insulation can be lost by dirt and body oils. Wash in soap and water or dry clean often. If using soap and water, be sure soap is rinsed out completely.
2. Avoid overheating. Dampness will lessen insulation. A minimum of clothing should be worn indoors. If you begin to perspire heavily, ventilate by opening outer garments.
3. Wear loose clothing in layers. Clothing and footwear which is too tight will restrict blood circulation and could lead to cold injuries.
4. Keep clothing dry. Wetness can soak clothing from two (2) directions, inside and outside. Perspiration from the inside and rain or snow from outside.
1. Under clothes and socks should be made of material that wicks away form the body, such as polypropylene or other man-made synthetics.
2. Reqular uniform outer clothing.
3. Quilted lined coats and a light shelled outer over trousers to block bitter winds.
4. Light cotton gloves for early winter and heavy lined gloves as the winter turns colder. (Note: please be careful when using gloves with the fingertips cut off. Frostbite isn't choosy about where it strikes, any exposed skin is susceptible.)
Back to NewslettersSo there you are on one of the coldest, most windy and most slippery days of the winter thus far, delivering your assignment in as professional of a manner as possible while wearing thick gloves to keep from getting frostbite, when out pops a supervisor. This individual produces a piece of paper called a 'Street Supervision Worksheet' (no official form, rather someone's home concoction) and says, "On July 17th during a 3999 at this time you were at this address, why are you only at this address today?" The carrier, in their infinite wisdom says, "I don't know, poor footing I guess". The supervisor, then not finding this an acceptable answer says, "Is that all you have to say?" And the sharp tongued carrier quips, "Yep".
The preceding is part of an actual conversation which took place with the conditions precisely as stated between a Mishawaka letter carrier and supervisor. Isn't it sad that someone making the money that these folks are making can't sit down and figure out what any present or former letter carrier worth their salt already knows, weather conditions, mail volume, parcel volume and carrier health are among the things which affect a carriers street times from day to day. But as I have been told and as some of you know from personal experience, some former carriers weren't worth their salt and it was for the better of the letter carrier craft when they left, in their infinite wisdom. And isn't it sad that these folks aren't motivated enough to perform continuous street observations as they are supposedly required to do, on every carrier, not just a select few who management thinks are not doing their job, and determine from first-hand information why street times vary daily. If these number crunching Nincompoops would deal with reality rather than useless outright garbage not suitable for a toxic waste dump like the 'Street Supervision Worksheet' maybe the fog would lift from around their heads and they would begin to see the light.
I am addressing this issue here because there are so few of you at the Branch meeting where I address these concerns to those present, and this matter is of particular importance to you when confronted with the situation described at the head of this article. Your officers have gone on record at step 2 of the grievance/arbitration procedure stating that the use of the unrecognized 'Street Supervision Worksheet' for anything other that the supervisor's personal notes is inappropriate. Anyone who is disciplined or threatened with discipline for variations indicated by that piece of excrement needs to notify a Branch officer immediately.
For those who may wonder just what our objections are to that crude piece of nonsense, although I doubt any of them have the initiative to read this, here they are:
1. It compares the two (2) days using Delivery Unit Volume Recording System (DUVRS) as the basis for the comparison. While DUVRS may be a fairly accurate tool in determing the actual linear footage coming into the unit, it is useless when trying to determine a carrier's daily workload and only Nitwits would try to use it for such.
2. It does not take into account the different weather conditions of the 2 days, and that includes hot or cold weather, because as any carrier knows, when its cold, mother nature comes calling more often requiring more comfort stops and when it's hot, you need to replenish your fluids and electolytes much more.
3. It does not consider the day of the week and does not even compare Monday to Monday or Tuesday to Tuesday. You cannot judge the quality of an apple by comparing it to an orange.
4. It does not consider whether both days had advo delivery or house to house delivery.
5. It does not recognize that a carrier's "best effort" can and does vary depending on carrier health, age and conditions outside of the workplace.
6. It does not take into consideration what time you left for the street, because a later leaving time usually indicates that the carrier put in extra mail and thus will be affected by extended delivery time.
7. It does not consider whether a sub jammed your case the night before the 3999 like they did last night.
8. It does not consider that you were told to leave second class mail during the 3999, just get out on time, but were told to take everything today.
I am sure I am overlooking some considerations, if you think of any, please let me know so I can bring them up to anyone that will listen. But even if these concerns are rectified, the fact remains that there is no such thing as minimum standard paces per minute or street standard time. If we all do our jobs in the same professional manner every day, as if an examiner was with you, management cannot prove that we are doing anything wrong. And if they find you performing some part of your job inappropriately, it is their responsibility to inform you of your inappropriate action and it is their responsibility to instruct you how to correct yourself.
This, as I am sure any rationally thinking person knows, can't be done with a computer or a clipboard, but must be done with good old elbow grease and hands on experience. Wake up management! The days of "I think you are doing" and "you should be able to do" are gone! (not that they were ever here). Come out and see what we are doing and what we are capable of doing! Get off you cans and move a little bit for the good of the service instead of for the persecution of an employee who is performing the job to the best of their abilities. If you want to study someone and see first hand that street times are not "static", I volunteer myself as a guinea pig. Come with me for a whole year, or even a month and see for yourself why my street times vary. Quit manipulating the mail to show the things you want it to show on one day and then try to hold me to that artificial number for the other 364.There are a couple of other things that you need to be aware of that are happening in Mishawaka and if they have happened or do happen to you, a steward needs to be notified immediately. I won't go into the reasons why these are problems, most of them are apparent:
If you are told not to finger your DPS mail for a business, please notify an officer immediately. Your officers have already filed a grievance over this issue which has been appealed to step 3. this order is a violation of the City Carrier Handbook M-41, sections 133.2 and 321.5.
If you are being asked to commit to making it back from the street by a certain time notify an officer.
If you are being forced to carry "one bundle" of cased mail, notify an officer.
If you feel that you are being verbally abused or not treated with dignity and respect, notify an officer.
We need your help in resolving these issues, because in many instances, unless you say something we are not aware of a problem. You have to speak up and stand up for your rights. As someone once told me, we will defend anyone aggrieved until the cows come home, but we can't give them backbone. SPEAK UP!
You are in our thoughts and prayers, Merle. We miss you.
I apologize to everyone for being so lengthy, especially Jeff and Tony, but if you would show up at the next Branch meeting on Tuesday, March 4th at the BK Club in Mishawaka starting at 7:30 PM, you could get the information first hand and I could stick to shorter, more member personal topics in this column.
Smarter, not harder.
Back to NewslettersThese are dark days for the workers of the U.S.P.S. as the policy makers at Postal Headquarters seek to create and enforce a modern slave labor movement.
Discipline must be harsh and intense. Discipline must be often.
Management must create a crisis, or series of crisis' to show the general public that the Unions are out of control, or in too much control. These are days of a power struggle in which postal management seeks to discredit the unions and ignore labor laws to crush the spirit of the workers - this is 19th century management at its ugliest.
Just like the Soviet Constitution pertained only to its citizens, and the Communist Party was a law unto itself. So it is with the National Agreement to the postal employees while postal management has no accountability for its actions just as the Communist Party. Party Leader Runyon wants to strictly regulate the work of its employees by the fraction of seconds with spies in the skies. The postal KGB informs the workers, "It is good for you! You can call 911 anytime if you are attacked!" It is an outlandish lie! They want you on employment arrest, without a trial, to control your every movement. That is what it is all about, the control of your life.
Dictator Runyon, the petty dictators and the local postal KGB, your front line supervisors, want to control you and your life. They want absolute authority in your life at the work place, to bring you under micro-management, to tell you when to drink water in 100 degree weather, when to take a comfort stop, as if any is needed. Your local KGB agent will tell you that you are well over paid to over come heat strokes, bodily injury and frost bite without expanding your street time in any fashion.
Although there is no standard street time, Postal Communism wants to create one and strictly enforce it to terminate the non-mules and non-runners.
It is time for the workers to unite! To overthrow Postal Communism, we must write endlessly to our Congress to bring postal management into accountability for all their actions. It is in our hands to end this madness!
For those who may wonder about my political allegiance: I'm a centrist, not a conservative, nor a Liberal. Republicans claim the conservative tag and espouse 'Family Values' which makes them one of the biggest hypocrites in the political arena: truly, if they were for the family then they would support the working parent with fair labor laws. Or, is it only the rich families that appeal to them? Labor is a bastard child to the Democratic Party, usually forgotten unless needed and only give lukewarm, half hearted support to the workers of America.
Now, we'll examine more of the World of Postal Communism.
The latch pin upon which hangs Communism is this: Truth is irrelevant and subjective. Never forget it! Use it to examine the motives of management.
We witnessed the evolution of Communism in Russia where workers were suppressed, only allowed company unions, paid sub-standard wages,harassed, intimidated, and dealt harsh punishment. While factory barons and Party members rewarded themselves from the profits of the laborers. Sound like Postal Management? Hence, Postal Communism.
How could Communism and Capitalism treat their workers exactly the same? It is more than ironic! In school we learn about the political system of Communism, they fail to teach us that it is also a religion and a way of life.
Communism is self-serving, self-important, self-worshipping and self-rewarding. It is control, power and greed.
In Russia all productions were based on quota numbers. In the Postal Service we have DUVRS and we have the number crunchers.
In the religion of Communism, you are the only important one and your orders are dogma; you stand above the toiling masses; you area demi-god and you have power to punish others. You demand worship and respect: You deserve it!
You issued the edict: all letter carriers are lazy and liars. From that premises you make all your judgements: harass the slackers, add more duties to them, make all work harder, to appease you.
Actually, that edict reflects on the history of those in management, most of them anyway, and how they came into their jobs. They are always trying to push people to do what they always AVOIDED in the first place.
Will Postal I.G. become another layer of protection for management? It probably will, just like the Postal Inspectors and the Postal EEO system. Take heart, they need all the protection they can get! Management will not discipline themselves or accept discipline form their peers: they can not make it in the Real World!
Just a couple of quick notes from Mishawaka this month.
The Branch 820 Merged Holiday banquet is tentatively planned for Saturday, November 29th at Honkers Restaurant, 211 E. Day Road, in Mishawaka. Retirees and their guest are welcome at no charge. It is important for the retirees to respond ASAP to the Union's answering machine at (219) 257-1865 as seating is limited to 125. Invitations will be forthcoming, but we would like to get an approximate head count prior to setting a charge (if any) for active carriers. If there is a charge, a non-refundable deposit (except in emergency) of $5.00 per plate will be required and applied to the cost of the meal. A sign-up sheet will be posted on the carrier bulletin board shortly. If you sign the sheet please give your deposit to either Mike Brubaker or Dan Caruso. We would like to keep the cost to active members as low as possible. At the time of this writing, it appears that the $5.00 per plate will cover the meal. We hope to see many of you there to share an evening of good food and fine memories with your brothers and sisters.
During the Columbus Day weekend, Bob Peiffer and I attended the K-I-M Region union seminar in Louisville, Kentucky where the NALC's Director of City Delivery, Jim Edgemon, spoke on delivery redesign, Global Positioning System (GPS), delivery confirmation scanners, and other things. I am sure you will read about this in other places, but if you would like to hear first hand how our jobs may be changing (particularly the younger carriers) and learn what may be facing you in the near future, you should attend the next regularly scheduled General Membership meeting of Branch 820 Merged on Tuesday, November 4th at 7:30 PM at the BK Club in Mishawaka. There are some things you really should hear first hand, rather than through the grapevine. So that you get the complete story and then get your questions answered. And while you are there you can cast your vote in the Branch elections. Get involved! Hope you can make it.
Smarter, not harder.
Back to NewslettersWith winter setting in, please remember to dress properly. As Bob Eberlein has said in the past, several thin layers of clothing is preferable to just one heavy layer over your uniform. That way, if in the very, very, very remote possiblity it warms up around here, you can shed layers as needed.
It was nice to see some new faces at the Holiday Dinner on November 29th at Honkers Restaurant in Mishawaka. Special thanks to Ray Chamberlin who agreed (on very short notice) to keep the evening moving with poetry and introductions and did his usual fine job.
Thanks are also in order for Ed Shank, who once again put together the sign up poster for Salvation Army bell ringing on December 12th and 13th. Thanks to all of you who gave up some of your precious time during this busy time to help the needy.
Wishes for a speedy recovery go out to Dave Fouts and Debbie Jacobsen.
This is to notify all members of Branch 820 Merged that there will be discussion at the next regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 6th regarding the possibility of putting a time limit on the amount of time someone has to put in their leave requests for the new leave year. If you have input which you want to be taken into consideration during the discussion, plan on being at the BK Club in Mishawaka at 7:30 PM on the 6th of January. Who knows, by being there you could be the first winner of our $25.00 attendance drawing! All members names will go into a hat, and if your name is drawn and you're in attendance, you win $25.00! The drawing will take place right after the moment of silence at the start of the meeting. Hope to see you there!
Let us all be professional letter carriers and perform your assigned duties the same every day. Carry your assignment as if there was a clipboard with you at all times. If you don't do it that way when they're with you, don't do it that way when they're not.
May you all have a safe and happy holiday season and a prosperous new year. Take time out to appreciate your loved ones.
Letter carrier new year resolution; Know your rights, get involved.
Smarter, not harder.
Back to NewslettersBefore your 65th birthday rows around, get in touch with Social Security to find what part(s) of medicare you are entitled to.
When your health insurance carrier sends you a questionnaire, be sure to fill it out and return. Failure to do so can mean a delay in processing your health benefits claims.
All other members, when you need to make contact with the Health Plan, be sure the Health Benefits Representative has the following information:
The above information is necessary if the Health Benefits Rep is to use the automated phone system.
Long time no write! What better time than the dog days? I hope the heat and humidity hasn't been too hard on anyone.
Since few show up at our monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of every month, I will address some locally important issues here.