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Employees
Assistance
Program
1-800-EAP-4-YOU
(1-800-327-4968)
TTY 1-877-492-7341
www.eap4you.com
_______________
President's
Page
Vice
President's Page
Executive
Secretary
Human
Relations
Clerk Craft
Clerk's
Bidding Phone #
Local's
Information Page
Address
Change
Postal Mag
Postal
Reporter
Lewis
Letters
Postal
Employee Network
Legislative
Mileage
Solidarity
_______________
Local's
Attorney
Mark
Belland, Esq.
OBBLAW.com
Local's
Accountant
Mark
Lavinsky, CPA
rlhpcpa.com
_______________
From The Past
Lab
Rat Corner
Trenton
P&DC
New
Building POAC
Updates
from the past
_________________
Conventions
2010 NJ State APWU
3-29
to 3-31
Bally's
Resorts
Atlantic City,
NJ
_________________
_________________
Maintenance Issues
Clerk Issues
Motor Vehicle Issues
_________________
Annual Leave
Sick Leave
Issues
FMLA
Issues
Deems
Desirable
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CSRS
and FERS Handbook for Personnel and Payroll Offices
_________________
Arbitrator rules in favor of the local union in the 370 Trucks subcontracting
grievance from the Trenton VMF.
He awards $ 336,938.00 to the
Trenton VMF bargaining unit. Read award
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New
Federal Employee Health Benefits Rates
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Local Union Meeting
February
13, 2010
In Case of inclement weather call
609-631-7745
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New Jersey State
Convention
Bally's Atlantic
City
March 29 - 31, 2010
Convention
Information & Updates
________________
Clerk Posting
CL
23181 RESULTS 2-5-10
Clerk
Bidding Page
Information on
remaining a live bidder, bidding phone number.
_____________________________
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GRIEVANCE
UPDATE:
I am writing this notice in an attempt to make you
aware of what is currently going on in the grievance/arbitration process
as it relates to the grievances we have filed on your behalf, and will
continue to file on your behalf.
As you are aware, we are now under the jurisdiction
of the Eastern Region, and the Clerk Craft is now experiencing wholesale
denials of 98 % of the grievances we have filed, and we see no end in
sight. We have been advised
by our National Business Agents that the Eastern Region is notorious for
making the Union take everything
to the Arbitration table, which significantly delays adjudication of
your grievances. This year
alone, I have appealed over 450 Step 2’s, and only a fraction of those
cases have been settled (approximately 2%), and the numbers of denials
are growing exponentially every week.
Unfortunately, Local Management knows that justice
delayed is justice denied, and they are flooding the grievance
system with denials in an attempt to move forward with their agenda, and
deny you your rights under the contract.
They are hoping you will take out your frustration on the Union,
and eventually not file any grievances because you don’t see any
immediate benefits from doing so.
PLEASE DO
NOT – I REPEAT – DO NOT give
in to their tactics! Please
continue to knock on our door, call us, and let us know when you believe
your rights are being violated. We
have gone through periods like this in the past, and we will eventually
prevail as long as we stick together and fight for the rights we are
entitled to under the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Eastern Region is our common enemy, and as you can see –
the problem is endemic to the Postal Service itself.
However, we must remain united and persistent in the pursuit of
our rights, and not be deterred by Management’s wholesale denial of
our grievances and delay tactics in an attempt to break our spirits or
determination.
The struggle continues, and I thank you for your
continued support as your craft director, and wish you and your loved
ones a very happy new year!!!
Sandra A. Schleher
Clerk Craft Director
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_________________
FFS Update, currently
plans are to begin installing the second of 3 machines in January 9, 2010, Third
one is March 6, 2010
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(__________
Post
office mulls closing hundreds of offices
Postal
agency is facing a nearly $7 billion potential loss
Possible Trenton Stations
& Branches Closing
District Managers will
be adding a focus to the discontinuance of operations by reviewing all
classified stations and branches
in Level 24 and above post office (see enclosure) . These offices have experienced serious
volume, transaction, and revenue declines . The Postal Service will be using the
current procedures
that are in place for studying the activities of an office for possible
discontinuance.
Memo
From USPS
National
Notification About Trenton Closing
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Revamp Maintenance Selection
System (MSS)
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No
Layoff Clause
Attached is the
USPS response to the APWU’s position that the APWU MOU on the No Layoff Clause
continuing to apply to employees excessed from an APWU bargaining unit to
another Union’s bargaining unit that has not negotiated a similar provision.
The USPS as you
can see disagrees that no layoff protection follows the employee and argues that
layoff protection is predicated on which Collective Bargaining Agreement the
employee is covered by at the time of a layoff. Mike Gallagher
APWU
Letter
USPS
Letter
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Excessing:
Know Your Rights
(05/14/09) In an effort to reduce the employee complement, postal
management seems intent on compelling employees to resign, APWU President
William Burrus said in an Update for union members. “To combat this
coercion, the union advises employees who are notified that they are excess to
their craft or installation to make sure they are knowledgeable of all of their
contractual rights and to demand specific information from management about
their ‘new assignments.’”
[full story]
_____________________________
Get a copy
of
Article 12
Excessing:
Collective Bargaining
Agreement Enforcement of the Process
A Study in
Strategy and Tactics
By
Jeff Kehlert, NBA
Email
your name and local or other info
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NEW
APWU FMLA FORMS
FMLA
# 1
Certification
by Employee's Health Care Provider for Employee's Serious Illness
FMLA
# 2
Health Care
Provider Certification of Employee's Family Member Serious Illness
FMLA
# 3
Certification
by Employee of Qualifying Exigency for Military Family Leave
FMLA
# 4
Certification
by Service Member's Health Care Provider for Caregiver Military Family
Leave
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Family and
Medical Leave Act Information
(Updated 04/30/09) These forms provide
supporting documentation for leave requests covered by the Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA). These forms have been updated to meet the
requirements of the revised regulations that became effective Jan. 16,
2009. More information about the new requirements is available here.
The Postal Service has stated that these forms are acceptable for use by
managers to approve or disapprove FMLA leave requests.
Please note that some of these forms have been
modified slightly for clarity since they were initially issued in
February 2009. APWU FMLA forms #1 and #2 were revised as follows: 1) a
change to the section regarding medical facts to include treatment, if
any; 2) a clarification regarding what constitutes a chronic condition
(i.e. the new regulations stipulate that to qualify as a chronic
condition, the employee must require treatment at least twice a year,
and 3) a place for the HCP to print their name, above where they place
their signature. This last change also applies to form #4. Form #3 is
unchanged. While the February 2009 version of the forms should still be
acceptable when properly completed, these revisions add clarity and
should, therefore, reduce the number of instances where the Postal
Service finds the forms “insufficient” or “incomplete.”
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OWCP Tidbits
By
Sandy Schleher
1.
You have a right to seek medical treatment from a physician of
your choice.
2.
You have a right to decline medical treatment from the UPSP
provider.
3.
Traumatic injury – medical condition occurred within a single work shift –
immediately complete Form CA-1.
4.
Occupational disease
– medical condition caused or aggravated by work environment over a
period longer than one work shift – complete Form CA-2.
5.
Form CA-16
– USPS issues this form to you before you seek medical treatment from
a health care provider of your choice.
This form guarantees payment for most medical treatments for up
to 60 days as long as the injury was reported within seven days of
occurrence.
6.
CA-17
– Form the USPS and physician fill out detailing your physical
limitations.
7.
COP – Continuation
of Pay: Make sure you
indicate COP when you complete form CA-1.
Form CA-1 must be completed within 30 days of the traumatic
injury, and the first day of work stoppage must have occurred within 45
days of the injury. Time
lost on the date of the injury is charged to administrative leave.
Employees are eligible up to 45 calendar days, which includes
non-scheduled days and holidays when medical evidence indicates that
disability exists during those time periods. COP entitlement does not
pertain to an occupational disease, and you must utilize LWOP, Sick
Leave or Annual Leave until your claim is accepted by the Department of
Labor.
8.
The employer must allow injured workers 10 days to submit medical
documentation supporting their absence before they can interrupt COP.
9.
WLC – Wage Loss
Compensation:
Form CA-7 must be completed to claim WLC.
Upon receipt, the employer has five working days to complete its
portion of the form and submit it to OWCP.
- COP
& WLC – A
three-day (3) waiting period, which begins on the first day of
disability, must be satisfied before an employee can receive COP or
WLC. Non-scheduled
days, sick leave and LWOP can be used to satisfy the waiting
periods. Waiting
periods are waived when there are 14 days of cumulative work
stoppage.
OWCP Claim approval is not required for COP to
begin,
but subsequently denied claims will be subject to
repayment.
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_____________________________
Trenton
Metro Members must act now!!
Click
here to send a message to your Representative
Support
Growing for H.R. 22
Union
Asks Members to Contact Congress
(04/06/09) Legislation that would provide the
Postal Service temporary relief from a crushing financial crisis is
gaining wide support in Congress. More than half of the members of the
House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of H.R. 22, which
would modify a provision of the 2006 postal “reform” law that drains
the Postal Service of billions of dollars per year and has contributed
to a financial crisis so severe that it threatens the viability of the
nation's 235-year-old postal system.
[full
story]
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Central New
Jersey District is Closing
District
Compression a good thing for those who screwed APWU members in excessing, tour
compression and other career impacts.
All of 085, 086
& 087
to go under South
Jersey District
Monmouth P&DC
to go under South Jersey District
Six
districts to close, 1,400 supervisor jobs cut
Postal
Service Continues Aggressive Steps to Cut Costs
Closing administrative offices, eliminating positions,
offering early retirements
Alert
It has come to the attention of the
union that management is placing employees on Stand BY Time when
they are working. The union has uncovered several supervisors engaging this
totally improper /fraudulent conduct. These supervisors are falsifying
time keeping records. Management has the right when no mail or work
available to instruct employees to go to a designated area and be ready to assume
normal work activities as needed and directed by the supervisor.
_____________________________
Effective
January 1, 2009, Handbook F-15, Travel and Relocation, is
revised to reflect new reimbursement rates for travel and relocation.
The New Rate is 55.5
cents per mile for privately own vehicles
_____________________________
APWU
Clerks are to remain on the ASFM
100s
AFSM
100 Order
On December
31, 2008 the court granted the NPMHU’s motion to intervene, but denied
the motion for relief.
We have been advised
by our Attorney that the Court’s ruling today allowing the Mailhandlers to
intervene before the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals will not take place
until one (1) year or longer from Judge Pisano’s ruling of 12/31/08.
In the meantime, the clerks will continue to maintain jurisdiction,
leaving in place the current staffing on the FSM 100.
The
Mailhandlers sought to have Judge Pisano’s previous rulings overturned, and
the judge today denied their motion and ordered the parties to abide by his
previous decisions.
No matter what kind of spin the Mailhandlers put on Judge
Pisano’s ruling today, clerks will continue to perform the work, as the
Mailhandlers “failed to demonstrate good cause under Rule 60(b) to
vacate the Court’s May 28 and July 22 Orders denying their motion”.
AFSM 100
Update - Read the full story
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Union
Files Second ‘Dispute’ Over Two-Tour Initiative2
(12/19/08) The APWU has filed a second Step 4 dispute protesting
the Postal Service’s nationwide program to eliminate or drastically reduce
Tour 2 assignments and employees. The dispute, filed Dec. 16, is a companion to
another Step 4 protest filed the same day, and recaps many of the allegations
made by the union in an Unfair Labor Practice Charge filed with the National
Labor Relations Board on Nov. 25. [full
story]
USPS Two Tour Operation
Initiative
Reduction
or Elimination of Existing Day Shift Position/Employees
By Greg Bell
All Clerk
Stewards Must Read This
Tour
Compression/Two Tour Initiative
Previous
Posted Tour Compression info/reports
|
Message From Bill Lewis
I have been advised that Management
is not providing correct information to our members as
it relates to the notification process currently under way as
they move to institute their National Level Two Tour Compression
initiative. I believe this is the result of certain
Managers who did not get involved in how the contract determines the
movement of employees when changes are made in duty assignments. My
previous e-mails have detailed the order in which these changes
must be contractually carried out, and it is my intention to enforce
the contract for each and every violation that occurs. I have no
intentions of making any exceptions or deals with Local
Management to bypass the clear unambiguous language contained in the
Collective Bargaining Agreement, and we ARE NOT in
agreement with their plan of action. If
you have any individual questions regarding the notification you
have received, please contact me or your shop steward, and we will
investigate all inquiries and file the appropriate grievances on your
behalf.
The
Struggle Still Continues
|
| Have you checked your eOPF
The Official Personnel Folder, or OPF, documents the
employment history of individuals employed by the federal government.
An OPF is established and maintained for each Postal Service
employee regardless of appointment type or duration.
The OPF also includes all discipline issued within the ‘last’
two years. After two years
the discipline should be removed from the file.
All USPS Official Personnel Folders for active
employees have been converted to electronic official personnel folders-eOPFs.
The deadline for converting all files was August 1, 2008.
If you have been unable to access your file, try again.
Files can be accessed on a non-postal computer at http://liteblue.usps.gov.
You will need your eight-digit employee LD number and four-digit
password.
It
is very important to check your file for accuracy.
Problems have been reported nationwide.
Individuals have logged on and discovered someone else’s OPF.
That’s a whole lot of personnel information for someone to
steal. So log on, make sure
the file is your own and check all the dates for accuracy.
Also any discipline that is over two years old should be removed.
Unknown Author |
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Flat
Sequence System
Deployment
/ Installation Begins October 2009
Watch
Videos of Flats Sequencing System FSS
Source
Postal Reporter
Additional
FSS Information
|
Early
Info on the FSS
Source
APWU
The most recent addition to the Automation stable is a workhorse
called the Flat Sorter Sequencer (FSS). This new, large piece of
equipment will be deployed for the first time later this year. The
schedule calls for 100 FSS machines to be in operation by the end of
2010. There may be even more after that.
Anyone who remembers working on an LSM (Letter Sorting Machine) will
recognize similarities with the FSS. The mail is inserted into a slot in
a cart; at the bottom of the cart, a slot-door opens that drops the
piece into the appropriate bin. The preventative-maintenance route is
certain to include checking for open cart doors. For many there will be
some deja vu.
The 360-bin FSS is divided into four logical units of 90 bins each.
The automatic feed will process as many as 17,000 flats per hour through
the FSS. The Postal Service intends for the FSS to walk-sequence flat
mail, and to have it run the same as a two-pass DBCS (Delivery Bar Code
Sorter).
The FSS machines will be deployed in multiples of two, three, four,
or even five machines to an office. Most facilities already have made or
are in the process of making floor space available. The latest schedule
shows Bulk Mail Centers in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and New Jersey to be
first in line for FSS deployment.
Increased Number of ETs
As far as the Maintenance Division is concerned, the additional FSS
capability will increase the number of ETs in each office. While it will
vary from office to office, you can expect up to 15 additional ETs for
the first FSS. Additional machines will require more ETs, just not as
many.
The effect on the number of MPE employees is not known at this time,
but both MPEs and ETs will require six weeks of training at the National
Center for Employee Development in Norman, OK. ETs will then spend an
additional five weeks of training in Norman.
We will keep you posted on our negotiations with the Postal Service
over the fine points of training for the FSS deployment.
|
A
few tidbits you need to know once you have been injured on duty:
Recommendations for Family Medical Leave
Documentation:
Deems
Desirable
By
Sandy
Schleher, Clerk Craft Director
Family
Leave Coordinator
Trenton
Metro Area Local
| Due to several recent incidents and
inquiries, it’s necessary to remind everyone about the three day
waiting period you must endure when suffering a work related injury.
Injuries that result from work activity occurring over
more than one day, occupational injuries, have a three-day waiting
period before OWCP wage loss compensation will be paid. The employee
must be in a non-pay status for the first three days. No leave
may be used, but if the inability to work exceeds fourteen
calendar days, compensation will be paid for any wage loss during the
three-day waiting period. These rules are unchanged.
Thanks to President Bush signing the “Postal
Accountability and Enhancement Act” into law, as of December 20, 2006,
there is now a three day waiting period before continuation of pay (COP)
is paid for traumatic injuries. Traumatic injuries occur in a single day
or shift. This new rule applies to USPS employees only.
During the first three-day period of a traumatic
injury, you may choose to use annual leave, sick leave or leave without
pay. If the disability exceeds fourteen days, or is followed by
permanent disability, any leave that was used will be restored, if LWOP
was used, the employee will be paid. |
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TOP
Articles
Ventilation
Filtration System VFS
By
Gary Kloepfer
Automated
Postal Centers
Installed
in Trenton P&DC Main Office Window
Which
Re-Hab or District employee will scab our work?
Could
this be the first grievance when the building reopens?
Administrative
Leave
The
following information is provided to assist locals
in documenting
Administrative Leave grievances.
12/60
Work Limitations and the
Appropriate
Remedy for Exceeding the Ceiling
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