March 3, 2010
People Like me
By: John Flattery, President
I think we can all agree that this world would be a much better place if there were more people like me. The reasons are obvious, people like me, and hopefully your one of them, want their union to be put on a more level playing field when dealing with employers. People like me want to make it easier for employees to form a union and enter into collective bargaining. People like me think it is simply not right that an employee can benefit from being represented by a union and then choose not to pay any dues. People like me think that it makes sense when awarding government contracts that preference be given to companies that provide their employees a living wage, health insurance, retirement plan and paid sick days. People like me wanted Craig Beckers appointment to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to be approved by the senate because Craig Becker is a people like me. Unfortunately our new United States Senator Scott Brown is not a people like me, but before I get into that let me tell you a little bit about the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the NLRB.
The NLRA was enacted by Congress in 1935 to "protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy". The NLRB is an independent federal agency created that same year to administer the act. The board is made up of five members appointed by the President with senate consent. Each member serves a five-year term, and the terms are staggered so that one members term expires every year. Craig Beckers appointment would fill one of three vacant seats on the board and give the democrats a majority on the board. The republicans fear that the NLRB would then become too labor friendly and enact policies, which will help workers.
Now comes Senator Brown who while campaigning downplayed the fact that he was a republican rarely referring to himself as a republican. Instead he told us he was an independent thinker and would not be a part of the republican machine. Upon his election he trumpeted the fact that he was a in fact a Republican Senator from Massachusetts and can now be seen introducing Mitt Romney at republican functions, campaigning for John McCain and taking calls from Sarah Palin. He first said he did not wish to be seated until February 11, 2010 so he could hire staff and prepare himself. Then when the Republican Party feared that Craig Beckers appointment may be confirmed they went to Mr. Brown who immediately demanded to be seated earlier so he could vote with the republicans and block Beckers appointment. In announcing why he had voted to block Beckers appointment Brown said "Craig Beckers theories about how the workplace should function, if ever put into practice, would impose new burdens on employers, hurt job creation and slow down the recovery" funny he didn’t mention workers and he seems to have forgotten that the purpose of the NLRA was to encourage collective bargaining not to prevent it. So there you have our Mr. Brown, he turns out to be another republican who wants to make it more difficult for unions to survive.
I realize that many of you may have voted for Scott Brown, and I absolutely believe it is not my place to tell you who to vote for, that is your right. It is absolutely my place to tell you as your union representative who I think you should vote for to make your union stronger if you choose to vote for someone else so be it, just don’t bitch to me that the union is weak if you cast a vote to weaken it.
People like me think its important to say thank you to people who help their union, and with that in mind I would like to thank everyone who helped make our Annual Children’s Christmas Party a success. The party was held Sunday December 6, 2009 at the PNI Club in Worcester. Magician Extraordinaire Fran Flynn did a great job entertaining the kids until the arrival of Santa Clause and all those presents. This party would not be the success it is without the help of Mary Toohil who puts it all together, her brother and sister in law Jimmy and Ann Toohil and their crew who take care of all the food, Norma and Kayla Rivera who take care of the COPA raffle and sign in table, and the entire Socha family who take care of the presents, Eileen Johnston who tries really hard and of course Art "Santa" MacNeil and his helper Brenda. Thank you to all. The kids had a great time; we raised $149 for APWU-COPA and collected a truckload of food for the Central MA AFL-CIO Food Bank.
Last but not least people like me think that our Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament is a good thing and should be continued. Unfortunately Joe Azzarone who has run this tournament for the last few years has retired and we need someone to run it this year. The tournament has been a great time and over the last few years we have raised about $2000 per year for our scholarship fund. If you ever thought that you would like to do something to help your union this could be your chance. Please contact me if you are interested otherwise a great tradition could go by the wayside.
By: John Flattery, President
I’m sure you all agree that one of the true giants of the silver screen is Wile E. Coyote. While most remember him as the silent adversary of the Roadrunner he also appeared in several other Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies classics, and 5 or 6 with Bugs Bunny. As a matter of fact it was the Bugs Bunny masterpiece "Operation: Rabbit" where he was first identified by his full name and it was also the first time he spoke. Who could ever forget the classic line he delivered whilst filling a carrot with explosives "Wile E. Coyote supergenius, I like the way that rolls out of my mouth, Wile E. Coyote sup-er-gen-i-us." Of course his shed is then hit by a train and explodes, but that’s how it goes for us supergeniuses.
Being a supergenius can be burdensome, you see when you have so many big ideas it is tough to remember them all. Such is the case for me. Back in the summer of 2006 I had the brilliant idea to list in my articles the names of those members who had acted as an organizer and signed up a new member. I am somewhat embarrassed to report that I have dropped the ball and it has been just about one year since I have recognized those organizers and for that I apologize. So let me say thank you to: Norma Rivera, Barry Donovan, Kelly Tiffany, Donna Belliveau, Tim Igo, Brian Mildish, Kurt Helander, Joe Rahmberg, Bob Fitzgerald, Dick Surette, Earl Duncan, John Senckowski, Les Bomba, Ron Matczak, Ed Morin, Chris Adams, Mike Lee, and Robert Gatautis. I really do appreciate all you have done.
As I was compiling the list of organizers I kept track of the number of new members who have joined the APWU in the last year, we had 28 employees join the APWU in that time which is certainly good news, however in that same period we have had 34 members retire and that does not include those who have taken the latest retirement incentive and I am expecting to see as many as 35 members take that offer. That would bring to anywhere between 60 to 70 the number of retirees in one year which will have a significant impact on the finances of this local. This local survives on the dues that each member pays, and as the number of members drops so does the amount of money we take in. It is an unfortunate fact of life that union representation costs money, and as our income is reduced it will be more difficult to provide the quality of representation and benefits that many have taken for granted. As we all know the USPS is not hiring anyone to replace those employees who retire so there is no chance to sign up the new hires. However there are still far too many non-dues paying employees out there and those are the people we must get to join the APWU. It is vital to our survival that every clerk, maintenance and motor vehicle employee pay their fair share. The last thing I want to talk about is a dues increase but if our numbers continue to fall we will have no choice and I think it is incredibly unfair that you and I will have to pay more money to provide representation for those who pay nothing.
If you work with someone who is not paying dues please get them to join the APWU. Remember, consistent with our 50/50 organizing drive each new member gets $50 as does the organizer.
Previously I had mentioned that we could lose as many as 70 members to retirement this year. Not only will the impact be financial, worse yet we will be losing some pretty good people and friends. Among those who have retired or will be retiring soon are many who have been active in this local in one way or another over the years and I would like to thank you all for your loyal membership in the APWU. Two current stewards will be retiring soon and I would like to thank Jim Haskell and Stan Gniadek for their service to the membership. Jim as been a steward in the CFS unit in Worcester for 10 years and Stan has been a steward in Westboro since 2001. Thank you both for all you’ve done for the CMAL-APWU it is very much appreciated. Last but certainly not least I would like to say thank you and goodbye to Paul Wojsznis in Acton. "Lefty" has been an APWU member since 1972 and was a steward or alternate steward in Acton for most of those years, he has been a great friend to the CMAL-APWU and the people he worked with. Lefty is one of the best guys you could ever meet and he will be missed – thanks Lefty for everything.
While I’m on the subject of thank you and goodbye. CMAL-APWU Clerk Craft Director Joe Azzarone has resigned as both craft director and tour one steward in the CMPDC. I would like to thank Joe for all he has done over the years on behalf of the membership of the CMAL-APWU. The Executive Board has approved my appointment of Norma Rivera to replace Joe as Director of the Clerk Craft and Bob Chapman as an alternate steward on tour 1 in the CMPDC.
Since I’m already thanking Joe let me keep right on going – thanks again to Joe Azzarone for putting together another successful golf tournament. The 18th Annual Scholarship golf tournament was held on Columbus Day, October 12, 2009 at the Raceway Golf Course in Thompson, CT. I am happy to report that the weatherman was good to us this year and 70 people played in the sunshine. More importantly we were able to raise $1,997 for our scholarship fund. So again thank you to Joe and thank you also to our Sponsors, the Central MA AFL-CIO, The Voluntary Benefits Plan, The Boston Metro Area Local APWU and Stacy Publishing. A special thanks to the folks at Brew City on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester for coming through in a big way again and making an extremely generous donation. Please help repay their generosity and stop in for some of the best food on Shrewsbury Street as well as an unbelievable beer selection. Finally I would like to thank Steve Sargent in Worcester for donating two Pub 99 gift certificates to the tournament it was sincerely appreciated.
"THEY CALL ME THE SEEKER"
By: John Flattery
I have searched and searched, as the great Pete Townsend once said, "I’ve looked under chairs, I’ve looked under tables", I’ve gone through the contract forwards, backwards and upside down, I’ve even done a google search but as Bono would say "I still haven’t found what I’m looking for". I actually considered enlisting the help of St. Anthony, but I don’t think he could help find it because it doesn’t exist, besides he’s probably busy helping someone locate their car keys.
It, is the new rule, which reads, "management may now disregard the contract" – and it doesn’t exist, however I am convinced that the idiots running the Postal Service believe it does exist, it doesn’t! I understand that the economy is a disaster, but that doesn’t mean that the contract doesn’t matter. I realize that mail volumes have dropped like never before, that doesn’t mean the contract is null and void. I know that the Postal Service is in trouble, I get it, I’m not stupid, I’m 44 years old but I read at a 49-year-old level. Really, I understand how bad everything is but the rules are the freakin’ rules! I swear, the next time some dopey Postmaster tries to justify violating the contract by telling me how bad things are, or worse yet says something like "they should be happy they have a job" I’m going to tear off my toenails. Equally as frustrating is our own members allowing contract violations to go unreported because they feel that the Postmaster is trying to help. It’s not the unions fault that many offices are understaffed, that doesn’t give them the right to ignore the contract, it’s not the unions fault that the budget doesn’t provide enough hours for what needs to be done, that doesn’t mean that the contract no longer applies. We need to fight for every minute, and when you allow violations to occur and won’t report it or are unwilling to provide a statement to the union your screwing your fellow workers and cheating yourself.
While it is true that the Postal Service is in trouble, I see trouble brewing for the APWU at all levels. We don’t have the number of members we used to have, which means we don’t have the money we used to. Locally we are seeing a lot of people retiring lately, and while I’m always happy for anyone who climbs over the wall and escapes it means the loss of one more member, and in case you haven’t noticed we are not hiring anyone, so no one replaces the retiree which means we can’t ask the new employee to join the APWU, because there is no new employee. However there are still far too many non-members in facilities represented by the CMAL-APWU and that needs to change. Unfortunately representation costs money and the only money we get is dues, and the less dues we collect the less we can provide. Whether it is movie tickets, gift cards, dental plan or ABA membership or paying code 84 for area stewards to go out and file grievances, paying utilities, the list goes on and on. So if you think that the non-members decision to not pay dues won’t affect you, your wrong eventually it will. Please get that non-member to sign up, it means $50 for you and $50 for the new member.
Finally, I’ve been asked by one of our members to disseminate some information throughout the local regarding the New England Organ Bank. The pamphlets were sent out in early June to all CMAL-APWU represented offices with our monthly mailing for bulletin boards. Please check it out or visit www.neob.org and see how much of a difference you can make by becoming an organ/tissue donor. According to the New England Organ Bank the need for donated organs, corneas and tissue continues to grow. More than 100,000 men, women and children currently await lifesaving organ transplants. Sadly an average of 18 people die each day due to a lack of available organs. Becoming a donor is simple; you can do it when you apply for your drivers license, please give it some serious thought.
Have a safe, enjoyable summer.
THANK YOU DUDLEY DICKERSON
Dudley Dickerson was an Actor who appeared in over 150 films during the 1930’s, 40’s, and 50’s. He is best remembered for his role as the cook in The Three Stooges masterpiece “A Plumbing We Will Go”. His classic line in the movie “this house is sho’ going crazy” is the inspiration for this article. It seems like everyday the Postal Service does something that makes me think “this house is sho’ going crazy”.
You may recall a little ice storm that struck much of the area back in December. The storm essentially crippled much of Central Massachusetts. Hundreds of thousands were without power, downed trees, limbs and power lines made travel impossible for thousands, many not being able to get out of their driveways or off of their streets. Transportation to some Post Offices was cancelled because the trucks couldn’t physically get to them.
Section 519 of The Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) deals with administrative leave and the events and procedures for granting administrative leave. The ELM goes on to define Acts of God as involving community disasters such as fire, flood or storms and that “the disaster situation must be general rather than personal in scope and impact. It must prevent groups of employees from working or reporting to work”.
Naturally one would assume that administrative leave was granted, after all the impact of the storm was general in scope and prevented hundreds of employees from getting to work. Hell, the transportation was cancelled because access to some offices was not possible.
Well “this house is sho’ going crazy” – administrative leave was not granted to anyone for what was being reported as a once in a century type storm. Even those employees who work in offices which were inaccessible were not granted administrative leave, because lets face it, just because it’s impossible to get to work doesn’t mean that you don’t have to go there.
The day of the storm I spoke with many employees and Postmasters regarding what was going on, many offices had no power no heat and in some cases no water. It became apparent that everyone was waiting for word from the District Manager regarding what action to take and the lines of communication seemed to be down too.
I tried to contact various District type big shots and finally got in touch with Rich Pace, acting Poom (Post Office Operations Manager) and he acted just like a Poom, he said something stupid. After relaying the severity of the situation as reported to me from various locales throughout Central Mass. and sensing just a little bit of indifference I tried to emphasize how dire the situation was and I was told something to the effect of “look you have to understand it’s not that bad where I’m at” and I thought “this house is sho’ going crazy” all you had to do was turn on a television or radio and you knew how bad things were but apparently if you look out the window in North Reading, MA and see blue skies it must be sunny everywhere. You just can’t make this stuff up. We have filed dozens of grievances throughout central MA regarding management’s refusal to grant administrative leave and hopefully we’ll have them resolved soon.
In their never ending quest to micromanage each post office the Massachusetts District has unveiled a new creation, the desktop function four. It appears to be exactly as described, some management type employee sits at a desk and looks at some numbers and then tells a Postmaster how to staff his/her office. The recommendations all seem to be similar, change full time regulars non-scheduled days, start them around 8:00am and split them two hours for lunch, bring the PTF’s in early and get them out quickly – and the Postmasters are being told that they must work on the clerk side for at least three hours per day. The Postal management type employee selected to perform these desktop function fours is none other than our old friend Scot Florio, who is still technically the Postmaster in Leominster, he just hasn’t worked there (thank goodness) since last summer. When I found out Mr. Florio was the desktop function four guy I thought “this house is sho’ going crazy” – and for possible legal purposes I’ll leave it at that.
If your Postmaster tries to change the hours or non-scheduled days of a full time regular they need to notify the union – but so should you, - don’t assume the Postmaster notified us, they often don’t. If the Postmaster is increasing the amount of bargaining unit work they perform and PTF hours are being reduced you need to contact the union immediately. If management brings in a PTF from another office and you are not getting 40 hours you need to contact the union. If you are instructed to scan the box section as all up before it actually is all up – don’t do it. No manager can order you to enter false information. So, if you are told to do it or you see your supervisor or Postmaster do it let your steward know about it right away or call me.
I had been hoping to find some way to put into words how imbecilic the mystery shopper program is so that I could follow it up with a “this house is sho’ going crazy” but my literary skills are ill suited for such a task. For those of you not familiar with the mystery shopper program, just imagine the most absurd idea ever and then multiply it by 17. What the mystery shopper program does is require window clerks to ask customers an endless list of questions in an alleged attempt to generate revenue, but what it really does is piss off customers and make window clerks feel foolish. As I was saying, I had hoped to be able to more completely describe how idiotic the mystery shopper program is but I would need more pages than we can afford and I would be forced to use language not suitable for this fine publication.
The examples of “this house is sho’ going crazy” could go on forever, especially now that panic seems to fuel almost every decision made by USPS management, but we have some CMAL-APWU issues to tend to.
At the January 25, 2009 general membership meeting, proposed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws of this local were voted on and approved by those members in attendance. The changes to section One of our Constitution and Bylaws will now require that “upon notification of the death of a member the president shall order a tribute of $100 to be presented duly inscribed “from the Central MA Area Local, APWU”. Previously we had sent a tribute of $25. Another change to section One involves the sending of fruit baskets to members hospitalized for reasons other than childbirth. Previously the local was required to send a fruit basket worth $35 or fair market value to members who were hospitalized. The problem was that the prices and availability of fruit baskets varied widely throughout central MA and with delivery charges added in it was costing us upwards of $80 to send some members fruit baskets. The change as adopted is “upon notification that any member is hospitalized for reasons other than birth of a child, the president shall ensure that such member is to receive a benefaction with a value of $25 along with a card to read “on behalf of the Central MA Area Local, APWU”. The $25 benefaction will be a CVS gift card with a value of $25. Here’s where we need your help, we don’t always know if someone is hospitalized so you need to let us know, tell your steward or call the union office so we can be sure to send out the cards.
Also changed was section nine, which deals with the local’s paper. Previously the editor was required to send out six issues of the “Union Views” per year. For economic reasons it was proposed to change the Constitution and Bylaws to require the editor to print and distribute the “Union Views” “….no fewer than 4 times each year on a quarterly basis”.
Finally, I’d like to remind those of you about to send your son or daughter off to college next year to keep your eyes posted on APWU bulletin boards for scholarship information. Applications for the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, E.C. Hallbeck and Vocational Scholarships are available on the APWU website (www.apwu.org) or simply call the union office and we’ll get one to you. The deadline is March 16, 2009. The Central MA AFL-CIO will be awarding four $1,000 scholarships this year. Applications are available at their website (www.cantralmassaflcio.org) or call the union office. Information regarding the APWU-Accident Benefit Association scholarship application will be available in June.
One of the great joys of being local president is that rare instance when some melancholy little postal worker comes up to me and asks, “how come you suck so much?” I’ll usually thank them for the inquiry, pat them on their head and go on my way. I’ve never given them an answer, until now. The reason that you think I suck so much is because I’m dying. I don’t mean me personally, as far as I know I’m fine. The one whose dying is the local president, and you is killing me. I don’t mean you specifically, I mean you in a more generalized sense. You is not an individual person, you is a group and we all know who you is. Hell, every once in a while I might even be one of you, but its been a long time since there was any you in me.
You is the non-member, the one that doesn’t pay dues yet reaps the benefits that others pay for. The worst of you doesn’t pay dues then actually has the nerve to want to file grievances or ask a union representative a question. You certainly can be an insolent little bastard.
You wants to have a “do not mail” registry, you complains about the amount of junk mail you receives and you pays bills online.
You either doesn’t vote or you votes for candidates that think that we make too much money and have too many benefits. You is more concerned about gun rights than workers rights and you never gives any money to COPA.
You shops at Walmart to save a buck, you bitches all the time that other public employees are underworked and over compensated and you is against Project Labor Agreements because you doesn’t have a damned clue.
You is a victim, and whenever anything bad happens you blames the union. You thinks it’s the unions fault that yous bid was abolished. When you gets by passed for overtime you blames the steward and when you gets 2 hours of overtime pay as the result of a grievance you never says thanks!
You likes to talk a lot, but you is almost always wrong about everything because you doesn’t pay attention to anything the union says. You never reads anything on APWU bulletin boards, you never checks APWU web sites you probably throws out any mail from the APWU, you probably won’t even read this.
You thinks that being represented by a union means you can do whatever you wants. You is under the impression that the union can make postal management not violate the contract. You doesn’t understand that what the union can do is enforce the contract through the grievance arbitration procedure, and unfortunately that takes time. You says stupid things like “If I win the grievance then I’ll join the union” and when you doesn’t get yous way you quits the union.
If you thinks being a kiss ass will lead to special treatment you will do it, you will tattle on other workers like a small child and you will write out statements against fellow workers, because you has little pride and no soul at all.
Things certainly have gotten crazy lately and being local president has not been a tremendous amount of fun lately, but I do love the job. I know I’m no Moe Biller, but I can’t help but wonder how much better I could do my job if I didn’t have you working against me.
One thing you doesn’t do is sign up new members. Any CMAL-APWU member who recruits a new member is performing a service to the union and for that I am grateful, and it pays to organize. Not only does the new member get $50 so does the organizer. While the organizers have already received their money I’d like to offer my thanks to Alan Swartz, Jules Laroche, Deborah Coyle, Bob Fitgerald, Brian Mildish, John Senckowski, Wanda Krysil, Barry Donovan and Richard Morin – Thanks again!
One last reminder – Monday October 13, 2008, also known as Columbus Day the 17th annual CMAL-APWU Scholarship Golf Tournament will be held at Raceway Golf Course in Thompson, CT. Details are elsewhere in this issue and if more information is needed please call the union office at 508-755-6833 or 1-800-974-2798. It’s always a great tournament and the money raised is for a great cause!
by: John Flattery
Recently I received a letter purportedly on behalf of a group of postmasters. This letter characterized me as cowardly – and oh by the way it was anonymous. As if getting an anonymous letter calling me a coward wasn’t funny enough the letter writer went on to explain that he/she/it did not write the letter “…to create more problems simply to hopefully add solutions.” I don’t know about you but it has been my experience (and believe me I’ve got plenty) that to start a dialogue with an insult only makes it a little tougher to find solutions.
This anonymous group of postmasters were upset with me for withdrawing from Safety & Health Committees throughout the district. In early March I had notified each postmaster as well as the USPS Massachusetts District Manager of Safety that the CMAL-APWU would not be a participant in any Safety & Health Committee in any facility in the Massachusetts District. This action was not taken lightly and was necessitated by a lack of concern for our members in the Pepperell Post Office. Things had gotten pretty bad in Pepperell and no one seemed to care. So I sent them all a letter stating that if the District wants to be committed to Safety & Health then it had to be committed in every office and if they didn’t care about what was happening in Pepperell they were not fully committed. They were informed that the CMAL-APWU would not participate in Safety & Health Committees until such time as there were some changes in Pepperell.
As to the body of the letter the first thing I took note of was that it must not be necessary to demonstrate one’s grammatical abilities in order to become a postmaster – and jeeze Louise don’t these postmasters ever check their facts before they speak/write. Of course that was a rhetorical question for we all know that the postmasters creed is “never let the facts get in the way”. To be fair there was one legitimate point amongst this anonymous drivel although I believe it was accidentally legitimate. I did a poor job of communicating with the CMAL-APWU representatives on the various Safety & Health Committees as to why we were withdrawing and for that I apologize to each and every CMAL-APWU Safety & Health Committee member.
If these postmasters were actually as concerned as they profess to be perhaps one of them could have picked up a phone and called me to see if there was something they could do to help. Instead what they did was bitch to each other about what an ass I am – and then write me an anonymous letter calling ME childish (which I don’t necessarily disagree with), by the way don’t underestimate my ability to be petty and shallow too!
So here’s my advice to captain courage and the anonymous postmasters. First of all, if you want to help, how about picking up a phone and calling the district manager and tell him you agree with me that the postmaster in Leominster should be in a different position. You all can’t wait to bitch about him to me, how about telling someone who can do something. You could refuse to issue a letter of warning to some window clerk who doesn’t ask some rat bastard mystery shopper one dumb question. How about when the function four team comes rolling through your office you refuse to sign off on it because you know there’s no way your office will operate efficiently with the cuts they want you to make? Tell your boss your not going to send home PTF’s and then do the work they used to do because such an action would surely be a violation of the National Agreement. The anxiety caused by a cut in hours or being excessed is truly a health concern of this union and should be of concern to you. Of course to do any of those things would take some backbone and people that send anonymous letters generally don’t have much backbone. My final two pieces of advice to these anonymous postmasters would be stop writing anonymous letters because it’s stupid and then kiss my anonymous ass.
Elsewhere in this fine publication new members of this local are recognized and rightfully so. I am pleased to welcome them to our little CMAL-APWU family. I would like to thank them for making the decision to become an APWU member and I would like to thank the members who helped them arrive at that decision. Playing the role of organizer is something that everyone can do to help the union and it pays too! Remember our 50/50 organizing drive has been extended through December 31, 2008 and that means that when you get that non-member to join the CMAL-APWU you both get $50.
In closing I want to remind all you golfers and all you hackers too – mark your calendars for October 13, 2008. That’s right Columbus Day can only mean one thing – the 17th annual CMAL-APWU Scholarship Golf Tournament. Last years tournament was a great success and hopefully this years will be even better. Joe Azzarone is putting the finishing touches on the tournament so watch your bulletin boards for all the specifics, but keep the date open.
WHAT’S A DIPLOMAT TO DO
by: John Flattery
This being the first article I’ve written since being re-elected it is probably not the best time to tell you that you may have made a mistake, I may not be the right person for the job. During my first three years as President of this fine local I realized that diplomacy was a major part of the job, and when it comes to the art of diplomacy I’m pretty much a finger paint type of guy. In my former role as CMAL-APWU troublemaker I was much more comfortable, it came to me naturally, sort of the Conrad Dobler of the APWU. When I would watch, then local President Frank Rigiero putting out the fires on the bridges I was trying to burn down I though little of it, I never realized how hard it can be to build bridges – until now.
Patience has always been a virtue, which has eluded me, however I was determined to, in the words of one of my boyhood heroes, “restructure my personality”. For three years, well maybe two and one half years I tried, I mean I really tried to stop being a troublemaker. It was like a Lenten journey that lasted for 30 months, but I tried, and outside of a few spats with a handful of idiotic supervisors, a smattering of squabbles with a couple of asinine postmasters, some nasty exchanges with various labor relations representatives and one little picket in Leominster – well I guess I could have tried harder, but we all fall short.
While admitting my shortcomings as a diplomat I must offer a defense for not attaining my goal. You see, the people I’m trying to work with seem to have little interest in having things work. I’m not speaking of the usual suspects; I don’t expect much of them, and why would I? Really, how can I be expected to work with someone like the Postmaster in Worcester who tells me he’s only ignoring the contract because he has to! – memo to Steve Rosetti, that’s not exactly what I call “manning up”. I suppose I might be able to deal with who ever happens to be in charge of the CMPDC, if the Manager of In Plant Support wasn’t a woman who I consider to be a liar a sneak and a cheat. Leominster, puh-lease how can I be expected to be tactful with a man I believe to be the personification of evil? Although these petty little people strain my ability to exercise a little more savoir-faire they are not the problem, because they have superiors who allow this type of behavior and only those managers can change their behavior and of this writing I don’t think they care to.
“They” would be the District Manager and the two POOM’s (Post Office Operations Manager). This power trio ain’t nuthin’ like Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton – more like Moe, Larry and Curly without the laughs. Mike Powers is the Massachusetts District Manager for the U.S.P.S. and there’s not much I can say about the man because I’ve only met him once, but I’ve only been President for a little over three years and he wasn’t on my Christmas card list either. I met Mike several years ago at a Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) meeting. The committee, which was comprised of representatives from various federal agencies, was meeting in the Worcester Post Office and since Mike was in the house he stopped by to introduce himself. The Postal Service was the largest federal agency involved in our CFC and the success of the campaign was largely dependant on the USPS, and love was in the air. Mike pledged his support to the Committee to help make it a successful campaign. Shortly thereafter the Committee was disbanded due in large part to the lack of commitment on behalf of the Postal Service – ‘nuff said!
John Cantwell is the Senior Manager of Post Office operations for the Massachusetts District (POOM#1). While I don’t have many dealing with him I’ve dealt with him enough that he at least knows my name. Recently while trying to address a concern of this local I was directed to Mr. Cantwell who I spoke with a couple of times regarding the issue. As of this writing I am of the opinion that Mr. “C” did two things. I believe the first thing he did was to make sure that our problem would not become his problem and then I think he blew me off. A word to the wise here, if it ever comes to pass that you find yourself dealing with Mr. “C” and he promises an investigation, don’t expect him to send in Columbo.
Least but not last is Don Clark, Manager of Post Office Operations, 014-017 (POOM#2) I’ve know Don for many years and it was Don who served as my inspiration for this article. Not so long ago Don and I were discussing a situation in a particular Post Office. In response to a clerks comments that their work life was becoming increasingly less satisfying, he matter of factly said, “I don’t care if they’re happy.” I think that pretty much sums up why it’s so hard to be diplomatic, after all it’s not easy getting along with people who don’t want to get along.
That’s more than enough about those who don’t want to get along, now I’d like to talk about some great people that help us all get along a little better, I’m speaking of course of our CMAL-APWU organizers. There are still far too many non-members out there and the one thing we can all do is to sign them up. I realize that most people have a little common sense and understand that joining the APWU not only makes sense it’s the right thing to do, and they are easy to get signed up, however there is another group that perhaps needs to be enlightened. Remember, not only is it the right thing to do, but when you sign up that new member you both get $50 in accordance with our 50/50 organizing drive which has been extended through December 31, 2008. I would like to thank Bob Fitzgerald, Joe Rahmberg, Norma Rivera, Jim Haskell and Earl Duncan for being APWU organizers; your dedication is truly appreciated.
In closing I would like to say thank you to everyone who contributed to APWU-COPA during 2007. Due to your dedication to the cause and your generosity the CMAL-APWU contributed $6149 to APWU-COPA last year eclipsing our goal of $5848. Unfortunately 100% of our contribution was made by 15% of our membership. It is my hope that in 2008 we can get more members to make a contribution to APWU-COPA. The job you save may be your own.
by: John Flattery
Writing these articles can be such a pain in the ass. There are many times when I feel like banging my head on my desktop because I can’t think of anything to write about. Then there are those rare instances when there is so much I want to write about but not enough space. This is one of those rare instances, and we’ll get to the title at the end.
One thing that had to be included in this article is goodbye. Goodbye and rest in peace Craig Robinson. Attorney Craig Robinson passed away June 17, 2007 at the too young age of 54, he leaves his wife Linda and a son Chris. Craig had been the local’s attorney for many years and had represented dozens of members with EEO and injury comp claims. Craig was past president of the Springfield, MA Area Local-APWU, put himself through law school while working at the Post Office and was General Counsel for many Unions. Craig was a tremendous supporter of organized labor and a true friend to anyone who ever worked for a paycheck. He will be missed.
Something I wanted to write about was the new look of the “Union Views”. If you have been paying attention you would have noticed that instead of being folded in half this fine publication is now quartered. This is a result of the new mailing regulations, which are basically a gift to the big mailing houses. There simply is not enough space for me to say all I want regarding this topic, we will get to this in the next edition.
Although I had not planned on writing anything about the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) but conditions warrant a few remarks. Back in 2005 the OIG took over much of the work previously performed by the Postal Inspection Service, and lets just say they have been more aggressive than the inspection service had been. Lately the OIG has been very active in Central MA, and I do mean very active! Also, if you are approached by someone identifying themselves as a special agent for the OIG ask for union representation. Remember you must ask for union representation, they will not offer it.
As has become my habit, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Shaun Mason, Bob Kopacz and John Senckowski for their help in organizing. Brother Senckowski has done a tremendous job in signing up new members and it is truly appreciated. Remember the 50/50 organizing drive continues through December 2007, sign up a new member and you both get to $50.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that the children of three of our members have been awarded scholarships that were available as a result of belonging to the CMAL-APWU.
Agnes Nam has been selected as one of the recipients of the American Postal Workers Union E.C. Hallbeck Memorial Scholarship Program. She is the daughter of Il and Mia Nam, both clerks in the CMPDC.
Christina Terrill has been selected as a recipient of the Central Ma AFL/CIO Scholarship. She is the daughter of Jim Terrill, also a clerk in the CMPDC. Congratulations to all! Remember, it pays to belong to the APWU.
Now, back to the title. Not so long ago, somebody in Labor Relations for the USPS Mass District made an off the cuff comment to me about the number of grievances filed by our local. The comment was something like “why do you file so many grievances” and I found the answer in the Worcester Post Office.
Although I thought he was long retired I guess I was wrong, and this could be his most funny role ever. He enjoyed success in television as “the nervous man” on the old Steve Allen show and then as bumbling deputy Barney Fife on the Andy Griffith show. I loved him as the Incredible Mr. Limpett and Luther Heggs in “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” but his current role as a Supervisor of Customer Service in Worcester is a scream.
Back in June several window clerks in Worcester discovered money missing from their paychecks. It only took a little searching to discover the reason. Management started collecting money for credit shortages from as long as 10 years ago. The only problem was these window clerks didn’t owe the money. This prompted many discussions between myself and management in Worcester. During one of these discussions I asked S.C.S, John Aramony why he had chosen to ignore the contractual requirements regarding salary offsets and he replied, “I had my reasons” whoa boy, I’m still laughing, he hasn’t been this funny in years.
And they want to know why we file so many grievances; you have got to be kidding!
Thank You!
by: John Flattery
Ask anyone in management to describe me in one word and I’ll bet the most common adjective would be gracious. Lets face it I am one affable dude. It is my cordiality that makes it so easy for me to praise others and with that in mind I’d like to say thanks, gracias, danke, merci, grazie or as my little Jewish friends would say – toda. No matter which language you speak it all means thanks and I’d like to say Thank You all for your patience over the last two months while we were conducting Local Negotiations. As I write this article we are in the process of wrapping up Negotiations and have in fact negotiated local agreements in more than 60 offices. In about 20 other offices we have agreed to carry over the existing Local Memorandum Of Understanding for the life of the 2006 Collective Bargaining Agreement. While these negotiations were going on our accessibility was limited but for the most part everyone was very understanding and as they say in Malaysia – Terima Kasih!
While I’m in a thank you mood I’d like to express my gratitude to John Healy. John has been the CMAL-APWU Director of the Motor Vehicle Craft since 1986, he has served as a steward and alternate steward for the Local as well as serving as Director of the Motor Vehicle Craft for the APWU of Mass. John has been a delegate to just about every State Convention I can remember and in general done yeoman's work for this local. Well Brother Healy is retiring, and by the time you’re reading this he will probably be gone. While his retirement will create a huge void within this local it is a well deserved retirement and on behalf of all the members of the CMAL-APWU I’d like to wish John a long, happy and healthy retirement and as they say in Lithuania, Aciu.
Other members whose efforts should be lauded are those who have signed up new members. I’d like to give a Danish shout out to Dave Charette, Lou Beshiri, Judy Carlson, Art Hemond and Sheila Goodrau – tak! If you want to do something to help your union then sign up that non-member. Remember the CMAL 50/50 organizing drive continues until December 31, 2007 and calls for each new member to receive $50 and the CMAL-APWU member who signs up a new member also gets $50!
Within the last month every member of the CMAL-APWU should have received a mailing from the local union office. This mailing contained a flier regarding COPA. APWU President, William Burrus, has asked each local to collect at least $8 per member, which means the goal for the CMAL-APWU is approximately $5,700, but I think we can do better. I am asking every member to donate at least $20 to COPA and there are all kinds of ways to donate. You can contribute through PostalEase, electronic fund transfer, check, money order or credit card, whatever works for you. Just find the handy dandy form located somewhere in this issue and make that contribution. Since I’m the one asking you to part with your money it only seems fair that I give a little too. I am donating a block of $2 Mass State Lottery scratch tickets to be raffled off. Here’s how it will work. Sometime in September I will receive a list of the names of all CMAL-APWU members who have contributed to APWU-COPA along with how much they have contributed. For every $20 you have given between January 1, 2007 and August 31, 2007 your name will be entered into a drawing for the 300 scratch tickets. It’s so simple even a Postmaster could figure it out. There is one more thing I would like to add. If my wife finds out about me donating the tickets she’ll probably kill me, and she’ll probably find out so please make that contribution now. If she’s gonna have my head I’d like to at least have our local meet our goal. So please for the sake of my health and my marital status Give, Give, Give! The life you save may be my own.
Finally, the members in attendance at the May 20, 2007 general membership meeting voted to cancel the June 24, 2007 meeting. The next meeting of the Central MA Area Local will be September 23, 2007. Nominations for offices of the Local will take place at this meeting, two scholarships will be awarded, we will draw the second and third quarter VOE survey winners names and hopefully give a book of scratch tickets to some lucky winner as we celebrate our locals COPA success.
Have a safe and happy summer.
“One More Reason to Boycott the VOE”
by: John Flattery
If you have been paying attention you probably realize that we are having some difficulty in the Leominster Post Office. In my opinion the Postmaster is the cause of the problems that exist. I have heard rumblings that Scot Florio is actually a Latin phrase which loosely translated to English means “Personification of Evil”, I’m not sure but I am investigating the possibility. It is not my intent to explain in detail why I feel Mr. Florio is a walking argument for abortion; it would take far too much space. I often wonder why somebody would decide to toddle through life just being a god awful son of a bitch; I mean what purpose could they serve? Well Mr. Florio’s purpose it seems was to help me expose just how much of a scam the voice of the Employee Survey is.
Back in November of 2006 I had the unfortunate experience of speaking with Mr. Florio in his office. During this conversation Mr. Florio mentioned the VOE results to help make his point. When I requested to actually see the results I was told they were not available. After having to file an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board I was finally given the information. After receiving the information I realized two things. First of all Mr. Florio misrepresented the facts back in November and secondly the survey is a scam. The Postal Service can milk these surveys to get whatever results they want. Mr. Florio however has found a better way to ensure only positive results. If you think someone will fill out the survey in an unfavorable manner, don’t give it to them in a timely fashion. That is the only reasonable conclusion I can come to after learning that Central MA Area Local steward in Leominster, Joe Matthews was given his VOE survey on February 23, 2007. Upon opening the envelope he was informed that it had to be received in Illinois by February 21, 2007. Aaah yes, leave it to Scot Florio to take the voice of the employee out of the voice of the employee survey. Maybe now we should refer to the VOE as_________.
The recently ratified 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining agreement provides that there shall be a 30 consecutive day period of local implementation which shall occur within a period of 60 days commencing April 2, 2007 on the 22 specific items enumerated below, provided that no local memorandum of understanding may be inconsistent with or vary the terms of the 2006 National Agreement.
What does this mean? It means that starting April 2, 2007 we will begin negotiating every local agreement. Article 30 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement lists the 22 items, which are to be negotiated at the local level and throughout the agreement there are many other items, which may be negotiated at the local level.
What should we do? In order to prepare for the upcoming negotiations our Northeast Regional Coordinator Liz Powell, has arranged for a training session to be conducted in her office on March 15, 2007. What you should do is review your local agreement as well as the 22 items identified in article 30 and see if there is anything you think should be changed. If you have any suggestions fill out the form that can be found in this issue of the union views or check the bulletin board in your office for a form. If your office does not have a copy of the local agreement posted, please contact the union office and we will get one out to you. Once the 60 day period has expired your local agreement can not be changed until the next contract is negotiated, which is sometime in 2010.
The last thing I have to say about LMOUs is please be patient. During the 60 day period we will be negotiating over 80 local agreements, needless to say our availability will be limited during this time. We will do our best to return all calls and your understanding and patience will be appreciated.
In closing, I’d like to thank the following CMAL members whose efforts resulted in those new members who have recently joined our local. Thank you Dave Kaake, Jim Cort, Jean McFaul and Bob Blood. Remember everyone can be an organizer and we’ll pay you $50.
VOE Survey Drawing Extended To December 31, 2009
Keep on turning in your survey to an APWU steward, bring it to a union meeting or mail it to the local and you will be entered into the 2007 quarterly drawings! All crafts (including APWU) and management employees are eligible for a $100.00 drawing!
CMAL members will also be entered into an additional four drawings for $50.00 each! Names are drawn at a Union meeting.
Mail Surveys To:
Did you know that you can support COPA through PostalEase? That's right, PostalEase makes it easy to make a small contribution to COPA from each pay check.
