Branch News June 30, 2024
Fellow Members- Before I get started off and running with any rants or tangents, I’d like to first welcome Manuel Cruz on board as a Tour 1 Shop Steward. He joins Josh and Angela in the fight against the forces of evil on the nightshift. Thank you and good luck!! Now some service announcements… The Picnic is scheduled for Saturday, September 7th…plan on attending. Clothing allowances for everyone on the list that we had senior to Vaugniqua Bailey were input by SDO Adriana Nieves on 6/6/24. You should be receiving your allowance card relatively soon if you have not already. Annual Leave balance carryover for this year has once again been increased to 520 hours (instead of 440) per a National MOU. The Union Meeting on 6/18 was relatively well attended. There were no Earth-shattering announcements, but there was a lot of useful information, as is usually the case. There was also tasty grub, as usual, which was enjoyed by all. Night shift differential increased as of 5/18/24; the NPMHU is the only Union that argued for this. Remember that this year during open season, we will all be joining the Postal Service Health Benefits Program (PSHB) instead of the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHB) that we are all currently in. In theory, this is going to drive down premiums; we will see how that turns out. As a result of things that I heard at the Union meeting and through grievances and conversion classes, I demanded a Labor-Management Meeting to address some big issues. Plant Manager Greg Miller and MDO’s Juan Cepeda and Richard Jerome met with the stewards and chief stewards of Tours 1 & 3 and myself on 6/25/24. During the meeting, we covered topics such as Tour 1 employees not receiving their breaks or lunches in a timely fashion, dock workers needing to break down flat tubs/trays/sacks, PIT accountability, seniority, grievance activity and payouts, bid jobs not being adhered to, employees not following rotations (especially at the APPS), MHA schedule posting, service talks, group leader training, training all MHA’s for all jobs, and the treatment of employees by management. The Plant Manager assured your Union reps that the agenda items will be addressed and if not then there will be consequences. I can assure you that if our concerns are not addressed then there will be follow-up grievance activity. They are well aware of the problems, as they are all repeat issues that I have spoken with the PM about before and/or there have been grievances filed on the issue. Of course, management pled the case that they were not aware of the problems which is ignorant, but not surprising. I am glad that the stewards got to see first-hand what kind of nonsense gets spewed, as if they didn’t know already but watching their reactions was priceless. Management has been put on notice now and nothing can be lost in translation because we were all in one room and there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Dealing with some in management reminds me why I never went into management and instead joined the fight against them. When you have no credibility, you really shouldn’t expect to be respected or to be given the benefit of the doubt. I give everyone a clean slate when I meet with them and I don’t BS anyone, not members or managers, and I expect the same in return. As the old saying goes though, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” I tell all of you when I first meet with you about joining the Union that I will not lie to you or for you. Part of why I became a rep was because I didn’t like being snow-jobbed or set aside by the Union, or management. I get that management and the Union are on different sides and won’t always see eye to eye, but I don’t take this job personally and I won’t sell off my integrity for a paycheck. For God’s sake man, be capable of telling the truth once and awhile and taking a little accountability for decisions that you make or the things that you say. As a former Plant Manager here once said, “I’ve just got a bunch of paychecks with radios walking around out there.” This is not indicative of all of the supervisory staff on our work floor, but there are quite a few particles of useless matter floating in the atmosphere. Finally, as I said at the Union meeting, this isn’t my Union or John’s Union or any of the stewards’ Union…this is your Union. Representing is what motivates the stewards. Mismanagement is what activates the Union. Knowledge is what empowers the representatives. The same information that empowers your reps is available to all of you. We have plenty of CBA’s and LMOU’s in the office if any of you are interested in knowing more about your rights and the rules that we use to hold management’s feet to the fire. Be engaged, know your rights, know to write, speak with your reps, attend meetings, check the bulletin boards and the websites. There are so many ways to be in the know and to grow. The stewards and I are always learning and we don’t need to attend special steward school to do it. Knowledge is power and experience is the best teacher. None of us know all of the answers, but we know the resources that we can consult and the friends that we can call upon. The Contract is in effect on all tours, for all people, all of the time; the problem is that a Union rep doesn’t always see the infractions. I understand delivering service to our customers, but I also understand our rights. If you’re the one violating the Contract, then shame on you because you are implicit in stripping your fellow member of their rights and you wouldn’t appreciate it if that role were reversed. And for what, an “atta boy” from unappreciative management who will then turn around and deny your change of schedule or A/L? If you’re witnessing management or clerks violate our job bids, don’t be complicit and just allow it without writing a witness statement. Put a little money in your pocket while protecting our jobs, because if it’s up to management then they will reduce our jobs and if it’s up to the clerks then they will take our jobs. The job you help save may just be your own if the feces ever hits the fan with the downsizing DeJoy DeLaying DeLivery for America plan. For now, the sky is bright, and the seas are calm. Everything is status quo. Stay United, Stay Strong- Sean Lehigh Valley-Scranton 2022 Picnic |
![]() Branch President Sean Craig Your Union RepresentativesLocal Memorandum of UnderstandingUpdated 2023
|