Branch News
July 10, 2018
Fellow Members, June was a busy month as we had a Labor-Management Meeting and a Branch Meeting. I will try and summarize those meetings for those of you who weren’t able to make the Branch Meeting, and even for those who did. The contents of the Labor-Management meeting were covered during the Branch Meeting, so basically I will give you a Branch Meeting run-down. If you desire a more detailed account of the events, then you can either ask me in person and I will try to relay the information or you could show up and participate in the Branch Meeting. There were 24 people at the Branch Meeting, which is a high for us since I’ve been branch president. I am happy to see our Union gaining steam and I am also pleased that so many members are active and engaged. I also receive many emails each week and our Facebook group is active too, so please keep up the good work. Our membership percentage for this building is 98.75%. The usual suspects don’t pay dues. MDO Erick Gonzalez is capable of putting employees in for the clothing/uniform allowance cards. Ergonomic rotations are to be followed by all employees on any machine that has a rotation. Grievances are down 50% so far this year, but everyone should have received some grievance money in their paycheck on 6/29. Jobs that had not been posted since November will be posted in July as a result of the grievance process. Plant Manager Hanson, MIPS Tony Mandik, Tour 2 Steward Floyd Steinmetz, and I met on 6/13 to discuss topics affecting the plant. Mr. Hanson’s key talking points were that breaks are too long and getting out of control. Breaks are to be 15 minutes and you are to get 2 of them in an eight hour shift. He said that there are too many 25-35 minute breaks going on and too many breaks being allowed. If we want to continue with our “No Lunch” policy then we need to be cognizant of the conditions under which we get to take that deal. Also of a concern to management is the fact that too many people are walking off twenty minutes before their “end tour”. Wash-ups are five (5) minutes. Be prepared to start seeing a crack-down on these issues. Once again, we were told that there will be a move to clean up the attendance issues that have been going on here for years. Management does have the right to expect people to come to work, but they need to properly administer their discipline and policies. People leaving the parking lot while on the clock is something that was brought up and people who are caught doing this will be held accountable. We have four new forklifts, but God only knows when we will actually see them hit the floor for public use. There is a hold-up until someone in management can actually be depended on to be the caretaker of the OSHA required checklists. We need to continue to stay on top of trying to protect our jobs and our work. Please keep scanning everything that you can and in every work area. Also, swipe over to every operation that you work in a day. This is the way that we get our hours tracked to help justify our jobs to the bean-counters, and those are the very people that need to have their jobs evaluated for usefulness and efficiency. Upcoming events this year are the 308 Picnic at Clementon Park on August 4th, the Lehigh Valley/Scranton Picnic on September 22nd, a blood drive on September 27th, the Thanksgiving food drive in October, a Branch Meeting in November, the retirees’ breakfast in December, and the Christmas gift card drawing in December. Treasurer Mike Mohan gave a detailed review of the financial present and outlook for the Local. It continues to be the best that we have seen and our Union continues to be funded for the fights that we will be encountering. President Gibson addressed the meeting and spoke about the Clementon Picnic, recent and upcoming training for stewards, upcoming raises, the ongoing fight to get Mail Handlers back in Williamsport and Reading, and the fact that Scranton is still on the list of impact facilities if the PO ever decides to follow through on their closings. He also spoke about an impending national RI-399 settlement, which was actually announced the day after our meeting, and about the national grievance and labor charges against the F-1 Scheduler. President Gibson also mentioned that contract negotiations will begin early next year, so start thinking of ways to improve our rights. Mr. Gibson stated that Local 308 would once again provide contract suggestion forms that I will then forward. The biggest emphasis of President Gibson’s presentation was that we must be “ready collectively” to get out and vote this fall. There are some dangerous ideas floating around the Capitol Beltway and we need to make sure that the interests of Mail Handlers now and in the future are addressed. As you all know, Teresa and I are expecting the birth of our son on August 14th although he may be arriving earlier than that. My schedule will be pretty helter-skelter for the next few months, so I am not even bothering to post a schedule because I can’t guarantee that I’d be able to stick to it. I will be showing my face on all tours and at all hours but I don’t want to commit to certain hours or full days. Finally, Black Panther to the rescue, again! APPS Group Leader Tony Miller, who saved a coworker from a burning car earlier, is saving the USPS by raising productivity. See this month’s Eastern Area Update blurb posted on the bulletin board. Why don’t we ever see Rob Young’s name in these articles?! Stay United, Stay Strong- Sean PS-Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals…sounds great. RIP R.S |
Branch President Sean Craig
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