Branch News
June 4, 2019
Fellow Members- Leading off, I’d like to congratulate Brenda Flowers on her retirement. We wish her good health and good times as she starts the next chapter of her life. Secondly, it is with heavy hearts that we learned this weekend that Carmella Cavallo passed away after valiantly fighting pancreatic cancer. Her personality and work ethic will be missed. Rest in peace, “hon”. I usually don’t like to mention management personnel by name, but I do want to recognize Tour 1 SDO Dave Moulthrop on his retirement, too. For my entire career here and prior to me starting, he was referred to as the best Mail Handler in the building. The Union filed plenty of 1.6 violation grievances against Dave and he always paid them after some squabbling. He was one of the few supervisors here that actually knew what they were doing, cared about getting the mail out, and (for the most part) stuck up for his workers. If you’re on Facebook, ask to join the group “NPMHU 308 Lehigh Valley” to stay up to date on job biddings, holiday postings, and other assorted shenanigans. It is open to all current members of the NPMHU that work at the LVP&DC. Job bids are currently up and they will close at midnight Monday 6/10/19. We will be holding a Branch Meeting on Tuesday, June 11th at the Palace Restaurant. The meeting and breakfast will begin at 10AM. See the purple paper on the bulletin board for details and be sure to sign up in the Union office. There are still a few management personnel that just don’t understand how to treat employees. These individuals continue to yell at, berate, talk down to, curse at, and just totally disrespect not only our employees but also the Contract. The ELM, which is the handbook that management always cites when disciplining us, also applies to the supervisory staff and we need to hold them accountable to it. Please ask to see a steward when a SDO or MDO talks to you or treats you in a way that is not even fitting of a beast, never mind a human. Remember this in dealing with these situations though; screaming and cussing back at these individuals will only exacerbate the situation. Do not engage them in their behavior; just ask to see a shop steward, do your job, and walk away from them. We will follow-up and file against them, and eventually someone will understand who or what the problems are around here. As I have written and said ad nauseam, if you witness violations of the contract or feel that you’re being treated some way in violation of the CBA, ASK TO SEE A SHOP STEWARD!!! It is important for us to exercise this right. Make management grant you time off of the floor to air your concerns or write a statement to a steward. If you are not granted a steward within two hours of requesting one, make a note of it and ask again so we can file about that right being violated also. We have preprinted forms to assist you in your writing about clerks doing our work or bosses performing our duties. The contracts and the handbooks are there for a reason. Don’t let management be the only ones to enforce their rules, make them follow our negotiated ones too! This is your Union and your contract and these are your rights. Management IS cracking down on attendance and as I have posted and written and said countless times, there is no gray area in attendance. You are either here or you are not. Attendance discipline is tough to defend against and, I must admit, some in management are finally figuring out exactly how to do it right. Please do not be the first casualty here of the attendance crackdown. I love a good fight, but I need an argument to back my case. This Union will fight and fight, but none of us can walk on water so don’t expect miracles if you’re habitually late or you just don’t feel like coming to work. As a reminder, if you haven’t used your “Day of Mourning” administrative leave yet, you have until the end of September to do so. It is now two months since the last Labor-Management Meeting and it seems that little has changed in regards to the employee engagement initiatives, the PIT policies, the supervisors’ behavior, the workplace environment, and the policy changes. I will be requesting another Labor-Management Meeting upon the return of Mr. Hanson from Harrisburg. No timetable has been set yet for the payment of the monies being distributed as a result of the global settlement resolving jurisdictional disputes. To be eligible for payment, you must have been active on the rolls in the Mail Handler craft (FTR, PTF, PTR, MHA) on 9/1/17 through 3/15/19. Here are the eligibility years and amounts for each share that you would receive: 1) Less than five years as of 9/1/17…………..$143.90 2) More than 5, but less than 10 years……….$297.80 3) More than 10, but less than 20 years………$431.70 4) More than 20 years (as of 9/1/17)………….$575.60 If you retire, transfer, resign, etc. after 3/15/19, you will still receive the payment. Just a reminder, the Lehigh Valley/Scranton Picnic is Saturday, September 14th. Mark your calendar and plan on attending to enjoy the food and fun times. Stay United, Stay Strong- Sean |
Branch President Sean Craig
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