[October 31st]

Mail Volume Down

A report of the Postal Service's "preliminary revenue, pieces, and weight by classes of mail" for accounting period one (September 8-October 5, 2001) of postal fiscal year 2002 is posted at the USPS website. The data are depressing. First-Class Mail volume is down two percent compared to last year. Standard Mail is down 11%!! Overall, mail volume is down some 6.6%. It's going to be a grim year.

And this, as well:

According to an online poll conducted by America Online, 68% of those polled said that in light of recent events they now are throwing away their advertising mail without opening it.

Newsbytes has reported that "the anthrax attacks that have hit the U.S. Postal System are likely to boost the use of the Internet," the president of America Online Inc. But, he said, "if we start shutting down post offices, we are going to talk ourselves into a terrible economic situation."

        [October 29th]

Our Site is Now Searchable

Have you ever come looking for something specific but didn't know where to start looking? Or maybe you came back remembering a particular story or news item, or maybe even someone's name, but couldn't remember which month's Bulletin Board you first read it on, or which issue of the online Metro News it was in?

Well, now you can relax and enjoy the new search function of our site! Just enter a keyword or keywords into the search bar and click... you're going to love this. Try it out.

We've been in operation long enough to amass quite a respectable amount of information, much of it of enduring importance, but some of it only pertaining to a particular time frame. Nevertheless, we're keeping it all, just for our member's benefit and memory. This site will become a sort of record of what we've accomplished and achieved in the past year, and hopefully in the years to come. Now that there is too much information to simply click around until you find what you are looking for, the search function will ease the task and make the time you spend looking to a minimum.

Enjoy!

        [October 29th]

Election Results for APWU National Elections are in!

President - William Burrus

Executive Vice President - Cliff Guffy

Industrial Relations Director - Greg Bell

Research and Education Director - Joyce B. Robinson

Health Plan Director - William Kaczor, Jr.

Human Relations Director - Susan M. Carney

Director of Clerk Division - James P. McCarthy

Director of Maintenance Division - Steven G. Raymer

Assistant Director (A), Maintenance Division - Bobby Donelson

Assistant Director (B), Maintenance Division - Warren Jackson

National Representative-At-Large, Maintenance Division - Gary Kloepfer

Director, Motor Vehicle Service Division - Bob Pritchard

Assistant Director, Motor Vehicle Service Division - Michael O. Foster

Retiree National Convention Delegates

Eastern region - John F. Deeley

        [October 27th]

San Diego Region to Offer Free Flu Shots

Regional postal officials for the San Diego Area have announced that they will offer free flu shots to any employee who wants one. This is in response to the fact that anthrax infections closely resemble the symptoms of the flu. The details of the plan are being formed now.

If you'd like to read more about what is going on with this in California, this article will explain it all.

Will the Allegheny Area management team do the same if they find out about San Diego?

        [October 27th]

Postal workers nervous about Cipro's side effects

Carl Nolte
San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer

Washington -- More than 4,000 postal workers in the nation's capital were given the antibiotic drug Cipro during the past two days, and many of them are very uneasy about it.

Workers given Cipro on Monday had some contact with the Brentwood postal facility where anthrax was discovered last week. But those given the drug yesterday, about 2,000 workers from as far away as Baltimore, were not tested, and it's unclear whether they were exposed.

They were told that Cipro is safe but that it does have potentially troublesome side effects, including dizziness, confusion, tremors, hallucinations, tendinitis and sensitivity to sunlight. Other potential problems include the danger of developing drug-resistant infections in the future.

The drug has been federally approved for treating anthrax infections. Workers were advised that the most dangerous side effects are rare.

'USING ME LIKE A GUINEA PIG'

Still, there are doubts.

"They are using me like a guinea pig," said Benjamine Stevenson, a clerk in a Maryland post office. "It bothers me that they are telling me to take something when they don't know if I'm sick." Most of the postal employees who were willing to talk yesterday -- and many were not -- said they'd take the Cipro. "It's better to be safe than sorry," said Deborah John, a mail handler.

But others said they wanted to talk to their personal physician first. They were suspicious, to say the least, about the way the anthrax cases had been handled by the Postal Service, and alarmed by the deaths of two of their colleagues.

"I'm not taking anything, nothing, until I talk to my own doctor," said one woman, who would not give her name. She left her job to go to the District of Columbia General Hospital yesterday on post office orders.

"It was a bit late," she said, glaring at the questioner. "Just a bit late."

But most of the workers said they'd take the Cipro and hope for the best.

"We are not doctors, and we don't have a million dollars, so we need to go to work to support our families," said William Golding, a carrier who delivers mail on the street. "If they say you have to take the pills, I'll take them. We're working people and we have to work, so if we need the pills, we'll do it."

WORRY OVER SIDE EFFECTS

Some of the workers had read an article in yesterday's Washington Post that raised questions about people taking antibiotics when they fear that they might have been exposed to anthrax.

The article quoted Stuart Levy, described as an antibiotics expert at Tufts University, as saying people could die as a result of antibiotics misuse.

Other articles circulating and being quoted on radio and television quoted a study from the Annals of Pharmacotherapy, which warned of potentially dangerous side effects from ciprofloxacin, the generic name for Cipro.

D.C. health officials also passed out a pamphlet saying "use of antibiotics without evidence of a confirmed exposure is not without risks."

Dr. Victoria Dudas, assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of California at San Francisco, said she thought Cipro was safe.

"There have been millions of patients who have used the drug," she said, and the side effects occurred in fewer than 1 percent of those.

The most common, she said, were "anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, some dizziness," and on the whole these were "very rare."

        [October 27th]

No more postal jokes

An Opinion by Mark Russell
Copyright ©2001 Tribune Media Services

"We can be grateful for one thing killed by anthrax - jokes about U.S. postal workers delivering your mail. Remember this one: 'Guess what I got in the mail for Easter - last year's Christmas cards.'"

"Then there was the expression 'going postal,' which could mean anything from beating up 10 guys in a bar to wasting all of your co-workers."

"But, no more. It should be noted that amid the chaos in America's post offices the mail is being delivered - even though dogs and senators were tested before the postal workers were."

"We certainly have no shortage of heroes these days. I'll say this about the average postal worker; she ought to have a stamp."

        [October 24th]

Third Interest Arbitration Summary

The seventh day of hearings began with an Article 32 subcontracting presentation and testimony on lack of input at earlier stages. Local notification was stressed as well. Key testimony was presented by Special Assistant to the President Phil Tabbita.

There was an Article 15 presentation and arbitration priority scheduling discussed.

The two Maintenance Issues related to equipment specific work and promotions based on Maintenance Installation Seniority were put on the record. Key testimony was presented by Maintenance Director Jim Lingberg.

There was a presentation on the holiday issue and option to have the employees paid or credit for annual leave.

There was a presentation on definition of an Installation and key testimony was presented by Clerk Director Cliff Guffey.

The eighth day of hearing began with Article 30 issue involving the USPS challenge to Inconsistent and In Conflict to LMOU sections, a presentation on continuation of many of the LMOU's in the Collective Bargaining Agreement., and the day ended with the APWU Expert Witness providing the cost to get to parity with the NALC and the cost of some upgrades.

The next hearing date will be October 25, 2001.

        [October 24th]

Commentary on the Wage Package Presentation of 9/27/01--
"On the Road to a New Contract"

From Steve Albanese:

On September 27, 2001 we concluded our sixth day of the interest arbitration case in our struggle to secure a new contract for Postal Workers. Once again, strong presentations were made in support of our demand for a 13.5% pay raise over approximately three (3) years, along with retention of our COLA. The Union renewed its demand for retroactive compensation back to November 20, 2000 as well.

Our economist made compelling arguments that our workers have been unable to keep pace with cost of living over the last several years. She demonstrated this by tracking our wages and comparing it to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over that period. It was fascinating listening to her and following along with charts prepared to support her testimony. Once again, I was impressed by the fact that non-economists, like myself, were able to follow along without difficulty. Her presentation was complete and very rational.

In addition to tracking us against the CPI, there was testimony comparing our wages and comparable sectors of private industry. Comparisons were made with FedEx, UPS, the airline industry and other fields of communications. In virtually every instance, our wage levels lagged behind those other industries. I believe our case for a decent wage increase was strong.

Comparisons were also made for specific job classifications such as mechanics, truck drivers and technicians. Once again we were able to show that the Postal Service is not paying these categories at levels equal to what the private sector pays.

Our economists submitted charts and testimony on how private sector wages have been affected by recent rounds of bargaining in their industries. They have done well and have averaged annual wage increases of over 3% a year. Finally, we were able to show that APWU wages represent only about 27% of operating revenues of the Postal Service. In fact, our share of the operating revenue has dropped in recent years even though our productivity has been increasing.

Once again, rank and file APWU witnesses were impressive. We heard from a panel of five (5) window clerks. They were from California, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Texas and Louisiana. They gave terrific testimony on problems with the uniform program, which requires many employees to spend personal funds in order to have sufficient uniform items. Craft Director Guffey also did a nice job explaining some of the inadequacies of the current uniform program.

The hearings ended with the American Postal Workers Union presentations on Article 19 and Article 30. I believe we made progress on both. Some strong points were made by Bill Burrus with respect to local negotiations and the impasse procedures.

        [October 24th]

APWU Makes Management Instruction on Anthrax Available

From Bobby Donelson:

"The leadership of your Union has always been concerned about each member's safety and health and we are extremely sensitive to your concerns regarding anthrax episodes at this point in time. We have initiated discussions with the Postal Service at this level for the purpose of cooperating and ensuring the reasonable application of current Postal policy for anthrax."

"In this regard, you should be aware of a current Management Instruction, EL-860-1999-3, entitled, Emergency Response to Mail Allegedly Containing Anthrax. This Management Instruction requires that all employees must be instructed on initial actions to take if there has been a suspected exposure to anthrax or other biologically hazardous material as well as modifying and/or creating an Emergency Action Plan that incorporates the actions to take for suspected exposure to anthrax or other biologically hazardous material."

If you would like to view or print an actual copy of EL-860-1999-3,
Emergency Response to Mail Allegedly Containing Anthrax,
you will need the Adobe Reader.

Don't have it? Go get it free at Adobe's website.

        [October 24th]

Internal Postal Spill and Leak Teams Instructions

Also from Bobby Donelson:

"Do not handle suspect packages, clean areas, or take any response action other than to retreat, isolate, and notify management in accordance with the facility standard operating procedures."

"You must not partake in any clean-up of a hazardous or suspected hazardous area unless you are specifically trained and have the proper equipment to safety perform the clean-up. The APWU urges that all members reasonably exercise their rights as identified in this Management Instruction."

"We will keep you updated on this issue and ask that you immediately notify Corey Thompson or Gary Kloepfer at Headquarters of any immediate concerns you may have regarding this matter. "

        [October 23rd]

Anthrax Crisis Highlights the Quiet Heroics of Postal Service
By Stephen Barr
The Washington Post

Tuesday, October 23, 2001

The U.S. Postal Service workers found to have anthrax are -- at least in one key respect -- like the firefighters and police officers who answered the alarms at the Pentagon and World Trade Center on Sept. 11. They are public servants, working in uniforms, doing their job.

Firefighters and police officers, of course, could see the damaged buildings and perhaps had a sense of the danger they were facing. The postal workers are up against invisible spores and, at best, can only be on the lookout for powdery substances.

"I suspect none of the postal employees were going to work in the morning thinking they were on the front line of the war against terrorism," Paul C. Light, director of governmental studies at the Brookings Institution, said yesterday.

Donald F. Kettl, a University of Wisconsin professor who studies government, said: "Here they are, going about their jobs, doing them as best they know how, and this happens to them. They end up in this situation."

At a White House briefing, federal officials left little doubt that they believe anthrax killed two District postal workers. "Our hearts are heavy knowing that two co-workers have become the latest victims of terrorism," Postmaster General John E. Potter said.

Tom Ridge, director of the Office of Homeland Security, said: "We've got men and women wearing uniforms elsewhere around the world. We have men and women wearing uniforms in the post office. . . . We have casualties in the towers in New York. We have casualties in the post office. So it's pretty clear that this speaks to one war in two battlefields."

Potter and Vincent R. Sombrotto, president of the National Letter Carriers Association, said yesterday that the Postal Service would not curtail mail delivery. As Sombrotto noted, the post office has been through rough times before.

A history of the post office by Marshall Cushing, published in 1893, describes postal officials trying to deliver the mail during an 1888 yellow fever epidemic in Jacksonville, Fla. "The work was given out as best it might be among the well," Cushing wrote. "The employees never complained at the known dangers which they encountered daily."

In April 1986, the American Philatelist magazine published a 15-page article, "Disinfected Mail." The author, William A. Sandrik, recounts a history of postal efforts to ward off yellow fever, cholera, leprosy, smallpox and other diseases.

In keeping with that tradition, Potter said yesterday that the Postal Service would buy technology to "sanitize the mail."

For more than 200 years, employees of the Postal Service have provided a street-level network that fosters the concept of a united nation. Last year, they added the equivalent of a city the size of Chicago to their delivery network. Letter carriers pick up canned goods donated for charitable food drives each year, and many carriers know the residents of the blocks they walk.

Even though Americans complain about junk mail, rising stamp prices and long lines in post office lobbies, they usually give the Postal Service good marks in public opinion polls.

In a July survey sponsored by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, 83 percent said the Postal Service was doing "a good job" of serving its customers. Only 10 percent said the agency did a "bad job," and the rest gave mixed responses.

Poll numbers and history fade, however, when compared with the challenge facing Postal Service employees now.

"We cannot, we cannot, let fear be our constant companion. We will overcome this," Sombrotto said.

Diary Online

Stephen Barr's e-mail address is barrs@washpost.com.

©2001 The Washington Post Company

        [October 22nd]

2 Postal Workers Die of Suspected Anthrax

More bad news, folks. Two men who worked inside the DC area main postal facility have died of what might be anthrax. Results from the CDC will not be available until later today (Tuesday.)

To read more about this news, please look at the article,
"2 Postal Workers Die of Suspected Anthrax" at the Washington Post's website.

Please work safe and do not hesitate to report any safety issue immediately.

        [October 21st]
Christmas Toy Drive

As the holiday season approaches, we'd like you to know that the Christmas Toy Drive for the children of Caretta, West Virginia will be getting underway very soon. Caretta is a small community in the middle of McDowell conty in West Virginia. We sponsored them last year, you may remember.

Denny will be organizing the drive again this year, and he is considering the possibility of increasing the gift list to include non-perishable food items and new clothing. We are also working on a better plan to accomodate the gifts collected from the AO's. Please check for notices in your facility and here on the website.

The list of children has expanded to over six hundred individuals, aged newborn to 16. Their wish lists will be available in early November. Please remember to return the gifts wrapped, with the child's name on a tag.

And Thank You in advance for your kind, loving and generous support!

        [October 21st]

D.C. Postal Employee Has Anthrax
By Avram Goldstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 2001; 4:42 PM

A male employee at the U.S. Postal Service's Brentwood facility has tested positive for an infection of inhalation anthrax and is "gravely ill" at Inova Fairfax Hospital, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams announced today. This is the first confirmed infection found in the Washington area, and it involves the most lethal form of anthrax. D.C. Health Director Ivan C.A. Walks said in an interview that the infection has spread to the man's blood. Medical experts say the historical survival rate of pulmonary anthrax patients is extremely low.

The unidentified man, who deals with Express Mail and lives in Stafford County, is "seriously ill but stable at the present time," Donald Poretz, a physician specializing in infectious diseases at Inova Fairfax said at press conference this afternoon. That condition report had been downgraded from fair earlier in the day. At an earlier press conference, Williams said health officials will begin testing and preventive treatment for the 2,000 people who work at the Brentwood facility and 150 at the air-mail center near the Baltimore-Washington International Airport where this man also worked.

Hospital and District of Columbia officials urged anyone working at the Brentwood or BWI postal facility to seek testing and free, preventive antibiotics at one of two sites. People who can come in today should go to One Judiciary Square at 441 Eighth Street, NW. That facility will be open until 10 p.m. On Monday, employees can go to D.C. General Hospital at at 19th and Massachusetts Avenue NW between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. Officials said it was unclear how the man was infected. The Brentwood postal facility handles mail for Capitol Hill, including Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.), whose office received a letter containing anthrax spores that was opened last Monday and exposed at least 28 people to the spores. But this man's job did not involve working with first-class mail.

Poretz, who is not the patient's attending physicians but has worked with the man's doctors and representatives of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on this case, said the man came to the hospital Friday complaining of flu-like symptoms. Poretz added that anthrax specimens from this case have been sent to CDC laboratories to see if they are related to other anthrax cases. Poretz also stressed that anthrax is not contagious. The only way to contract the disease is to come in contact with the bacteria that causes it.

The man is the third person to contract inhaled anthrax in the past month. One of the other patients, Robert Stevens, a photo editor for a Boca Raton, Florida, tabloid publisher, died from the infection. Ernesto Blanco, anther employee of the publisher, is hospitalized but expected to recovery. Six other people have been infected with the less deadly skin anthrax infections. All of them are being treated and expected to recover.

All hospitals in the metropolitan Washington area are being asked to be alert for any Brentwood employee who comes in complaining of symptoms. The hospitals are also being asked to recall any employee who already had come in and had been sent home. Those employees would be tested and treated with antibiotics. Williams and Walk credited the quick diagnosis of the case to the cooperation of hospitals around the region and their use of a system to track symptoms that might be linked to anthrax, rather than waiting to confirm the disease before alerting public health officials.

The confirmation of the disease comes a day after anthrax-causing bacteria spores were confirmed in another Capitol Hill office building. The latest finding was from a swab taken from a bundling machine in the mailroom of the Ford House Office Building, marking the first time that traces of the bacteria have been found on the House side of Capitol Hill. In response, Capitol Hill medical officials immediately began trying to locate mailroom workers to have them tested for anthrax exposure. Officials said that they did not know how many employees were involved but that any who tested positive for anthrax exposure would be given antibiotics.

The Ford House Office Building is located at Second and D streets SW. It is about three blocks from the main Capitol Hill complex and the three other House office buildings-- Cannon, Long worth and Rayburn-- where members have their offices. Capitol Police Lt. Dan Nichols said today that further building tests have found no new traces of anthrax spores.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company

        [October 20th]

Burris Update #53

The arbitration panel reconvened on October 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C., to continue the interest arbitration of the 2000 national agreement. The union continued the presentation of its economic and working-condition issues; and on the next scheduled date of hearings, October 25, the APWU will complete its direct case.

The union case includes the raising of APWU-represented employees' salaries to achieve parity with the letter carriers, selected upgrades, increase in night differential, modified uniform program and compensation for all travel. In addition, the union has presented changes to Articles 19, 32, 15 and 30 and other important working conditions.

Following conclusion of the union's presentations on wages and working conditions, the Postal Service will present its case consisting of the wages of employees and the continuation of the Memorandum permitting the reassignment of employees under Articles 7, 12 and 13. After completion of the USPS case, the union will follow with rebuttal. The final scheduled date of hearings is November 17, 2001, and it is expected that the parties will complete the presentation of evidence and arguments by that date. The parties have agreed to submit briefs no later than five days from the close of the hearings. Following the receipt of the briefs and the opportunity to review them and the record of the proceedings, the arbitration panel will convene and issue its award.

I am fully satisfied with the presentation of the union's case. We have presented compelling evidence that our modest objectives of wage increases and improved conditions of employment are justified and should be awarded. It is anticipated that postal management will present an economic case based on the threat of technology eroding hard-copy communications, a slumping economy and declining revenues. APWU is prepared to rebut these baseless arguments.

The remaining scheduled dates of hearings in the month of October are 25, 26, 27, 30 and 31.

        [October 18th]

Would You Like to Stay Current on USPS-related Anthrax Stories?

PostalNews.com, "the daily news digest of the postal world," a website not affiliated with either the USPS or any of the major postal unions, is now maintaining a continuously updated webpage for just this subject. For those of you who are concerned with keeping up with the latest, breaking information, this is perfect.

Make sure to visit PostalNews.com's Anthrax Update page when you
want to know what's going on.

In addition to this material, PostalNews.com contains a wide variety of reporting on postal issues that affect mainly those who consider themselves customers or interested postal consumers, including the very powerful DMA, or Direct Marketing Association. It takes its news stories from all over the country, and sometimes international sources as well.

        [October 18th]

Anthrax Infects NJ Postal Worker
By John P. McAlpin
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001; 2:41 p.m. EDT

TRENTON, N.J. -- A postal worker who may have handled letters sent to NBC and the U.S. Senate has the skin form of anthrax, Acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco said Thursday.

Test results for a second postal employee who may have been exposed to the disease were pending, DiFrancesco said during a news conference with state and federal officials. Both employees were being treated by personal physicians and taking antibiotics, DiFrancesco said. "Both are doing well," he said.

The employee who tested positive for anthrax is a mail handler who was on duty at the time the letters were sent through the main postal center, located just outside Trenton in Hamilton Township. Officials with the federal Centers for Disease Control were en route to New Jersey to decide if additional tests are warranted for other postal employees, the acting governor said.

Authorities had said a female mail handler and male maintenance worker were undergoing tests for possible exposure to anthrax. They would not say Thursday which one had skin anthrax. Anthrax contracted through the skin is less lethal than the inhalation anthrax that killed a photo editor for the Sun tabloid on Oct. 5.

No other cases have been reported at the Trenton facility, which collects mail from 46 postal offices in central New Jersey. The office was closed Thursday.

"We're doing everything we can to protect the health and safety of the public," he said.

Letters postmarked from Trenton and sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and NBC anchor Tom Brokaw tested positive for anthrax. An aide to Brokaw, along with a police officer and two lab technicians, were exposed to anthrax. More than 30 workers in Daschle's Senate office were exposed. All are being treated with the antibiotic Cipro.

Postal officials have been examining video surveillance tapes to try to determine the source of the letters. They are also examining the envelopes for clues; both envelopes were pre-stamped.

Meanwhile, federal officials questioned at least two New Jersey pharmacists about anyone buying large amounts of the antibiotic Cipro prior to Sept. 18, when the first of the two tainted envelopes was mailed. Pharmacist John Berkenkopf, who owns Episcopo's Pharmacy in Trenton, said officials with the Food and Drug Administration questioned him Wednesday about anyone who 60 to 120 tablets of the antibiotic.

Cipro is usually prescribed for 7-14 days, which is about 10 or 20 pills, Berenkopf said.

"Any more than that would ring all kinds of bells," Berkenkopf said.

Special Agent Sandra Carroll, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Newark office, would not say whether any pharmacies had reported making large sales of the drug.

© Copyright 2001 The Associated Press

        [October 15th]

Postal Workers Review Procedures-- an NPR Morning Edition news story

"Postal workers and mailroom employees in private firms reassess mail-handling systems in the wake of anthrax exposure caused by powder sent through the mail. NPR's Emily Harris reports for Morning Edition. Oct. 15, 2001."

From National Public Radio, this story features an interview with Dave Greenlaw, Portland, ME, APWU President who describes an incident at the GMF there last week; an employee in Washington, D.C. who works with mail rejected by the 010 operation, and a spokeswoman for the Postal Service on why the mail is being used for the spreading of anthrax.

You'll need Real Player to listen to this segment; it loads quickly and the sound quality is excellent.

Listen: NPR's "Postal Workers Review Procedures"

        [October 14th]

Instructions for Leave Due to Jury Duty

Jury duty is an important function in our democratic society. It gives anyone accused of a crime the right to have their case heard in front of a jury of their peers. This system is head-and-shoulders above the criminal systems in other countries, so please, do your part to participate when you are called.

Since we are asked often to provide assistance for those of you who receive a summons and want to fill out your paperwork correctly, we've added a "How To" to our FAQ's page-- it's Question 14, or How do I make sure I get paid for jury duty?

        [October 12th]

Anthrax Safety Alert

An NBC news employee in NYC has tested positive for anthrax after opening a powder-filled letter, and a piece of mail delivered in Florida could be part of the Anthrax problem there, we wanted all of you to be especially careful. Staying informed about what you need to do as a Postal Employee is critical.

You should be aware of the current Management Instruction, EL-860-1999-3 entitled
Emergency Response to Mail Allegedly Containing Anthrax.

This Management Instruction requires that all employees must be instructed on initial actions to take if there has been a suspected exposure to anthrax or other biologically hazardous material as well as modifying and/or creating an Emergency Action Plan that incorporates the actions to take for suspected exposure to anthrax or other biologically hazardous material.

1. Do not handle the mail piece or package suspected of contamination.

2. Notify the postal supervisor, who will immediately contact the facility safety office or other designated person.

3. Make sure that damaged or suspicious packages are isolated and the immediate area cordoned off.

The APWU urges that all members reasonably exercise their right as identified in this Management Instruction.

        [October 12th]

Uniform Purchasing Information

For those members dealing with Citibank Visa to purchase uniforms, please note that when you call Citibank Customer Service, you will be asked to provide your Social Security Number and date of birth to identify yourself as the cardholder. Management assures us that this information will be used strictly to ensure that the person calling is the authorized cardholder. The information will not be used for any marketing initiatives or shared with any third parties.

The Toll-Free number for Citibank is:

1-800-287-5003 Or TDD: 1-800-877-1113

Vendors will receive automated approval for each purchase at the point of sale through the Visa system.

Employees are cautioned not to wait until the last day of their anniversary year to spend the allowance. If you have questions, contact Barbara Tunney at (412) 359-7559.

        [October 11th]

Meeting Information

As always, please click the link at the bottom of any page within our site to find out all the details about Membership meetings: where and when, along with a map if you need additional help.

In addition, we'd like to post information here on the Bulletin Board for the other meetings we conduct:

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETING:

Wednesday, October 17, 2001 from 9:00 AM to 9:45 AM
at the Local Headquarters Building, 1414 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
4th floor Conference Room

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING:

Wednesday, October 17, 2001, at 11:00 AM
at the Local Headquarters Building, 1414 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
4th floor Conference Room

        [October 11th]

Check Your Tickets from the May Membership Meeting!

We still have no winner for the May membership drawing. If you have your ticket
stub with the number 796477, please call the office (412-321-4700) to claim your prize.

        [October 10th]

APWU's FMLA Forms are Acceptable According to the DOL

Some members have expressed concerns about using the FMLA forms supplied by the APWU. Please note that I have spoken to Executive Vice President Bill Burrus on October 4, 2001, and as of that date the APWU FMLA forms have been deemed acceptable by the Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Postal Service at the National headquarters level.

As long as the APWU FMLA forms are completed, management cannot require you to provide additional documentation. Management also cannot refuse to accept the completed APWU FMLA form and require you to instead complete management's form. Check the website to view copies of the correspondence between the parties at the National level regarding these forms.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Rosemary Penascino, President

        [October 9th]

Case May Define When Past Can Be Prologue for Disciplining an Employee
By Stephen Barr,
The Washington Post

Appeals of disciplinary actions against federal employees are fairly common, but only the occasional case makes it all the way to the Supreme Court. Rarer still is the case that the high court agrees to hear. On Tuesday, though, the court will hear oral arguments in an appeal that could set a precedent for how agencies discipline federal employees. At stake is the notion of progressive discipline -- specifically, to what extent past discipline can be used as support for a new disciplinary action.

The case before the court, U.S. Postal Service v. Gregory, involves Maria A. Gregory, a letter carrier in Hinesville, Ga. She was fired in 1997 because of her prior disciplinary record -- a letter of warning, a seven-day suspension and a 14-day suspension. Gregory challenged the first three disciplinary actions through a negotiated grievance procedure and appealed her firing to the Merit Systems Protection Board. The MSPB upheld the Postal Service, saying that past disciplinary actions taken cumulatively can support a more severe punishment than would be warranted by the most recent infraction alone.

In this case, the incident spurring the removal was Gregory's estimate of how long it would take to complete a mail route. "After more than 12 years of dedicated service, respondent had been fired for overestimating by a little over one hour the more than 10 hours it took to deliver a route on which she was not the regular carrier," her lawyer, Henk Brands, of the District, said in his brief.

Gregory appealed again, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She argued, among other things, that her firing was connected to her relationship with her supervisors, which became strained in 1995 when workplace incidents led her to file equal employment opportunity complaints. In its ruling, the appeals court said her firing must be reconsidered because, while the prior disciplinary actions were underway, Gregory won the first of the grievances, resulting in the withdrawal of the warning letter.

The appeals court held that when weighing the reasonableness of a penalty, the MSPB may not consider "prior disciplinary actions that are the subject of ongoing proceedings challenging their merits."

The Justice Department, on behalf of the Postal Service, said in its brief to the high court that the appeals court reversed two decades of MSPB rulings on progressive discipline. "The MSPB has followed the common sense rule that federal agencies may rely on an employee's disciplinary record in assessing the appropriate discipline for subsequent misconduct, without regard to whether prior disciplinary actions are subject to pending grievances," Justice lawyers said. The Justice Department pointed out that if a prior disciplinary action is set aside after the MSPB has ruled in favor of the agency, the individual can ask the merit board to reconsider its decision in light of that development.

The department also contended that the appeals court's ruling will give employees an incentive to challenge all actions against them and to string out the proceedings on the theory that no more serious action could be taken against them while those grievances are pending. This would prevent agencies from using recent disciplinary history in making their decisions, the brief said.

But Brands contends that the lower court's decision affects only MSPB practices, not those of agencies. In his brief, he argued that if a grievance against an earlier disciplinary action is still pending, the MSPB can defer its decision until the grievance has been resolved. "Given these arrangements," the brief said, "agencies will be able to rely on an employee's prior record to precisely the extent as they always have," although agencies would have to act with the understanding that a past action may be overturned.

Brands argued it is well established in the grievance arena that arbitrators do not consider charges still being grieved as a valid basis for a disciplinary action. Without such a rule, he pointed out, it is the employer who has the incentive to delay grievance cases. The employer can press ahead to fire a worker and then refuse to proceed on the earlier disciplinary disputes on the grounds that the person is no longer an employee and not eligible for grievance protections.

In Gregory's case, Brands wrote, "the Postal Service embarked upon a strategy of delay."

        [October 9th]

Arbitrator Snow Rules CSBCS Work Belongs to the Clerk Craft

In another important arbitration victory for the APWU, Arbitrator Carlton Snow issued a national-level award Sept. 17, 2001, sustaining the union's position that Carrier Sequence Bar Code Sorter (CSBCS) work was appropriately assigned to the Clerk Craft.

"This award should make clear, once and for all, that the operation of automated mail sorting equipment properly belongs to the Clerk Craft," said APWU Executive Vice President Bill Burrus.

The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) had challenged the decision of the Postal Service to assign this work to mail processors, contending that the function of the CSBCS operator replaces work typically performed by Letter Carriers. The APWU intervened in the NALC's dispute to protect the rights of APWU bargaining unit employees and to defend the assignment of these jobs to the Clerk Craft.

The CSBCS sorts mail into delivery sequence and is designed for use in post offices, as opposed to the Delivery Bar Code Sorter (DBCS), which performs similar functions in the Processing and Distribution Centers. DBCS work has been assigned to mail processors and/or senior mail processors since 1993.

The arbitrator found that, while the CSBCS primarily performs delivery point sequencing, it also performs work not previously done by Letter Carriers. For example, the CSBCS is able to sort multiple routes at a time, and also sorts mail destined for rural routes, post office boxes, and highway contracts.

"In some cases, the CSBCS equipment at a delivery distribution unit will sort for multiple satellite offices so that mail is sorted at one facility and delivered by carriers at another facility," the arbitrator noted.

The arbitrator also observed that "the [CSBCS] operator does not sort mail. He or she operates a machine which sorts mail....[T]he work involved is the operation of a bar code reading machine, and such work is similar to other work performed by Clerks while dissimilar to other work currently or previously performed by Letter Carriers."

The arbitrator also found that the work of both Clerks and Letter Carriers was reduced by the introduction of the CSBCS equipment. The arbitrator concluded that "management's decision to assign operation of CSBCS equipment to the Clerk Craft did not violate the NALC agreement between the parties."

"This is another major victory for the APWU," said Burrus. "As a result of this decision, there should be no question that the assignment of any future automated mail sorting equipment belongs to the APWU."

        [October 9th]

Postal Supervisor Goes on Trial
AP-
GREENDALE, Wis. -- There is enough evidence for a trial on allegations that a postal supervisor treated workers unfairly after they complained about job conditions, the National Labor Relations Board said.

The board on Friday furthered a complaint by the American Postal Workers Union, alleging Greendale Postmaster Walter Curtain punished employees by giving them bad shifts and fewer hours after they refused to drop grievances.

"This is a tremendous blow against would-be tyrants in the workplace," said Robert Haney, an attorney representing the local American Postal Workers Union, which has about 2,300 members. The U.S. Postal Service believes the charges are unfounded and will provide evidence to prove it, said Burt St. John, Postal Service spokesman for the Midwest.

The complaint said the union has filed multiple grievances relating to wages, hours and working conditions on behalf of Greendale postal employees since January. In late May or early June, Curtain threatened to create poor working conditions for employees if they filed more grievances or if they didn't drop pending grievances, the complaint says.

Curtain told employees he would make them work holidays if they didn't drop their grievances, the complaint says. He also told an employee that hours were cut and would continue to be cut because of the grievances, the complaint says.

The NLRB investigated and decided to bring it to trial. A hearing before an administrative law judge from Washington, D.C., is scheduled for December 3.

        [October 4th]

Did You Receive your Special Edition Metro Voice?

Late last month, we mailed everyone this special edition of the Metro Voice, the PMAPWU's newsletter. In it, we detailed the arrangements made thus far with Management on the Priority Mail Processing Center and the FedEx deal. You may have begun noticing FedEx collection boxes at post offices near you.

If you'd like to review what was in the special edition, or if you didn't receive one, please check into the FedEx deal or the Priority Mail Processing Center here, online.

Did you know we also posted a special section devoted to FedEx FAQ's in August?

        [October 3rd]

Burris Update #51

APWU has now completed six days presenting the union's economic case in the interest arbitration proceedings. On September 25 the arbitration panel reconvened in Washington, D.C., and the union continued to press its request for a significant wage increase and resolution of outstanding contractual changes.

The union advocates presented testimony, evidence and witnesses in support of its request for upgrades of APWU-represented employees, changes to the Uniform and Work clothes program, changes to Article 19 which would limit USPS authority to modify handbooks and manuals, compensation for travel and changes to Article 30.

Arbitrator Goldberg expresses a clear understanding of the union's objectives and demonstrated clear control of the proceedings. The hearings begin at 9 AM and conclude at 6 PM with one hour for lunch and necessary breaks during the day for attorney meetings.

In an important ruling made by the impartial chairman, he demonstrated his rejection of USPS ploys to deny the union a full presentation on the issues of upgrades and length of contract. He also interjected his views as issues were being presented and showed a clear grasp of the subjects under consideration.

On August 28, the Pennsylvania Postal Workers Union, under the leadership of president Leroy Moyer, conducted a telephone conference with me to discuss the progress of negotiations. Twenty-five separate locations were tied into the conference, and Pennsylvania APWU members and local leaders were provided an update on the negotiations and posed questions regarding the issues.

The telephone conference was well attended and elicited excellent dialogue. I was permitted the opportunity to fully inform those in attendance of the present status of the process and the expected agenda for future hearing dates. President Moyer and his executive board demonstrated their intent to keep the membership in Pennsylvania fully informed about the status of the negotiation process, and they are to be commended.

The next scheduled dates of hearings are October 9 and 10, to be held in Washington, D.C. At that time, APWU will continue the presentation of its case for a significant wage increase, including retroactive pay and modification of important working conditions.

        [October 2nd]

Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Coming Soon... (Reposted)

There's a nice site on the Internet that will help you decide which charities you might want to give to. Included are links organized by charity types, ways to notify your charity and just about anything else you might want to know.

The site is run by the IGA, or Independent Givers of America, a non-profit, non-governmental organization.

Do your homework ahead of time this year by visiting Best of the CFC.

        [October 1st]

Coat Drive for Homeless Begins in September (Reposted)

Light of Life Ministries Annual Coat drive began September 4 and ends October 12. Drop your gently used winter coats off at your neighborhood drycleaners anywhere you see the Western Pennsylvania Cleaners and Launderer's Association (WPCL) logo displayed.

These participating drycleaners will clean the coats free of charge and deliver them to the mission. Coats will be distributed to the homeless and the needy on Saturday, October 27, 2001.