Stamford CT Area Local |
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American Postal Workers Union |
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Maintenance Issues Last updated 3-21-08 |
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Darren Galazin President / Webmaster
P.O. Box 195 Stamford , CT 06904
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To contact The Stamford CT Area Local or the webmaster by mail, phone, fax or E-mail. |
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Phone: (203) 348-6038 Fax: (203) 708-9997 E-mail: Galazin3@aol.Com
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Assignment of Duties Improper (03/21/08) The union appealed a national-level dispute to arbitration March 11, protesting the assignment of non-Maintenance Craft employees to install software on the Carrier Sequence Bar Code Sorter. (Case # Q06T-4Q-C-08083300) The duties in question are properly the responsibility of Electronic Technicians, the union asserted.
The case arose in January, when the Postal Service issued Software Modification Order 001-08, assigning the duties to Senior Mail Processors or Operations Support Specialists. The union filed a Step 4 dispute Jan. 23, and outlined its position in a Statement of Issues and Facts on March 5, 2008.
Everything In OK Is Not OK (This article first appeared in the March/April 2008 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
APWU members who are assigned off-site training at the National Center for Employee Development should be aware of several new controversies. One is the decision to ignore the “Do Not Disturb” signs that can be hung on your room door. Another is the increase in spousal fees.
‘Do Not Disturb’ Ignored
The Postal Service has notified the APWU that it is revising a housekeeping policy at the NCED residential facility in Norman, OK.
The notice asserts that “there has been an increase in the use of ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs” on students’ doors in the housing facility. In an attempt to respect the privacy of students, housekeeping has not been entering rooms with these signs posted. However, the frequency with which these signs are now posted is making it difficult to maintain a clean and hazard-free environment.”
For this reason, we were told, the policy being applied and communicated to all students staying at NCED will be that Housekeeping will not enter a room the first day a “Do Not Disturb” sign is posted, but will leave a written notice at the door. This notice will advise students that daily access to sleeping rooms is needed to ensure safety and cleanliness for all guests.
According to the policy statement, the notice will advise that while the room had not been entered on the day of the posting, NCED Housekeeping would be entering the room each day during the remainder of the stay, regardless of whether the “Do Not Disturb” sign was posted.
Accommodations will be made, the notice said, for those students who attend classes at night and as a result may be sleeping during the day. As it has done in the past, NCED staff will identify those who are required to take night classes, and will continue to place them in separate areas of the housing facility.
When we asked the Postal Service for information that might substantiate the NCED policy — for example, specific safety and health issues cited by management representatives — none was provided.
If you have any issues that arise due to the housekeepers or others refusing to honor your “Do Not Disturb” notice, please be sure to record the specific facts. Lodge a protest at the front desk and get a record of the complaint. Be sure to see your local steward within 14 days of your return to your official duty station.
Tripling the Fee APWU-represented employees attending off-site training are entitled to an interim trip if their training exceeds three weeks’ duration. In lieu of a return trip, NCED “students” can bring their spouses to the NCED, at a nominal $10 per day charge.
The Postal Service has, however, unilaterally jacked up that cost to $31, with the justification that spouses could get away with eating for free at the newly remodeled cafeteria.
The management theory is that students eating at the Marriott-run NCED cafeteria are taking larger-than-normal portions of food and sharing it with their spouses.
The cafeteria food is “paid for” with the swipe of a meal card. There is nothing to prevent students from over-estimating their own appetites, however, and throwing away half the food they take. And students also may go through the food lines as many times as they wish.
The current charge for spouses — more than triple the old fare — is unjustifiable. Clearly, a more appropriate response is required, especially considering that there are spouses who do not eat at the Marriott cafeteria or do not consume three full meals a day. Nevertheless, the Postal Service deems it prudent to charge individual students for costs not necessarily being incurred.
To the APWU, this is nothing but profiteering. There is no legitimate business purpose served by the Postal Service making money off of employees who are accompanied by their spouses to off-site training.
Taken together, the “Do Not Disturb” and “Triple-Cost” policies suggest that the Postal Service is trying to harass individuals to such an extent that they will decide against having their spouses join them at the NCED. Weekend Charge The two new policies come on the heels of a dispute filed by the APWU protesting the charge for staying put during an interim-trip weekend. The national dispute (Q00C-4Q-C 06091310) was appealed to arbitration on March 21, 2006.
The 2006 case challenged management’s policy of charging NCED students who chose not to take an interim trip $50 per weekend day if they were accompanied by their spouse. Under the challenged policy change, the student would also be charged the $10 spousal fee.
The USPS has taken the position that changes made to internal accounting procedures mean that the cost of NCED training is now charged to the local facilities where the students are regularly employed and that these changes justify the new fees. Clearly, this policy is not fair, reasonable, or equitable.
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