Protecting Our Jobs…………………..11

PROTECTING OUR JOBS

several months it is more important now than ever, realignment is one. Management has done the realignment approximately 6 months ago and many of you have had to deal with adjustments that management has made -, job abolishment’s, excessing, some even to another tour, moved your days off, moved your hours, was it really necessary to do all this at once, I think not but we have dealt with it like champs. But let me tell you folks I believe it necessary now more than ever to be writing statements on whatever violation that you see. The postal service is going thru many changes and local management is being instructed to do more with less, in an effort to save money and yet they want to get the same workload done with less employees, and that is why we have staffing issues, and you see some pay locations being moved on a daily basis, people these are the situations that need addressed and you should be writing statements to that effect, some of you do not know that there is an order in which you are to be moved out of your section, this needs to be addressed and you need to know the process yourself. When taking on level 5 or higher level positions, there is a process for that and in most cases the supervisors are being lazy and just appointing the person that they usually appoint to move mail or maybe it is their buddy, but either way this needs to be addressed also , they should be asking the senior employee in the section all the way down to the junior employee and if they do not get the volunteers they are looking for only then they would be forcing the junior person from the bottom up to do the level 5 or higher level, until they have the amount of people needed for the detail, this happens at the ATU a lot , they just appoint any employee that they feel needs to go there. I witnessed this myself on 10/16 when I was in the supervisors stand up at the beginning of the shift, myself and Steward Claude Ridley were in the standup and after she appointed her staff to go where she needed them, we addressed this with the supervisor that she needed to ask all the employees from senior to junior for the higher-level position. Union members I have walked the floor too many times and have witnessed supervisors working the mail or dispatching wires from the machine or sometimes even working alongside many of you but I get no statement of this.

Many times, I see clerks doing our work, or even working alongside you in the hash rooms but I get the statements from the same employees, folks I need all of you to write a statement in support of your fellow employees that are writing statement daily. Folks I know the mail handlers take pride in their work but we cannot sacrifice our work or the safety of our employees to give the managers the efficiency that their bosses tell them they need, and the managers are told to cut as much as possible to get the job done and they are willing to allow you to endanger yourself or put others in danger to accomplish that. Now more than ever we need to file the grievances to protect our jobs that keep us gainfully employed. Brothers and sisters, I need you to document these flagrant violations of the contract, we all know that some managers work the mail for hours at a time (mail prep) but yet I see nothing from the mail handlers in that area, Is it for fear of retaliation? If you see managers working the mail document it and get another witness if you sisters, and sisters we as mail handlers need to be writing statements every single time, we witness a clerk or a manger working our mail, performing our jobs. People WE are the union each and every one of us and together we can stay vigilante and hold the management team to the standards agreed upon in the contract that the executive board has fought so hard to achieve on our behalf. Together we can do this, please write your statements for the union office to investigate and enforce.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2020 NPMHU CONVENTION

Highlights from 2020 NPMHU CONVENTION

Irealize I write a lot of things which pertains to the newer employees, especially the ones who are newly converted. There is information mixed in which benefits senior employees as well. With that in mind, here

By Bob Koryto are some things to

Branch President NDC keep in mind while you serve your 90 day probationary period immediately after converting to full time. We have 5 simple rules at the NDC. Number one is show up to work. Try to avoid call-ins and any unscheduled leave. Emergencies do arise. Life happens. But as often as possible try to pre-schedule any leave during this probationary period. Citing Section 10.2 of the National Agreement: Annual Leave: Annual leave is used for vacation and other paid absences. The rate of annual leave earnings is based on “creditable service,” that is, total cumulative federal service (employment), including certain kinds of military service (See ELM, Section 512.2, Determining Annual Leave Category). New employees earn annual leave but are not credited with the leave and may not take it prior to completing 90 days of continuous employment (ELM, Section 512.313(b)). There is an exception for employees who transfer without a break in service. Citing ELM 53: The following provisions concern full–time employees: a. Accrual Chart. Full-time career employees earn annual leave based on their number of creditable years of service as follows: Table 1: Table 1 is valid only for: 1. Career bargaining employees… Number two is show up for work on time. Once again, life happens. Traffic, weather, household or personal emergencies. Citing handbook F 21:

Up to 0.50 Hours (30 minutes) After Scheduled Reporting Time

Handle the time card of an employee who is tardy and who reports to work up to 0.50 hours minutes) late as follows:…

The employee may be required or permitted to make up the time by extending his or her regular work schedule for the tour, providing the period of tardiness is without pay. Out-of-schedule premium will not be paid for work extending beyond the regular established work schedule to make up the amount of tardiness. Alternatively, the tardiness can be charged to annual leave, if available; to leave without pay; or to absence without leave (AWOL). In these instances the employee must end his or her tour of duty when the leave charge and work hours equal the total hours of the normal tour of duty (unless overtime has been authorized)…

Only full-time and part-time regular schedule employees are permitted to make up a period of tardiness by extending their tour. The supervisor may exercise his or her own best judgment as to whether the request for an extension should be granted. Part-time flexible, casual, and temporary employees do not have established work schedules. Therefore, record actual total hours and hundredths worked. It is up to you the employee to request a revised schedule. Management is not obligated to grant this request. The third thing to keep in mind is stay in your work area. If the MDO/SDO/204B walks by you enough and sees you in your assigned area they

Leave Category Creditable Service Maximum Leave Per Year

4

6 Less than 3 years 4 hours for each full biweekly pay period; i.e., 104 hours (13 days) per 26–period leave year. 3 years – 15 years 6 hours for each full biweekly pay period plus 4 hours in last full pay period in calendar year; i.e., 160 hours (20 days) per 26–period leave year. 15 years or more 8 hours for each full biweekly pay period; i.e., 208 hours (26 days) per 26–period leave year. 15

RETIREES CORNER

Congratulations to all our brothers and sisters who recently or who will soon will be retiring.

(L to R ) Sister Linda Else received his retirement jacket from Steward Annette Damian

Brother Tho Truong second Left take a picture in his retirement jacket (In the photo from (L to R) Steward Claude Ridley, Retiree Tho Truong, Treasurer Jeff Morgan and Steward Louis crew

STATE OF THE UNION

IS PUBLISHED FOR THE DUES PAYING MEMBERSHIP OF LOCAL 321 OF THE NATIONAL POSTAL MAIL HANDLERS UNION. ANY MEMBER MAY SUBMIT ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION, WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE EXECUTIVE BOARD OF LOCAL 321 RETAINS THE RIGHT OF

FINAL APPROVAL OF ALL SUBMISSIONS. SOME ARTICLES CONTAIN EDITORIAL COMMENT WHICH IS THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR AND NOT NECESSARILY LOCAL 321.

RETIREES CORNER

1 received Hernandez from the NDC T ” Corrina “ (L to R) Tony Wilson, Sister Helen a retirement jacket and Recording Secretary, brother Curtis Grantham

(L to R) Denis Diaz, Betty Wong Esther Marmolejo, Sitting with her retirement gift basket Molly Reynolds, Tom Isom, Steward Samuel T Koduah , Deborah Lacy, John Eble and Tim De Vita