T O N F A M O THE S F A L A P W U Local Memorandum Of ... · Collective Bargaining Agreement, we have the right to negotiate new language into our Southwest Florida Area Local - Local

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDFort Myers, FLPermit No. 139

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AREA LOCAL AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION

LOCAL MEMORANDUM OFUNDERSTANDING

I am constantly amazed as to whathappens in some of our Stationsand Branches as far as workplacerules. While visiting Naples lastmonth, some employees statedthat their first allotted break wasfifteen (15) minutes and their sec-ond break was ten (10) minutes. Iwas told that Postmaster RichardBarber told them that this waswhat was allowed.

However, I told them that this wasnot the case as I had negotiatedtwo-fifteen minute breaks forNaples employees during the lastSouthwest Florida LocalNegotiations.

I logged onto our local's website atwww.swfloridaapwu.org andclicked on to the link SWFALLMOU's and showed employees inwriting what was negotiated.

Every time we have a newCollective Bargaining Agreement,we have the right to negotiate newlanguage into our SouthwestFlorida Area Local - LocalMemorandum of Understanding(SWFAL-LMOU). These LMOU'sare negotiated for eachPostmaster that falls under theSWFAL-APWU (Currently 17).

Here are just a few of the itemsthat are negotiated in a LMOU:

1) Wash Up Times

2) Regular Work Weeks (Fixedor Rotating Days Off)

3) Guidelines for EmergencyConditions

4) Local Leave Program(Vacation Time Rules)

5) Vacation Period

6) Beginning Day of Vacations

7) Amount of Selections forChoice Vacations

8) Whether Jury Duty orConventions are a part ofChoice Vacation

9) Percentage of Employeesallowed off for ChoiceVacation

10) Notices of Approved Leave

11) Notification of Annual LeavePeriod

12) Procedures for Other Leave

13) Method of SelectingEmployees for the 3-DayHoliday Period

14) Overtime Desired List Rules

15) Light or Limited Duty Rules

16) Light or Limited Duties

17) Define Sections within theInstallation (for Excessing,Overtime, etc.)

18) Rules for Parking Spaces

19) Job Re-PostingRequirements

20) Break Times

Not all LMOU's will be the samedue to being negotiated by differ-ent Postmasters. The LMOU lan-guage for each installation hasbeen signed and agreed to by theLocal President and thatInstallation's Postmaster.

I have always attempted to get thesame exact language in everyLMOU, but with differentPostmaster personalities to dealwith that is sometimes a difficulttask. In order to get an agreementand ultimately a signature fromeach individual Postmaster, I haveto change some language or sim-ply not be able to get everythingwe are requesting through negoti-ations.

Any violation to those itemsagreed to by both parties must begrieved.

I believe that most employees willbe surprised by some of the lan-guage that is in their LMOUbecause they simply haven't readit.

Many hours have gone into thenegotiation process of developingeach LMOU so that employees

Sam WoodPresident

SWFAL APWU

Southwest Florida Area Local 11000 Metro Parkway, Unit 8 Fort Myers, FL 33966

Alva, Bokeelia, Bonita Springs, Captiva,Chokoloskee, Estero, Fort Myers,

Fort Myers Beach, Immokalee, Labelle,Lehigh Acres, Marco Island, Naples, Placida,

Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Rotunda,St. James City and Sanibel

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

See: Local Memorandum ofUnderstanding (LMOU)Continued on Page 6

February 2015Volume 25 Number 2

Local Memorandum Of Understanding (LMOU)An Important Part Of Workplace Rules

IN THIS EDITION OF

THE EAGLE’S EYELocal Memorandum Of Understanding

(LMOU) An Important PartOf Workplace Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Secretary-Treasurer’s Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

What Happened ToEvery Piece Every Day? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Overtime Bypass Issues ContinuingTo Occur At Fort Myers P&DC . . . . . . . . . 4

And It Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Union Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Taking Breaks And Lunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

New Year Same Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

SWFAL Membership News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

SWFAL APWU Executive BoardAnd Trustees Installed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

PROUD MEMBER

2 THE EAGLE’S EYE FEBRUARY 2015

Southwest Florida

Area Local, APWU11000 Metro Parkway, Unit 8

Fort Myers, FL 33966

239-275-1007

Open 9am-3pm, Monday-Friday

WEBSITE ADDRESS

www.swfloridaapwu.org

PRESIDENT

Sam Wood

[email protected]

239-823-APWU

VICE-PRESIDENT

Dan Gray

[email protected]

239-834-2736

SECRETARY-TREASURER

Felicia Gluhareff

[email protected]

CLERK CRAFT DIRECTOR

Paul McAvoy

[email protected]

MAINTENANCE CRAFT

DIRECTOR

Mickey Szymonik

[email protected]

239-834-2900

MOTOR VEHICLE CRAFT

DIRECTOR

Joe Fracek

[email protected]

EDITOR

Kathy Moyer

[email protected]

TRUSTEES

Daniel Carinci

Grace Baer

David Grant

SAFETY & HEALTH

COMMITTEE

David Grant

Wendy Skaff

CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE

Dan Gray, Chairman

Felicia Gluhareff

Paul McAvoy

Kathy Moyer

NATIONAL MAILING ADDRESS

Per Capita Section

APWU, AFL-CIO

1300 L Street NW

Washington, DC 20005

FLORIDA POSTAL WORKER

The Florida Postal Worker

P.O. Box 8363

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310

www.apwuflorida.org

General MembershipMeeting Minutes

January 25, 2015

CALL TO ORDER:Time: 9:30 a.m. There were 20members in attendance.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:The pledge of allegiance wasled by Paige Hardiman.

ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS:Felicia Gluhareff performed theroll call of officers. Present wereSam Wood, Dan Gray, FeliciaGluhareff, Paul McAvoy, MickeySzymonik, Kathy Moyer andJoe Fracek.

MAP:Barbara Carr told a couple ofjokes in honor of CharlesGlennon.

NEW MEMBERS:Welcome Michael Salters,James Gallogly, Richard Staeband Carmen Rivero.

EXECUTIVE BOARDMINUTES:A raise for our office secretarywas discussed. The executiveboard agreed upon a $1.00 anhour increase and all futureincreases will coincide with theAPWU’s contractual increasesand COLAs in amount and fre-quency. Sam attended anLDRC meeting to solidify thework of shredding securedwaste mail as clerk work. Thereis a new steward list due to shiftand bid changes. Anotherupdate to the steward list will befollowing shortly as morestaffing changes are imple-mented. Kathy Moyer hasretired from the USPS but hasagreed to remain a full duespaying member and Editor ofThe Eagle’s Eye. She has alsoagreed to remain the lead stew-ard at the Bokeelia Post Office.Sam Wood made a motion tothe board to send Dan Gray tothe spring seminar. The execu-tive board agrees and it will bebrought to the membership tovote. The southern regionalcoordinator contacted our localasking that our president ordesignee attend a contractnegotiation seminar onFebruary 11-12th in Atlanta.Our national contract negotia-tions are scheduled to start inmid-February of this year. Theexecutive board made a motionto excuse Joe Fracek from theexecutive board meeting since

he was not made aware of the8:30 a.m. start time since it ishis first month sitting on theexecutive board. The motionpassed.

SECRETARY-TREASURER’SREPORT:Paul McAvoy made a motion toaccept the minutes as reportedin last month’s Eagle’s Eye. Themotion passed. Finances arestaying steady and the end ofyear reports / obligations arebeing worked on.

REPORT / SELECTION OFCOMMITTEES:None

REPORT OF CONVENTIONCOMMITTEES:None

REPORT OF TRUSTEES:None

COMMUNICATIONS:Thank you cards from RhondaHartwig thanking the membersfor the flowers for Glen. Thankyou cards from both KarenD’Angelo and Kim Monforethanking the members for theirChristmas bonuses. A letterwas sent to managementinforming them that Sam Woodwill be doing Step 2 mainte-nance grievances. Samthanked Paul McAvoy and DanGray for putting together thenew steward list. A letter wassent from the Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda postmaster statingtheir desire to abolish a bid andpost another. Communicationinforming us that CatherineBrady will be the new supervi-sor of customer service sup-port.

UPDATE OF GRIEVIANCES:Scott Wiser informed the exec-utive board that they are stillhaving lower level employeesperform higher level work. Agrievance was won and this willbe taken care of. Criteria forchanging bid times was dis-cussed. Management canchange your bid up to one hourwithout your permission. Theymust offer you the option toaccept or deny a bid change upto two hours without reposting.Please be aware that if you donot voluntarily accept the 2 hourchange your bid can be repost-ed and you will become unas-signed. So please weigh theadvantages and disadvantagesbefore you refuse a bid timechange.

OLDBUSINESS:Our RI-399lawsuit wasdiscussed. At this point it is stillbeing delayed by the USPS.

NEW BUSINESS:Michael (Sully) Sullivan, who isour Atlanta regional NBA,spoke a bit about the servicestandard changes and how itmay affect us. He will be swear-ing in the executive board afterthe meeting at our installationluncheon. Dan Gray made amotion to give our office secre-tary a dollar per hour wageincrease and asked that futureraises coincide with the APWUmembers’ raises and COLAs inthe regards of amount and fre-quency. The motion passed.Paul McAvoy made a motion tosend Dan Gray to the springseminar at normal expense.The motion passed. PaulMcAvoy made a motion to sendSam Wood to the contractnegotiation seminar at normalexpense. The motion passed.

LABOR / MANAGEMENT:None

GOOD AND WELFARE:The winner of the COPA 50/50drawing was Sandee Becklerwho won $55. The total nettedfor the drawing was $110.Sandee donated $10 of herwinnings back to COPA. Thename drawn for the member’sincentive award was GraceBaer. She won $100. The potwill be $50 at the next generalmembership meeting.

ELECTION OF OFFICERSAND DELEGATES:None

LEFTOVERS:The installation lunch will beheld directly following thismeeting.

ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS:Felicia Gluhareff performed theroll call of officers. The resultswere recorded.

NEXT MEETING:Robert Nowall moved to havethe next meeting on February22, 2015, at 9:30 a.m. at theunion hall. The motion passed.

ADJOURNMENT:Robert Nowall moved toadjourn at 10:35 a.m. Themotion passed.

Secretary-Treasurer’s ReportFelicia Gluhareff

FEBRUARY 2015 THE EAGLE’S EYE 3

jerked around, and for the mostpart, changed unnecessarily.

It is a travesty and I personally findit disgusting that the USPS isintentionally trying to destroy thePost Office by reducing our serv-ice standards and contracting ourwork out to stores like Staples.

From every piece every day to "ITWILL GET THERE SOMEDAY".From well trained professionalwindow clerks to non trainedemployees at Staples making min-imum wage.

I have had grievances out the yingyang this month. As of January 23,I have filed at step 1, a total of 54grievances with another 6 or 7 thatI haven't prepared or investigatedyet. This is insane.

Management admits they are vio-lating the contract and just don'tcare. The grievances are for over-time, crossing crafts, discrimina-tion and a variety of other offens-es.

Of all these grievances I receivedanswers from supervisors on lessthan half of them. I tell them whenwe have the step one, that theyhave 5 days to respond or I willsend them to step 2 as per Article15 of the CBA. I guess 5 days isnot enough time to investigate anovertime bypass which many ofthese grievances are.

In closing I would once again liketo thank the membership for allow-ing me to be your Clerk CraftDirector for another 2 years. I seea tough couple of years coming upwith a new CBA and LMOU nego-tiations after that. Add to that deliv-ery standard changes and man-agement's constant effort to inten-tionally violate the contract, lowerstandards and give work away tothe private sector.

I would also like to thank NBA Mike"Sully" Sullivan for swearing us infor another term. He has been along time friend of our union andhis work is greatly appreciated.

the time that later arriving mailbecomes non committed changes.Some nights it’s midnight, andother nights it’s 1:00am, still othernights it’s whenever.

No one seems to know for sure.Supervisors tell the clerks,(whether or not they have time torun the first class mail to make dis-patch) to just park it and leave it forthe next tour. So mail that can beworked and delivered that day isintentionally being delayed bymanagement.

Why, you ask. Because they can.When they decided to change thedelivery standards and the 24 hourclock, along with it went next daydelivery. Now it seems to be wewill just save the mail and run ittomorrow.

Mail volume hasn't changed.Transportation hasn't changed. Nomoney is being saved with thesechanges. The only thing that haschanged is our service to the cus-tomers and employees’ schedules

Do youremember along time ago( a c t u a l l yJanuary 5,2015) when itwas manda-tory thatevery piece offirst classmail had to bed i s p a t c h e devery day?

Since this "Operational WindowChange" took effect on January 5,2015, the P&DC has become astorage facility for first class mail.

Before January 5, you would walkby DBCSs at 7:00 in the morningand there was no mail to be seen.The UTS was clear of first classmail.

Now, there are GPC's full of firstclass mail by virtually everymachine just sitting there to beprocessed for delivery the nextday. Now, it seems every night,

What Happened ToEvery Piece Every Day?

Paul McAvoyClerk Craft Director

SWFAL APWU


O v e r t i m ebypasses atthe Plant hasbeen a reoc-curring issue.Managementseems tohave issueswith followinga simple rota-tion. If youbelieve youhave beenbypassed ask to see your steward.

There are way too many employ-ees to know who was called/told tocome in or stay for overtime. TheTour One Automation OTDL sec-tion alone has fifty (50) plus listemployees. So, if you believe youwere bypassed ask your supervi-sor to see your Union Steward andfile a grievance for makeup over-time or pay depending on the indi-vidual circumstance.

Another problem is the issuing ofNon-list employee’s overtime priorto maximizing the OTDL. Thisquestion is answered again in theJoint Contract InterpretationManual in Article 8 Q &A’s;

Question 15:Must all employees on theovertime desired list be utilizedtwelve hours per day before anemployee not on the list worksany overtime?

Response:Except when there is an oper-ational window that cannot bemet unless non-list employeesare worked. At such time, listand non-list employees maybe scheduled simultaneously.NOTE: Non-list employees, inoffices utilizing NTFT dutyassignments in the sameFunctional area, cannot workovertime except in an emer-gency.

This means the “operational win-dow” is for mail to be dispatched ordelivered that day. Not mail man-agement plans on setting aside tobe delivered the following day. Wehave this issue mostly on TourOne Automation at the Plant.Management must keep all of theavailable OTDL clerks also regard-less if they are on penalty or notbefore utilizing the Non-list andPSEs.

Another issue is when manage-ment may utilize a PSE and notthe OTDL employee. JCIMQuestion 11 answers that.

Question 11:Is management required toassign overtime to overtimedesired list employees beforeutilizing a Postal SupportEmployee (PSE) in excess ofeight work hours in a service

Daniel M. GrayVice PresidentSWFAL APWU

al grievance. Please also ask yoursupervisor first and then clock overto the proper operation.

Also, if you are issued disciplineand you fail to file a grievance, thediscipline will be in your record forthe next two years. Once againyou have 14 days from the dateyou receive the discipline to file agrievance. Do not assume yoursteward is aware that you havebeen issued discipline.

Management is not required tonotify the Union. Also, manage-ment is not required to have asteward present when you receiveyour copy of the issued discipline.Your issued discipline states YOUhave 14 days to file a grievance,so if you do not believe that thediscipline you received is justifiedimmediately ask to see your unionsteward. If you are having issueswith being released to see a unionsteward after you have asked yoursupervisor, let your steward know.

The new calendar leave year ishere and many of you will berequired to update your FMLA doc-umentation. We constantly run intoquestions and issues when itcomes to the Family MedicalLeave Act which was signed intolaw by President Clinton in 1993. Itrequires employers to grant eligi-ble employees leave for certainfamily and medical reasons. Underthe law, eligible employees areentitled to the following:

Up to a total of twelve (12)workweeks of leave during anytwelve (12) month period forone or more of the followingreasons;

The birth or placement of a childfor adoption or foster care, andto care for the newborn childwithin one year ofbirth/placement;

To care for the employee’sspouse, child, or parent whohas a serious healthconditions;

A serious health condition thatmakes the employee unable toperform the essential functionsof his or her job;

Any qualifying exigency arisingout of the fact that theemployee’s spouse, son,daughter, or parent is acovered military servicemember on “covered activeduty;” or

Up to a total of 26 work weeks ofleave during any twelve (12)month period to care for a

day?

Response:Qualified and available fulltime employees on theappropriate overtime desiredlist will be selected to performsuch work.

Now the following covers theappropriate remedy for overtimebypassing taken from the JointContract Interpretation Manual.

Question 26:What is the remedy if anemployee on the overtimedesired list is improperlybypassed?

Response:If the overtime desired listemployee is improperlybypassed and anotheremployee on the overtimedesired is selected out ofrotation, the bypassedemployee is provided a similarmake-up opportunity withinninety days of when the erroris discovered; if no similarmake-up opportunity isavailable within that ninetydays, the employee iscompensated at the overtimerate for a period equal to theopportunity missed.

If the overtime desired listemployee is improperlybypassed for anotheremployee not on the overtimedesired list, the bypassedemployee will be paid at theovertime rate for the number ofhours equal to the opportunitymissed. When a questionarises as to the properadministration on the “overtimedesired” list at the local level, asteward may have access toappropriate overtime records.

You must also remember you areonly entitled to overtime withinyour Tour and Section as definedin your Local Memorandum ofUnderstanding. Any overtimeissued outside your section, thesection that is issued the overtimemust be maximized; the onlyexceptions are an “emergency” or“operational window”. Now thisdoesn’t cover every situation con-cerning overtime so if you havequestions please ask to see yoursteward.

If you need to file a grievanceplease don’t wait to the last day tofile. Yes, you have 14 days to file agrievance but your steward has alot of work and information to com-pile in order to properly file a griev-ance on your behalf. You are doingboth yourself and the Union a dis-service by waiting to the lastminute to file a grievance.

Remember the Union has the bur-den of proof when it is a contractu-

Overtime Bypass Issues ContinuingTo Occur At Fort Myers P&DC

See: Overtime BypassIssuesContinued on Page 5


covered military servicemember with a serious injuryor illness if the eligibleemployee is the servicemember’s spouse, son,daughter, parent, or next of kin(military caregiver leave).

Employee Responsibilities:

Inform supervisor within two (2)business days or sooner ifrequired by employer workrules or policy. (CFR 825.303)

Advance notification whenpossible (CFR 825.305)

Provide documentation whenrequired (CFR 825.305)

Documentation must besubmitted within fifteen (15)calendar days

Participate in 2nd or 3rd doctorevaluation when required(CFR 825.307)

OVERTIME BYPASSISSUESContinued from Page 4

Supervisor Responsibilities:

Determine Eligibility (CFR825.110)

Designate the absence asFMLA (CFR 825.301)

Documentation requirements(CFR 825.305 & 306)

Provide notification to employeein five (5) business days (CFR825.300) if oral followed inwriting by next payday

Protect records (CFR 825.500)

PS Form 3971 (CFR 825.301)

Publication WH-381 (in lieu ofpub 71) (CFR 825.301)

This only covers some informa-tion. The APWU website and theDepartment of Labor websites gointo extensive detail to each andevery facet of the rules and regula-tions concerning FMLA.

Please if you have a condition(s)that are covered by FMLA haveyour doctor fill out the correct

T h eOperat ionalW i n d o wC h a n g e(OWC) 2015has begun.The system-atic disman-tling of theUSPS isunderway.

It started in2006 when alame duck congress passed legis-lation that mandated the USPS topre-fund 100% (approximately$5.1 billion annually) of futureretiree insurance premiums for thenext 75 years and now continues

with the OWC.

We at the Ft. Myers P&DC watchin bewilderment as we witnessmail processing machines that aretaken apart and removed while atthe same time dozens and dozensof GPCs, wire cages and canvashampers filled with first class mailare scattered around the facilitynot being processed. Yes, the mailis being delayed. Remember whenthat was a crime that would beinvestigated by the PostalInspectors?

It is hard to understand why ourPMG, whom has touted the USPSas a business and emphasized theimportance of our customers,

would develop a plan that reducesservice to our customers (that isthe American people) and takesaway an institution that has servedAmerica’s needs since theConstitution was written.

We have a PMG that instead oftouting the security of the U.S. mail(serving as the safer alternative toexposing ones personal informa-tion to the internet) throws thatsanctity away and gives carteblanche to Staples and now Wal-Mart.

Remember “Sanctity of the mail”?And now, Postmaster GeneralDonahoe conveniently retiresbefore seeing through his

extraordinary plan to “save” theUSPS.

Remember how he would regaleus with his story of how he startedin the Post Office as a carrier andworked his way up? He must haveforgotten about his roots within thePost Office. That is easy to dowhen hugging his corporate mas-ters and political hacks. Don’t besurprised when we see him on aboard of directors of UPS orFedEx one of these days. (Ormaybe Staples)

Goodbye PMG Donahoe. You willnot be missed by this PostalWorker.

And It Begins . . .

Scott J. WiserTour 1 Maintenance

StewardFort Myers P&DC

SWFAL APWU

forms and submit them in order toprotect yourself.

Management cares little for theextenuating circumstances sur-rounding your absences, but is notallowed to discipline you for aFMLA protected absence.

I constantly get tired of hearing thelame excuses of the non-mem-bers, when the only reality is theyare too cheap to join, since theysure don’t have an issue acceptingthe pay or benefits the union nego-tiated for them.

I have yet to see a non-memberrefuse to accept a monetary settle-ment the Union won on theirbehalf. It is even more amusingwhen a non-member gets disci-plined or mad at management andthen comes to the Union for help.

Yes, by law the Union has the dutyof fair representation and theUnion does this, member or not.This is the legal duty of a union toequally, and in good faith, repre-sent every employee in a bargain-ing unit regardless of whether theemployee is a union member or

not. This legal duty arises out ofthe exclusive representative statusunions hold under the NationalLabor Relations Act in the privatesector and under state collectivebargaining laws in the public sec-tor.

This duty requires three things onthe part of the union; all members’interests are served without hostil-ity or discrimination; that discretionbe exercised with good faith andhonesty; and that the Union not actarbitrarily.

The Union does not have to makeyou copies of items, give youFMLA forms, allow you access totheir internet connection or answeryour questions/calls unless it isrequired to process a grievance.

The Union will file your grievancesand diligently process them as wedo with everyone, but you (non-member) are required to firstrequest a Union Steward throughyour supervisor and be properlyreleased to see the UnionSteward.


Having trou-ble getting anFMLA certifi-cation usingthe APWUcert i f icat ionform? I'msorry, thats h o u l d n ' thave beenposed as aquestion. It isa fact.

Despite the April 18, 2012, awardby Arbitrator Shyam Das that stat-ed that the Postal Service cannotrequire employees to use TheDepartment of Labor's WH-380forms, the Postal Service, at leastin the Suncoast District, continuesto deny FMLA protection toemployees who submittedapproved APWU forms.

The APWU forms contain thesame basic medical certificationrequirements, requested by law,as the DOL forms.

However, the DOL WH-380 andthe WF-380F forms invite healthcare providers to state the medicaldiagnosis/prognosis as well asother information the APWU

Mickey SzymonikMaintenance Craft

DirectorSWFAL APWU

the 45 minutes I was kept "onhold", or the 15 minutes of circularconversation I had with Tina.

Finally, I said, "Tina, I know youare just doing your job but thissounds like Union-busting tacticsto me." She was silent, and didn'teven offer me an extension thistime.

So I faxed the DOL WH-380 to mydoctor's office, documenting allmileage and expenses incurred todo so, which I included when I filedmy grievance. I encourage every-one facing non-compliance by theService, of the 2012 Shyam Dasaward, to do the same.

In addition, if you submit a 3971 inadvance for Sick Leave, you donot need FMLA to protect yourabsence. Why use up your 480FMLA SL hours for an absencethat is scheduled in advance andwill not be counted against yourattendance record. Save yourFMLA coverage for future needs.

Ask to see a Steward for questionsabout FMLA, or if you feel yourFMLA rights have been violated.

Solidarity, Prosperity, Peace

argues is inappropriate disclosureof protected health information.

I have had an FMLA protectedcondition since I was diagnosed inDecember, 2006. My condition ischronic and lifelong. I do not abusemy sick leave.

None the less, I have been fightingwith the Service's FMLA "special-ists" in Greensboro, N.C. for thepast four months to get re-certifi-cation.

My latest conversation with Tinaon Dec. 30, 2014, went somethinglike this:

Me: I have received a Notice ofEligibility and an FMLA casenumber, but furtherdocumentation was required.

Specialist: You must providefurther documentation byJanuary 4, 2015.

Me: The only furtherinformation required was theDOL WH-380 form in itsentirety.

Specialist: Yes, it must beprovided by January 4, 2015,

but we can grant you anextension.

Me: But my primary carephysician provided all therelevant information on theAPWU FMLA form.

Specialist: You must provide theinformation requested for yourclaim to be certified, but I cangrant you an extension.

Me: But I did provide you allthat information on theapproved APWU form. Shall Isend it to you again?

Specialist: We'll be happy tolook at it but if we've alreadyrequested more information,you will be getting anothernotice stating we request moreinformation.

Me: You've sent me the DOLWH-380 form to be completedin its entirety.

Specialist: That's what youneed to return by 1/4/2015, butwe can offer you an extension.

Do you see how this was going? I'lltry to keep this article shorter than

Union Matters

M a n ye m p l o y e e sare beingasked to holdoff on thebreaks andlunches formany differ-ent reasons.

Remember,managementcannot makeyou hold offyour breakmore than 2hours and 15minutes from your last break. IFTHEY DO, GRIEVE IT for an addi-tional 15 minute break. (If it contin-ues, go for 15 minutes paid at 11/2 times base pay rate, or over-time rate). After managementloses a few of these grievancesthey should stop the practice.

The same goes for your lunch. Per

the local - you HAVE TO take alunch no later than your 6th hour ofwork, if you’re scheduled to workat least 7.92 hours in your shift.So, take it.

By holding off your lunch andbreaks who do you benefit?

The boss who's screaming to keepthe production numbers up? Thesupervisor who's pushing to getthe carriers out earlier?

If they are more worried aboutnumbers, do you think they reallycare enough about you or the con-tract to actually do what is rightand put their employees first?

Remember if you don't stand upfor yourself, no one will. If you’refollowing the rules (and I mean thecontract, not some made up rulesfrom a supervisor), the Union willhave your back.

Taking BreaksAnd Lunch

Joe FracekMotor VehicleCraft Director

Ft. MyersLead Steward

Page FieldSWFAL APWU

know their rights. Please take thetime to read your LMOU today.

SWFAL-APWU INSTALLATIONOF OFFICERS

Thanks to all of those who cameout to our Installation of Officersfollowing last month's UnionMeeting. Also, thanks to ourNational Business Agent MichaelSullivan who came down fromTampa to swear us in.

Danny Carinci did a great job innegotiating food and drinks fromPublix for the installation lunch-eon. It is difficult to find someonewho is as dedicated as Danny ashe is truly appreciated by our local.

It is my hope that we can accom-plish more things during the nexttwo years. There is so much goingon in each office. We need everymember filing grievances whenmanagement violates the contract.It seems like some of the employ-ees we represent believe it is theSteward, E-Board Member, orUnion's job to do all of the work incorrecting violations of the con-tract. Everyone must help policingthe contract.

If you see a violation, please ask tosee you Union Steward!

LOCAL MEMORANDUMOF UNDERSTANDING(LMOU)Continued from Page 1

JOINTODAY!


Every organization reflects itsleader. The leader sets the moodand the direction of the organiza-tion, either by direction or by allow-ing things to happen, effectivelygiving up their leadership, by igno-rance, sloth, inaptitude, or by prov-ing that the Peter Principle is aliveand well.

Look around you anywhere in theplant, it is chaos; there is no plan.There is no guidance, no instruc-tion, and in the absence of instruc-tion, anything you do is right,because there is no wrong.

Does no one care or does no onehave the ability to bring order outof the ever increasing mess thatwe are working in? Gone is theone thing that we could be proudof, no matter how much we mighthave griped at the time, was thatwe lived up to one of our dearestgoals. WE delivered EVERYPIECE-EVERY DAY! Managementwent for the new norm, the basiccore which seems to be: You willget it - when we feel like giving it toyou - like it was an open bar, at anex-loves wedding!!!

When the new norms went intoeffect, along with the new hoursand tours make up, what wasalready a mess turned into a dis-aster area. A tow motor operator,or a fork lift with a load you need todrop, just find and empty spot andfill it up; apples, oranges, it doesn't

matter; we are now into fruit salad.An example; a cage of fiber tubs(we no longer have cardboard, itjust doesn't sound green), wasdropped behind the 'swim lanes',just dropped at an angle, it wasthere Monday night. Comes today,Sunday, it is still there, unmoved.Virtually outside the MDO office, inthe east aisle, suddenly, and for noapparent reason, comes a line ofGPCs, and to legitimize their pres-ence a new row of yellow safetydots.

How a person in management, atany level, can walk into the mainfloor of the plant and not feel adegree of shame is beyond me.Can this lack of caring be the rea-son, when they say that the onlyplace in the country that a supervi-sor can transfer into is Fort Myers?Is this because we have no stan-dards whatsoever, and that we willtake anyone because manage-ment just doesn't' care one way oranother?

There is one thing in the entireplant that seems too precious . . .the beloved PARS area, the Postalholy of holies.

We have just had anotherChristmas season. What I havejust said is politically incorrect, so ifyour copy of The Eagle’s Eye issnatched from your hand by thePolitical Correction Police, I apolo-gize to you, but not to the world.

opening line.

The Postal Service did a lot ofadvertising, print, television, mail-ings about our services that weoffered, and with a high emphasison our Priority service.

Now comes the Christmas tree,put up and on display in the mainmaintenance area on the workroom floor, behind a yellow safetypipe and a table; making it theMaintenance Tree. It would havebeen better served if they had putit near the Priority Belt; most clerksand mail handlers worked the pri-ority mail this year, and what theywere doing would be later translat-ed into gifts all over the SouthwestFlorida area, bringing happiness tothousands who had no idea whathad been done on their behalf. Thetree would have been a nice touch.

Late Note: Talking about the newway of doing things, at 0530, 25January 2015, there were 12GPCs of First Class Mail at the NoRead Line.

The Melinda Twotrees Award goesto all those Supervisors who allowthe stupidity that makes this plantstay in business simply because itis part of the government, and notan actual competing business. Thesaddest thing is that they might bedoing their best.

Isaac Yost

This year was the worst that I haveseen in the plant. There was noreal spirit in the plant. The mainbulletin board, no Christmas bor-der, and the pictures that did makeit to the board were pitifully few,and a number of them were takendown in a few days. In fact the bul-letin board once had pictures ofnew babies, accomplishments ofchildren and families, even vaca-tion pictures, now it seems that I'mthe only one who posts anything.Isn't there another SandyCunningham in the Post Officesystem?

The season in the past was a timeof food, much food, crock pots, chili,stews, hot, hot dogs, homemadeand store bought pies, cakes andcookies. This year a mouse didn'thave to worry about his waist line.

I talked to a young mail handler, itwas her second season here, shesaid how impressed she had beenlast year by the way people hadgone all out with food, given towho ever came by, the lights, thedecorations, even the silly hats,and such, and now this year thefood was lean, the decorationsnonexistent and the mood gener-ally somber. Remember the open-ing line, and those of you whowere here the first year of thisPlant Manager, when she said NOFOOD ON THE WORKROOMFLOOR? There is a sad lack ofmorale in the plant, again the

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

One of the big problems that I seepostal workers face is the sameone we have faced for a number ofyears now, that being, leadershipat the top of our organization.

Postmaster Donahoe may begone, but the damage he inflictedon the USPS and the Americanpeople remains. He has left behinda crippled USPS and it is going totake real leadership at the top toturn things around.

Do we have that leadership now?It’s beginning to look like we donot. One of the first things thatneeds to be done is to immediate-ly enact a moratorium on theplanned closing of processingplants around the country. In addi-tion, the delivery standards shouldbe reinstated to their previousrequirements. Finally, the ridicu-lous pre-funding burden placed onthe USPS should be eliminated.

I hear few voices among our elect-ed officials proposing these solu-tions. I don’t recall during the lastelection hearing candidates pro-posing to eliminate affordable andreliable postal service from the

American people. Why not? It isnot a winning issue, that’s why!And they know it!

We have candidates running inevery election, talking aboutwatching out for the American peo-ple, working to bring about morejobs for the American people, help-ing to get the economy goingagain. Dismantling the USPSdoesn’t work to bring about any ofthese promises.

Candidates solicit our support andvotes, then go to Washington, D.C.and forget about “we the people”.

Taxpayer dollars were used to bailout banks and large corporations.We were told that they needed oursupport.

Where is the support for postalworkers? They aren’t asking for ataxpayer bailout. They are simplyasking to be allowed do their job,and do it well. Where is the USPSleadership? They should be work-ing to repair the Donahoe damage.Are they?

Kathy Moyer, Editor

New YearSame Problems


Your ElectedOfficials

President Barack ObamaWeb Site:

www.whitehouse.govE-mail:

[email protected]: 202-456-1414

Fax: 202-456-2461Capital Address:

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NWWashington, DC 20500

Senator Bill NelsonWeb Site:

www.billnelson.senate.govE-mail:

[email protected]: 202-224-5274


716 Hart Senate OfficeBuilding

Washington, DC 20510-0905District Office:

Tallahassee, FLDistrict Phone: 850-942-8415

Senator Marco RubioPhone: 202-224-3041


524 Hart Senate OfficeBuilding

Washington, DC 20510-0903District Office:

Tallahassee, FLDistrict Phone: 813-207-0509

Our members live in severaldifferent districts. For yourrepresentative’s information, goto www.congress.org. Enteryour zip code and the web sitedoes the rest. You can e-mailmost of your representatives atonce with a click of your mouseat this web site. Their votingrecords are also available here.Check it out! Let them knowhow you feel, it’s your DUTY!

THE EAGLE’S EYE

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Eagle’s Eye is the official pub-lication of the Southwest FloridaArea Local, APWU, AFL-CIO. Theeditor has the right to determinewhether the material submittedshall be printed, and has the rightto edit as needed. It is the policy ofthis newsletter to disallow anyattacks on individuals. Opinionsexpressed are those of the writers,and not necessarily those of theExecutive Board. The deadline forsubmission of all articles is the dayof the monthly membership meet-ing. You must be an APWU mem-ber to submit an article. Name maybe withheld upon request. All arti-cles may be reprinted with propercredit given. Captions/cartoonsmay only be reprinted upon writtenpermission of the editor.

Southwest Florida Area LocalMembership News

We wish to extend our welcome toall new employees coming onboard at the United States PostalService by inviting you to our nextSWFAL APWU meeting at theUnion Hall located at 11000 MetroParkway, Unit 8, in Fort Myers.

Meetings are held once a monthon Sunday at 9:30am. Standstrong and be united, protect yourjob and discover the many benefitsof becoming a member of theSWFAL APWU.

Join us at our next local meeting -united we can make a positive dif-ference in our workplaces. Welook forward to seeing you there!

For those of you that haverecently retired who wish tocontinue receiving The Eagle’sEye newspaper, please email theEditor at [email protected] or callKaren at our SWFAL APWU officeat 239-275-1007.

We encourage members to email

information to the editor regardingmarriages, graduations, specialevents or achievements of ouremployees, or their families.Please email information to TheEagle’s Eye at [email protected] will be pleased to include asmany member announcements aspossible.

SWFAL APWU Executive BoardAnd Trustees Installed

"Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raisedwages, shortened hours and provided supplemental benefits. Throughcollective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have broughtjustice and democracy to the shop floor . . . but their work goes beyondtheir own jobs and even beyond our borders. They have spoken, not fornarrow self-interests, but for the public interest and for the people."

John F. Kennedy35th President of the United States, 1961-1963

EXECUTIVE BOARD AND TRUSTEES OF THE SWFAL APWUINSTALLED ON JANUARY 25, 2015

From Left to right: Daniel Carinci, Trustee, Dave Grant, Trustee, Grace Baer, Trustee,Paul McAvoy, Clerk Craft Director, Kathy Moyer, Editor, The Eagle’s Eye, FeliciaGluhareff, Secretary-Treasurer, Sam Wood, President, Daniel Gray, Vice President, JoeFracek, Motor Vehicle Craft Director and Mickey Szymonik, Maintenance Craft Director.All Executive Board Officers and Trustees will be serving two-year terms. Officiating atthe installation ceremony was Michael Sullivan, APWU National Business Agent, AtlantaRegion Clerk Division.

T O N F A M O THE S F A L A P W U Local Memorandum Of ... · Collective Bargaining Agreement, we have the right to negotiate new language into our Southwest Florida Area Local - Local

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