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                        NEWSLETTER OF THE NJI&BMC BRANCH OF LOCAL 300

                                        “LETS TURN IT AROUND”             

   VOLUME 17, NO.9                                                        80 COUNTY ROAD J.C.N.J 7097

   JUNE 5, 2001                                                                (201) 653-1767, IN HOUSE 5082,5083

   GRADY R. FITZGERALD, BRANCH PRESIDENT        FAX NUMBER  (201) 714-4869

                             BRANCH WEB SITE ADDRESS                                               

                           http://www.l300nji-bmcbranch.org/

         CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS!!!!!

The number one question and topic among Mail Handlers on the floor is what’s the status of the contract?????

Stewards and Branch Presidents are constantly being besieged with inquiries about the status of the contract.

This puts us in a very difficult position as there is very little information being filtered down to us from the National Union. I’m a Branch President and I can’t honestly say where we are with negotiations. Our contract has expired six months ago.

Unofficially, we have been told that neither the Mail Handlers Union nor the APWU are anxious to be the first to go thru the arbitration process. Apparently, the APWU National Elections are coming up and Candidate for President and Chief APWU negotiator Bill Burrus isn’t anxious to have a unpopular arbitrators decision come out before his election. But that’s an APWU issue. As for the Mail Handler Union, we should be moving forward! Quinn argued against Joint Bargaining saying that we could do better on our own.

Well, let’s get the show on the road!

I would think that we would be pushing and shoving to go before the APWU. I’m worried that the APWU, which is facing massive jobs losses, might put job security before wage increases.

Our situation is a little different. There is currently a shortage of Mail Handlers. Our members want and deserve a significant wage increase. I’m fearful that the longer we wait the greater the danger will be that any wage increase will not be made retroactive to November of 2000. This would be tragic, as the cost of living has been soaring as our wages are frozen. The Postal Service will certainly argue that any large cost of living increases accrued since the last contract expired in November of 2000 should offset the need for any general wage increase. If you will recall, not to long ago in one of the APWU contract settlements they were given bonuses in place of a retroactive wage increase. We certainly would oppose that. But the longer the delay the more we have to potentially lose.

So again I say lets get the show on the road.

In a recent article written by Jim Bertolone, President of the Rochester, NY Central Labor Council and President of APWU Local 215.

He raised several interesting points. For one, he pointed out that in the Western New York District, there was one Executive, Manager or Supervisor for every nine craft workers. The worst Manager to worker ratio in any industry! He also noted that currently there are Management teams roaming the country looking for ways for the Postal Service to reduce or cut craft jobs! He also pointed out that 23 cents out of every Postal dollar is attributed to management costs!

Clearly Brother Bertolone, raises some very interesting points. However the most interesting of all the points that he raised in his article was his statement on preferred rate discounts given to large mailers. What he is referring to here is the big discounts given to mailers who presort their mail.

According to the article, Economists estimate that these discounts to the presort industry amount to a loss of revenue to the Postal Service of $10,000,000.000 a year!!!

That’s 10 billion_dollars a year in lost revenue!!!!

This may very well be the only plan put into action by Postal Executives that has ever achieved its goal. A plan to cut revenue by 10 billions dollars a year!

This plan has single handedly resulted in the current financial crisis in which the Postal Service finds itself. They planned for it. Gave financial incentives to ensure that it would work. Then when it succeeded, and we wound up in the red.

They blamed the crisis on the high cost of labor and the Internet, can you believe their gall!

I have been warning about the dangers that these presort houses would one day have on us for years. Unfortunately, many Union officials pay little or no attention to issues raised by the rank and file members.

While everyone, was focusing on new automated machinery being brought in the front door. Management was busy shipping the mail out the back door to the presort houses. Now we have all this highly automated machinery and no mail to work on it! Now, it has been no secret that the Postal Service has for years been actively encouraging and giving big discounts to mailers who presorted their mail.  

My question to both National Unions is what were you doing while all these discounts were being given out?

Management made no secret of the fact that they are looking to get out of the Processing and Distribution business.

Did anyone on the National Level ever say, hey that’s where our members work?? Did they ever consider what effect the loss of 10 billion dollars in lost revenue a year would have on us?

In Brother Bartolones’ article it was also noted that since 1995 over 60,000 APWU members lost either one or two pay grades due to automation and in 1999 alone the APWU lost 14,588 jobs.

So I guess you can assume that while Management was distracting and peppering our National leaders with the automation jab, they never saw the overhand knockout punch delivered by Managements presort plan!

Well I guess you can see by now that the APWU is on the ropes and looking desperately for job security. That will or at least should be their number one concern during negotiations.

While, the situation for Mail Handlers isn’t quite as bad as that of the APWU, yet.

Let there be no mistake and let me create no false sense of security for Mail Handlers. It’s the APWU today and us tomorrow. That’s for certain! But as far as this current contract is concerned we should be running to go first before the APWU, we at least have a shot at getting a wage increase for our members.

So lets quit the delaying game and get the show on the road guys. The ranks are getting restless and deservedly so.

 CAN ANYTHING BE DONE STOP THE PROLIFERCATION OF    

                        THE PRESORT INDUSTRY???

Sure something can and should be done. For one thing the National Unions have to start paying closer attention when the Postal Service submits a rate increase proposal. This is where they slip in the discounts to the big mailers (Corporate Welfare) They have to hire Economists to evaluate the long and short term effect these discounts will have on the overall ability of the Postal Service to maintain the high service standards to which the American people have come to expect from the Postal Service and they also have to see what effect these discounts will have on the Service’s ability to provide Universal Service to each and every citizen.

Secondly, the Unions have to point out that the Postal Service with it’s many Processing and Distribution plants located in virtually every big metropolitan area in the country, play a vital role in the economic health of these communities. Postal jobs with their Union wages and benefits have played a long term and vital role in many communities by providing badly needed jobs to the inner cities.

These Postal Service Processing and Distribution Plants and the jobs provided by them, play vital roles in the economic health of the communities in which they are located. Any loss or decline of these jobs or any closing of these plants would, without a doubt have a disastrous ripple effect on the communities in which they are located. Many other businesses have become dependent on the workers at these plants for their economic survival.

The presort industry, which currently is not Unionized offers lower wages, little to no benefits to their workers, particularly no health and retirement benefits. This lack of adequate health care coverage adds additional burdens to local communities, as they are required to assume the costs of health care coverage for citizens without it.

The Unions have to play a more active role in getting their members more politically active in their communities. Congressional support for Postal workers and their families is crucial to keep the Postal Service in the Processing and Distribution business. Congress can, if properly pressured carry a big stick and play an important role in Postal affairs.

Third but not least the Unions have to make the public aware of the $10,000,000,000 a year discount that the Postal Service is giving to Corporate America. If the American public knew that they were the only ones paying 34 cents for a stamp while corporations making millions in profits are only paying anywhere from 16 to 25 cents to mail a letter. I think that they’d be on our side.

The battle is not over, the facts and figures are on our side. We just need our National Unions to get involved. At this point we need aggressive leadership.

Leaders, who are willing to pick up the ball and run with it. Who will work for us, the dues paying members.

I’m looking for volunteers to work on a Branch Political Action Committee anyone who’s interested please contact me.

Yours in solidarity,

Grady R. Fitzgerald

NJI-BMC Branch President.

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