What do you do when you see a violation of the contract? You ask your supervisor for a Steward. See a violation, ask for a Steward. See a violation, ask for a Steward. Repeatedly, over and over again. We need to make this an ingrained part of our culture.
The Local Union is currently conducting an organizing drive to recruit Mail Handlers and MHAs who do not belong to the Union. We are requesting the help of every Member to enroll non-members. A list of Mail Handlers and MHA’s who are not Members of the Union is available from your Steward. An 1187 form to sign them up is available at your Branch office and on this website. Use this form to sign up the non-member and provide the completed form to your Union Representative.
The Local Executive Board has adopted a proposal which provides an additional $75.00 for each non-member enrolled in the Union. This is in addition to the $25.00 already provided for in the Bylaws of Local 323. Consequently, any current Member signing up a non-member will receive a check in the amount of $100.00 for each non-member they enroll. This will continue for the duration of the organizing drive.
Peak season is in the rearview mirror, and we’ve begun looking at some of the results. Predictably, one of the usual results is that many Mail Handlers have been receiving payments for management performing our work. The Officers and Representatives in the Branch offices worked particularly hard to enforce our contract during this chaotic time. They deserve the thanks of all Mail Handlers for their efforts.
As peak season fades away, the new year approaches. A couple locations experienced volume, but in other places, peak season wasn’t much more than a blip on the radar. Year after year, fiscal quarter after fiscal quarter, the Postal Service continues to report across-the-board declines in mail volume. Each peak season this is becoming more apparent.
Peak season is upon us once again. In the past this has meant a time of operational chaos resulting from an overwhelming volume which required everyone to go above and beyond to process the Mail. Although currently, I’m not sure whether the chaos of peak season will be any different from the chaos which ensues daily. Indeed, operational chaos resulting from managerial ineptitude has become the order of the day 365 days a year. Will anyone even notice a difference during peak season?
The Postmaster General’s 10-Year Plan continues to be implemented in more locations across the country. This implementation involves a redesignation of facilities and the reconfiguring of operations within these facilities to supposedly create more efficiency throughout the Postal network. Current Network Distributions Centers are being converted into a Regional Processing and Distribution Center (RPDC), while current Processing and Distribution Centers are being converted into a Local Processing Center (LPC) or some other type of facility.
