PRESIDENTS REPORT
Brothers and sisters, it has come to my attention that there is a lot of bad information being tossed around out there about the consolidations that are going on in our district. At our last meeting, I was asked about this, and at that, time had no knowledge of what was happening regarding these issues. I was in contact with our business agent daily, who also had no information as well. I can now report after having a meeting with the new district manager, and presidents from our district, along with the three business agents from the regions affected, what is actually going on with these mergers. According to the district manager, the offices affected at this time are those offices who currently reside in the same building as another office. In our branch, the affected offices are Mt. Ephraim who is under the same roof as Camden, Voorhees, and Marlton who are in the same building, and Stratford and Somerdale as well. There has not been a time frame as to when all the changes are to happen, so anyone who is putting out information on this is not accurate. We have been told we will be kept up to date when all the changes are going to happen. As soon as information is available, I will let everyone know. So do not listen to the whispers of your managers, they do not have any more info than we do.
The next issue I need to alert everyone on is the latest and greatest form management is using on our members. Local management has devised a homemade form entitled the Employee Daily Performance Worksheet. I am sure some of you have already been beaten up with this form, but the district manager states that is not what this form should be used for. She states it is another more simplified form for the supervisor to use to manage. We shall see! I will be instructing all stewards to monitor the use of these forms and how local management is using them. If they try to use these forms as a way of determining your office and street time through DOIS projections we must grieve these actions since they violate the DOIS memorandum.
One last thing I need to mention is the election for National Business Agent in our region. You will be receiving your official ballots in the mail sometime in early October. You need to vote and exercise your right to do so. As stated in last month’s newsletter, candidate Michael Stanton, will be in attendance to address the membership. We also extended an invitation to current Business Agent Bill Lucini to attend, but do to prior commitments he will not be able to attend. One issue I must address is the treatment that Brother Michael Stanton, who is running for Business Agent, has received from some of the Branches in our region. As a Union Brother, he has asked many Branches to come and speak at their branch meetings to address the membership and speak about what he envisions for this Union if he is elected. He has been turned down to speak at these meetings, which I believe is a total lack of respect to a Union Brother. Shame on those branches who acted this way. One thing Branch 908 has always been proud of is we do not treat anyone any differently no matter what they stand for. We would never refuse a brother or sister the right to speak at our meeting if they so requested. It is not a matter of whom you support, but it is matter of doing what is right! Hope to see a good turnout at this month’s meeting.
Gary DiGiacomo – President
Next Meeting – October 20
The next regular monthly meeting of the Branch will be held on Wednesday, October 20, 8 p.m., at the American Legion Hall, 502 Colonial Ave., North Woodbury. The regular monthly meetings of the Branch are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 8 p.m.
The Branch Board of Officers and Executive Board meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month. The Board of Officers meets at 7:30 p.m. and the Executive Board meet at 8 p.m. The next meeting of the Board of Officers and Executive Board will be on Wednesday, October 13, 7:30 and 8 p.m. respectively.
Attendance Prize Now Stands At $200
Had he been in attendance at the regular monthly meeting of the Branch on Wednesday, September 17, Felix Bocchicchio, a member out of the Mt. Ephraim Office, would have been the recipient of the $175 attendance prize. The prize now increases to $200 and will increase $25 per meeting, up to a maximum of $250, until a member in attendance has their name drawn.
Health Benefits
OPEN SEASON runs Monday, November 8, 2010 through Monday, December 13, 2010 (Postal employees – December 14, 2010)
OPTICAL PLAN: copy of bill should be mailed to Fred Mendel, 5 Payne Ave, Runnemede, NJ 08078. Any questions Phone 856 -933- 2659.
Fred Mendel – HBR
Chairman of the Board of Trustees Report
Brothers and Sisters, it is that time of the year again, Election time. Please exercise your right to vote, whether you are voting in a national election for your congressional representative, or a local election for your town council, or even a NALC union election. Our union fought hard for “one man one vote,” so take the time to vote when you receive your ballot. In other branch business, I need a list of any branch assets that any officer or steward has in his/her possession please get back to me with this info as soon as possible, also the branch has nice clean uniforms free of charge at the hall. Contact me for more info.
James Comuso, Sr.
Branch President and Vice President Cell Phone Numbers
President- Gary DiGiacomo – 856-906-2838
Vice- President- Steve Rutkowski- 856-906-2026
Grievance Log
Step A Decisions
Somerdale – Management violated Article 8 of the J-CAM. Carriers awarded $1337.25 as a remedy.
Somerdale – Management violated Article 8 of the J-CAM. Carriers awarded $710.14, as a remedy.
Marlton – Management violated Article 8 of the J-CAM. 16 carriers to receive 19 hours at the overtime rate for the violation. Approximate value $760.00.
Haddon Heights – Letter of Demand for $1270.46 issued to grievant shall be rescinded.
Marlton – Management violated Article 15 of the J-CAM when they failed to process payments agreed to in 3 separate local grievances. As a remedy, local management is directed to process these payments within 7 days of this decision. (Please note these adjustments have been processed.)
Westville -Management was in violation of the National Agreement when they required the grievant medical documentation for his absence. As a remedy, the carrier will receive a payment of $50.00 as reimbursement for time and travel incurred due to this violation.
Westville – Management was in violation of the Article 10 of the J-CAM and Section 513 of ELM. As a remedy, the carrier will receive a payment of $50.00 as reimbursement of the time and travel incurred due to this violation.
Westville – Management did not show just cause in issuing grievant a letter of warning. Letter of warning shall be rescinded.
Bill Lucini, NALC National Business Agent, Region 12, Sends Regrets
National Business Agent, Bill Lucini, who was extended an invitation to come out to the next regular monthly meeting of the Branch on October 20 to campaign for his re-election to the position of Business Agent, Region 12 of the National Association of Letter Carriers, called to thank the Branch for its invitation, and to express his profound regrets over not being able to attend that meeting because he had been assigned by the National Office to be out of State on that date to attend another NALC function. Lucini was extended an invite to address the membership at the October 20 monthly meeting of the Branch after his opponent for the position, Mike Stanton, had requested and been granted the opportunity to address the Branch members in attendance at the September 15 Branch meeting. The NALC has announced that ballots for the election of National Business Agent will be mailed out on or about October 7 or 8, for return no later than October 27.
Bill Revak, Past President
Dates to Remember 2011
January 9 – January 11 – NJ Merged Annual Training Seminar
February 27 – March 1 – Region 12 Annual Training Seminar
March 22 – March 24 – NJ State Congressional Breakfast
April 9 – Branch Retiree Banquet
June 26 – June 28 – NJ State Convention
*Attention*
Please remember to give any changes of address to your Steward so that you can continue to receive the Branch Newsletter and other important information. Or send changes to Mike Powell, Recording Secretary at: 908Recordingsec@comcast.net or P.O. Box 375, Gloucester City, NJ 08030
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Senator Collins Questions “Unbelievable” Perks for Postal Executives
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Postal Service pays 100 percent of health insurance premiums for 835 of its top employees, an expensive perk that occurs at no other federal agency, Senator Susan Collins, Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, confirmed Friday.
The additional information comes one day after Senator Collins released the findings of three investigations of the Postal Service (USPS) by the Postal Inspector General (IG), which she had requested to determine whether the agency could realize additional efficiencies and cost savings in three areas: employee benefits, purchasing policies, and the area and district field office structure.
Upon further questioning of the IG’s office on Friday, Senator Collins learned that as of June 4, 2010, the USPS was paying 100 percent of health benefit premiums for 835 employees. The perk covers employees in the following categories: Postal Career Executives, Executive & Administrative, Other Executives levels, Postal Regulatory Commission, and Office of Inspector General Directors. She also confirmed that no other federal agency pays 100 percent of employee health insurance premiums.
“It is unbelievable to me that the Postal Service – awash in red ink and asking for huge postal rate hikes, service reductions and relief from its financial obligations – is paying the full health care premiums for its top executives,” said Senator Collins, whose committee has oversight jurisdiction of the Postal Service.
The findings of the audits released yesterday illustrated stunning evidence of contract mismanagement, ethical lapses, financial waste, and excessive executive perks that cost the Postal Service more than $800 million a year in unnecessary costs.
Among the disturbing deficiencies uncovered by the IG are that:
- The USPS awarded 359 contracts to former Postal Service executives without competition. In three cases that the IG examined most closely, the former employees were hired at nearly twice their former pay to advise new executives, a practice which the IG found raised serious ethical concerns and hurts employee morale;
- The Postal Service pays 100 percent of its senior executives’ health benefits, a perk that is not provided to comparable employees in any federal agency;
- Postal employees participate in many of the same health insurance and life insurance programs as federal employees, yet the Postal Services pays a greater share of the premiums;
- The Postal Service’s contract management did not protect the USPS from waste, fraud, and abuse;
- The Postal Service could not even identify how many contracts were awarded without competition, and the IG found that 35 percent of the no-bid contracts lacked justification; and
- Significant savings could be achieved by consolidating the USPS’s area and district field offices.
Mike Powell, Recording Secretary