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NBAs CORNER
CHUCK LOCKE, SONIA CANCHOLA, FABIOLA DOMINGUEZ, MIKE HETTICHER
We Are at WarMake no mistakes about it; we are in the battle of our lifetime. Not only for the protection of the
Postal Service but for the survival of the working class in America. As you know, the new
Postmaster general comes to us from FedEx. Tell me this is not a conflict of interest. If you read
the Wells Fargo Report on the privatization of the Postal Service, the billionaires what to
privatize us so they can buy stock in FedEx and UPS and make billions when their stock prices
go up after we are gone. The billionaire class in our country do not care what happens to you and
your family. They just want more. Amazon has contracted to build eight hundred new processing
plants in rural America to absorb our package business. They are telling major mailers to drop off
their packages with them and they will deliver them cheaper and quicker than the Postal Service.
The billionaire class wants to privatize the profitable portions of the Postal Service while leaving
the rest behind. They plan on privatizing one portion of the business at a time until they can
convince the public that the Postal Service is no longer necessary. The question is what are YOU
going to do about it and whose side are you on! Are you willing to fight for your job, your family
and the working class in our country or are you going to just stand by and let the billionaires and
the Republicans take it all away? History will hold you accountable for your actions or lack of
action.
Congress is currently debating a Republican bill that will hurt every federal employee who is on
FERS retirement. The bill will replace the High 3-year FERS annuity calculation with a High 5-
year calculation, resulting in a reduced retirement for all FERS employees. It will eliminate the
Social Security Supplement which would deny eligible retirees the supplemental payments used
to bridge the gap before their full retirement age of sixty-two. It would also increase the amount
you have to contribute to your FERS retirement to 4.4% while you will receive a lower
retirement annuity. The APWU had asked every member to contact their congressional
representatives pertaining to this issue on our national call day. We have over 250,000 members
but only 750 phone calls were made. This only goes to show your congressional representatives
that you are okay with them stealing your retirement so they can give tax breaks to their
billionaire donors. They will not be afraid to screw you and your family over if you do not make
the call. We may not win but if we do not fight, we will certainly lose!
If this Republican “Big Beautiful Bill” is so great, ask them why the Republicans brought this
bill forward at one o’clock in the morning. This bill will kick 14 million Americans off Medicare
and millions will pay more for their healthcare, 5 million Americans will lose food assistance, it
will shut down rural hospitals and steal from the poorest and most needy among us to give
trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the suffering billionaires in our country. It will add 4
TRILLION dollars to our national debt to give huge tax breaks for the richest among us. I find
this cruel and immoral as a society and this should not happen in our country. This bill is simply
a transfer of wealth from the poorest in our country to the richest among us. It is time to stand up,
speak out and fight back before it is too late!
I encourage you to check how your congressional representatives voted on this bill and see if
they stood with you and the working class in their district or they stood with billionaires. Then
you need to hold them accountable and vote them out if they voted against your interest. We hold
all the power if we utilize it at the ballot box. Look at their voting records instead of just listening
to their bullshit commercials at election time. I have listened to my congressperson claim he
supports Medicare, Social Security, Veterans Rights and Benefits while he votes against all of it.
Lip service is what we get if we do not verify what they are telling us. These are challenging
times and we are all busy but you need to get involved with your Union, your community and
fight to preserve the working class and to keep morality alive in our country.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful summer. Stay safe and remember to join a protest
in your area and call your congressional representatives often about issues that affect you and
your family.
In Solidarity,
Chuck Locke,
National Business Agent
Clerk Craft, SF Region
Where Is My Grievance?
The NBAs deal with numerous grievances on a wide range of issues. Some are more complex than others and require more discussion and attention. We are not simply going to agree on everything with our USPS Step 3 representative so that we don’t have a backlog of grievances pending arbitration. Just like at the local level, management can just deny grievances all the way to arbitration. If that means certifying every case for arbitration because Management won’t see the language in the contract for what it is, then so be it. “Your NBAs will not sell out the membership simply to reduce the number of cases pending arbitration”
It’s a Management Problem
How about we call it what it is? It’s a management problem! Your NBAs have had numerous Labor/Management meetings at the Area and District levels and have continuously voiced their concerns over the lack of good faith bargaining by the Postal Service. The Postal Service’s blatant disregard for the CBA and signed settlements has been voiced at every meeting, but management’s violations continue.
New ApproachThe National Clerk Craft Director, Lamont Brooks, has done an amazing job working with the Clerk Craft NBAs on all the current issues. We appreciate Lamont’s leadership and aggressive actions to protect our Clerk Craft work, as well as Lamont’s leadership and wisdom for holding the line on rejecting a 25-year-old ineffective policy that mirrors the desires of USPS management, which limits our ability to react to the new reality of DeJoy's tenure. We are encouraged and emboldened by the leadership of the Clerk Division and hope the old guard understands that the current reality requires a new approach and the ability to face management in a variety of ways.
If there is an issue with the grievance/arbitration process, our Clerk Crafty Director Lamont Brooks is fully capable of addressing situations as they arise. We are all united in our fight against PMG Dejoy and his efforts to dismantle our service and destroy us from within. Within our Union there have been recent deliberations regarding arbitration scheduling and assignments. The APWU constitution assigns such tasks to the National Business Agents. Talks of moving these duties to others were a throwback to how things were done over 20 years ago. We as National Business Agent would just like to recognize and acknowledge the support of President Mark Dimondstein and Clerk Craft Director Lamont Brooks in rejecting these policies and look forward to any discussion on improving both our internal processes and our dealings with the USPS.
Clerk Craft Director Lamont Brooks is doing an outstanding job supporting us in our efforts to protect our work and supporting the National Business Agents in efforts to resolve our members' grievances as expeditiously as possible.
Arbitration Date SelectionUnder the JASS (Joint Arbitration Scheduling System), the NBAs and their management counterparts pick
and choose hearing dates based upon the dates the arbitrators give us. The parties have to jointly agree to schedule arbitration dates. So even when your NBAs chose 5 dates a month, management still has to agree to our selections. Management will never pick 5 APWU dates a month as they also have to schedule cases with the Letter Carriers, Mail Handler, and Rural Letter Carriers Unions. This backlog is nothing new. There was a backlog of cases pending arbitration before your NBAs started scheduling arbitrations with JASS and there will continue to be a backlog of grievances until managers are individually held accountable for their violations of our Collective Bargaining Agreement.
If you have filed a grievance and have questions or concerns, please don’t bother your Clerk Craft Director Lamont Brooks. Lamont is working hard with National Contract Negotiations starting soon and is leading the fight to protect our Clerk Craft work. Your National Business Agents are responsible for the grievance activity in accordance with the APWU National Constitution and we will be glad to answer your questions or concerns anytime.In Solidarity,
Clerk Craft National Business Agents Western Region Chuck Locke & Mike Heticher (650) 685-7404Sonia Canchola-Apodaca & Fabiola Dominguez (626) 585-1404
Brian Dunn NBA & Brian Dunsmore (503) 252-9200
A WORD FROM OUR W.R.C.
"DEJOY TO QUIT", WHAT THIS MEANS FOR POSTAL WORKERS
DeJoy is set to quit after many failures, Early Retirement, Privatization and more from a new article by Omar M. Gonzalez, our Western Regional Coordinator. Please share with all brothers and sisters.
POSTAL WORKER WEST FEBRUARY 2025
Omar Gonzalez, Wester Regional Coordinator
TOGETHER, WE CAN!
HATCH ACT INFO
Hello APWU members, retiree members, and auxiliary members,
The link below is a Hatch Act fact sheet, we hope you continue to stand in solidarity with us as we fight for the betterment of Postal Workers and their families
APIS
POSTAL/FEDERAL EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SPECIALIST
APIS...ONE STEP AHEAD SINCE 1988
American Payroll Insurance Services provides APWU members with valuable benefits and services including CSRS and FERS retirement calculations, TSP counseling, financial planning, FEGLI evaluation and retirement applications review (Blue book).
APIS also provides TSP Counseling Workshops for APWU Locals as well as individual off the job benefits such as Dental and Vision Plans, Life insurance, Cancer policies, IRA’s and Annuities.
For more information about APIS services or to schedule a workshop for your local, Please, contact:
- Alain Gatignol (619) 887-3510 – ag@feasc.com or
- Kenny Gatignol- (619) 709-3258 – kennyg@feasc.com or
- Office: 1-888-647-8777
- Website: www.feasc.com
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