Open season is just around the corner and with the new Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) program being implemented, now is the time to consider new health plan options. Open season dates run from November 10th, 2024 through December 8th, 2024. If you haven't considered an APWU Health Plan, now is the time to consider it.

Below is a link for information regarding the new Postal Service Health benefits (PSHB) program which will be replacing the existing FEHB program.

CLICK HERE for new PSHB program information

New and existing members, here is a link to the 2025 APWU Health Plan brochure with all the information and details needed to help choose your new APWU Healthplan. New employees can choose an APWU Health Plan as their provider within the first 30 days of hire.

CLICK HERE to see plan details and options

All federal and postal employees and retirees who are eligible to enroll in the PSHB Program may become members of APWU Health Plan.

NBAs CORNER

CHUCK LOCKE, SONIA CANCHOLA, FABIOLA DOMINGUEZ, MIKE HETTICHER

Elections Have Consequences

Everyone is affected by the results of elections, so why don’t people vote? In California, as well as in our upcoming National Union elections, ballots are mailed right to your home. All you have to do is fill it out and bring it with you when you come to work. It seems simple enough, so why don’t people do it? In the recent past APWU voted for our new collective bargaining agreement, only about 25% of our members nationwide voted. You had to either be for the new contract or against it, so why did almost 75% of our members choose not to vote? In the 2024 Presidential election, 85.9 million eligible voters chose not to vote. This far surpassed the 76.8 million who voted. Many say that their vote doesn’t matter or they don’t care who wins. Some say they don’t have time to vote or I forgot where I put my ballot. We don’t have the luxury of not voting anymore. There is too much to lose if we don’t vote. With the current challenges facing our great nation, I fear for my friends of color, my friends in the LBGT community, a woman’s right to choose, public education, Medicare, social security, status of the post office and many other government agencies as well as hate being normal. Your vote and your voice speaks whether you vote or not. So please stay vigilant and VOTE!

With the ratification of our new collective bargaining agreement, the parties will be opening up Local Memorandums of Understandings (LMOU) for your office. If you have changes you would like to make to your LMOU, now is the time to voice your opinion. Article 30 of the CBA outlines the issues the parties are authorized to discuss. This process will begin in October, so don’t wait.

The postal service is cracking down on discipline as they continue to attempt to reduce their workforce. So, make sure if you are missing work as a result of an injury/illness that is covered by the Family Medical Leave Act, have your doctor fill out the paperwork and get your case approved. Management is prohibited from using FMLA protected leave against you for discipline. Another thing I see all the time is our members say they are aware of all the ELM section's management brings up at their investigative interview when they have never seen them before in their life. Remember this is your interview to defend yourself, so make sure you actually answer the questions. Let management know why you are missing work. Management is required to take the reason for your missing work into consideration before they issue discipline, but if you don’t tell management why you are missing work at your interview, it’s too late to bring that reason up later. In the world we live in today, there are a lot of us suffering with stress, anxiety and depression. These conditions are nothing to be ashamed of and they can be very incapacitating. You should not be afraid to ask for help. Seeking the professional assistance of a doctor or psychologist to assist you with this type of illness is covered under FMLA and could be very beneficial to you and your family. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health.

Ballots will be coming out during the first week of September for the APWU National elections. We will be electing a new national President as well as filling numerous other seats. If you don’t know any of the candidates on the ballot or you have questions on who to vote for, many Locals have endorsed candidates that have done a good job or they believe they will do a good job if elected. Check with your local officers. Your voice and vote matters. Please exercise your right to vote as our new leaders will be representing you and your interests for the next 3 years.

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 Approach

The 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 Selection

Under 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) 685-7404

Sonia 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 JUNE 2025

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

HATCH ACT INFO

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