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Welcome to the Legislative Department for Active & Retired APWU Members.
We will strive to keep all our members, both Active & Retired abreast of all political activities...both State and National... that will affect your lives and that of your families."
Reprinted From Postal Reporter Reader:
The Postal Service will add a new feature (eRetire) to LiteBlue which will provide employees the option of using self-service to begin the retirement process. It is anticipated that this option will become available in late March or early April 2010.
eRetire is a web-based system which allows employees to: 1) View an annuity estimate if they are within (5) years of retirement. 2) Download a retirement packet or order a retirement packet to be mailed. 3) Begin the retirement process by selecting the desired retirement date
eRetire does not replace the option of contacting HRSSC to begin the retirement process or discussing individual questions with a specialist before or during the process.
IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY ACTION REQUESTED: Caall your Senators Today at 1 866-838-9757 & tell them to PASS the JOBS FOR MAIN STREET ACT (H.R. 2847). The U.S. Hours has taken a good first step toward addressing the jobs crisis...Now the Senate must act. This bill invests $154 billion to: 1. Extend lifeline unemployment benefits, health care assistance & food aid to people who have lost jobs. 2. Rebuild and repair crumbling schools, roads, low-income housing & clean water systems. 3. Help State and Local Governments hire or save jobs for 150,000 teachers and 5,000 police officers. 4. Get job-creating credit flowing to small business. 5. Cut taxes for 16 million families with children. We will need much more to turn around the jobs crisis...but this is 1st good step.
BE AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING NEW REGULATIONS for getting either a NEW DRIVER'S LICENSE or RENEWING AN OLD DRIVER'S LICENSE. As of the 1st of the year, you will now be REQUIRED to show proof of IDENTIFICATION, proof of SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER, and proof of your HOME ADDRESS. In order to do so you will need to submit the following: A CERTIFIED copy of your Birth Certificate (or Passport); Social Security Card; Two Government/Utility Proof of Address forms (such as a TAX BILL, ELECTRIC BILL, WATER BILL, TELEPHONE BILL); and if you are taking a driving test...Your Auto Registration & Proof of Insurance. Meanwhile for women who have taken their husbands name you will need a Certified Copy of your Marriage Certtificate. And if you have been divorced (and kept your married name) and then remarried...a copy of the divorce decree and new marriage certifcate. As you can see it can get complicated. As I understand it, renewals would be allowed a one-time "convenience" renewal option by either internet or mail...after that, you must request your license in person at a driver's license or tax collector's office, at which time you will be required to provide the required documentation...so now is the time to get ready!!
USE AMERICAN PRODUCTS....KEEP AMERICA STRONG!! Bill to Limit Postal Subcontracting Introduced in House: Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) introduced legislation in the House of Representatives on March 24 that would restrict USPS subcontracting. The Mail Protection Act (H.R. 1686), which is backed by the APWU, is modeled on a bill the Congressman introduced in November 2007 (H.R. 4236). The bill would require the Postal Service to bargain with postal unions before engaging in significant subcontracting, and would require the USPS to submit to arbitration if management and the affected unions were unable to reach agreement. It would apply to any private contract involving mail processing, mail handling, or surface transportation of mail, provided that over a 12-month period the contract involved the equivalent of $5 million or 50 work-years.
WHERE TO BUY AMERICAN GASOLINE!
.Are you aware that the Saudis are boycotting American products? In addition, they are gouging us on oil prices.
Shouldn't we return the favor? Can't we take control of our own destiny and let these giant oil importers know who REALLY generates their profits, their livings? How about leaving American Dollars in America and reduce the import/export deficit?
An appealing remedy might be to boycott their GAS. Every time you fill up your car you can avoid putting more money into the coffers of Saudi Arabia . Just purchase gas from companies that don't import their oil from the Saudis.
Nothing is more frustrating than the feeling that every time I fill up my tank, I'm sending my money to people who want me, my family and my friends dead.
The following gas companies import Middle Eastern oil:
Shell...................... 205,742,000 bbl
Chevron/Texaco...144,332,000 bbl
Exxon Mobil............130,082,000 bbl
Marathon/Speedway.117,740,000 bbl
Amoco......................62,231,000 bbl
CITGO oil is from Venezuela, the "President" is Dictator Hugo Chavez who openly hates America and vows to cause our economic destruction! (We pay Chavez's regime nearly $10 Billion per year in oil revenues!)
The U.S. currently imports 5,517,000 barrels of crude oil per day from OPEC. If you do the math at $70 per barrel, (today's price) that's over $386 million PER DAY ($141 BILLION per year!) handed over to OPEC, many of whose members are our confirmed enemies!!!!!
It won't stop here - oil prices could go to $200 a barrel or higher if we're not careful and keep buying their products.
Here are some large companies that do not import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco.…........................ 0 barrels
Conoco...…...................... 0 barrels
Sinclair....…..................... 0 barrels
BP / Phillips…................. 0 barrels
Hess................................ 0 barrels
ARC0.…............................ 0 barrels
Maverick…....................... 0 barrels
Flying J…......................... 0 barrels
Valero.............................. 0 barrels
All of this information is available from the U.S. Department of Energy and each company is required to state where they get their oil and how much they are importing
“This legislation is vital,” said APWU President William Burrus, “especially in light of the Postal Service’s recent financial difficulties. There is no justification for continued subcontracting while postal employees and equipment are under-utilized. The requirement to bargain will enhance our ability to oppose wasteful, inefficient and detrimental subcontracting. Too often, contracting out ends up costing the Postal Service more money than if the work were performed by postal employees, and contractors’ service to the public is poor.”
Rep. Lynch is to be applauded for introducing this bill, which will be beneficial for the Postal Service, postal workers, and the American public. We must all work together to help gain co-sponsors for the legislation, and to win support for a companion bill in the Senate.
With that in mind, I am again asking every APWU member to contact your Legislatures & request that they sign on to co-sponsor H.R. 1686.
WHY WE NEED THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT: It will level the playing field that today leaves all the power in the hands of corporations, not workers, by:
- Allowing Employees to freely choose whether to form unions & recognizing them for representation when it is verified a majority has signed authorization cards.
- Establishing stronger penalties for violations of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to bar companies from intimidating, harassing-even firing-workers who want to form unions.
- Providing for mediation and arbitration of first-contract disputes.
Unions have made passage of the Employee Free Choic Act a top priority for this year because it is the key to good wages, benefits, a voice in the workplace and the amplified political voice unions bring workers. In 2007, the U.S. House passed the measure and it had majority support in the Senate. But a minority killed it in the Senate with a filibuster, emboldened by President George W. Bush's promis to veto the legislation. Now we have elected a new Congress that has promised to be beside us in this fight and a president who has promised to sign the Employee Free Choice Act.
WHY SHOULD ALL UNION MEMBERS SUPPORT THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT:
- It doesn't just matter for workers who are trying to form a union...when more workers are in unions, workers have the strength in numbers that they need to demand good wages and good benefits across communities and industries. That helps all workers bargain for better contracts and counter balance corporate power.
- While we are the lucky ones, there are more than 60 million workers who do not have a union, and would join one if they could, but under existing law, corporations essentially have a veto over the process.
Help your family members, friends, neighbors and our children who otherwise might not have the opportunity to reap the benefits that we sometimes take for granted.
WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS TODAY OR CALL TOLL FREE 1-888-460-0813 AND ASK THEM TO SUPPORT THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT
Yours in Union Solidarity,
David Bernstein
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