APWU of Florida

State Business Agent for District 7

View from the Road
February 2010

As State Business Agent for District 7 and Director of Organization for the State of Florida, I am urging those who are not APWU members to join our ranks. In these trying times, we need you to help us recruit non-members so we can have a strong and united voice.

As America's workforce continues to shrink at an alarming rate, the unions nationwide will experience a decline which may likely affect our future.

The APWU is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, a federation of 66 national unions with a combined 13 million members. There are many reasons to be a member of our Union and we must get the message to all non-members about the importance of becoming a member. The APWU is one of the few remaining long-standing unions with approximately 235,000 members. Our current contract has given us some of the largest pay increases (including our cost of living adjustments) that we have ever seen. There has never been a better time to tell non-members what the APWU has done for all of us, including:

• Wages - Regular pay increases, cost of living adjustments, Sunday premium pay, night differential pay, and double time for excessive overtime.

• Benefits - 84% of premiums paid by USPS, basic life insurance fully paid by the USPS, ten paid holidays, generous sick leave and vacation benefits.

• Job Security - Jobs awarded by seniority, training programs to upgrade skills and opportunities, and a negotiated no lay-off clause.

• Representation - Outstanding representation in contract negotiations, effective grievance procedure, and an active legislation program to fight for postal workers on Capitol Hill.

• Union Democracy - Direct elections of all union offices, membership ratification of contracts, opportunities to participate at all levels of the organization.

• Members Only Privileges - APWU MasterCard (with no annual fee, low balance transfer rate, and competitive interest rate), Union Plus discounts (college scholarships, mortgage program, entertainment and theme park discounts, car buying services, etc.), APWU Health Plan, Voluntary Benefits Plan, Accident Benefit Association, and APWU magazine.

In 2010, we will be working toward boosting our Union membership across the state. Working together with a large and unified membership, I believe we can all make a difference. If you need assistance in recruiting a non-member, give me a call or speak to one of your local officers.

Here are answers to a few questions I recently received:

1. If I work a non-scheduled work day during a 3-day holiday schedule and I am on the overtime desired list (ODL), should I be charged with an overtime opportunity on the ODL?

The answer is "no." You would not be charged with an opportunity on the ODL during a 3-day holiday schedule as the 3-day holiday schedule and the ODL are separate entities.  The ODL is not affected during a 3-day holiday schedule. If management decides to work an employee over 8 hours on a 3-day holiday schedule, the OTDL would come into play.  The holiday non-scheduled day is an 8 hour timeframe, and the only instance that the ODL would come into play would be if you worked more than 8 hours.

1. If a bid went from 0400 (radius starting point) to 0500 (1 hour move), and then from 0500 back to 0400 (radius starting point), and then from 0400 to 0330, wouldn't the duty assignment have to be reposted because that is a 2 ½ hour move?

The answer is "no." According to Article 37.4.c(2) in the CBA, you use the original radius starting point of 0400 to figure the amount of time moved which only accounts for a period of thirty minutes.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.