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Ask the President Archives
2008 Questions and Answers
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Below are responses by former APWU President William Burrus to questions posed online by union members. The questions cover a wide range of topics, from contract enforcement to union governance.
More on PTF Conversions
(12/29/08) ...I would like to voice my opinion on the 2006 PTR conversions.
I read your Sept. 17, 2008 response on the 2006 PTR conversions, and
totally disagree with several of your statements. In our facility and
its stations and branches, management is abolishing and excessing FTRs
and keeping PTRs who have fewer years in... This is just another way
of downsizing, or should I say outsourcing our jobs to the PTRs...
President
Burrus’ Response
The Postmaster General’s Pay
(12/23/08) ... It seems odd that the Postmaster General is receiving $867,459
annually in compensation... Why does the Postal Service always seem to want
cut back on the wages, compensation, etc. of the employee — not offering
VER buyouts, and just generally interrupting employees’ lifestyles
by implementing the Tour 2 initiative?...
President Burrus’ Response
The Continuing Struggle
Against Managers' Abuses
(12/02/08) ...Employees can be threatened, mistreated and abused by managers,
whose only skill was to put on a tie that day. We (the union) can grieve it
and maybe even win some cases. Yet there is no way to stop the violation from
happening again. Without a "real" penalty (either money or management
demotion) a settlement doesn't mean much. With all the cost cuts and reduction
of hours, why can't management do something about their side?
President Burrus’ Response
Converting PTFs in Small Offices to Full Time
(11/04/08) ...I am a PTF, and as you know, being a PTF is sometimes difficult...
We are losing clerk hours every year, and now we are facing the worst, LAYOFFS...
If a reduction-in-force (RIF) comes into play, I could be bumped by another
employee, who has more time than me... I work in a Level 18 office, and there
is no hope of ever becoming full time. Is this the end for PTFs?
President Burrus’ Response
Eliminating Tour 2 in Mail Processing
(10/27/08) With the current financial problems, management is looking to move
mail from one installation to another, eliminate Tour 2 operations, and change
the days off of many mail processing bids.... I remember the national union
suspended Article 37, giving locals latitude to allow management to move
employees beyond two hours and to change off days without reposting the bid.
This helped greatly as employees were just moved, keeping their bid positions.
Is there any thought at the national level to doing this again?
President Burrus’ Response
Voluntary Early Retirement Incentives
(10/21/08) You have written about union demands that the Postal
Service offer incentives to employees who are offered early-outs. Do
you expect to accomplish this within the one-year time frame (ending
June 2009) that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has given
the Postal Service for Voluntary Early Retirements (VERs)?
President
Burrus’ Response
Filling Residual Vacancies
(10/08/08) Some of the smaller locals that qualify as 200 man-years offices
are running into a problem: What happens when we have no more PTFs and no
more unassigned regulars and a job posting goes un-bid?...
President
Burrus’ Response
Making Regular, Excessing
(09/17/08) Why does the union give management ways to get around rules that
were made for us? I heard that in bigger offices, PTFs became full time,
but they are now excessed… Why do you let this happen?
President
Burrus’ Response
Memories of a First Convention
(09/03/08) As a first-time and excited delegate to the 2008 APWU
National Convention in Las Vegas, I'd like to know: Do you remember
your first convention? What was it like?
President
Burrus’ Response
‘Gone Postal’ Softball Team
(08/06/08) A manager at the Amarillo Processing & Distribution Center put
together a softball team a few years ago named Gone Postal. I wonder
if employees where tragedies have occurred would think it was a good name for
a softball team.
President Burrus’ Response
Privatizing Retail Operations
(06/30/08) …It seems to me that the Postal Service is trying
to force our customers to use ‘alternate access’ or ‘alternate
channels’ for their stamp and shipping needs in an effort to
reduce the Postal Service’s dependence on window clerks. Are
we going to point to our customers that a lot of these stores ship
through the Postal Service because we have the lowest rates and these
businesses have to charge enough to cover their operating expenses
in addition to paying the Postal Service the same amount the customers
would pay if they shipped through the Postal Service directly?...
President
Burrus' Response
Shaking off Negativity
(06/18/08) What do you do to shake off all the negativity you
encounter by the members? Of course, I understand the passion, but
it sometimes baffles me how people can seem so unhappy about the good
pay and benefits that the union has gotten us over the years…
President
Burrus' Response
Code of Conduct for Managers
(06/02/08) Why can’t the APWU negotiate a national agreement
on the Code of Conduct of Managers and their abuse of power against
APWU members? I work in the Palatine P&DC. In this facility a manager
feels he can yell, demean, swear, and treat employees like they are
dirt. This appears to be condoned by higher-level managers.
President
Burrus' Response
Commemorative Stamps and Rate Changes
(05/15/08) Please ask Postmaster General Potter this question: If the Postal
Service raises the price of stamps every May, it will have a negative affect
on the African-American Heritage Stamp series.... This is a disservice to
our customers. How will the Postal Service fix this?
President Burrus'
Response
APWU National Executive Board
Endorsement Of Sen. Barack Obama for President
(05/05/08) Regarding the National Executive Board’s endorsement
of Obama for president: Are a portion of my dues being used for this
endorsement? I don’t endorse Mr. Obama and I don’t want
my dues going for his benefit.
President
Burrus' Response
Clerk Jobs to the Mail Handler Craft
(04/22/08) It seems the Clerk Craft is losing a lot of newly created jobs to
the Mail Handler Craft. Do you think the new jobs are going to the Mail Handler
craft because we have provisions for penalty overtime pay and they do not?
President
Burrus' Response
Priority Scheduling for Overtime
(04/09/08) I am wondering if your answer from February 2007 still holds true
as to whether employees on the Overtime Desired List should work penalty
overtime before casuals work overtime. It is a big problem in our plant.
The casuals are getting more hours than most of the regulars on the OTDL.
Management claims this issue is being arbitrated at the moment.
President Burrus'
response
COLAs and Inflation
(03/25/08) Our COLA does not reflect the true cost of the increase in the cost
of living, or even come close to it.… Given the fact that the COLA
has been such a major part of our pay in past years, are there any plans
for APWU to seek changes in the formula?
President Burrus'
response
Residual Vacancies
(03/11/08) In Flushing we currently have 70 residual vacancies in the Clerk
Craft... Management has not hired a clerk in Flushing in more than seven
years... We cannot file "casual in lieu of" grievances, which protest
the hiring of casuals instead of career employees. I have filed a grievance
for the dues the union has lost as a result of management's failure to hire
career employees. What else can I or the national union do?
President
Burrus' response
What Workers Need and Deserve
(02/29/08) While this Web site may be helpful to the whining dues-paying members
who do nothing more than they have to, it continues to promote the very core
problems with USPS. You fight to protect those who should not be USPS employees — while
ignoring workers who think service and a work ethic are important. Get with
the real workings of USPS and maybe this union could figure out what the
workers really need and deserve!
President
Burrus' response
Modernizing the APWU
(02/13/08) At a conference in Niagara Falls NY you made many references to
the need to modernize the union. You specifically talked about the need to
communicate with the membership. Can you elaborate on the need for change
in our union?
President Burrus'
response
Assessing Postal Labor Costs
(01/29/08) Management claims that labor expenses are the “key drivers
of costs.” How much of the costs are for management?... I cannot believe
that craft employees account for 80 percent of the USPS costs and that management
salaries, transportation, equipment, and utilities only add up to 20 percent...
President Burrus'
response
The Political Endorsement Process
(01/01/08) I would like to know whether the APWU remembers NAFTA and GATT.
Does the union consider issues such as these when deciding which presidential
candidate to endorse?
President
Burrus' response
