Post-Convention Workshops

(This article appeared in the March/April 2006 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Joyce B. Robinson, Research & Education Department Director

The Research & Education Department is proud to announce that the APWU will sponsor its 10th Educational Conference, a National Convention event that provides union members with a wealth of information to take home to their locals and state organizations.

Thirty-one different workshops will be offered. The half-day seminars will be held Saturday, Aug. 19, a day after the conclusion of the national convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia .

Due to limited space, the pre-registration deadline is Friday, June 23. The deadline is firm for participants with special needs: If you need a sign-language interpreter, for example, you must meet the pre-registration deadline. Other who miss the deadline may try to sign up for workshops after they arrive for the convention. Late registrants will have a limited choice of seminars, however, and will not receive certificates.

The following summarizes each workshop. Please note that many are offered only once.

Casuals Hired in Lieu of Career Employees: How to document and request remedies for Article 7.1 violations. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Conducting Local/State Elections: A discussion about Department of Labor regulations. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Coping with Stress: How best to recognize and control stress. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Disabled Veterans’ Benefits: How to help disabled veterans obtain benefits. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Due Process/Just Cause: An in-depth discussion of discipline cases. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Editors’ Training: Producing high-quality union publications, with emphasis on the importance of effective communication. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Excessing in the Clerk Craft: Excessing inside or outside an installation, with emphasis placed on relocation provisions. (9 a.m.-12 p.m. or 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Family and Medical Leave Act: FMLA forms, eligibility, leave requirements, and guidelines. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Fiduciary Responsibilities of Union Officers: An introductory seminar for officers and trustees. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Internal/External Organizing: The proper strategies and techniques to maintain job security through organizing. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Interrogation by the Postal Inspection Service: Reviews of Weingarten and Miranda rights and instruction for stewards on how to properly defend members during an investigation. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Labor Law Fundamentals: A look at the National Labor Relations Act, with a focus on the rights of APWU members, and how to identify unfair labor practices. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Legal Issues: Union Publications and Beyond: An overview of the application of libel, copyright, and federal election laws to editorial practices at union publication and Web sites. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Legislative Issues and Political Training: An examination of current legislative issues and the important upcoming elections. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Limited-Duty Employees in the Clerk Craft: A review of ELM Section 546 to help APWU members ensure that the USPS is in compliance when assigning limited-duty employees from other crafts. Workshop includes guidance on posting limited-duty employees’ former bid assignments, for bid in the Clerk Craft. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Maintenance Staffing: An outline of the information for the local to provide when making a staffing request. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Motor Vehicle Craft Part 1: Current MVS issues and general information on the language in Article 39 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Motor Vehicle Craft Part 2: A continuation of discussions of MVS issues and Article 39 language. (1:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.)

OWCP for Beginners: A review of the role of the Office of Workers’ Compensation representative, types of claims and forms, continuation of pay, wage-loss compensation, and limited- duty/rehab job offers. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

OWCP for Intermediates: A summary of the appeal process, scheduled awards, medical narratives, second and referee opinions, fitness-for-duty and functional capacity evaluations, and the claims examiners’ reviews. Prerequisite: “OWCP for Beginners” or previous participation in an APWU “Introduction to OWCP” class. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Psychology 101 for Union Representatives: The art of applying diplomacy to the unique and often difficult situations that union officials face. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Protecting Clerk-Craft Work in Smaller Offices: An overview of such issues as crossing crafts, maximization, supervisors performing bargaining-unit work, and the use of casuals. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Regional Instruction 399 (RI-399): An overview of the local union’s responsibilities under the Dispute Resolution Procedure. (9 a.m.-12 p.m. or 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Retirement Planning: Information about the Civil Service and Federal Employee’s Retirement System, along with instruction on computation of annuities and survivors’ benefits. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Safety & Health Committees: An analysis of postal regulations, with a discussion of the role and responsibilities of these committees and a look at how to conduct an effective safety and health inspection. (9 a.m.-12 p.m. or 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Shop Steward’s Training (Basic): Guidelines for new stewards, with a focus on proper documentation of grievances. (9 a.m.-12 p.m. or 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Shop Steward’s Training (Advanced): An overview of the arguments to make at Step 2 and instruction on how to rebut the USPS Step 2 decision letter, with emphasis on documentation as a means of helping the union prevail in arbitration. (9 a.m.-12 p.m. or 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Subcontracting and ASM 530 (Maintenance): A discussion of the national arbitration award on the Administrative Support Manual, Section 530, with instructions on how it applies to subcontracting. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

Tracking Clerk-Craft Duty Assignments: A summary of the documentation to provide when pursuing grievances involving maximization issues, PTF conversions, job reversions, and abolishment. (1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.)

USPS Pay System: A guide to decoding and understanding USPS pay and benefit notations, earning statements, payroll journals, leave, and personnel actions. For stewards, this is not a timekeeping class. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)

Voluntary Benefits Plan: A focus on benefits available to APWU members and on how they are valuable as an organizing tool. (9 a.m.-12 p.m.)