Local 300 Mail Handler News July 2004 Page 1 LOCAL 300...

Local 300 Mail Handler News July 2004

LOCAL 300MAIL HANDLER NEWS

Vol. VIII, No. 2 JULY 2004

Jeff Perry 876Robert Blum 836 Charles Price 824Linda Yancey 731Tom Mullahey 731Larry Hill 728Andrea Haynes 725Yvette Johnson 707Richard Thomas 700Mike Jacobus 699Robert Anderson 696David Iglesias 684Wilfredo Delgado 681Tom Ruther 675Stan Howard 672 Ron Marshall 660Jeff James 646Emilio Milito 644Tom Stanziale 640Steven Schiff 632Joe Palau 631Bernard Schramm 630Andrew Piacente 628John McCormack 623Charles Hanley 619Robert Lussos 616Hugh Kavanaugh 614Ron McConnell 607

David Bernard 610Jerome Anderson 607Kevin Tabarus 607Brian Odums 595James Smoot 587Joseph DiChiara 584Roland Phillips 569 The remaining votes weredistributed among the followingpeople who are alternate del-egates:Larry Adams 526Grady R. Fitzgerald 437Tony “D” Destefano 380Peter Chan 368Jose Gonzaelez 368Tommy Reid 367Rosa Delgado 363Jeanette Bonilla 349Maria Francisco 346Matty McDonald 336John Dausner 333Barbara Anderson 328Joe Costigan 324Cheryl Hayes 320Clifton G. Golde 319Steve Megargel 314

Local 300 Delegate Election Results for2004 NPMHU Convention

On March 31, 2004, the Judges of Election for Local 300 NPMHU announced that Local 300 mem-bers had elected 35 Delegates to the 2004 Convention of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (div. ofLIUNA, AFL-CIO) to be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts from August 23 throughAugust 28, 2004.

In addition, Local 300 President Paul Hogrogian, by virtue of his 2002 election as Local President andDelegate to Conventions of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, will also be a delegate.

The election results follow. The 35 elected delegates (in addition to Pres. Hogrogian) are in bold print.

Bobby Koontz 310Raymond Bermudez 306Alex Watson 300Herman Trevathan 296Pushpa Patel 288Kevin Stanfield 270Sheila Bailey 231Raymond Conkle 219Kelly Rush 219Jeff Morgan 209Craig Terry 206Cynthia Brown 204Gregory Cherico 195Thelma Hurdle 193Theresa Pacheco 193Brian Corvino 191Jimmy Phillips 190Alberta Prieto 181John Dawson 173Ramsaran Maharajh 160Anthony York 160Jackie Pratt 157Jerry Iacona 156Anthony Holmes 153Ed Flieger 142Donald Utz 123Peter Prata 122Clayton John 116Ronald Sodaro 113


LOCAL 300 UNION DIRECTORYMid-Hudson Branch, Local 300 NPMHUJames Perkins, Branch PresidentUSPS, Mid-Hudson P&DC, PO Box 10066Newburgh, NY 12552-0066voice (845) 567-2244 and fax (845) 567-1335e-mail [email protected]

NYC Branch, Local 300 NPMHURichard Thomas, Branch President401 Broadway Ste. 1400New York, NY 10013voice (212)431-0040, fax 212-941-6499e-mail [email protected] also at -- Morgan GMF, 341 Ninth Ave. New York, NY 10199-9998 voice (212) 330-3028, fax (212) 736-2357 e-mail [email protected]

NY PMPC Branch, Local 300 NPMHUKevin Tabarus, Branch President288 Grumman Rd. WestBethpage, NY 11714-3566voice (516) 349-5092, fax (516) 349-2834e-mail [email protected] www.l300beth.home.mindspring.com

Westchester Branch, Local 300 NPMHUSteven Schiff, Branch PresidentUSPS Westchester P&DC1000 Westchester AvenueWhite Plains, NY 10610-9998voice (914) 696-0678, fax (914) 697-4109e-mail [email protected]

Western Nassau Branch, Local 300 NPMHUJoe DiChiara, Branch PresidentUSPS, Western Nassau P&DC830 Stewart Ave.Garden City, NY 11599-9998voice (516) 228-7683, fax (516) 228-7576e-mail [email protected]

Stamford Branch, Local 300 NPMHUTom Ruther, Branch PresidentUSPS, Stamford P&DC 427 West Ave.Stamford, CT. 06910-9998PO Box 110202 Stanford, CT 06911-0202voice (203) 326-2068, fax (203) 323-5315e-mail [email protected]

DVD Branch, Local 300 NPMHUBernard Schramm, Branch President USPS, Dominick V. Daniels P&DC850 Newark TurnpikeKearny, NJ 07099-9998voice (201) 991-8180, fax (201) 991-6884e-mail [email protected] http://pw2.netcom.com/~schramm1//main.html/index.html

NNJ Metro P&DC, Local 300 NPMHUEmilio Milito, Branch PresidentUSPS, Hackensack P&DC200 Undustrial Ave.Teterboro, NJ 07699voice (201) 727-0205, fax (201) 727-0206e-mail [email protected]

IMTC Carteret Branch, Local 300 NPMHUJerome Anderson, Branch President60 Minuet St.Carteret, NJ 07008-1112voice and fax (732) 541-1756e-mail [email protected]

Kilmer Branch, Local 300 NPMHUJoe Soto, Branch PresidentUSPS, Kilmer P&DC21 Kilmer Rd.Edison, NJ 08899-9998voice (732) 819-4349, fax (732) 777-1996e-mail [email protected]

Monmouth Branch, Local 300 NPMHURobert Blum, Branch PresidentUSPS, Monmouth P&DC307 Industrial Way WestEatontown, NJ 07799-9997voice and fax (732) 542-3277e-mail [email protected]

Newark Branch, Local 300 NPMHUJeff James, Branch PresidentUSPS, Newark P&DC, 2 Federal Sq.Newark, NJ 07102-9997voice (973) 642-3326, fax (973) 642-0007e-mail [email protected] also at Newark AMC, 345 Brewster Rd. Newark, NJ 07114-9741 voice (973) 596-0150, fax (973)596-8522

NJI & BMC Branch, Local 300 NPMHUAndrea Haynes, Branch PresidentUSPS, NJI & BMC80 County RoadJersey City, NJ 07097-9998voice (201) 653-1767, fax (201) 653-2254e-mail [email protected] www.l300nji-bmcbranch.org

NJPMPC Branch, Local 300 NPMHUJames Smoot, Branch President1200 Harrison Ave.Kearny, NJ 07032-5931voice (201) 246-0166, fax (201) 246-8744e-mail [email protected]

West Jersey Branch, Local 300 NPMHUBrian Odoms, Shop Steward-in-chargeUSPS, West Jersey P&DC, 54 S. Jefferson Rd.Hanover Township, NJ 07999-9998voice and fax (973) 515-9459e-mail [email protected] SMALLER BRANCHESElizabeth--Barry Sampson, Chief StewardUSPS, 310 N. Broad St.Elizabeth, NJ 07207-9998tel. (908)-820-8447

Hackensack--Frank Mandara, Chief StewardUSPS, Hackensack Post Office560 Huyler St.So. Hackensack, NJ 07606-9998

L..I.C. --Lisa Tate, Chief StewardUSPS, LIC, 46-02 21st St.Long Island City, NY 11101-9998tel. (718) 349-4673

Paterson--James Ferrigno, Chief StewardUSPS, Paterson Post Office194 Ward St., Paterson, NJ 07510-9711e--mail [email protected]

Staten Island--Louis Ditore, Chief StewardUSPS, 550 Manor RdStaten Island, NY 10314-9998tel.( 718) 650-4716

Monsey--Richard Hecker, Chief Steward15 Melnick Dr.Monsey, NY 10952-9998tel. (845) 352-7200

LOCAL 300 UNION COUNCIL

ISC-JFK Branch, Local 300 NPMHUStan Howard, Branch PresidentBuilding 250, USPS, ISC-JFKJamaica, NY 11430-9998voice (718) 553-7369, fax (718) 553-9230e-mail [email protected] http://amcjfk.home.netcom.com

Brooklyn Branch, Local 300 NPMHUThomas Stanziale, Branch PresidentUSPS, Brooklyn P&DC, 1050 Forbell St.Brooklyn, NY 11256-9998voice (718) 348-3802, fax (718) 348--5447e-mail [email protected] t ies .com/Capi tolHi l l / lobby/7824/main.html

Bronx Branch, Local 300 NPMHUAndre Spence, Branch PresidentUSPS, Bronx P&DC558 Grand ConcourseBronx, NY 10451-9701voice and fax (718) 665-4877e-mail [email protected] also at -- HASP, 815 Hutchinson River Parkway Bronx, NY 10465 voice and fax (718) 678-8358

Flushing Branch, Local 300 NPMHUTrevor Stuart, Branch PresidentUSPS, Queens P&DC142-02 20th Ave.Whitestone, NY 11351-9998voice and fax (718) 886-6894e-mail [email protected]

Hicksville Branch, Local 300 NPMHURobert Lussos, Branch PresidentUSPS, HicksvilleMid-Island P&DC,160 Duryea Rd.Mellville, NY 11747-8000voice and fax (631) 756-4701e-mail [email protected] www.local300mhu.com also at -- 185 West John St. Hicksville, NY 11802-1007

LaGuardia AMC Branch, Local 300 NPMHURoland Phillips, Branch Presidentc/o USPS, AMC-LGA Building 28Flushing, N.Y. 11371-9718voice and fax (718) 205-2303e-mail [email protected]

LOCAL 300 EXECUTIVE BOARD 401 Broadway Ste 1400 New York, NY 10013 voice (212) 431-0040, fax (212) 941-6499 webpage www.local300npmhu.org

Paul Hogrogian President,e-mail [email protected]

Robert Blum, Vice-President,e-mail [email protected]

Jeff Perry, Treasurer and Editore-mail [email protected]

Linda Yancey, Recording Secretary,e-mail [email protected]

Thomas Ruther, CT State Exec. Bd.e-mail [email protected]

Charles Price, NJ State Exec Bd.e-mail [email protected]

Lawrence Hill, NY State Exec. Bd.e-mail [email protected]


President's Report by Paul Hogrogian

June 1, 2004 These are very busy times for boththe United States Postal Service andthe National Postal Mail HandlersUnion. The following is an update onsome of the most crucial issuesconfronting us:

POSTAL REFORM The House Government ReformCommittee, in a 40-0 vote, approved aPostal Reform Bill, which would givethe Postal Service more flexibility toadjust its rates, while also increasingthe power of the proposed PostalRegulatory Board, which wouldreplace the current Postal RateCommission. The Committee rejecteda series of amendments proposed lastyear by the President’s Commissionon the United States Postal Servicethat would have had devastatingeffects on collective bargaining aswell as the pay and benefits of currentand future postal employees. Thelegislation will now go before the fullHouse for its consideration. TheSenate is also considering a similarbill. The proposed legislation alsoincludes a provision that wouldprohibit the Postal Service fromdiscounting rates for “worksharing”that exceeds the costs avoided. Local300 believes that outsourced andpresorted mail should not be pro-cessed at a loss by the Postal Service. The bill would also return responsi-bility for the military costs of postalretirees to the Treasury Departmentand would repeal the Civil ServiceRetirement System (CSRS) escrowfund provision. These proposalswould save the USPS billions ofdollars. Mail Handlers from around thecountry have been contactingMembers of Congress to protect MailHandler rights and benefits. NationalPresident John Hegarty said, “Our

grassroots lobbying effort is work-ing.” It is imperative that Congresshears our concerns. Now is the timeto contact our members of Congress.Please visit the NPMHU web site(npmhu.org) to do so.

Contract Administration Local 300 continues to address theoverwhelming backlog of cases on ourarbitration dockets. Branch Presi-dents and other Local 300 representa-tives have been meeting with theappropriate Postal Service representa-tives to discuss resolution of themany grievances currently certified forarbitration. The cases that cannot beresolved will be reviewed to determinewhether these cases have enoughmerit to present them to an arbitrator.Vice President Robert Blum has beenworking with me in Contract Adminis-tration and continues to be a majorasset.

Voluntary Early Retirement As you know, the Postal Servicewas authorized by the Office ofPersonnel Management (OPM) tooffer Voluntary Early Retirement (VER)to those Mail Handlers who had 20years of federal/postal service andwere at least 50 years of age or whohad 25 years of service regardless ofage. However, when it came down toactually offering the retirements toeligible employees, most installationsin the New York Metro Area (NYMA)refused to participate. Employeeswho had submitted Statements of

Interest (SOI) received disapprovalletters stating, “There are no VERoffers available in your installation.” Through the hard work of NPMHUrepresentatives at the Local, National,and Branch levels, the Union was ableto ensure that virtually every eligibleLocal 300 Mail Handler who wanted toretire early was allowed to do so. Iwant to thank National President JohnHegarty and his staff and all Local 300Branch Presidents for their efforts onthis matter. This shows what we canaccomplish when we all work together.

Training Local 300 will continue to implementan aggressive training program. Local300 has already conducted successful“Defense versus Discipline” and“Basic Shop Steward” trainingprograms presented by National ShopSteward Trainer Sam D’Ambrosio.Local 300 has also conducted an“Arbitration Advocate” training fornew arbitration advocates. In addition, Local 300 has plannedanother Basic Shop Steward Trainingfor new stewards for January orFebruary of 2005. Plans are alsounderway for several other trainingsto be conducted throughout thecoming year. To ensure top-notchrepresentation for members, continuedtraining of our officers and stewards isessential.

Finances Your Executive Board had pledged

(continued on page 16)


THE OUTPLACEMENT PILOT PROGRAMby Paul Hogrogian

April 3, 2004

The Postal Service has informed theNational Postal Mail Handlers Union(NPMHU), both at the national and locallevels, of its intentions to implement anOutplacement Pilot Program. The PostalService will proceed with this program inconjunction with the Department of Labor(DOL), Office of Workers’ CompensationPrograms (OWCP). The program isintended to develop work opportunitiesoutside the Postal Service for employeeswho have sustained job-related illness orinjury (IOD). The program will be initiatedin the Long Island District and later willinclude the other districts in the New YorkMetro Area. It is the intention of the Postal Serviceto eventually implement this programnationwide. A meeting was held on April 1,2004, in which the Postal Service intro-duced the pilot process to representatives ofthe local unions. Representatives of Local300 attended this meeting along withrepresentatives of the APWU, NALC andNAPS. Local 300 was represented at thismeeting by President Paul Hogrogian, NYState Executive Board Member Larry Hill,and Branch Presidents Robert Lussos (MidIsland) and Kevin Tabarus (NYPMPC).Representatives of OWCP did not attendthe meeting. At this meeting the Postal Servicecontended that because of a decline in mailvolume, they no longer had sufficient workto keep all of their limited duty (injured onthe job) employees employed. The PostalService explained that it was initiallytargeting “rehab” employees, but would laterexpand the program to include other limitedduty employees. “Rehab” employees weredefined as those employees who were injuredon the job and who have partially recoveredfrom an injury or illness, but have reached“maximum physical improvement” asstated by the employee’s treating physician.In other words, permanent limited dutyemployees. Should the Postal Service determine, atthe installation level, that there is not 8hours work per day or 40 work hours perweek within a Rehab employee’s limitations,that employee would be targeted forparticipation in this program. The initialtargets will be those employees who are senthome early due to lack of work. The PostalService could easily manufacture a “shortageof work” by sending limited duty employeeshome 2 or 3 hours early a day for 2 or 3days a week and pay the employeescompensation for the hours sent home. The Long Island District has identified

12 employees for Phase I of this program(1 supervisor, 10 letter carriers and 1 MailHandler). Local 300 was successful in havingthe Mail Handler removed from this phaseof the program due to the specific,individual circumstances of his case. Those chosen employees will be given aletter on April 12, 2004, notifying themthat they will be placed on administrativeleave. These employees will also be given aCA-7 form (compensation) to be com-pleted. These employees will then be placedin a compensation status effective April 17,2004. The OWCP will then contact theseemployees to schedule individual interviews. Should the OWCP successfully placethese employees in positions outside of thePostal Service, the employees would ceaseto be postal employees. If the new positionspay less than their postal position, OWCPwill pay the difference. However, theemployees would lose all postal benefits(health insurance, life insurance, TSP, etc.).The benefits would be that of their newprivate employer, not the Postal Service.The employees would also cease to accruecreditable time towards their federalretirement plans. Local 300 believes that it is disgracefulthat the Postal Service should cut ties withthose employees who were permanentlyinjured in the performance of their postalduties. While postal managers give lipservice as to how important their employ-ees are to them, the intent of this programsays otherwise. The Postal Service wants toeliminate what it considers to be “deadweight.” It simply is not fair to postal workersand their families that postal workers shouldlose their health benefits and their pensions,solely because they had the misfortune ofbeing injured in the performance of theirassigned duties. Instead of living up to itsresponsibility to find suitable work withinthe Postal Service, the Postal Service wouldrather shift its responsibility and costs tothe OWCP and ultimately to the Americantaxpayer. Local 300 will oppose thisprogram however and wherever we can,including through the Grievance/Arbitration,MSPB, EEOC and legislative forums. Should a Mail Handler be chosen for thisprogram, a grievance should immediately befiled under the following Articles: Article 2 (Discrimination) (denial of reasonable accommodation) Article 6 (No Lay Off) Article 13 (Light Duty)(denial of perma nent light duty) (13.2b) Article 19 (Handbooks and Manuals) Employee and Labor Relations Manual(ELM) section 543.93 provides that an

employee can be separated from the PostalService only at the end of at least 1-yearleave without pay (LWOP). ELM, sections 546.14, mandates that thePostal Service “make every effort towardassigning the employee to limited dutyconsistent with the employee’s medicallydefined work limitation tolerance.” Thisincludes work not only within theemployee’s craft and installation, but alsooutside of the employee’s craft andinstallation if no work is available withinthe employee’s craft and/or installation. EL-505 (Injury Compensation), Exhibits7.1 and 11.7b provide similar protectionsfor limited duty and rehab employees. EL-505, Exhibit 11.8d, states: “When an employee, either current orformer, has partially recovered from acompensable injury or disability, the USPSmust make every effort toward assigning theemployee to limited duty consistent withthe employee’s medically defined worklimitation tolerance according to thecircumstances of each case.” EL-505, Exhibit 11.8d states: “Partially-recovered employees mayappeal to the MSPB for a determination ofwhether the USPS is acting arbitrarily andcapriciously in denying them restoration.” ELM, section 546.4 states, “Current or former employees who believethey did not receive the proper consider-ation for restoration, or were not properlyrestored, may appeal to the Merits SystemsProtection Board under entitlements setforth in Title 5 CFR, Part 353.” Therefore, any Mail Handler who isselected for this program should file anMSPB appeal claiming denial of restorationrights. Veteran Preference employees shouldalso file an MSPB appeal citing an improperReduction in Force (RIF). Affected employees should also file anEEO claim citing denial of reasonableaccommodations. It is also imperative that our congres-sional representatives be contacted to alertthem to the fact that hard working,deserving, injured employees are beingforced out of well paying federal jobs andforced into lower paying private sector jobsthat are subsidized by the federal govern-ment. Should any Mail Handler receive aletter stating that they are to be included inthe Outplacement Pilot Program, Local 300Headquarters should be contacted immedi-ately. Should you have any questionsconcerning this matter, do not hesitate tocontact me at 212-431-0040 or at


Vice-President's Reportby Robert Blum

(continued on page 13)

2004 has been an eventful year sofar, and to be sure, the rest of the yearshould be no different. I’m sure youhave read about Postal Reformlegislation in this publication as wellas elsewhere. This hot topic hasreached the point where both theHouse and Senate Committee’s havepassed slightly different versions ofreform legislation; these bills are nowawaiting full House and Senatedebate. As reported in the currentMail Handler Update, these bills asthey are currently composed, discardpractically all negative componentsconcerning Postal Workers that hadbeen originally proposed. Why has this battle been favorableso far? A primary reason is becauseof the many of you who wrote and emailed your Representatives. Youtook the time to become NPMHULegislative Activists. We showed our“juice” and they took notice. The warhowever is far from over and we can’tlet up. As these bills get closer andcloser to their final form, keep thepressure on. Amendments to the billscan still be added. For example thepush from mailers to obtain hugediscounts for presorting is still notdead. This is a key issue for us. Alsodon’t forget dangerous schemes suchas the “Outplacement Pilot Program”are very much alive and kicking. Thepoliticians need to constantly hearfrom us. The National Union led byPresident John Hegarty has done atremendous job down in Washington.Likewise much was accomplishedlocally. Led by Local PresidentHogrogian, meetings with areaRepresentatives such as Manhattan’s

Carolyn Maloney have been held toget our point of view across. But theimportance of rank and fileparticipation cannot be overlystressed. We have been told that eachletter or e mail received is theequivalent of fifty voters. Can youimagine if nearly all of the over 6,000Members of Local 300 made contacton an issue? That corresponds toover 300,000 voters! As reported in previous issues ofLocal 300 Mail Handler News, we arelooking for a new headquarters. Thesearch is now on full force. LocalPresident Hogrogian has asked me tohead this mission. In the last twomonths we have looked at more thantwenty different office spaces. Themain focus of the search so far hasbeen in lower Manhattan. Due to theevents surrounding the 9/11 tragedy,there are great incentives to signleases in the areas in proximity to theground zero site. We have enlistedreal estate professionals as well as anincentive specialist to garner the bestpossible deal. Before a decision willbe made other areas in NYC will beinvestigated. Local Treasurer JeffPerry has assisted significantly in thisendeavor. On June 22, 2004, Local PresidentHogrogian, Local Treasurer Perry,Branch Presidents Richard Thomas(NYC) Andre Haynes (NJI&BMC)and I attended a semi-annual meetingof Labor Organizations with USPSArea VP David Solomon and membersof his staff. As is normally the case inthese meetings we are presented with

a scenario of doom and gloom. We arebombarded with a series of charts andgraphs that allegedly support thedownfall of the Postal Service unlessdrastic changes are made, whichusually means less of us doing morework. Yet once you take a close lookat the stuff presented, you seeevidence of a profitable organization,with significant increases in standardmail volume. The presentationshowed the biggest problem theservice has is an increase in fuel andtransportation costs. Welcome to ourworld. The government could sure dosomething about that problem.Another major theme was themanagement grumbling aboutemployee’s use of sick leave. When itwas mentioned that an incentiveprogram such as being paid foraccrued sick leave upon retirement,just like Postal Service Executivesreceive, the response was, “therealready is an incentive program, youget to keep your job.” In the past year we have beenfaced with the Postal Serviceproposing to excess Mail Handlersout of many small offices. Theirproposals are based on what is calleda Function Four Review. This is whena team of Postal pencil pushers gointo an office and observe theworkforce. They normally go into theoffices on Tuesdays, which are theslowest day of the week. Howevervirtually every one of these reviews,based upon the Postal Service’s owndocumentation, illustrate a need to


On April 21 and April 26, 2004, Local 300 President Paul Hogrogian announced big money

grievance wins for Local 300 Mail Handlers at the Bronx HASP. The first case awarded 4,150.69 hours ofpay to Bronx Hasp Mail Handlers for that installation’s violation of the 12.5% casual limitation duringAccounting Period 11 of FY 2003. The subsequent two Step 3 Decisions issued on April 26th awarded anadditional 6,880.44 more hours of pay to Bronx Hasp Mail Handlers for that installation’s violation of the12.5% casual limitation during Accounting Periods 2 & 3 of FY 2004. Northeast Regional Director RaySokolowski represented the Union at Step 3 in both cases. The grievances were prepared by PresidentHogrogian and processed by Bronx Branch President Andre Spence.

2 Major Grievance Wins at the Bronx HASP

The New York City Central LaborCouncil has announced its annualLabor Day event for 2004. Replacingthe traditional parade will be amassive demonstration held onWednesday, September 1, 2004 at4pm. The demonstration will be heldon 8th Avenue at 30th Street. The mainfocus of the mobilization will be toprotest the Bush administration’spolicies. The demonstration will beheld at the same time as theRepublican National Convention. TheNYCCLC expects an impressiveturnout of Union Members, Union

LOCAL 300MOURNS

LABOR DAY 2004by

Robert Blum

It is with great sadness that Local300 NPMHU mourns the passing of itsformer Local President, AaronPreston. Brother Preston, a retiredmember of the Newark Branch, servedas the Local's President in its forma-tive years in the 1970s. Local 300 also mourns the passingof Stamford Mail Handler ShopSteward Mario Frattaroli on April 28,2004. Our deepest sympathy is extendedto the family, freinds, and co-workersof these builders of our union.

Leaders, Community Activists, andpublic officials. We ask each and every member ofLocal 300 to take a few hours out ofyou busy schedules and join in withyour Sisters and Brothers from manyLabor Organizations to let the worldknow our dissatisfaction with policiesthat are vehemently anti labor andanti working class. More details willbe forthcoming over the summermonths. Now, more than ever, protectyour job and your benefits.

Save the Date!!! September 1 at 4 P.M.

Aaron Sonny Preston(Feb. 2, 1938-April 10, 2004)CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

August 15, 2004-- METS Game -- Trip to see the Mets play the Arizona Dia-mondbacks. For info contact Tom Ruther 203-326-2068

August 23-28, 2004 -- NPMHU National Convention, Sheraton Hotel, Boston,Massachusetts.

August 6, 2004 -- Deadline for submission of Local 300 Bernard Holloway, JohnA. Orchard, Edward J. Miller, and Wally Merwin Scholarship Applications toJeff Perry, Treasurer, Local 300, 401 Broadway Ste. 1400, New York, NY 10013.

August 27, 2004 -- Winners of the Local 300 Bernard Holloway, John A. Or-chard, Edward J. Miller, and Wally Merwin Scholarships to be announced.

September 1, 2004 -- NYC Labor Day Parade--joint parade of the New York CityCentral Labor Council and the Municipal Labor Committee. Local 300 coordina-tor is Vice-President Bob Blum and the alternate coordinator is Flushing BranchPresident Trevor Stuart. Current Bush policies will be protested and the right toorganize and form a Voice@Work will be stressed. Assemble at 8th Ave. and30th St., NYC at 4 PM.


The NPMHU Conventionby Jeff Perry, Treasurer

From Monday August 23through Saturday August 28, 2004,our National Union will be holding itsNational Convention at the SheratonTowers Hotel in downtown Boston,Massachusetts. Our National Conven-tions are held every leap year and atthe Convention this year the NationalPostal Mail Handlers Union will chartits course for the next four years. Convention delegates are chosenby the membership in elections -- bothin delegate elections within each localand in elections of our nationalofficers. Prior to the Convention anumber of Committees were estab-lished by the National Presidentincluding Arrangements, Constitution,Credentials, Election, Legislative,Resolution, and Rules. Local 300 isrepresented on the Rules Committeeby President Paul Hogrogian (who isthe chair of the committee) and on theCredentials Committee by Vice-President Robert Blum. During the convention the del-egates will be presented updatedreports on matters affecting ourmembers and our union. The del-egates will then discuss, debate, andvote on the Union Constitution (theorganization's basic governing rules)as well as on Resolution's pertainingto the future of our Union. This year Local 300 will have thelargest contingent of any Local in thecountry. We will be respresented by36 delegates elected by our members.(There were a total of 330 delegateselected by the NPMHU's 37 locals).The Local 300 delegation, which willbe headed by President Hogrogian,includes our entire Local ExecutiveBoard and almost all of our BranchPresidents and represents theoverwhelming majority of our majorfacilities. A careful examination of ourlist of elected delegates (see p. 1)shows that 18 of our 21 largestbranches are represented.

Rank-and-file Members Have a Roleto Play

In addition, to electing delegates,rank-and-file members can impact thisConvention in several other ways. First, and most important, anymember of this union can contribute aproposed Constitutional Amendmentor a proposed Resolution for consid-eration by the convention delegates.As stated in Article XII, Section X ofthe National Constitution: "Forproposed amendments to thisConstitution to be considered by aNational Convention, such amend-ments must be submitted in writing byDelegates, Local Unions or othersubordinate bodies, or regularmembers in good standing to theNational President no later than thirty(30) days prior to the opening of theNational Convention. Such proposedamendments shall be referred by theNational President to the ConstitutionCommittee for consideration andrecommendation to the NationalConvention." Regarding Resolutions, theNational Constitution, Article XII,Section 15 reads: "Resolutionssubmitted for consideration of theNational Convention must be receivedby the National President no later thanthirty (30) days prior to the openingdate of the National Convention. Suchresolution shall be referred to the

Committee on Resolutions forconsideration and recommendation tothe Convention delegates for adop-tion, modification, or rejectionthereof."

Finally, we are encouragingmembers of Local 300 to considerattending this convention. This year'smeeting is in Boston, which is onlyabout three and one half hours fromNew York, and it is possible for Local300 rank-and-file Mail Handlers toattend. Convention sessions (whichusually run from about 9 a.m. to 5p.m.) are open to all members. Inaddition, from Sunday night throughWednesday and again on Friday nighta hospitality suite is scheduled wheremembers can mix with delegates andshare their thoughts and input on theConvention. For those of you whohave never attended a Convention,this year's Convention in Bostonshould be an eye-opener and it willprovide a rather unique opportunity toview our Union in action.

REMEMBER

Constitutional Amendments andproposed Resolutions should bereceived by National President JohnHegarty, c/o NPMHU, 1101 Connecti-cut Ave., Ste. 500, Washington, DC20036 by Saturday, July 24, 2004.


April 3, 2004Senator Hillary ClintonUS SenateWashington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Clinton,

My name is Paul Hogrogian and I am President of Local 300 of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union(NPMHU), which serves as the exclusive bargaining representatives for approximately 6,400 mail handlers in the New Yorkmetropolitan area employed by the U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service has informed the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), both at the national andlocal levels, of its intentions to implement an Outplacement Pilot Program. The Postal Service will proceed with thisprogram in conjunction with the Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP). Theprogram is intended to develop work opportunities outside the Postal Service for employees who have sustained job-related illness or injury (IOD). The program will be initiated in the Long Island District and later will include the otherdistricts in the New York Metro Area. It is the intention of the Postal Service to eventually implement this programnationwide.

A meeting was held on April 1, 2004, in which the Postal Service introduced the pilot process to representativesof the local unions. Representatives of Local 300 attended this meeting along with representatives of the APWU, NALCand NAPS. Representatives of OWCP did not attend the meeting. At this meeting the Postal Service contended thatbecause of a decline in mail volume, they no longer had sufficient work to keep all of their limited duty (injured on the job)employees employed. The Postal Service explained that it was initially targeting “rehab” employees, but would laterexpand the program to include other limited duty employees. “Rehab” employees were defined as those employees whowere injured on the job and who have partially recovered from an injury or illness, but have reached “maximum physicalimprovement” as stated by the employee’s treating physician. In other words, permanent limited duty employees.

Should the Postal Service determine, at the installation level, that there is not 8 hours work per day or 40 workhours per week within a Rehab employee’s limitations, that employee would be targeted for participation in this program.The initial targets will be those employees who are sent home early due to lack of work. The Postal Service could easilymanufacture a “shortage of work” by sending limited duty employees home 2 or 3 hours early a day for 2 or 3 days a weekand pay the employees compensation for the hours sent home.

The Long Island District has identified 12 employees for Phase I of this program. These employees will beplaced in a compensation status effective April 17, 2004. The OWCP will then contact these employees to scheduleindividual interviews.

Should the OWCP successfully place these employees in positions outside of the Postal Service, the employeeswould cease to be postal employees. If the new positions pay less than their postal position, OWCP will pay the differ-ence. However, the employees would lose all postal benefits (health insurance, life insurance, TSP, etc.). The benefitswould be that of their new private employer, not the Postal Service. The employees would also cease to accrue creditabletime towards their federal retirement plans.

Local 300 believes that it is disgraceful that the Postal Service should cut ties with those employees who werepermanently injured in the performance of their postal duties. While postal managers give lip service as to how importanttheir employees are to them, the intent of this program says otherwise. The Postal Service wants to eliminate what itconsiders to be “dead weight.”

It simply is not fair to postal workers and their families that postal workers should lose their health benefits andtheir pensions, solely because they had the misfortune of being injured in the performance of their assigned duties.Instead of living up to its responsibility to find suitable work within the Postal Service, the Postal Service would rathershift its responsibility and costs to the OWCP and ultimately to the American taxpayer. Hard working, deserving, injuredemployees should not be forced out of well paying federal jobs and forced into lower paying private sector jobs that aresubsidized by the federal government.

Local 300 asks that you investigate this matter and provide any assistance that you can. I will be happy to meetwith you to discuss this important and urgent issue. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,Paul HogrogianPresident, Local 300 NPMHU

Letter from Local 300 President Paul Hogrogian to Senator Hillary Clinton on Outplacement Program


Executive Board of Local 300 NPMHU -- July 2004 -- (left to right) Thomas Ruther (Connecticut State BoardMember), Linda Yancey (Recording Secretary), Charles Price (New Jersey State Board Member), Paul Hogrogian (LocalPresident), Jeff Perry (Treasurer), Lawrence Hill (New York State Board Member), and Robert Blum (Vice President).

King Ratby Paul Allen, NYISC/JFK

LOCAL 300'S EXECUTIVE BOARD

In recent days there has been a big, ugly fat rat in front of NYISC/JFK, Building 250. I was curious to know what wasgoing on so I went over to find out what's going on from the demonstrators! I was informed that this facility has hired non-union contactors (TSC) who are setting up the conveyor systems in thisbuilding. We know non-union contractors are more likely to cut corners. One of the Union brothers outside representing the "United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America" toldme that his father worked on this building about 30 years ago. The Unionized "Millwright" workers had installed theconveyor systems in this facility over 30 years ago. One of the workers spoke of his father, a Millwrights worker, who hasdone conveyor installations during that time. I am not surprised that the management would bring scab workers into our Union shop! It is obvious that managementdoes not give a "rat's ass" how unsafely these scabs are working around us.

AMC/JFK Mail Handlers and other workers with King Rat outside their facility.


Local 300 NPMHU held basic ShopSteward Training on February 12 and13, 2004 at Morgan Station in NewYork. The program was coordinatedby National Shop Steward Trainer SamD’Ambrosio. Arthur Vallone, North-east Region Vice President andPresident of Local 309 (Buffalo), alsoattended. The following Local 300stewards participated in the program: Rafael Tabales BronxGeraldine Reed-Ali TeterboroJohn Van Setters TeterboroThomas Gousby KilmerThomas Hynes KilmerViola Spruill KilmerKevin Fitts KilmerLatina Crenshaw NJ PMPC

Vallie Mayo NJ PMPCHenrietta Sykes NJ PMPCCrystal Smith NJ PMPCSteven Craig Newark AMCMichael Hobbs Newark AMCRonald Banks Newark AMCJosh Landon NY PMPCErnest Mason Western Nass.Lucy Lombardo JFKJandel Barnett JFKRobert Glenn JFKRonald Sodaro StamfordRose Said PoughkeepsieStefanie Stevens Mid-HudsonKimberly Guldy Mid-HudsonOnissa Holguin NYCRobin Keys NYCDaryl Devita MonmouthMonica Lewis NJIBMC

Shawnette Jones NJIBMCMagaly Martinez NJIBMCCraig Wilson NJIBMCRichard Lutz DVDTamela McKinney DVDWanda Nunez DVD The following Executive BoardMembers and Branch Presidents alsoattended: Robert Blum VP & MonmouthJeff Perry TreasurerThomas Ruther CT State & StamfordRichard Thomas NYCAndre Haynes NJIBMC

SHOP STEWARD TRAINING

DVD BRANCH OF LOCAL 300WINS MAJOR ARBITRATION

AWARD ON PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE POLICY

Arbitrator Sherrie Rose Talmadge recently issued an award which ruled thatthe Postal Service violated Article 16 of the National Agreement and violatedthe accepted past practice when it unilaterally implemented a new DisciplinePolicy. The new policy mandated that supervisors issue progressive disciplineregardless of the nature of the alleged infraction and regardless of the nature ofthe prior discipline on the employee’s record. The Postal Service at the facility(DVD) had previously issued discipline based on separate lines of discipline(i.e. based on the nature of the discipline) for different infractions for over 29years. The arbitrator ruled that the new policy be rescinded and that the formerpractice be restored. DVD Branch President Bernard Schramm won this majorvictory in arbitration.

Important APPS Win On June 7, 2004, NPMHU National President John Hegarty and NPMHUManager of Contract Administration Bill Flynn announced a major CraftDetermination concerning the new Automated Package Processing System(APPS). This decision is very important for the future of Mail Handlers and ournational staff worked very hard on this issue. Thre craft determination, originally announced on June 2, holds that "theprimary craft to perform work associated with this piece of equipment is themailhandler craft." For those unfamiliar with the APPS, as a general rule, the newAPPS machine will replace two SPBS machines.

Union PrivilegePrograms

for Mail Handlers

The National Postal MailHandlers Union participates in thefollowing Union Privilege Pro-grams -- Credit Card, Mortgageand Real Estate, Legal Services,Loan, Entertainment Discount,Car Rental Discount, FlowerDiscount, Education Services,Vacation Tours, Hotel Discount,Moving Discount, IBM Discount,Union Made Checks, FICOScore, Dell Computer Discount,and Goodyear Tire Service. For information on Unionprivilege Programs NPMHUmembers can call 1-800-452-9425 or go to http://www.unionpriv.org .


Morgan Station -- (standing l-r above) Steward Tony Holmes, Steward Gennaro Iacona, Mark Gardner, John Hegarty, VicePresident Bob Blum, Steward Joe Palau, and Branch President Richard Thomas. (seated l-r) Treasurer Jeff Perry, StewardSteve Lindsay, and President Paul Hogrogian

National Officers Visit New York On April 12-13, 2004 National Postal Mail Handlers National President John Hegarty and Secretary-Treasurer MarkGarnder visited the three largest facilities in Local 300 facilities -- Morgan Station in New York, the NJIBMC in Jersey City,and the DVD Facility in Kearney, NJ. At each facillity they met with both stewards and ran-and-file members.

NJI-BMC in Jersey City -- (standing l-r above) Vice President Bob Blum, Steward Ron Marshall, Steward Bob Anderson,John Hegarty, NJ SEBM Charlie Price, Safety Representative Tony Maccaronio, Local President Paul Hogrogian, BranchPresident Andre Haynes, Steward Kelly Rush, Treasurer Jeff Perry, Steward David Iglesias, and Mark Gardner. ShopSteward and Women's Committee Representative Gwen Green is seated.

DVD-Facility, Kearney, NJ -- (standing l-r above) Steward Hugh Kavanaugh, Vice President Bob Blum, Steward CliffGolden, Branch President Bernie Schramm, John Hegarty, and Mark Gardner. Local 300 President Paul Hogrogian isseated.


Local 300 is proud to announcethat Joseph Ligotti, son of Local 300member Angelo Ligotti of the AMCJFK Branch of Local 300, is a recipientof a National Postal Mail HandlersUnion Scholarship. The Scholarshipawards Joseph $1,000 renewable forup to four years or until the comple-tion of his degree, whichever occursfirst. Local 300 is proud to announce thatBradley Maleh, son of Local 300member Samuel Maleh of the Brook-lyn Branch of Local 300, is also arecipient of a National Postal MailHandlers Union Scholarship of $1,000renewable for up to four years or untilthe completion of his degree, which-ever occurs first.

Children of Local300 Members Win NationalScholarships

The Thrift Savings Plan(TSP) has implemented threeimportant new changes effectiveJuly 1, 2004.

First, a $50 fee will bededucted from the amount of anynew loan.

Second, two generalpurpose loans at the same timewill no longer be permitted(although one general purposeloan and one residential loan willstill be allowed).

THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN CHANGES

Third, upon paying off aTSP loan, a participant will not beeligible to apply for another loanof the same type for 60 days.

It is explained that the purpose of these changes is todiscourage excessive use of theloan program, and to ensure thatonly those participants who usethe loan program, rather than allparticipants, end up paying for thecost of administering such loans.

In related legislative news,the Senate Governmental AffairsCommittee has introduced

legislation to provide postal andfederal employees with moreflexibility to tailor their investmentdecisions by eliminating thecurrent restrictions on whenemployee contributions to theTSP can begin or be modified.Under the bill, which haswidespread support, openseasons would be eliminated, andinvestment decisions could bemade at any time.

Watch your bulletin boards forfurther information as this billwinds its way through thelegislative process.

If you have any questions about the Mail Handlers Benefit Planyou can consult the frequently asked questions page online at http://www.firsthealth.com/smfh/htmlAction.do , you may call day or night at 1-800-410-7778 , or you may write to Mail Handlers Benefit Plan, P.O. Box44242, Jacksonville, FL 32231-4242.

Mail Handlers Benefit Plan Contact Info

An Orphan's CryThe victims of Africa’s AIDSEpidemicCan you hear their voices?Crying in the night.All alone and filled with freight..They cry into the night.

No one comes to comfort themor relieve them from their plight.They cry for love that is not there.They cry into the night.

Their little eyes are filled withtears.Their voices cry out loud!

No one seems to hear them.As they cry into the night.

They have no one to hug them ortell them they are loved.Their little hearts are broken, dueto lack of love.

Can you hear their voices?Crying in the night!They cry for love that is not there.They cry into the night.Grady Robert Fitzgerald


increase hours in operations normallystaffed by Mail Handlers. In fact thedocuments show that they are goingto increase hours in our operations,yet they want to send the MailHandlers out. This is because theywant to utilize clerks to perform ourjobs. This exact situation occurred afew weeks ago in a meeting held inthe Northern New Jersey District. TheUnion is and will use every availablemeans to stop the unwarrantedexcessing of Mail Handlers from smalloffices. President Hogrogian hasinsisted that higher up PostalOfficials get involved. The nextmeeting will take place later on in July.Talking about excessing, the PostalService proposed to excess twelveMail Handlers from the West JerseyFacility, due to tour 3 outgoingoperations being relocated to theDominick V. Daniels facility in Kearny,NJ. Local President Hogrogian,Branch President Odums and I haveheld meetings with the Postal Serviceto eradicate the need to excess anyMail Handler. Meetings were alsoheld with Mail Handlers on all threetours to provide information andanswer questions. The negotiationswith the Service are continuing asyou are reading this. Many of you might be aware of orheard the rumors of the Postal Serviceintent to eliminate Personnel Servicesin Postal facilities. That rumor is true.On June 23, 2004, I attended a meetingalong with Branch Presidents StanHoward (JFK), and Trevor Stuart(Flushing) where this plan wasformally announced. The TriboroDistrict (Brooklyn, Queens, StatenIsland) is one of three prototype testsites in the entire country. The PostalService intends to replace thePersonnel offices with one nationalservice center along with web basedtransactions. The move will eliminate3,800 employees in Human Resourcespositions. The testing of the plan willbe initiated by the end of the year,and nation-wide rollout will take placein 2006. Beginning July 1st changes to theTSP loan policy go into effect. There

will be a $50 processing fee assessedon each loan with the amountdeducted from the loan payout.Secondly, you will no longer be ableto have two general purpose loans atthe same time. You still will be able tohave one general purpose loan andone housing loan simultaneously.Thirdly, after paying off a loan youmust wait 60 days before applying foranother loan of the same type. Inresponse to demand, the TSP will alsooffer commencing July 1st a toll freeservice. You can call (877) 968-3778,TDD (877) 847-4385. The Postal Service also overpaidaround 41,000 managers $160,000,000in paychecks received June 18th. Themoney was from a cancelledmanagement bonus program. TheService says they intend to recoupthe funds. A problem many injured on dutyMail Handlers face is obtainingadditional testing or specializedtreatment beyond the original treatingphysician. Remember you may do soon the basis of the Form CA-16 thathas been already issued. It is notnecessary to be issued additionalauthorizations for treatment. Both theoriginal physician and any otherphysician to whom the employee isreferred, is guaranteed payment for 60days from the date of issue of theForm CA-16 unless OWCP terminatesthis power at an earlier date. Anemployee who wants to change theinitial Doctor must write to OWCPand obtain permission. Ed Malinowskiour Injury Compensation Specialistcan be contacted at Local 300headquarters to answers questionsand assist you. From time to time all of us receiveso called surveys while on the job. Ibelieve that filling them out whetherpositively or negatively will do us nogood. They have been, and will beused against us. Even returning thesurveys back to management mayprovide them with bonuses. In Staten Island we have a newChief Shop Steward Lou Ditore.Brother Ditore was appointed byLocal President Hogrogian due to avacancy created by the transfer of

former Chief Steward Andy Wolff toFlorida. Brother Ditore was the winnerof a straw poll done by the StatenIsland membership. We wish Lougreat success. He is being assisted byLocal Headquarters in current RI399discussions with management and theAPWU. On April 27, 2004, the Local 300Union Council met. The Councilconsists of the Executive Board andall Branch Presidents. Some of thesubjects explored by Local 300Council include Finances, NationalRevenue Sharing Program, GrievanceWashes, the Outplacement PilotProgram, Legislative Action,Excessing, and the upcoming NationalConvention. To read the minutes ofany Council meeting or ExecutiveBoard Meeting, go to the Local 300Web site, www.local300npmhu.org, orsee your Branch President. Three facilities were visited inApril by National President JohnHegarty and National SecretaryTreasurer Mark Gardner. They touredNJI& BMC, DVD, and Morgan. Theywere accompanied by Local PresidentHogrogian, Local Treasurer Perry andI. Great hospitality was shown byBranch Presidents Andre Haynes,Bernard Schramm, and RichardThomas as well as by the ShopStewards in all three Branches. ManyMail Handlers took the time to greetand welcome the National Officers aswell as relay their questions andconcerns. It was a great success. The National Office announcedthat on June 2, 2004 the Postal Servicedetermined that the Mail HandlerCraft is the primary craft to performwork associated with the newAutomated Package ProcessingSystem (APPS). This piece ofequipment will be installed in variousfacilities nationally as well as aroundthe Local 300 area. A few quick reminders; this year isa monster election year. We’ve said itbefore and we will say it againbecause it bears repeating. If you arenot registered to vote please do so. Ifyou are, cast your vote for Labor

(Blum, continued from p. 5)

(continued on p. 17, Blum)


The following awards and deci-sions were recently issued. Local300's arbitration advocates shouldonce again be commended for theirsuperlative performances. To AllLocal 300 Advocates: CONGRATU-LATIONS AND THANK YOU FOR AJOB WELL DONE. KEEP UP THEGOOD WORK!

1) Arbitrator Joseph Cannavomodified a removal issued to a NYCMail Handler for “Filing a False InjuryCompensation Claim” to a long-termsuspension. NYC Branch PresidentRichard Thomas was the advocate forLocal 300.

2) Arbitrator Cannavo ruled that thePostal Service violated the NationalAgreement when the Postal Serviceimproperly placed pad locks on thewindow grates of the Bronx P&DC.NY State Executive Board MemberLawrence Hill was Local 300's arbitra-tion advocate.

3) Arbitrator Joseph Cannavo ruledthat the USPS violated the NationalAgreement when it directed theGrievants to terminate their employ-ment with an airline while working atthe Newark AMC. Newark BranchPresident Jeff James processed theappeal for Local 300.

4) Arbitrator Sherrie Rose Talmadgemodified a removal issued to a MidIsland Mail Handler for “AWOL” and“Failure to be Regular in Attendance.”The arbitrator cited mitigatingcircumstances (not progressive orcorrective in nature). Mid IslandBranch President Robert Lussos wasLocal 300's arbitration advocate.

5) Arbitrator Cannavo modified aremoval issued to a DVD Mail Handler(Attendance/Violation of Last ChanceAgreement). The arbitrator cited the

fact that the Grievant did, in fact,provide documentation to the PostalService substantiating and document-ing her absence. The arbitrator alsocited the predisposition of thesupervisor to reactivate the removal.The arbitrator ordered the PostalService to reinstate the Grievant andawarded one-half back pay. DVDBranch President Bernard Schrammrepresented Local 300 in this griev-ance.

6) Arbitrator Joseph Cannavo ruledthat the Postal Service violated theNational Agreement by issuing aRemoval to a NJI & BMC MailHandler for compensation fraud. Thearbitrator awarded full back pay.NJIBMC Arbitration Advocate TomMullahey was Local 300's advocatefor this grievance.

7) Arbitrator Joseph Harris modified aRemoval issued to a DVD MailHandler for an off-duty crime (HealthCare Claims Fraud). The arbitratorcited mitigating circumstances (lengthof service and clean service record).DVD Branch President BernardSchramm represented Local 300.

8) Arbitrator Joshua Javits modified aRemoval issued to a Westchester MailHandler for an altercation with anotheremployee. The arbitrator citeddisparate treatment. WestchesterArbitration Advocate AndrewPiacente represented Local 300.

9) Arbitrator Sherrie Rose Talmadgeruled that the Postal Service violatedArticle 7 of the National Agreementwhen it utilized casuals to work theSPBS machine in lieu of career MailHandlers. Hicksville/Mid IslandBranch President Robert Lussos wasLocal 300's advocate.

10) Arbitrator Joseph Harris modified

a Removal issued to a DVD MailHandler for an altercation with anotheremployee. The arbitrator citeddisparate treatment. DVD BranchPresident Bernard Schramm repre-sented Local 300.

11) Arbitrator Joseph Cannavoreturned a NYC Mail Handler to workwithout back pay. The Mail Handlerhad been removed for attendancerelated infractions. The arbitratorcited mitigating circumstances. NYCBranch President Richard Thomas wasLocal 300's advocate.

12) Arbitrator Talmadge ruled that thePostal Service in the NJI & BMCviolated the National Agreement whenit denied Administrative Leave to Tour2 Mail Handlers for September 11,2001. The arbitrator awarded amonetary remedy. NJIBMC AdvocateThomas Mullahey arbitrated theappeal for Local 300.

13) Arbitrator Joseph Harris ruled thatthe Postal Service violated theNational Agreement by improperlydenying higher-level pay to NYC MailHandlers who performed higher-levelduties intermittently throughout theirtours. Former NYC Branch PresidentFlorencio Hooker was Local 300’sadvocate.

14) Arbitrator Harris overturned aRemoval issued to a NJPMPC MailHandler for an altercation with anotheremployee. The arbitrator reduced theremoval to a 7-Day Suspension andawarded back pay. NJ State ExecutiveBoard Member Charles Price repre-sented Local 300. 15) Arbitrator Garry Wooters ruledthat the Postal Service violated theNational Agreement when it changedthe description of a bid job withoutprior consultation with the Union.

Recentby Paul Hogrogian


Mid Island Branch President RobertLussos represented Local 300.

16) Arbitrator Cannavo ruled that thePostal Service violated the NationalAgreement in the NYPMPC when itrequired all forklift and tug drivers towear head protection without firstconducting a “Hazard AssessmentSurvey.” The arbitrator directed thePostal Service to conduct such asurvey. NYPMPC Branch PresidentKevin Tabarus represented Local 300.

17) Arbitrator Cannavo ruled that thePostal Service violated the NationalAgreement when it changed aRiverhead Warehouse position fromthe Mail Handler Craft to the Mainte-nance Craft. NY State ExecutiveBoard Member Larry Hill was Local300's advocate for this grievance.

18) Arbitrator Harris ruled that thePostal Service in Teterboro violatedthe National Agreement when itimproperly posted bid assignments inwhich the principal assignment areaswere not clearly identified (notspecific). The arbitrator ruled that thebids should be reposted making surethose duty assignments and principalassignment areas are clearly defined.Vice President Robert Blum repre-sented Local 300 in this arbitration.Teterboro Branch President EmilioMilito prepared and processed thisgrievance.

19) Arbitrator Harris ruled that thePostal Service in Teterboro violatedthe National Agreement when itimproperly abolished six (6) bidassignments in violation of prior Step2 and Step 3 settlements. Thearbitrator awarded out of schedulepremiums. Vice President Robert Blumagain represented Local 300 in thisarbitration. Teterboro Branch Presi-dent Emilio Milito prepared and

processed this grievance.

20) Arbitrator Cannavo overturned aRemoval issued to a Bronx MailHandler for an altercation with anotheremployee and violation of his LastChance Agreement. The arbitratorcited due process violations andawarded full back pay. NY StateExecutive Board Member Larry Hillrepresented Local 300.

21) Arbitrator Joseph Albanese, in anexpedited award, ruled that the PostalService violated the National Agree-ment when it assigned overtime hoursto PTFs and Casuals when it hadavailable OTDL Mail Handlers to workon their rest days. DVD BranchPresident Bernard Schramm repre-sented Local 300 in this arbitration.

22) Arbitrator Amy Lynne Itzla, in anexpedited award, ruled that the PostalService violated the National Agree-ment when it improperly allowedsupervisors to perform Mail Handlerwork. The arbitrator awarded overtimepay. Congratulations to WestchesterAdvocate Andrew Piacente, whoadvocated this arbitration for Local300.

23) Arbitrator Itzla, in expedited award,rescinded a 7-Day Suspension issuedto a Brooklyn Mail Handler. Thearbitrator cited a breach of theGrievant’s Weingarten rights. Con-gratulations to Brooklyn ArbitrationAdvocate David Bernard, whoadvocated this arbitration for Local300.

24) Arbitrator Linda Chin, in expeditedaward, rescinded a 14-Day Suspen-sion issued to a Brooklyn MailHandler for insubordination andviolation of the “zero tolerance”policy. The arbitrator cited denial ofthe Grievant’s due process rights (noconcurrence) and double jeopardy.Congratulations to Brooklyn Arbitra-

tion Advocate David Bernard, whoadvocated this arbitration for Local300.

25) Arbitrator Robert Tim Brown, inexpedited award, ruled that the PostalService in Hackensack violated theNational Agreement by denying theGrievant 30 days of Advanced SickLeave. Congratulations to TeterboroBranch President Emilio Milito, whoadvocated this arbitration for Local300.

26) Arbitrator Robert Tim Brown, inexpedited award, modified a 14-DaySuspension issued to a Mid HudsonMail Handler for reading a magazineon the work rook floor and for usingprofanity. Congratulations to MidHudson Branch President JamesPerkins, who advocated this arbitra-tion for Local 300.

27) Arbitrator Joseph Albanese, in anexpedited award, ruled that the PostalService violated the National Agree-ment when it denied AdministrativeLeave to a Bronx Mail Handler whowas prevented from reporting to workbecause of weather conditions. BronxBranch President Andre Spencerepresented Local 300 in this arbitra-tion.

28) Arbitrator Joseph Albanese, inexpedited award, rescinded a 14-DaySuspension issued to a NYC MailHandler for failure to report for workon a holiday during a snowstorm. Thearbitrator also awarded holiday pay.Congratulations to NYC ArbitrationAdvocate Herman Trevathan, whoadvocated this arbitration for Local300.

29) Teterboro Branch President EmilioMilito successfully processed crosscraft grievances in Hackensack, whichresulted in each Hackensack MailHandler being paid $900.

Decisions


that Local 300 would become morefiscally responsible. I believe that wehave lived up to that promise. Local300 has been able to drastically reduceexpenses while still providing superiorrepresentation. We have finallyeliminated the large deficit that weinherited upon taking office. Thesteps that we have taken shouldensure that Local 300 will be able tocontinue to function while we face anuncertain future. The Postal Service’stransformation plan has resulted in asmaller workforce, which in turnresults in reduced membership duesfor Local 300. The Executive Board has eliminatedfrivolous spending and increased ourrevenue. Local 300’s Executive Boardis committed to increasing ourmembership. Local 300 provides a $20“bonus” for signing up new members.Encourage any co-workers who arenot union members to join theNational Postal Mail Handlers Union. Local 300 also aggressively soughtto maintain its associate membership.These are federal employees who paydues to belong to the Mail HandlersBenefit Plan. Vice President Blum and NJ StateExecutive Board Member Charles Priceattended many health fairs duringopen season to increase membershipin the Mail Handler Benefit Plan. Thisis a source of revenue that our localhad long ignored. RI 399 As you know, there has been anongoing battle between clerks and

(Presidett's Report, continued from p. 3.)mail handlers regarding which workshould be performed by each craft.The Postal Service’s position wasoutlined in Regional Instruction 399(RI-399). RI 399 arbitrations will beginin June. Local 300 NY State ExecutiveBoard Member Larry Hill has beennamed to the National NPMHU RI-399Advocacy Team. Brother Hill will berepresenting Local 300 in most of theRI 399 arbitrations. Hearings arecurrently scheduled for the MidHudson, Brooklyn and Mid IslandInstallations.

REASSIGNMENTS ANDEXCESSINGS The Postal Service, citing decliningmail volume and revenues, has beendownsizing and realigning itsworkforce throughout the country.Management has been using suchtools as Function 4 Reviews and theweb-based “Labor Scheduler” toimplement and justify their plans. Asa result, many postal employeesacross the nation have been reas-signed from one craft to another, fromone installation to another, or fromone tour to another. Unfortunately,Local 300 Mail Handlers are notimmune to this onslaught and couldpossibly be negatively impacted bysome of these changes. Rest assuredthat Local 300’s officers and stewards,as well as our representatives at theNational Office, will do everything inour power to minimize any negativeimpact.

WEST JERSEY OUTGOING (ORIGI-NATING) OPERATIONS Local 300 has been notified by thePostal Service that it intends to movethe West Jersey outgoing (originat-ing) operations to the DVD facility inKearny, NJ. The USPS also proposedto involuntarily excess twelve (12) full-time Mail Handler craft employeesfrom the West Jersey ProcessingDistribution Center. Representatives from Local 300(President Paul Hogrogian, VicePresident Robert Blum, West JerseyBranch President Brian Odums, and

West Jersey Shop Steward TerrenceMcCaskill) met with Postal Serviceofficials to discuss the various issuesrelated to this proposal. Local 300was successful in reducing thenumber of Mail Handlers subject toinvoluntary reassignment. We feelconfident that no Mail Handler will beinvoluntarily excessed from the WestJersey P & DC.

BRONX OUTGOING (ORIGINATING)OPERATIONS Local 300 has also been notified bythe Postal Service that it intends tomove the Bronx outgoing (originating)operations to the Morgan facility inManhattan. The Postal Service isproposing to abolish twelve (12) MailHandler positions. However, localmanagement has said that it will NOTbe necessary to excess any MailHandlers out of the Bronx installation.Local 300 representatives are sched-uled to meet with Bronx postalofficials to discuss this matter.FUNCTION 4 REVIEWS/ASSOCIATEOFFICES The USPS has been conductingFunction 4 Reviews in many of ourAssociate Offices. As a result ofthese reviews, the Postal Service hasproposed to excess Mail Handlers outof the Wayne, North Bergen, Union,East Orange, Fort Lee, Teaneck andParamus Post Offices. Local 300believes that the Function 4 reviewsdo not justify the involuntaryexcessing of any Mail Handlers fromthe cited Associate Offices. It appearsthat the Postal Service is trying toprotect clerk craft employees at theexpense of Mail Handler positions.This is totally unacceptable. Local 300representatives will be meeting withthe postal officials to discuss itsproposals. Local 300 will seek toensure that inconvenience anddislocation of any Mail Handleremployee be kept to a minimum. I again want to thank you, themembers, for your support, and I wantto assure you that Local 300’s officersand stewards will continue to devoteour time and energy representing youto the best of our ability.


friendly Candidates . The NationalWeb site www.npmhu.org is full ofinformation on national candidates aswell as state races for Congress andSenate. You can also keep up with variouspoints of view on Postal Servicedoings by logging on to Web sitessuch as postalwatch.org, andfedweek.com. Support your Union by providingstatements to Shop Stewards on

violations of the National and LocalAgreements you are witness to, aswell as to harassment of MailHandlers by management. To quoteBenjamin Franklin, “We must all hangtogether, or, most assuredly we shallall hang separately.” A full report on the NPMHUNational Convention will be availableon the Local 300 Web site as well asin the next newsletter after itsconclusion the end of August.

Don’t forget Postal Night at SheaStadium on August 15, 2004. Local300 is subsidizing the cost of tickets.Contact your Branch Union Office orState Representative for completeticket and transportation information.

Please make plans to attend the largeLabor Day rally in NYC. Furtherdetails are provided in this newsletter. You can contact any ExecutiveBoard Member by e-mail at theaddresses provided. Have a safe andhealthy summer.

(continued from p. 13, Blum)


As Chair of Local 300’s Women’sCommittee, I am pleased and honoredby the immense enthusiasm theCommittee members have shown tothe challenges and tasks that layahead of us. In our first undertaking, theCommittee celebrated Women’sHistory Month (March) bydistributing to the membership, redribbons to commemorate the struggle,influence, and contributions womenhave made in the workforce over theyears. Though tasked with timing theCommittee worked against the oddsand the ribbons were received withinspiring success. I trulycongratulate the women of theCommittee on their efforts in their firstventure. As times change in our Postalenvironment and transformation hasproven to be very difficult in somefacilities, our Union’s strengthremains passionate. It is our hopethat the Women’s Committee canassist our members in coping withthese changing times of dutyassignments and facility excessingthat will have a stressful impact onour daily lives.

Listen To Membership, Everyone IsNeeded

The members embody a great partof who we are as a Union. Everyonehas something to contribute. OurUnion Representatives listened andthe Union has begun to build uponthe round-table of our existing forcesto assist our members. The Women’sCommittee was that addedenthusiasm.

It’s No Longer A Man’s World, AWomen’s Committee Is Necessary

Although there are some whowould like to think of our twoenvironments, Union and Postal, as a‘man’s world’ (There are some menwho still live on Mars) a woman’spresence remains the objective anddriving force in any viewpoint. "The times they are a changing”,as they say. In our Postal environ-ment the number of women enteringthe workforce has significantlyincreased by 30% (this in the last sixyears). Our Union environment by designhas worked strategically hard to addto the number of women Shop

Local 300’s Women’s Committee:Just The Beginning

by Linda Yancey, Chair

Stewards. In addition to their Unionactivities, it is the hope of theWomen’s Committee to focus uponthe issues that concern women mostin regards to our workplace environ-ment. This is why a Women’sCommittee is so necessary. Although the mindset of the man’sworld ‘anal-y-sis’ remains trying, theWomen’s Committee is up for thechallenge. These are indeed changing times.We cannot relax on the issues athand. In addition to facilityexcessing, non-compliance bymanagement regarding dignity,respect, harassment, a safe workingenvironment, and the move byCongress on Postal Reform; Manywomen in our Union body, feel thatthe issues women have regarding theworkplace have not been addressed. I believe that with the brothers andsisters of the Union working togetherwe can achieve our goals of jobstability and build upon the unity inthe rank-and-file. It will take all the forces we have torise to the occasion. Your Women’sCommittee will be there in full force.

Linda Yancey is also the RecordingSecretary of Local 300 - NPMHU

Members of the Local 300 Women's Committee-- Standing(left to right): Gwen Green, Shop Steward, NJIBMC;Minerva Fuentes, Shop Steward, Morgan Station (NYC);Dawn Licata, Shop Steward, NYPMPC (Bethpage); LatinaCrenshaw, Shop Steward NNJPMPC (Kearney); YvetteJohnson, Chief Steward and Arbitration AdvocateBrooklyn P&DC; and Elizabeth Sloan, Shop StewardMonmouth P&D. Seated in front (left to right): MyraWilliams-Orr, Stamford and Alberta Prieto, StewardWestchester P&DC. Absent for this photo was CommitteeChair, Linda Yancey, Local 300 Recording Secretary fromthe Flushing P&DC.


$425,000 Won for Stamford, Connecticut Mail Handlers

On March 31, 2004, Local 300 NPMHU proudly announced a major "Casuals in Lieu" Settlement Agreement thatawarded $425,000 to Stamford, Connecticut Mail handlers. Local 300 President Paul Hoigrogian negotiated the settlementand he was assisted by Stamford Branch President Tom Ruther. Former Branch President Chris Colombo processed manyof the grievances through the Grieavance/Arbitration Procedure.

Pictured below are Stamford Mailhandlers at the Branch Meeting at which the victory was announced. (Editor'snote -- At Stamford Branch meetings we often have one-third of the members in attendance.)


Absent willful or deliberatemisconduct, the USPS is to pay forbadges. On April 13, 2004, ArbitratorJoshua M. Javits ruled that "The[United States Postal] Service mustmake a showing of willful or deliberatemisconduct on the part of an em-ployee prior to charging the $6.00replacement fee for a lost electrome-chanical access control badge thatserves as a photo identification cardor badge. Any employee previously

Paying for Badgescharged this fee without such afinding of misconduct having beenmade must be issued a refund if theService cannot show such willful ordeliberate misconduct." The classaction case (USPS No. B98M-1B-C02194333 and NPMHU [Local 301] No.02-112) concerned the Middlesex-Essex P&DC and was heard at theNorth Reading, Massachusetts postalfacility. Advocates for Local 301 MailHandlers were C. Daniel Flathers andEd Mountain.

The Postal Service has announcedits intentions to reopen New YorkCity's Church Street facility in lateJuly or early August of this year. Thefacility, which is located near GroundZero, has been closed since beingseverely damaged in the September11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Local 300, along with unionsrepresenting the other crafts andgovernment agencies who willoccupy the building, have severalhealth and safety concerns relating tothe reoccupation of the Church Streetfacility. Local 300 is a member of the “90Church Street Coalition,” which alsoincludes representatives fromAFSCME, Teamsters, CWA, OSA,PEF, and CSEA. The “90 ChurchStreet Coalition” has been meeting toaddress common concerns with theabatement of contaminants in thebuilding and future monitoring. Anindustrial hygienist from NYCOSHhas also been working with thecoalition on this project. Local 300Safety and Health CoordinatorWilfredo Delgado has been attendingthese meetings. Local 300 is also working closelywith representatives of the APWUand NALC on this issue.Representatives from the APWU,NALC and Local 300 were provided atour of the facility on June 30th. Local300 President Paul Hogrogian, NYCBranch President Richard Thomas,Morgan Steward Anthony Holmes,Station Steward Alan Hall andDelgado participated in the tour. Our major concern is to ensurethat the Postal Service provides asafe and healthy work environmentfor our members. Local 300 believesthat necessary steps in this directioninclude the installation of a newHEPA filtration system and regularsampling and testing throughout thebuilding.

CHURCH STREETSTATION TO REOPEN

On June 2, 2004, the SenateCommittee on Governmental Affairsunanimously approved S. 2468, apostal reform bill that rejects nearly allof the anti-worker proposals that weresubmitted by the Postal Service andby the President’s Commission on thePostal Service. The vote to send thebill to the full Senate was 17-0.

Prior to passing the bill out ofCommittee, by a slim 9-8 vote theCommittee approved Senator JoeLieberman’s (D-CT) amendment,supported by the NPMHU and theAPWU, to limit worksharingdiscounts offered to mailers. If suchdiscounts go unchecked, they cancost Mail Handlers and other postalworkers their jobs. Senator ArlenSpecter (R-PA) joined with all eightDemocrats to vote for the change.

Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) andTom Carper (D-DE) cobbled togetherlegislation that provides more pricingflexibility for the Postal Service, andresolves in favor of the Postal Servicea multi-billion dollar problem withCivil Service Retirement payments,health care for retirees, and retirementbenefits of military veterans. The billrejects dramatic changes in collectivebargaining, reduced annuity andhealth benefits, a two-tieredretirement system, a Postal czar with

power to reduce wages and benefits,and other ideas opposed by theNPMHU. Although the White Househas not indicated whether it willsupport or veto the legislation, this isthe first time since 1970 that postalreform legislation is ready for fullSenate and House action.

The Senate bill contains a change inOWCP that is opposed by theNPMHU. It would require injuredworkers to use paid or unpaid leavefor the first three days of an injury, ifthat injury is less than 14 days induration. It also gives employees atage 65, and who have become totallydisabled after September 30, 2004, achoice of either OWCP compensationtotaling 50% of their monthly pay ortheir normal postal retirement. TheNPMHU will continue to lobby tohave this provision removed. TheHouse bill already has rejected asimilar proposal, and makes nochange to OWCP.

What happens next? The bills mustgo to the floor of their respectivechambers for a vote and there is achance that amendments, some ofwhich may be hostile to MailHandlers, will be offered. MailHandlers should stay ready for a callto action on this.

Senate Committee Passes ImprovedPostal Reform Bill


TO ALL MEMBERS OF LOCAL 300 The Local Union Council andmembers of Local 300 of the NationalPostal Mail Handlers Union are proud toannounce the annual competition for theBernard Holloway, John A. Orchard,Edward J. Miller, and Wally MerwinMemorial Scholarship Awards. Once again we will be awarding four$1,000 scholarships for study at anaccredited college, university, or tradeschool. The scholarships are availablefor children, grand-children, and legalwards of our regular members.

The four brothers memorialized in thisscholarship devotely served the causeof Mail Handlers and enabled us all tobenefit. In awarding these scholarships we re-affirm our commitment to increasing theeducational opportunities available toour members and to the working class.We also reaffirm our commitment tostruggle for knowledge and genuinedemocracy in order to create a betterworld in which an informed and enlight-ened people can best decide their fate. All members are urged to read the

“Requirements” for consideration and tourge every eligible applicant--a regularunion member’s child, grand-child, orlegal ward who meets the scholarshiprequirements--to apply. Completedapplications are due by August 6, 2004,and winners will be announced byAugust 27, 2004. Applications and“Requirements” can be obtained fromLocal 300 Shop Stewards or by writingto: 2004 Memorial Scholarshipsc/o Jeff Perry, TreasurerLocal 300401 Broadway, Suite 1400New York, N.Y. 10013

2004 BERNARD HOLLOWAY, JOHN A. ORCHARD, EDWARD J. MILLER, AND WALLY MERWIN

MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

Local 300 Local Union Council in ActionFrom left to right--Emilio Milito, Teterboro President Branch; Linda Yancey, Recording Secretary; Stan Howard, AMC-JFKBranch President; Lawrence Hill, NY State Executive Board Member; Trevor Stuart, Flushing Banch President; TomStanziale, Brooklyn Branch President; Bob Lussos, Mid-Island Branch President; Joe DiChiara, Western Nassau BranchPresident; Kevin Tabarus, NYPMPC Branch President; James Smoot, NJPMPC Branch President; Andre Spence, BronxBranch President; Brian Odoms, West Jersey Branch President; and Andre Haynes NJIBMC Branch President.


www.local300npmhu.orgLocal 300 is taking important steps to improve communication with and among our members. Our newspaper is one

example. In the long run, however, our most important example may be our webpage.

Our webpage, under the editorship of Treasurer Jeff Perry, is an important means of communication and a source ofinformation for our officers, stewards, and members.

The website can be reached on the internet at www.local300npmhu.org. Its opening page lists links to subject areaswhere people can get all kinds of information. It begins with listings of work addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses,and (where applicable) fax numbers and websites for our officers and major branches. It then has announcements, news, acalendar of events, a contract information section (with important rules, regulations, and victories), a benefits and privilegessection, an information for members section (that includes such things as the workers’ bill of rights), lists of labor and othercontacts, a legislative section, a safety section, a section for readers’ questions and comments, an election results section,photos from our officers' installation, minutes from our unions’ Executive Board and Local Union Council, and a commentarysection.

The website is a major effort of this administration to build a truly democratic union, to increase the information flowat all levels, to share knowledge, and develop an informed membership, with the aim of improving our work conditions, ourlives, and our collective strength in our struggles with the bosses. We do believe that KNOWLEDGE IS POWER and that ADEMOCRATIC UNION MAKES US STRONG.. We hope that you will visit the website and give us your thoughts, comments,and ideas.

GIVE US A CLICK – www.local300npmhu.org

Local 300 Mail Handler News July 2004 Page 1 LOCAL 300...

Documents

Transcript of Local 300 Mail Handler News July 2004 Page 1 LOCAL 300...