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COPA Contributions near $7,500! 

Please stay tuned as we will be drawing six more names when our COPA thermometer tops the $7,500 level!  COPA contributions give us new tools to forge coalitions with those who can help influence and protect our jobs, benefits and retirement!
 

Update on USPS Plans for Facilities within Minneapolis Jurisdiction!

The flash bulletin of June 24, 2009, brought your attention to a project the Minneapolis Postmaster was launching that would call public input meetings for the purpose of reviewing the continuation of the Butler, Commerce & Dinkytown Post Offices.   On June 29, 2009, we received a call from the Postmaster to let us know that they had moved too quickly and that for the time being those reviews were being cancelled. 

This was welcomed news; however, we have subsequently learned that many facilities within our jurisdiction will continue to be under the microscope in the upcoming months, including Butler, Commerce and Dinkytown.

On June 30, 2009, District Manager Tony Williams held a telephone – web conference to discuss a new USPS endeavor called the “Station Branch Optimization & Consolidation” (SBOC) project.  Besides the Minneapolis Area Local, there were APWU and NALC local and state representatives from other area jurisdictions invited to participate in the tele/web conference

We (the local) believe that along with the present financial woes of the USPS the genesis of the SBOC most likely comes as a result of field hearings the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) had throughout the country in 2008.  During those field hearings many of the “Postal Stake Holders” who were invited to testify told the PRC that they felt the USPS could save significant costs by reducing certain offices within the USPS infrastructure.  The offices they suggested to the PRC were retail facilities that were in close proximity to each other within dense metropolitan areas along with inner and outer ring suburbs.

For more information on this click here.

Know Your Rights & Use Them!
EMPLOYEE'S RIGHT TO UNION REPRESENTATION

Named for a 1975 Supreme Court decision, Weingarten Rights provide that a union-represented employee has the right to a steward when facing an investigatory interview.  The important thing to remember about Weingarten Rights is that management (or Postal Inspectors &/or Office of Inspector General Agents) is not required to advise you of this right.  It is the responsibility of the employee to be aware of this right and to request representation.

Under the Supreme Court’s Weingarten decision, the following rules apply to investigatory interviews:  The employee can request union representation before or at any time during the interview.  When an employee asks for representation, the employer must choose from among three options: (1) Grant the request and delay questioning until the union representative arrives; (2) Deny the request and end the interview immediately; or (3) Give the employee the choice of: (a) having the interview without representation or (b) ending the interview.  If the employer denies the request for union representation and continues the meeting, the employee can refuse to answer questions!

Time and time again employees jeopardize their employment by failing to exercise their right to have counsel BEFORE venturing into an intimidating and sometimes complicated process.  Exercising this right has absolutely NOTHING TO DO with whether you are guilty or innocent of any wrong doing.  Think of it as asking for directions before taking a long trip to unfamiliar territory!

Don’t take a trip and end up in a nightmare – ask for directions!   All members are invited to cut this out and keep it available:

Weingarten Rights
Must be read by employee
“If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated or have any effect on my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my Union representative, officer or steward be present at this meeting. Without Union representation, I choose not to participate in this discussion.”