General Membership Meeting Minutes

Meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM at 918 Benjamin NE, Grand Rapids.
Meeting was opened with the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation.

Moment of silence was observed for Brother Dave Schuitema, who passed away recently.

Roll Call of Officers:

Present:

Jennifer Amos, President
Steve Lang, AO Director
Amy Marcus, Executive Vice-President
Dan Quillin, Clerk Craft Director
Karen Hodges, Recording Secretary
James Myszka, Maintenance Director
Linda Chandler, Treasurer
Michelle Gregory, Sgt-at-Arms
Absent:
Scott Larabel, MVS Director

June General Meeting Minutes were accepted as written.

Applications for Membership: Keri Lyn Rose, Clerk, GR, Shawn Palmer, Clerk, GR, David Nelson, Maintenance, GR, Russell Nicholson, Clerk, GR, Sadario Hardiman, Clerk, GR, Charles Sattleberg, Clerk, GR, Karen Bartee, Clerk, GR, Joseph Perez, Clerk, GR, Anita Knash, Clerk, GR, Deborah Erridge, Clerk, GR, Cynthia Delafuente, Clerk, GR, Jodie Minda, Clerk, GR, Officer’s Reports:

Treasurer’s: Chandler: Read June thru Aug MSC

Clerk Craft Director: Quillin: Glad to see everyone here at the meeting. The big issues we are battling right now for one is some of the duties of the general expeditor being given to the mailhandlers. I have filed a class action grievance on this that the work be returned and affected clerks are compensated. There is an arbitration hearing scheduled for the 25th of September for the mailhandlers to try and convince the arbitrator that this is their work. The APWU will intervene on that arbitration and hopefully the Mailhandlers will lose it. If they do all the hours the mailhandlers were working will be compensated to all affected clerks. Same thing holds true for the Automation OCR runner. More recently the mailhandlers have been bringing mail directly to the automation machines. This has been grieved in the past and won by clerks twice. This is our job.

We are supposed to be swapping the FSM 1000 for the FSM 100 from Kalamazoo. They are scheduled to switch sometime in October. As far as staffing goes there is no change to be made to Tour 1. On Tour 2 and Tour 3 management plans to take the 5 FSM 100 crews we currently have and add 2 more for a total of seven. Then they plan to take the current seven 1000 crews we have on each tour and take away to have a total of five. Jennifer Amos and Jennifer Gilbert are ironing out the bugs. They will keep me updated on the progress.

The recent bid awards came out and out of the 17 jobs, 11 went unbid; I just got 8 new PTF’s prefed, look’s like there’s more to come. I am hoping to get some of the light/limited duty PTF’s prefed into a manual residual if one comes up. Then I can withdraw the grievance I filed on their behalf. Management has stated to me that they will convert these PTF’s if a job comes up within their restrictions.

In August I attended the Multi-craft conference. I found it quite educational. Some of the classes were on excessing, negotiating skills, and contract interpretation. We have stewards training coming up on Monday and we will be sharing this information with them. I also had an opportunity to talk with several National Officers.

AO Director: Lang: I will be meeting with Lori Layne (acting POOM) we will be opening up local negotiations on October 3rd. Sylvia Taylor should be back then. We are looking to have one consistent LMOU for all the AO’s to go by. Being included in the Function 4’s. Stewards are having problems getting the time off to attend Stewards training. Jennifer and I will be visiting all the AO’s. Flags are not being put at half mast like the governor has ordered

Maintenance Director: Myszka: Staffing packages are back. New jobs were supposed to be posted but weren’t. This will be done shortly. Decision on the ABC route, grievance should be settled soon. Moving of the FSM 1000’s to Kalamazoo. Postal Service wants to contract the job out. Union taking a stand that it should be done with our maintenance department. Discussion.

Executive Vice President: Marcus: Thanks for sending me to the Multi Craft conference, attended very informative classes. Learned a lot about new reports that we have access to that will assist in the grievance procedure and in representing our members This was the Information Age of a Steward. Will be holding Stewards training on Monday September 12. This will be an 8 hour class. We will be sharing and educating the stewards that were not in attendance at the craft conference.

We have lost quite a few members to either retirement or to the mailhandler craft. USPS has recently hired some PTF clerks. Jennifer has been attending the orientation and is doing a wonderful job on organizing them. We have only a few that didn’t sign up and I will follow up on them. I also have a letter done that I will be sending to the non members soon. We have roughly 132 non members.

I would like to thank Linda Chandler for putting organizing packets together for me. I do appreciate your help and support.

Management is still hiring casuals. A lot of members are concerned about a casual in lieu of grievance. One has been filed. Dan will be staying on top of it.

Legislative Issues: Hodges: I attended the Legislative Class held at the Multi Craft Conference. It was very informative. We were given a Statement of Administration Policy letter put out by the White House in regards to the Postal Reform. Myke Reid, National Legislative Director, informed us of some of the Postal Reform committee members that are made up of several people, one being a Texas Socialite Carolyn Gallagher, if she had it her way she would like to see our wages cut by 25%. She feels our wages and benefits should be comparable to grocery store clerks. This would mean we would not have another raise for the rest of our postal careers. We need to contact our congressmen and senators with letters and emails to keep the Postal Service from becoming privatized. Same with the Social Security Act. I will be posting a list of several internet links that you can visit in regards to legislative issues.

The Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) won by 2 votes 217 to 215. Two were absent from voting. APWU made it very clear that anyone voting for this agreement would not receive another dime of COPA money.

Presidents: Amos: APWU will be doing a survey of every single office through out the country, determining what percentage of clerk work the Postmaster is doing. I would like to thank COSTCO representatives for coming to the union hall tonight. We wanted to give the members an alternative to SAM’club. You can still sign up just let me know.

Thank you for sending me to the Multi Craft conference. Great teachers and great classes. The Mailhandlers have been taking over some of the clerk work. Seems Mr. Kubick has told supervisors that the clerks are not supposed to be doing it. It is a mailhandlers job in Chicago and it will be here also. Mr. Meyer a National Arbitrator will be here to decide who gets the expeditor job. George Hendricks did a report on the expeditor for me. Thanks George.

The 10 hour 4 day schedules. If anyone is interested please contact me before September 30th. The postmaster did away with it.

The board approved a poll to donate $500 to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Wyatt a NE station maintenance guy is driving down to Mississippi with a trailer full of supplies.

September 24th we will begin processing Kalamazoo’s Saturday only mail. Accounting jobs are being abolished

Committee Reports:

Retirees: Hendricks: President Amos attended our meeting and she presided over the swearing in of officer’s ceremony. I want to thank the membership for sending me to the Multicraft Conference Attended the retirement, legislative classes. Gave a little report on Apathy. Beginning soon Marketers will have access to your cell phone numbers, There is a DO NOT CALL LIST 1-888-382-1222. This does work. Make sure you call now because you will be charged for all the marketing calls

A&E Marcus: The golf outing is scheduled for May 22nd next year. Jim Stoddard is chair. He has received numerous donations. The Labor Day Parade was cancelled this year due to lack of money but it will be going on next year, we had a nice turn out for the Picnic. We will have the picnic at Millennium Park next year On June 11th. We are talking about a Casino bus trip to Leelanau sometime in October. Would be a color tour also. Christmas party. We want to have a children’s party during the day and an adult’s party at night.

COPA: Marcus for Beemblossom: Cans for COPA from the union office downtown from January through August. $142.00.

VETERAN’S: Austin wanted to know how this was coming. Don Kramer would be a great one for this. .Don would like to put up the Veteran’s display in the lobby for Veteran’s day. Can’t get access to the building. It takes 4 hours to set up and it is displayed for 2 weeks. One week prior to and one week after Veteran’s day. Jennifer will get access for Don.

Correspondence:
Thank you from John Clark and Family for flowers and fruit basket, Thank you from Glenn Floyd for our prayers and thoughts for his loss. Thank you from Jim Wheeler for the retirement watch and check. Thank you and a picture plaque of the Greenville Recreation Department for sponsoring a softball team. Thank you from Josh Smith and Tim Kirkwood for the donation to help sponsor the River City kids Fishing tournament. A letter from United Farm workers asking us to say no to Gallo wine. A letter in regards to the American Diabetes Association America’s Walk for Diabetes on Saturday, October 22, 2002 at Freedom Plaza in Washington DC

Board Recommendations:

To purchase a laptop computer for the editor of the paper at a cost of $1000 or less. Amended by Austin second by Hendricks to purchase a laptop computer for the recording secretary as well. Discussion Carried

New Business

Point of privilege: Hendricks Thanked the President and Vice President for attending the retirement meeting.

A note for the Social and Recreation Dept. When they had their Zoo to Do in August, Don Kramer had arranged a Car show and Music and they were ignored at the other end of the park.

Scott Achterhoff is our Retirement Representative for those that aren’t retired.

Point of Information: There will be a benefit for an Iraq Veteran who was wounded and is now blind. Corporal Dustin P. Howell. This will be held at the VFW Hall in Wayland on Saturday September 24. Starting at noon, music and food.

Motion: Austin Second: Long Make it a policy for any representative from this local who attends a National or State Convention/Conference, to write an article to the local’s paper with in 2 deadlines. Carried

Motion: Norman Second: Austin To extend the meeting until the end of business. Carried

Point of Information: Kramer. Thank you for the watch and I would like to put out information on Veterans. We need to spend a lot of time with these men and women. They need volunteers. Ask for Jan Rosochacki. Phone number is 616 364-5331. She is the Community and Volunteer Specialist.

Motion: Austin Second: Gregory. To donate $5000 to the Red Cross for the Hurricane Katrina Victims. Friendly Amendment: Hodges Second: Gregory. To donate the money to the Postal Relief Fund. Carried

We have three Constitutional Changes submitted.

Labor Management: Lowering of Flags ordered by the governor. To let Don Kramer in the building to do the Veterans Display in the Lobby. Picnic where the leftover food went.

Drawings:

COPA $22.00 Won by Tina Meyer $22.00

VOE drawing was won by Dan Nash $50.00

Special Drawing for a cookbook from Costco: Mike Hill winner

$10.00 drawings were won by: Sonja Bergers, Joan Fifelski, Tammy Byrnes, and Jackie Pike

Meeting adjourned at 9:12 PM

Respectfully Submitted

Karen Hodges
Recording Secretary

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