April 2014Volume 24 Number 4

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDFort Myers, FLPermit No. 139

Questions Arising In Many USPS StationsAnd Branches About Proper Postal Procedures

THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AREA LOCAL AMERICAN POSTAL WORKERS UNION

QUESTIONS ABOUTPROPER PROCEDURES

Recently, there have been many ques-tions concerning proper Postal proce-dures. Management in nearly every USPSstation and branch are issuing ordersthat may not seem proper. Although mostof these orders may not be grievable,they may need to be addressed byDistrict Postal Officials. I have asked ourmembers to send me an e-mail of whatorders are being give to them so that Ican forward the information to theappropriate officials.

I am not looking to have our mem-bers inundate me with lots of e-mails. I am looking for thoseissues where the APWU couldlose work, employees could bedisciplined, or customers may beharmed because of such orders.

LOBBY DIRECTOR WORK

We have been winning caseswhere employees documentsupervisors or other craft employ-ees are performing what manage-ment calls as "Lobby Sweeps".The term "Lobby Sweep" is simplythat management works in thelobby for short periods of time(usually from 1-10 minutes at atime) to reduce the length of thelines.

The problem is, these supervisorsare directed to stay in the lobby forlonger periods of time. When theyare in the lobby for longer periods,this had been determined by arbi-trators to become Lobby Directorwork and Clerk Craft employeesmust be compensated (usually atthe overtime rate for the time theyspent performing that function).

Here is the problem however;employees are not properly docu-menting the exact times and whatsupervisor is performing that work.This allows management to getaway with performing those dutieswithout a monetary award.

I constantly hear our memberscomplaining as to how employeesat certain stations and branchesreceive monetary awards whileother do not (even though similargrievances were filed). Theanswer is very simple. More oftenthan not, those offices wheremoney is awarded, it will be foundthat those cases had employeeswho documented their casesthoroughly.

Employee statements are the keyto every case. Many believe that aStep 1 Union Steward is the key towinning a case. The fact is that it isthe statement from the grievant or

witnesses that are the key to prov-ing a contract violation or winninga discipline case. Too many timesI hear of employees wanting topick and choose who will repre-sent them. The fact is that theyhave the power in their statementto win that grievance.

This issue has been written aboutin many articles in this paper yetwe continue to get complaintsabout why some offices are notcreated equally. If you begin writ-ing statements that prove viola-tions are occurring in your office,other offices will be wondering whyyour office is always winningcases.

SMALL OFFICE STEWARDS

Sometimes you get those mem-bers who write good statements tobecome APWU Shop Stewards.Two of those small office memberswho do such a great job are KathyMoyer (Bokeelia) and Julio Mayo(Marco Island). These two individ-uals have been instrumental inmaking their Postmasters account-able and insuring that proper pro-cedures are being followed.

SWFAL-APWU RI-399 LAWSUIT

It appears that USPS officials inWashington DC are at least talkingabout our case more than evernow that our lawyers have filedcourt documents. As of the writingof this article, USPS officials havebeen issued a subpoena and noti-fied what Judge has beenassigned our case. We are confi-dent that the reason our case isbeing discussed more now isbecause of our attorney's legalaction.

Dan Gray, Paul McAvoy and Ihave been very busy as theamount owed to our membershipultimately has to be documented inas many ways as we can.

Sam WoodPresident

SWFAL APWU

Southwest Florida Area Local 11000 Metro Parkway, Unit 8 Fort Myers, FL 33966

Alva, Bokeelia, Bonita Springs, Captiva,Chokoloskee, Estero, Fort Myers,

Fort Myers Beach, Immokalee, Labelle,Lehigh Acres, Marco Island, Naples, Placida,

Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Rotunda,St. James City and Sanibel

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

See: Questions Arising AboutProper Postal ProceduresContinued on Page 6

IN THIS EDITION OF

THE EAGLE’S EYEQuestions Arising In Many USPS Stations

And Branches AboutProper Postal Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Secretary-Treasurer’s Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

The F-1 Scheduler, Fact Finding Meetings,Deception, AssumptionsAnd A Crystal Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Management Improperly Staffing DBCSMachines And A Reminder OfUSPS Employee Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Addressing Your Safety Concerns . . . . . . . . . 6

How Far Postal Management MustProgress To Get To The 21st Century . . . 6

A Postal Union Alliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

SWFAL Membership News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

PROUD MEMBER

2 THE EAGLE’S EYE APRIL 2014

Southwest Florida

Area Local, APWU11000 Metro Parkway, Unit 8

Fort Myers, FL 33966

239-275-1007

Open 9am-3pm, Monday-Friday

WEBSITE ADDRESS

www.swfloridaapwu.org

PRESIDENT

Sam Wood

SWoodFla@aol.com

239-823-APWU

VICE-PRESIDENT

Dan Gray

VPswfal@aol.com

239-834-2736

SECRETARY-TREASURER

Felicia Gluhareff

SecTreaSWFAL@aol.com

CLERK CRAFT DIRECTOR

Paul McAvoy

ClerkCraftSWFAL@aol.com

MAINTENANCE CRAFT

DIRECTOR

Mickey Szymonik

Maintdirswfal@aol.com

239-834-2900

EDITOR

Kathy Moyer

EdSWFAL@aol.com

MOTOR VEHICLE CRAFT

DIRECTOR

Vacant

TRUSTEES

Daniel Carinci

Grace Baer

David Grant

SAFETY & HEALTH

COMMITTEE

David Grant

Wendy Skaff

CONSTITUTION COMMITTEE

Dan Gray, Chairman

Felicia Gluhareff

Paul McAvoy

Kathy Moyer

NATIONAL MAILING ADDRESS

Per Capita Section

APWU, AFL-CIO

1300 L Street NW

Washington, DC 20005

FLORIDA POSTAL WORKER

The Florida Postal Worker

P.O. Box 8363

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33310

www.apwuflorida.org

SECRETARY-TREASURER’S REPORT

Felicia Gluhareff

March 16, 2014

CALL TO ORDER:Time 9:30 a.m. There were 17members in attendance.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:The pledge of allegiance was ledby Patricia Fraser.

ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS:Felicia Gluhareff performed theroll call of officers. Present wereSam Wood, Dan Gray, FeliciaGluhareff, Paul McAvoy andKathy Moyer. Paul McAvoymade a motion to excuse MickeySzymonik due to illness in thefamily. The motion passed.

MAP:Barbara Carr told a joke in honorof Charles Glennon.

NEW MEMBERS:Welcome Beverly Mann,Maureen Casciani, Karina Rider,Halat Tinsley, Patrick Miller,Evelyn Leonardo, StephanieKruvelis, Mark Zbieranowski andAnnette Vivona.

EXECUTIVE BOARDMINUTES:Sam Wood is looking into waysto save money on our businesslandlines for the plant and theunion hall. Lisa Griswoldresigned as steward. Issueregarding scanning mail that istoo big to fit into P.O. Boxes as“delivered”. Sam will be askingthe NBAs what the proper proce-dure is. Latest Postmaster videoaddresses the issue of incorrect-ly scanning parcels as delivered.Grievances in Naples discussed.Management feels they do notneed to use progressive disci-pline on PSEs. Our local is chal-lenging this. The executiveboard would like to endorse JimDemauro as State EducationDirector and Joe Paul as StateClerk Craft Director. They haveboth been very helpful to ourlocal and the state of Florida. Wewill bring a vote up to the mem-bership for a local endorsement.

SECRETARY-TREASURER’S REPORT:Paul McAvoy made a motion toaccept the minutes as printed inlast month’s Eagle’s Eye. Themotion passed. Our QuickBookshas been sent to Myers,Brettholtz & Company, PA for

completion of our 990 and LM3forms. Sam and I sent a letter toNational about 3 weeks ago tohave our local’s dues depositedinto our Local’s new TPCUaccount but they are still beingdeposited into our Wells Fargobusiness account. I will make afollow up phone call to Nationalthis week.

REPORT / SELECTION OFCOMMITTEES:None

REPORT OF CONVENTIONCOMMITTEES:None

REPORT OF TRUSTEES:Grace Baer reported that theywould like to schedule an audit inMay.

COMMUNICATIONS:Letter from national explainingbenefits of ABA. All members inour local are automaticallyenrolled in the low coverageplan. Each member may pur-chase higher coverage. ThePunta Gorda, Pt. Charlotte areawill be converting one NTFT bidto a FTR bid. Sam Wood read aletter from Sue Johnson who istransferring to Ohio at the end ofMarch. She will be missed!March 22 - May 22 National willbe having an organizationaldrive. Florida AFL-CIO sent a let-ter encouraging members to getinvolved in Working FamiliesArmy Corps. Letter form KarenWalker regarding Lean MailProcessing. This will minimally, ifat all, affect us.

UPDATE OF GRIEVANCES:Management not making everyeffort to find work for injured let-ter carriers in their own craft.Scanning issues in Bokeelia andTice. Management is instructingclerks to do improper scans.Sam will be checking into thecorrect procedure. Please sendSam a detailed email if you areexperiencing this at your stationas well.

OLD BUSINESS:Patricia Fraser spoke aboutsupervisors doing clerk work atthe plant. Clerks need to ask tosee their union steward and writea statement if you see this hap-pening. We have been assigneda judge for our RI-399 lawsuit.Management is now hinting thatthey would have been willing tosettle without our lawyers but ourlocal gave them every effort toopen up communication with us

before hiringa lawyer andthey did notrespond. Ourlawyer has issued the PO a sub-poena for documents pertinentto our lawsuit. As an indicatorthat management has no inten-tions of abiding by the arbitrationaward, they have posted 5 newlycreated AI bids for mailhandlers.As of yet there is no court datescheduled.

NEW BUSINESS:Our wireless router at plant isgetting bogged down and has tobe reset often. Sam haschanged the router 4 times andwe are still having issues. Thatrouter is for dues paying mem-bers only. Members should notbe giving the password out tonon-members. The extra trafficof non-members could possiblybe adding to the WiFi perform-ance issues. Please to not take itupon yourself to reset the WiFi ifin the union area, ask yoursteward to do it for you.

LABOR / MANAGEMENT:None

GOOD AND WELFARE:The winner of the COPA 50/50drawing was Patricia Fraser whowon $36.00. The total nettedwas $72.00. Pat donated $20 ofher winnings back to COPA. Thename drawn for the member’sincentive award was BrendonTaylor. He would have won$50.00 had he been present atthis month’s GMM. The pot willbe $60.00 at next month’smeeting.

ELECTION OF OFFICERSAND DELEGATES:None

LEFTOVERS:Dan Gray made a motion toendorse Jim Demauro for StateEducation Director and Joe Paulas State Clerk Craft Director.The motion passed.

ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS:Felicia Gluhareff performed theroll call of officers. The resultswere recorded.

NEXT MEETING:Robert Nowall moved to havethe next meeting on April 13,2014 at 9:30 a.m. at the unionhall. The motion passed.

ADJOURNMENT:Robert Nowall moved to adjournat 10:49 a.m. The motionpassed.

Secretary-Treasurer’s ReportFelicia Gluhareff

APRIL 2014 THE EAGLE’S EYE 3

This hasbeen a veryactive monthfor griev-ances.

During lateFebruary, ane m p l o y e eworking in thePARS areadecided itwould befunny to put an obscenity on mailthat was sent out to mailers. Themailers who received this werequite upset, as I would be if Ireceived this on my mail.

I would like to add a disclaimerbefore I continue. I and the APWUin no way condone this behavior.We have all fought and worked toohard to keep the P&DC open.When we all were hired we had totake an oath to protect the sanctityof the mail. This type of action isinexcusable.

Now on to the witch hunt.Management decided they wouldtalk to all the employees who wereeither in PARS or on operationnumber 560 at the time theobscenity was placed on mailpieces and run on the machine.Management decided to call themfact finding missions or fact findingmeetings.

Management decided to bring anarray of guests/interviewers to per-form these fishing trips for thetruth. Postmasters LeroyMiddleton and Richard Barbercame in to show the seriousnessof this action.

When Richard Barber started toask questions Tour 3 StewardDanny Carinci asked, “Are youasking questions”? Barberanswered, “Yes”. Danny then said,“Then this is an investigative inter-view”.

Management insisted that this wasnot an II and it was strictly a meet-ing to get insight and would not beused for discipline. (Yeah, and Ihave a bridge to sell you too).

I was the steward for one of thesefact finding fishing trips on Tour 1with MDO Kirk Charles and aTour 1 manual clerk.

The clerk happened to be on over-time for manual on the night inquestion when Supervisor Priscillaasked her to clock on 560 andlabel some trays. This was alsodone by at least two other clerks; Iexplained this to MDO Kirk andasked him to simply interview hissupervisor and ask her about thethree employees in question. Inthat way, we would not have totake 3 clerks, a steward (myself)and the Tour 1 MDO off the floor todo something that was a total

ridiculousness.

Kirk: I was told I have to ask therest of these questions.

Paul: But the remaining questionshave already been answered.

Kirk: Let’s go on. What machinewere you working on?

Employee: I already told you that Iwas working on the flat sorter.

Kirk: Were you assigned to CIOSS53 at any time frame on 2/21/14?

Employee: No, I am a manualclerk and hardly ever work inautomation.

Kirk: Do you remember who wasassigned to CIOSS 53 on 2/21/14?

Employee: No, I was in the back ofthe building and in manual allnight.

Kirk: Do you remember anythingabout CIOSS 53 on 2/21/14?

Employee: No, As far as I knowthose are tour 3 Machines. I don'teven know which machine is #53.

I could go through the other 8 use-less questions that were asked,but I think you got the idea.

As of the writing of this article man-agement has still not found theperson who intentionally defacedthe mail. They are determined todiscipline someone - anyone - forthis incident. Judging by past his-tory, management will probablyuse deception, assumptions andseverely discipline an employeewithout proof (burden of proof is onmanagement with disciplinecases) and probably the wrongemployee at that.

BID REVERSION

Management in February revertedthe bid of a long time scab whohad retired. The reason on thereversion notice read as follows:

Management is currently review-ing bids under the F-1 Schedulerand has no plans to repost until wemake a determination on the needfor bids.

Now I, being the non-believing sortwhen it comes to management,submitted an information requestfor the F-1 Scheduler.

I received a note back from ActingPlant Manager Karen Walker thatstated in part: There is no F-1scheduler to provide. It is a systemwhere a lot of data was gatheredand inputted, but nothing that canbe printed and given to the union.

At that point I sent another infor-mation request asking for the infor-

mation and data that was gatheredand inputted.

I then received the followinganswer: This is a computer basedprogram where we put in data likevolume, mail arrival profile, trans-portation, etc. There is nothingprintable to provide the union.

HUH? How can you put informa-tion in a program and not be ableto either print it or send to theunion for review?

I, of course, then informationrequested the volume reports, themail arrival profile, transportationreports and any other reports orinformation, that was inputted intothe F-1 scheduler.

I then received a note from Ms.Walker that said in part: Nothingfurther can be provided on thisrequest.

So, then I ask for any and allimpact statements for F-1 sched-uler or labor scheduler that wasused to revert the manual bid.

The answer I received was that thebid was reverted because we donot have a need for the bid.

This was totally inconsistent withthe original reason given on thereversion notice. I guess, the F-1scheduler, is like a crystal ball thatmagically tells management whatbids to revert, because there is noinformation available to review. Wehave grieved and appealed to step2 grievances on both the reversionand failure to provide information.

In closing, I would like to congratu-late new mail handler branch pres-ident Chris Strang on his electionwin. I hope we can work harmo-niously together in fighting man-agement and their total disregardfor our CBA's, and not each other.

waste of everyone's time.

MDO Kirk Charles checked withthe powers that be and was toldNo, absolutely not, these fact find-ing meetings must be done.

So, Kirk, myself and an employeego to a room to have this so calledfact finding meeting. I tell Kirk thishas all the earmarks of an inves-tigative interview. He insists it isnot an investigative interview andproceeds with this opening state-ment: This is a fact finding meetingonly in order for us to gain someinsight on how the issue of defac-ing of mail (RTS machine boppingprofanity) may have happenedand by whom, considering thenegative effect this can have onour company.

According to the ELM 665.3 (coop-eration in investigations) employ-ees must cooperate in any postalinvestigation, including Office ofInspector General investigations.

I then jumped in and said this is aninvestigative interview. You areasking questions and in yourabove statement said it was aninvestigation.

Kirk then told us, no it isn't, we arecalling it a fact finding meeting. Ireplied, “You can call it a walk onthe beach if you want, but yourconducting an interview and aninvestigation, hence an investiga-tive interview. Let’s get this overwith. Can you tell me where in thecontract I can find anything onFact Finding meetings”? I wasanswered with a shake of, andthen scratching of, his head.

Now is where it goes from ridicu-lous to idiotic. Below are excerptsfrom the interview.

Kirk: Were you working on2/21/14?

Employee: Yes.

Kirk: Were you working in PARSarea on 2/21/14?

Employee: No, I was working onthe Flat Sorter/AI because it hadbroken down.

Kirk: What operation were youworking on between 2015 and2115 on 2/21/14?

Employee: Priscilla asked us toclock over to 560 and label flatsorter.

Kirk: Were you working in manualPARS or on a PARS machineoperation?

Employee: No.

PAUL: Kirk, she has pretty muchexplained everything. I don't thinkwe need to go any further with this

The F-1 Scheduler, Fact Finding Meetings,Deception, Assumptions And A Crystal Ball

Paul McAvoyClerk Craft Director

SWFAL APWU

4 THE EAGLE’S EYE APRIL 2014

At the FortMyers P&DCwe are cur-rently dealingwith safetyc o n c e r n sr e g a r d i n gthe properstaffing ofthe DBCSmachines.

Managementcontinues to fail to meet thestaffing requirements for theDBCS machines as set forth in theJCIM and as outlined in the On-The Job Safety Review/Analysis(JSA).

This has been the past practice (2employees to a DBCS) since theintroduction of the DBCSmachines at the Fort Myers P&DC.

Tour One MDO Kirk Charles statedmanagements rational for thereducing of staffing on the DBCSis that they are over budget andneed to cut work hours.

Management is also claiming thedecreased BPI is another reasonfor management’s justification forforcing employees to work one to aDBCS.

Supervisors are also stating thatthey are being directed to evenunderstaff more DBCSs than theyalready have. Management is nowunderstaffing five (5) to eleven (11)DBCSs a night on Tour One.

Management is in violation of theNational Agreement, their owninstructions and staffing require-ments by requiring one clerk towork on the DBCS. Article 37OCR-BCS-DBCS Staffing clearlystates two Mail Processing clerksas “normal staffing”.

Management failed to properlystaff the operation by not utilizingthe available OTDL clerks.DBCS’s were improperly staffedwith one clerk by management.

IT is ergonomically unsound andunsafe for management to requireone clerk to run the DBCS alonewhere a proper sweeping andfeeding rotation is impossible tomaintain. Management is forcingthese employees to work alone atan increased risk of repetitivemotion injuries.

The JSA for both “sweeping” and“feeding” of DBCS states, “Rotatejob function with feeder every halfhour to 45 minutes to preventcumulative trauma disorders”.

The JSA which is established byboth management and the Unionalso listed under “Potential Hazardor Accident” states “Repetitivemotion injuries”. This is almostimpossible to do and properly dis-

patch the mail on time (if properrotation is followed).

In the October 2007 OSHA Reportfrom the Denver Processing &Distribution Center it states “TheDBCS machines continue to be anarea of significant concernbecause musculoskeletal disorder(MSD)-related injuries/illnessescontinue to occur.”

Page 22 of the NIOSH HealthHazard Evaluation Report 92-073-2337 states concerning allautomated Mail Processingmachines:

1. Assign additional sweeper tothe machines (particularly theDBCS).

2. Limit the time spent workingon machines (particularly theDBCS). This control measurecould require identification oflighter duty work activitiesfor workers rotating outof the feeder and sweeperpositions.

3. Provide additional rest breaksfor employees working onmachines (particularly theDBCS). One way to increaserest time is to process moremail in the way that zones arerun: sort mail in smaller lotsso that the machines areperiodically shut down, withboth the feeder and sweeperclearing out the stackers,and then allowed on or bothto leave the work area toreturn empty mail carriers inexchange for filled ones.

Management continues to turn ablind eye to safety and is onlyconcerned with numbers.

Management has continuallyreverted bids and because of thisfact does not have an adequatenumber of job bids in Automationto staff the DBCS machines on anightly basis.

Management also doesn’t properlyutilize the new class of employee“PSE” to help in staffing issues.The only concern that manage-ment has is their own numbers,and nothing more.

Management is only attempting toincrease their own BPI with noregards to the safety of theemployees or proper staffing of theDBCSs as outlined in the NationalAgreement, handbooks, and man-uals, NIOSH Report or OSHAReport.

If you are being required to workon a DBCS by yourself ask to see

Daniel M. GrayVice PresidentSWFAL APWU

Management Improperly Staffing DBCS MachinesAnd A Reminder Of USPS Employee Rights

In the October 2007 OSHA Report from the DenverProcessing & Distribution Center it states “The DBCSmachines continue to be an area of significant concernbecause musculoskeletal disorder (MSD)-relatedinjuries/illnesses continue to occur.”

Page 22 of the NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation Report 92-073-2337 states concerning all automated Mail Processingmachines:

1. Assign additional sweeper to the machines(particularly the DBCS).

2. Limit the time spent working on machines(particularly the DBCS). This control measure couldrequire identification of lighter duty work activities forworkers rotating out of the feeder and sweeperpositions.

3. Provide additional rest breaks for employees workingon machines (particularly the DBCS). One way toincrease rest time is to process more mail in the waythat zones are run: sort mail in smaller lots so that themachines are periodically shut down, with both thefeeder and sweeper clearing out the stackers, andthen allowed on or both to leave the work area toreturn empty mail carriers in exchange for filled ones.

Management continues to turn a blind eye to safety and isonly concerned with numbers.

See: A Reminder of USPSEmployee RightsContinued on Page 5

APRIL 2014 THE EAGLE’S EYE 5

A Supreme Court ruling (Mirandavs. Arizona, 1966) holds that notonly must a law enforcement offi-cer advise an individual of certainrights, the officer must be sure thatthese rights are understood.

Before being questioned by apostal inspector or OIG agent, youshould be told;

(1) you have the right to remainsilent;

(2) anything you say can beused against you incourt;

(3) you have the right to talk toa lawyer before being askedany questions, and to havea lawyer with you duringquestioning (and if youcannot afford a lawyer, onewill be appointed);

(4) even if you chose to answerquestions without a lawyerpresent, you have the rightto stop at any time.

Garrity Rights

The Fifth Amendment providesthat no one in a criminal case canbe forced to be a witness againsthim or herself. Informationobtained through coercion is notadmissible in court.

In addition to these basic FifthAmendment rights, Postal Serviceemployees have additional rightsbecause of their “public sector”status.

In the public sector, the govern-ment acts as both law enforce-ment agency and employer. TheGarrity Rights were developedthrough a series of Supreme Courtrulings dating back nearly 40years. In a 1967 ruling (Garrity vs.New Jersey), several New Jerseypolice officers, who were targetedin a ticket-fixing investigation,were told to respond to questionsor face discharge for insubordina-tion. To save their jobs, the officerscomplied and their statementswere then used in criminal prose-cutions against them.

The highest court overturned theconvictions, citing a violation of theFifth Amendment rights.

This case now stands for the prin-ciple that using the threat of dis-charge or other substantial eco-nomic penalty against public-sec-tor (Postal Employees) is coercive- that any consequent disclosure isinadmissible in a criminal trial.

Kalkines Warning

The Garrity decision does not,however, mean that the govern-ment may never threaten anemployee with discipline for refus-ing to give a statement aboutpotentially criminal acts.

In Garner vs. Broderick (1968), theU.S. Supreme Court noted that thegovernment could discipline anemployee if it does not force theemployee to give up his FifthAmendment rights, such as by giv-ing the employee prosecutorialimmunity (a guarantee that theinformation disclosed will not beused against the employee in acriminal prosecution).

In Kalkines vs. United States(1973), the U.S. Court of Claimselaborated on the SupremeCourt’s holdings, finding that anemployee can be asked to“answer pertinent questions aboutthe performance of an employee’sduties when that employee is dulyadvised of his options to answerunder the immunity granted orremain silent and face dismissal.”

In other words, if an employee isgiven immunity, but decides not toanswer questions, the governmentmay discipline the employee fornot answering the questions.

In the Postal Service, any suchdiscipline is, of course, subject tothe grievance procedure. TheKalkines ruling is an attempt tobalance the Fifth Amendment’srights against self-incriminationwith the Supreme Court’s holdingthat the government has the rightto have its employees answerquestions about the performanceof their official duties.

In getting this information fromemployees, according to Kalkines,the Fifth Amendment is not violat-ed so long as the government alsogrants the employee immunityfrom prosecution based upon thatinformation.

Kalkines trumps Garrity if theemployee is given immunity. Theemployee must get the immunityoffer in writing before answeringany questions. Remember neverallow yourself to be questionedalone, always demand a unionrepresentative.

Supervisors often state that theonly role of a Union representativeat an investigative interview is toobserve the discussion and to be asilent witness. The SupremeCourt, however, clearly acknowl-edged a union representative’sright to assist and counsel workersduring the interview.

(1) When the union representativearrives, the supervisor mustinform the representative of thesubject matter of the inter-view, i.e., the type ofconduct for which disciplineis being considered (atten-dence, theft, conduct, etc.).

(2) The union representativemust be allowed to take theemployee aside for a privatepre-interview conferencebefore questioning begins orduring the interview if thesteward determines theneed.

(3) The union representativemust be allowed to speakduring the interview. Theunion representative, however,does not have the right tobargain over the purpose ofthe interview.

(4) The union representativecan request that thesupervisor clarify a questionso the employee canunderstand what is beingasked.

(5) After a question is asked,the union representative cangive advice on how toanswer.

(6) When the questioning ends,the union representative canprovide information to thesupervisor.

If for any reason you are askedquestions by your supervisor ormanager which you believe canlead to disciplinary action immedi-ately ask for a UnionRepresentative, and politely refuseto answer any questions until aUnion steward is granted.

Once again it is the employee’sresponsibility to request UnionRepresentation and managementis under no obligation to tell youthis. Remember if you have anyquestions or concerns ask to seeyour Union Steward.

a Union Steward and file a griev-ance. You have the right to do thisevery time management fails togive you a partner and requiresyou to work alone.

I have called OSHA and filed acomplaint on this issue of improp-er staffing and the ergonomicissues involved. Hopefully someresolution will come for this issueby the time this article is published.

The following rights can be exer-cised during an investigation bythe Postal Inspection Service orthe Office of Inspector General(OIG). They are your WeingartenRights, Miranda Rights, GarrityRights and Kalkines Warningwhich are explained in the follow-ing paragraphs.

Weingarten Rights

A 1975 Supreme Court ruling: 420US 251 (NLRB vs. J. Weingarten,Inc.) provides that a union-repre-sented employee has the right to asteward when facing an investiga-tory interview. The important thingto remember about your“Weingarten Rights” is that man-agement does not have to notifyyou of this right. The employee isresponsible for being aware of theright to request representation.

Under the Weingarten decision,the employee can request unionrepresentation before or at anytime during the interview. Theemployer then has three options:

(1) Grant the request and delayquestioning until the unionrepresentative arrives;

(2) Deny the request andimmediately end theinterview; or

(3) Give the employee a choiceof ending the interview orcontinuing the interviewwithout representation.

If the employer denies the requestfor representation, the employeecan simply refuse to answer ques-tions. If the interview is given by asupervisor or manager and therequest for a Union Steward isdenied and the supervisor contin-ues to ask questions, he or shecommits an unfair labor practiceand the employee has the right torefuse to answer.

The supervisor cannot disciplinethe employee for such a refusal.Remember you must ask for aunion steward and exercise yourWeingarten Rights; managementdoes not have to ask you if youwould like a Union Representativepresent.

Miranda Rights

You have the right to remain silent.

A Reminder Of USPSEmployee RightsContinued from Page 4

6 THE EAGLE’S EYE APRIL 2014

Postal employees face hazardouswork conditions daily and shouldtake appropri-ate action toabate the riskof seriousinjury ordeath.

K n o w i n gwhat action totake will pre-vent you andyour cowork-ers fromunsafe work-ing condi-tions.

Below is a list of commonly askedquestions concerning safety andhealth issues.

1. Why should I contact theAPWU about safety issues? What are they going to do?

RESPONSE: The APWU actsas your exclusive bargainingagent and is experienced innegotiating and addressingsafety and health concerns with

management. Your unionrepresentatives can determinewhether to work cooperativelywith management to resolvehazardous conditions, file acomplaint with OSHA, or takethe issue through the grievanceprocess. The union also helpsprotect you from unlawfulretaliation by management fortaking action.

2. Why is it important to fill outPS Form 1767? Management won’t respondanyway, will they?

RESPONSE: PS Form 1767Report of Hazard, UnsafeCondition or Practice serves asyour written notice to the PostalService of an unsafe workingcondition. Management isrequired to investigate thealleged hazard during the sametour of duty in which it wasreported. Management musttake action to eliminate thehazard or make recommendationfor corrective action if immediateabatement is not possible. Keep the blue copy for your

records; it should be returned byyour supervisor before you endtour.

3. When should I call OSHA?

RESPONSE: Contact OSHA ifunsafe working conditions placeyou or your coworkers inimminent danger of serious riskfor injury or death and the PostalService refuses to fix thedangerous condition leaving youwith no reasonable alternative. If you or your coworkers are notat risk of imminent danger andyou have filed written notice ofthe problem with no resolve, youmay file a complaint with OSHA.

4. What alternatives do I have tocalling OSHA?

RESPONSE: Work with yourstewards and safety committeeto make the Postal Serviceaware of your safety and healthconcerns and allow anappropriate response time. Sometimes the mere mentionof an OSHA inspection isenough to get management

to correct a problem.

5. Are all safety concernsinvestigated, even if I’m notsure that an issue existsbecause I lack training orexpertise?

RESPONSE: If you havecontacted a steward or safetycommittee member or have filedPS Form 1767, your issue willbe addressed. Some safetyissues are complex and requireextensive training; maintenanceissues pertaining to theElectrical Work Plan andLockout / Tagout are twoexamples. Trained safetyrepresentatives can recognizedeficiencies and take action tocorrect them.

Remember, the Postal Service hasa legal responsibility to keep yourworkplace safe and healthful. Askto see a steward if you need assis-tance with safety and healthissues.

Yours in solidarity.

Addressing Your Safety Concerns

There was a recent news story onthe outcome of the vote byemployees for representation bythe United Automobile Workers(UAW) at a VW plant inChattanooga, Tennessee. Thefinal vote was close, but the bid bythe UAW to represent the employ-ees at the plant was defeated712 - 626.

Political commentators have puttheir spin on the outcome, howev-er there is an important dose ofreality in this story; cooperation bymanagement with the union is a

superior business model.

In Time Magazine’s March 3, 2014issue in the Commentary / TheCurious Capitalist column, RanaForoohar offered a number ofinsightful comments that wentbeyond the “who won, who lost”,aspect of the story.

Regarding the vote, Ms. Forooharstates, “It’s a complicated tale thatsays a lot about how businessworks in the U.S. compared withplaces like Germany. There, bigcompanies are not only unionizedbut also have works councils inwhich management and workerscollaborate on things like sched-ules, furloughs, pay, expansionplans or which product lines a fac-tory might make. The idea is formanagement and labor to worktogether on issues before theybecome problems. It’s a systemthat has made Germany into theexport powerhouse that it is, andone that VW, the most profitableautomaker in the world, has beendesperate to implement in theU.S.”

Imagine - a company that prac-tices cooperation with unions as away of moving the company for-ward. There is a huge lesson herefor USPS management, at leastfor those that care about improvingthe USPS and its bottom line.

How many times do we see, orhear, or read about the antics of

some in USPS management, andask ourselves - where do they getthese people?

We wonder why so many USPSmanagers are willing to allow, orengage in, conduct that wastes somuch time and resources for theirorganization.

And one hopes that when the nextlevel of supervision becomesinvolved in an issue, that you get areasonable and responsible indi-vidual during the grievanceprocess or EEO process that pos-sesses the wherewithal to makethe proper decisions to actuallysolve problems.

Some USPS managers bully andharass their workers. Someemployees are singled out and tar-geted for all kinds of abusive con-duct.

The grievances and EEOs filed atBokeelia over the years detail thelevel of supervisory abilities (orlack thereof) possessed by variousPostmasters and OIC’s. In numer-ous cases, management is simplyincapable of cooperating, or evencommunicating, with employees.

Unfortunately, supervisory mis-management is not limited to a fewlocations. There are too manyaccounts from other employeesabout the same kinds of things.

Meanwhile, our USPS manage-

ment sees itself as moving forwardwhen no managers or supervisorsare held accountable, and any andall necessary excuses are used toignore or misplace blame for theproblems affecting the workplace.These tactics solve nothing, andinsure that management miscon-duct continues. The cost to theUSPS of all these managementshenanigans must be staggering.

It is encouraging to observe acompany, such as VW, that recog-nizes the value of employeeunions, and collective bargaining.

Instead of promoting efficient andeffective operations, managementin the USPS resorts to playinggames, trickery and subterfugewith its employees. The numerousCBA violations alone prove thatmany USPS managers are con-frontational and uncooperativewhen it comes to working with theiremployees. These kinds of man-agement attitudes and abuses arecostly in real dollars to the USPS.

The top management of the USPSsay they want the USPS to be a21st century organization, and thatchanges need to be made to mod-ernize. However, all of the resiz-ing, data crunching and efficiencyrecommendations in the world willnot help an organization that willnot, or cannot, find a way to cor-rect the serious managementflaws which so obviously exist.

Kathy Moyer, Editor

How Far Postal Management Must ProgressTo Get To The 21st Century

Grace BaerT2 & T3 StewardFt. Myers P&DCSWFAL APWU

Together, we have many differentdocuments at our disposal and wehave and will continue to pourthrough those documents in orderto help our attorney's make a greatcase for our membership in court.

The SWFAL-APWU ExecutiveBoard will continue to look out forwhat is best for our membershipand do everything necessary toensure that they are properly com-pensated. It is equally important tofight to get the work back that wastaken away from our Clerk Craftand is properly our work.

Questions ArisingAbout Proper PostalProceduresContinued from Page 1

APRIL 2014 THE EAGLE’S EYE 7

8 THE EAGLE’S EYE APRIL 2014

Your ElectedOfficials

President Barack ObamaWeb Site:

www.whitehouse.govE-mail:

president@whitehouse.govPhone: 202-456-1414

Fax: 202-456-2461Capital Address:

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NWWashington, DC 20500

Senator Bill NelsonWeb Site:

www.billnelson.senate.govE-mail:

senator@billnelson.senate.govPhone: 202-224-5274

Fax: 202-228-2183Capital Address:

716 Hart Senate OfficeBuilding

Washington, DC 20510-0905District Office:

Tallahassee, FLDistrict Phone: 850-942-8415

Senator Marco RubioPhone: 202-224-3041

Fax: 202-228-5171Capital Address:

524 Hart Senate OfficeBuilding

Washington, DC 20510-0903District Office:

Tallahassee, FLDistrict Phone: 813-207-0509

Our members live in several dif-ferent districts. For your repre-sentative’s information, go towww.congress.org. Enter yourzip code and the web site doesthe rest. You can e-mail most ofyour representatives at oncewith a click of your mouse atthis web site. Their votingrecords are also available here.Check it out! Let them knowhow you feel, it’s your DUTY!

THE EAGLE’S EYE

EDITORIAL POLICY

The Eagle’s Eye is the official pub-lication of the Southwest FloridaArea Local, APWU, AFL-CIO. Theeditor has the right to determinewhether the material submittedshall be printed, and has the rightto edit as needed. It is the policy ofthis newsletter to disallow anyattacks on individuals. Opinionsexpressed are those of the writers,and not necessarily those of theExecutive Board. The deadline forsubmission of all articles is the dayof the monthly membership meet-ing. You must be an APWU mem-ber to submit an article. Name maybe withheld upon request. All arti-cles may be reprinted with propercredit given. Captions/cartoonsmay only be reprinted upon writtenpermission of the editor.

Southwest Florida Area LocalMembership News

We would like to extend our con-gratulations to long time unionmember Dan Williamson and hisson, Jacob Williamson.

Jacob recently won the LeeCounty Scripps Spelling Beeand will be going to Washington,D.C., in May to compete for theNational Spelling BeeChampionship. We are sureJacob’s family is quite proud ofhis academic achievement andso is our APWU family.

This year’s Scripts Spelling Beefor the Lee County SchoolDistrict was held at the ThreeOaks Middle School in FortMyers on Thursday March 6,2014, and marked Lee County's17th annual event.

Jacob won the 2014 SpellingBee by correctly spelling theword, “factorial”.

As the winner of this year’sevent, Jacob will receive a tro-phy, a U.S. Savings Bond, and atrip to Washington D.C. to com-pete in the Scripps NationalSpelling Bee.

The previous Scripts NationalSpelling Bee Championship inWashington, D.C. in 2013 includ-ed a total of 281 spellers from all50 U.S. states, and the Districtof Columbia, American Samoa,Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. VirginIslands and Department ofDefense Dependents Schools inEurope; as well as the Bahamas,Canada, China, Ghana,Jamaica, Japan and SouthKorea.

We want to take this opportunityto wish Jacob the very best ofluck for the upcoming SpellingBee Event in Washington, D.C.

Jacob Williamson, Lee CountyScripts Spelling Bee

winner for 2014

We recently received a short letter at our Union Hall from Suzi Johnsonas follows:

Karen, Sam & E Board,

As I’m sure you are aware, I will be leaving to move back to Ohio the endof March. I would like to say Thank You for everything I have learned fromyou all! I will miss you all, but am excited to move forward with the nextphase of my life! I will see you at the March meeting to say goodbye!!Maybe with “breakfastes” for Dan!!

Suzi Johnson

L to R: Sandee Beckler, Suzi Johnson, Eileen DiMase and KarenRock share memories at our recent General Membership Meeting.Suzi will be transferring to a new position in Ohio in the near future.

Long time union memberSuzi Johnson will be saying“Good-bye” to her many APWUfriends when transferring to hernew position in Ohio.

Sending Our Best Wishes To Suzi Johnson!

Jacob Williamson Wins Lee County Scripts Spelling Bee

We wish to extend our welcome toall new employees coming onboard at the United States PostalService by inviting you to our nextSWFAL APWU meeting onApril 13, 2014, at the Union Halllocated at 11000 Metro Parkway,Unit 8, in Fort Myers.

Meetings are held once a monthon Sunday at 9:30am. Be united,protect your job and discover themany benefits of becoming amember of the SWFAL APWU.

Join us at our next local meeting- united we can make a positivedifference in our workplaces. Welook forward to seeing you there!

For those of you that haverecently retired who wish tocontinue receiving The Eagle’sEye newspaper, please emailthe Editor at Edswfal@aol.comor call Karen at our SWFALAPWU office at 239-275-1007.

We want to encourage our mem-

bers to email information to theeditor regarding marriages,graduations, special events orachievements of our employees,or their families, atEdswfal@aol.com. We will bepleased to include as manymember announcements aspossible.

For those of you who would like tostay in touch with Suzi, you cancontact her at her new address:

Susan Johnson1088 N. Pasadena Ave.Elyria, OH 44035

Best wishes, Suzi! Your APWUfamily in Florida will miss you!