Contracting out Painting of Stations and Branches Results in $30,000.00 Grievance Settlement

APWU Members that were on the painters PER last year when local management contracted out the painting of the Anchorage city stations and branches last year received over $2,000.00 each this month as the settlement to the grievance filed by the local union. The grievance was filed in February 2006 and settled October 2007.

917-Grievances Result in $240,990.00 Recovered for APWU Members in 2006 - 2007

I would like to thank our Members, Officers and Stewards for vigilantly enforcing our collective bargaining agreements.

You, the members, have all done an excellent job policing our contracts, letting the stewards know the violations, the stewards have done an excellent job of filing the grievances and the officers have done an excellent job of providing the guidance that have resulted in the recovery of the members money.

$990,000.00 Recovered for Local APWU Members since 2000

The stewards and Officers of the Midnight Sun Area Local have filed 3,600 grievances from 2000 to 2007.

These grievances have resulted in the recovery of $990,000.00 for our members. Keep in mind that there are still grievances out there in abeyance, unsettled and in the grievance procedure that still need to be added into the final numbers ending on December 31, 2007.

Vacated Leave Slots Subject to Arbitration

Members of the Midnight Sun Area Local enjoy one of the best leave programs anywhere. In July 2007 management suddenly took a position in violation of our local agreement. Their position is:

“Employees who bid from one work center to anther work center do not vacate their leave slots and as such, employees remaining in the work center may not sign for the vacated leave slots”
The local union takes the position that;

It is the intent of the local agreement that when employees bid from their present work center to a new work center the leave they had signed for follows them.

It is also the intent of the local agreement that when employees bid from their present work center to a new work center the leave they had signed for is vacated.

It is also the intent of the local agreement that employees remaining in a work center may sign for leave weeks that become vacated by the employee who bid from the work center.

The union filed a grievance in July 2007 and has appealed the case to arbitration. Have you signed for vacated leave slots under the exact same circumstances? If you have please call me (Larry Benson, President) at 522-2798.
Casual Issues

The local union has filed several grievances concerning the casual work force.

Casuals Working Tour 2

“Casual employees will not normally work between 0500 and 1200 in mail processing operations. The intent of this provision is not to be circumvented locally by having casual employees scheduled immediately before (0455) or after (1205) the restricted time frames. This provision does not apply to Motor Vehicle Craft casuals”

The local union filed a grievance in August and again in September 2007. The grievance has been placed into abeyance until settlement of a national level grievance of the same issue. The local is keep work hour records of the casual employees that work between the hours of 0500-1200 hours. The union does not agree that on a daily basis the employer may work casual employees into the work hour times as defined.

Casuals Keying at the SPBS / LPS

The union filed a grievance in October 2007 concerning casual employees being placed into dexterity training for keying on the SPBS and the LPS.

The grievance has been placed into abeyance pending the settlement of the present national level grievance of the same issue.

Casual employees are prohibited from performing assignments requiring training and testing (reference Article 37.3.F.5 and Article 37.3.F.7 positions). Similar provisions also apply to the Maintenance and Motor Vehicle Craft.

Larry Benson
President