Via Sam Wood, President – Southwest Florida Area Local
Congratulations to President Gary Hamrick and the Palm Beach (Florida) Area Local for fighting back on the issue of Premium Forwarding Service. Congratulations as well go to APWU Advocate Jim DeMauro for another outstanding win for the APWU. Jim DeMauro has not received (in my opinion) enough credit for the job he does. Those of us who know what “Standing up and Fighting Back” actually means, know hard work when we see it.

This Award came out on April 6, 2016, where the arbitrator instructs management to cease and desist assigning PFS duties to letter carriers. The issue arose in West Palm Beach, FL, where since 2005 the letter carriers were not only collecting and holding out PFS mail — they were also instructed by management to also package and forward the mail to the customers. Management argued past practice and un-timeliness as the grievance on the issue wasn’t filed until years after management assigned the carriers the work. However, the Union argued, and the Arbitrator agreed, that it was an ongoing violation, an exception to the general rule of 14 day time limits to file. In the case, management also tried to argue that PFS work has no Craft jurisdiction and that it can be assigned to anyone. The Arbitrator disagreed, stating that the duties of packaging, weighing, rating, tracking, scanning and dispatching mail is generally Clerk Craft work.

This Award should help locals all over the country to win these type cases. It pleases me to see and acknowledge locals who fend for themselves and do great things. In our local, we had to hire a Law Firm in Miami, Florida (Mase-Lara) in order to force the USPS back to the bargaining table in a non-compliance RI-399 case. We are now working to Identify our Fort Myers Installation employees entitled to our $5.2 Million Settlement. I would like to hear from other local who have begun to “Stand Up and Fight Back” so I can add you to our new Club! It is time for us all to take a stand!