September 22, 2022 

As promised, this is an update on the newly negotiated per diem provisions of the collective bargaining agreement. Maintenance Division resident officers met three times in 2022 (twice via zoom, and once in person at Norman, OK).

The Postal Service has been working on renovating the Training Center to facilitate the transfer to per diem, with updated communications to the APWU and employees in September. The target effective date of Full Per Diem is November 1, 2022. Other details include:

The Agency proposed three tiers of dining options for employees at NCED:

• 3 Squares option (7 days a week, unlimited buffet style, breakfast $15, lunch $18, Dinner $24 plus taxes).
• Pony Express option (M-F 6:30am -1:00pm, snacks, hot and cold meals, beverages ranging from $7.00 to $11.50 per item).
• Vending Option (24/7 cold snacks and beverages ranging from $1.50 - $3.00 per item).

The GP-405 Restaurant / Bar is developing a new menu. 

As more information becomes available, it will be published on the APWU web site and sent to the field. If you have any related question, do not hesitate to contact one of your Maintenance Resident Officers at maintwebinar@apwu.org.

Idowu Balogun

September 10, 2022 

The 2022 APWU National Convention started on Monday, August 15, 2022 and lasted for four days. We participated in Maintenance Council meetings on Thursday, August 11 and pre-convention workshops (MS-1 staffing issues and Article 12 in the Maintenance Craft) on Friday, August 12. We were addressed by several guest speakers during the convention itself.

The Maintenance Division Conference, chaired by Maintenance Division Director, Idowu Balogun, convened on Saturday, August 13, and met for two days; together as a group on Saturday, and in separate Regional Breakouts on Sunday, August 14. Director Balogun gave his report on Saturday morning and, after lunch, Assistant Directors Terry B. Martinez and Jason Treier gave their reports and updates.

On Saturday afternoon we discussed all 2022 submitted maintenance craft resolutions. These resolutions were fully debated by the entire body of attending delegates of the maintenance craft conference for four hours.

We had a full discussion, heated debates, amended resolutions and concluded in solidarity. Resolutions consisted of issues surrounding wage level upgrades, field maintenance, duty assignment reposting and excessing, promotions, custodial staffing, higher level details, maintenance examinations and non-bargaining unit detail restrictions.

On the final day of the national convention a motion was made, seconded and accepted to accept the recommendations “in toto” and was so ordered. For more information and training materials, delegates can access the flash drive that was distributed at the national convention.

Special thanks to the Maintenance Division Resolutions Committee:

Dana Coletti (Chair), Manchester Area Local          
Dave Simmons, Central NY Area Local
Joe Joyce, Boston Metro Area Local
Rose Marti Jablonski, 480-481 Area Local
Shelton Thomas, North Alabama Area Local
Jason Behrens, Cascade Area Local WA

Shirley Taylor BMC Conference:

The 2022 Bulk Mail Center (BMC) Conference convened at 10:00 am on August 19, 2022 in National Harbor, MD.

The conference was chaired by Assistant Maintenance Division Director, Terry B. Martinez and co-chaired by Dena Briscoe of Nation’s Capital Southern Maryland Area Local. APWU President Mark Dimondstein addressed the delegates, followed by multiple national officers. There were over 120 attendees. Regional Coordinator A.J. Jones welcomed the delegates to the Eastern Region on behalf of the five regional coordinators.

The following BMC related issues were fully debated and addressed by the Clerk Division Director Lamont Brooks, Maintenance Division Director Idowu Balogun, Motor Vehicle Division Assistant Director Kenneth Prinz and attendees during the conference; keying qualifications, CRT, PIVR, SIPS, FRS and annex custodial staffing.

The body voted that the next BMC conference will be hosted by the Kansas KAW Valley Area Local in 2023. The 2022 BMC conference was named in honor of retiring National Business Agent Shirley Taylor.

Idowu Balogun

July 13, 2022 

(This article first appeared in the July/August 2022 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine)

Washington DC: In an effort to continue providing local and state unions with maintenance craft staffing assistance, the APWU once again held formal national staffing advocate training in Washington, DC for four days. The main focus during training was on MS-1 (Building Side), eWHEP (Mechanized) and Custodial staffing enforcement. All staffing advocates worked hard and successfully completed the training and are available for assignments. Congratulations!

How to Request National Staffing Advocate Assistance

In order to receive assistance from our trained national staffing advocates, local/state presidents must submit a written request to maintstaff@apwu.org specifying which type of staffing package needs to be reviewed (i.e. custodial, MS-1, eWHEP). Current, approved complete staffing packages must be provided with the written request, as well as a copy of the previous, approved staffing package for comparative purposes. Other documents may be requested depending on the nature of the staffing advocate request.

A custodial staffing review is an important tool for protecting maintenance craft jobs and is determined by following the step-by-step process outlined in the MS-47 Handbook.

The three basic forms contained in custodial staffing packages are the PS Forms 4869 (Building Inventory), 4839 (Frequency of Cleaning) and 4852 (Work Hour Analysis). Local/state unions should also be prepared to identify any additional work the custodians have historically performed and provide all evidence of this additional work to the national staffing advocates.

Mechanized staffing determines the number of noncustodial positions in an installation using a program called eWHEP (electronic Work Hour Estimator Program) and is principally used in mail processing plants, but also contains sections for field maintenance staffing, maintenance support clerk staffing and building equipment staffing (MS-1). Accurate 2-A, 2-B and 2-C inventories are critical to eWHEP staffing enforcement, as well as ensuring the local is receiving a sufficient number of operational tours on the eMARS (electronic Maintenance Activity Reporting System) staffing worksheets for all mail processing equipment within the installation.

If the local or state union president does not possess the current, approved staffing packages, then an information request must be submitted and, if necessary, pursued through the grievance-arbitration procedure.

Without the initial foundation documents acquired at the local or state level, it makes it difficult to provide assistance. Local or state unions will also be responsible for working with the national staffing advocates and providing them with a list of the current, accurate inventory and any inaccuracies that need to be addressed.

More detailed information can be found at the Maintenance page on the APWU web site. For all of your staffing related concerns, contact your local President first, and then your Maintenance National Business Agent, and then you can contact us by calling Maintenance Assistant Director Jason Treier at (202) 842-4213 or email us at Maintstaff@apwu.org.

Idowu Balogun

August 27, 2021 

(This article first appeared in the September-October issue of the American Postal Worker magazine)

In 1971, five independent and separate unions representing several thousand postal workers merged to become the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO as we know it today. The five unions were the United Federation of Postal Clerks (UFPC), National Postal Union (NPU), Motor Vehicle Service Employees (NFPOMVE), Special Delivery Messengers (NASDM), and the National Association Union of Post Office and General Service Maintenance Employees (NAPO & GSME).

The July 1971 joint statement on mergers into APWU stated: Your Officers now pledge to do everything possible to carry out your mandate. Every effort will be made to achieve unity in spirit and in action. We now are one union and we must think and act as one. We intend to live by majority rule as defined by the APWU constitution because only if all respond affirmatively to the will of the majority can democratic procedures prevail.

NAPOGSME President Monroe Crable became the first National Maintenance President, now known as APWU National Director of the Maintenance Division; with Bill Kaczor and Richard Wevodau as his Assistants.

Richard Wevodou became the next National Maintenance Director, followed by Director Thomas Freeman.

James (Jim) Lingberg, from Dallas, TX, became Maintenance National Director in the early 1990s. Brother Lingberg previously served as Bulk Mail Center (BMC) Coordinator prior to becoming the National Craft Director. Among other notable victories, in 1993 Brother Lingberg was instrumental in job consolidation and seniority becoming the determining factor in promotions, outstanding union achievements. Notable resident officers that served with him were Edgar Williams, Randy Sutton, Jake Jackson, Malcolm Smith, Bobby Donelson and Gary Kloepfer.

Steve Raymer, from Madison, WI, became Maintenance Director in 2001. He was responsible for multi-milliondollar MS-47 settlements before Arbitrator Das. Under his leadership, Maintenance agreed on the creation of the MS-47 TL-5 that brought in millions of dollars on Line H settlements year after year, as well as the establishment of an all-career workforce in the Maintenance Division. Notable Maintenance resident officers that served with him were Gary Kloepfer, Jake Jackson, Gregory See and Idowu Balogun.

Idowu Balogun, from Los Angeles, CA, became the National Maintenance Director in 2018, after the untimely passing of Steve Raymer. The other current Maintenance Resident Officers are Jimmie Waldon, Assistant Director A, and Terry B. Martinez, Assistant Director B. Together, they were responsible for the POStPlan enforcement, Individual Open Season instead of every three-year open season, Building Equipment Mechanic MS 1 settlement, ET 11 2021 Local Memorandum of Understanding and several COVID- 19 MOUs. We are also currently being represented by nine National Maintenance Business Agents and three All Crafts Business Agents, working throughout the country.

National Negotiations Are Underway

The 2018 National Collective Bargaining Agreement with the USPS will expire September 20. Negotiations opened on June 22, three months prior to the expiration of our current Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The Maintenance Negotiation Craft Table participants are: National Maintenance Director Idowu Balogun, National Assistant Director A Jimmie Waldon, National Assistant Director B Terry B. Martinez, NBA Northeast Region Dave Sarnacki, and NBA Eastern Region Jason Treier.

Your Maintenance Team met the with Postal Service immediately after the Opening Day of Contract Negotiations. To say the least, we were fired up and ready to go. We are currently scheduled for a weekly meeting via Zoom and once a month negotiations in person in Washington, DC, until the final weeks of negotiations in September, when we will start meeting daily in person at a lock down location.

The Maintenance resolutions from past conventions are the backdrops of our proposals. Our goal is to continue the growth of the Maintenance Division, increase your standard of living, protect your jobs and ensure our future as a craft.

It is an honor of a lifetime to be your voice and your advocate in the 2021 Craft Negotiations. We are looking forward to delivering to you a negotiated contract. As this issue was being finalized for press, Assistant Director Waldon announced his planned retirement (See page 27). His replacement will be announced in the next issue of The American Postal Worker.