Wilkes-Barre Area Local 175

OSHA Fines USPS for Safety Violations in Vermont
(07/30/10) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) slammed the Postal Service with $420,000 in fines for willingly exposing employees to electrical hazards at the White River Junction Processing and Distribution Center in Vermont

Congressional Panels Support Six-Day Service
(07/30/10) Two congressional panels voted on July 29 to approve spending bills that would require the Postal Service to continue to provide mail delivery six days per week. The two bills -- one in the Senate and one in the House -- still have a long way to go before they could become law, however.

Competing Interests, Diverging Views
(07/29/10) The interests of large mailers frequently run counter to those of postal employees, APWU President William Burrus notes in an Update for union members, and nowhere is that clearer than in a motion filed by major mailers protesting the proposed postage rate hike. The motion "vividly exposes the lack of respect they have for postal employees and the collective bargaining process," Burrus says. "The mailers suggest the wages of bargaining unit employees should be cut by at least $18,000 per year, with corresponding reductions in healthcare, life insurance, leave and other benefits!"

Locals Rally to Save Saturday Service
(07/27/10) As part of a nationwide campaign, local union members across the country have ramped up the fight to Save Saturday Service, taking action to alert the public to the dangers of the Postal Service's plans to eliminate Saturday delivery.

Convention Resolutions Updated
(07/27/10) The union's Constitution Committee has revised Resolution #6, which it offered for consideration by delegates to the APWU 20th Biennial National Convention. A revised set of resolutions has now been posted. Delegates will debate and vote on hundreds of proposals to guide the union's work over the next two years.

Ask the President
I would like the National Executive Board to reconsider its stance on participation in Voice of Employee surveys... I believe that if APWU members honestly answered the questions, management might discontinue the VOE. I believe that if the National Executive Board reconsidered its position on boycotting the VOE and formulated a plan to tell the truth about what is happening in many facilities across the nation, the true voice of the employee would be heard. -- Michael, Tri-County Ohio Area Local