Sunday, June 28, 2009

Time for a change

Here in the near future I will no longer be working on this blog. I am going to pass this onto some other individual who would like to take this over. I am looking at within the next two weeks. Any takers?

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Mail Handlers???

Recently it came to my attention that some more mail handlers from Tour 3 are looking at having their jobs excessed over in the ATU and robot cutting area. So, how will the clerks be receiving their mail over on the DBCS's? Will it be now by the pallet? Or will more clerks be excessed from Tour 3 and have to move to Tour 1 or become PTR clerks? Has anyone heard about what is going on?

I would love to hear about what is going on out at the different stations around the city and county of San Diego. Don't be shy about letting everyone know how things are going both good and bad.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

New EL-304 Maintenance Selection System dated June 2009

I know that many of you are interested in the new version of the EL-304 Maintenance Selection System. So I took the time to find it and upload it for anyone to download. It can be found at the URL listed below:


http://www.adrive.com/public/d9c858854bc0f24d4de1bba4e3dbc3c8be20288695b88c1bd8fa482a71a89fa2.html

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Six Boys And Thirteen Hands... (A Story to think about)

Each year I am hired to go to Washington , DC , with the eighth grade class from Clinton, WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip .. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable. On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima , Japan , during WW II. Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial.. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, 'Where are you guys from?' I told him that we were from Wisconsin. 'Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.' (James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington , DC , but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.) When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.)

'My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin . My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called 'Flags of Our Fathers' which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. 'Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player ... He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called 'War.' But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old - and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families about it.



(He pointed to the statue) 'You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph... a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys who won the battle of Iwo Jima .. Boys. Not old men.



'The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank.. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys.. They called him the 'old man' because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.' Arizona Ira Hayes was one who walked off Iwo Jima .. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?' So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together .. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain home with him and eventually died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32 (ten years after this picture was taken).



'The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky . A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. Those neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

'The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin , where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada . Usually, he was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell Soup. 'You see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn't see himself as a hero.. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and on a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic.. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died in Iwo Jima , they writhed and screamed, without any medication or help with the pain. 'When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.' 'So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima , and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.'



Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero.. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless. We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our freedom. Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also pray for those still in murderous unrest around the world.. STOP and thank God for being alive and being free at someone else's sacrifice. God Bless You and God Bless America ...

REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day. One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that is not mentioned here is . . that if you look at the statue very closely and count the number of 'hands' raising the flag, there are 13. When the man who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the 13th hand was the hand of God. Great story - worth your time - worth every American's time

Friday, June 5, 2009

This one's for you.....


Roger this one is for you. Since, your toolbox had to be cleaned up and flags removed. Here is a pic of Emily's work area. Since the toolbox and also these cabinets in her area are USPS property why is it that you were made to clean up your postal property and she is not made to clean up the her postal property in her area? Disparate treatment between craft employees or is it more preferential treatment since she is only a maintenance clerk who is operating as a general secretary for our Maintenance Managers.

Notice the US Flag and family pictures.... If this is the policy is no personal items on USPS postal property then I would hope that it is completely enforced to include Sweet's office all the way down to the custodian lockers.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Rumor????? or Fact?????

I am now looking into something I just heard about the other day. Maybe one of you fine upstanding individuals know more than myself and can correct me if I am wrong. I heard that Bertolina is going to be leaving us and going up around the San Fransisco area. That Jim Land will be taking his place for sometime till his replacement is here. Can anyone confirm or deny this rumor for me?


Monday, May 18, 2009

AutoPilot....

Seems that I have been neglecting this blog for awhile. Yes, I have... I completely admit it. Been taking the time to say good bye to friends who have been excessed from MLS and others who have become part-time regulars instead of having to relocate and move to other locations.

Also been trying to keep track of the comedy show that is going on in Maintenance. Especially since, Maintenance has taken 2 of operations finest(bullshit) into it. Talking with people from Maintenance I find it amusing that Gary Hill believes that he can run Maintenance like he has been running operations before. Has he not heard of the old adage "If it is not broke leave it alone".... I sincerely doubt that he has. Also, I see on Tour 2 that Veronica has stepped down from being a 204b due to not enough Support Clerks are available to do the work in Tool and Parts. I do give out a sincere support to Sandy Liss who is currently away due to illness. I wish her the best and for a speedy recovery.

Just a reminder for everyone... On Thursday, 21 May, there will be a General Membership meeting at the Local 197 in Mission Valley office at 6pm or 1800 to all you military types. Hope to see you all there... later

Monday, April 20, 2009

Goodbye... (I mean to the clerks being excessed)

Well... I just thought I would wish the clerks who are being excessed a "Good bye and Good Luck" for the new positions they will be taking. Whether it is at a new station, new city, or even a new craft. But, I have heard that some have decided not to continue to be full-employees with USPS anymore. Instead, they have chosen to become Part Time Regulars (PTR) instead of having maybe to move to another city or maybe change crafts. Good luck to all of you who decided to become PTR's. I hope it was the best decision for you.

Now, has anyone heard when the mailhandlers are going to continue with their excessing? Drop a line here and let us know what is going on.

Talking about excessing.... Even management is finally feeling it a little... hahahahahaha Take for instance, Gary Hill from Tour 2 he is being excessed but he dont' seem to mind since he is being detailed over to Maintenance to as a Level 23 (currently Level 20) plus then he still gets to stay on at MLS P&DC.

Now I know some of you have seen little short redhead named Gretchen back on the workroom floor of MLS ove the past two weeks. Why? Was she not detailed up to Moreno Valley to be the Senior MDO for that plant? Maybe it was something that she either was not prepared for or incapable of doing properly. So she is now back at MLS.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Rant and Rave

Been a while since I have updated this blog. Since then I have heard from the mailhandlers that Management has messed up when it come to doing the excessing. They got sent away to a couple of different areas and then they were brought back to where they started. This was actually a lucky thing for the clerks. Since it showed the shortcomings of the excessing when it is done improperly. This is going to cost USPS management more than they expected. So maybe less craft workers will be effected by the excessing due to the cost of moving employees.

Now I am curious about something.... How many of you out there know of or knew of Management being married to craft employees? How does this affect the employees around these individuals? I have not been around as long as many of you. So I would like to begin compiling a list of these individuals, where they are currently and how you think they affect the ones around them.

1. Gary Hill MDO T-2 MLS P&DC and Armi Hill Clerk T-1 MLS P&DC from what I have observed with both of them on separate tours there is not much impact on the employees around them.

2. Charles Sweet T-2 Maintenance Manager (supposedly detailed to Pacific Area but he still is running MLS P&DC and Midway Maintenance) and Veronica Phung (Sweet) T-2 Maintenance Support Clerk from what I have heard and observed there is a large impact on the employees around these individuals both on the craft and management side. For you never know when you speak up about something how soon it will get back to Charles either by Veronica when they go home or when she walks directly into Charles office to speak with him. Now it is even better with her again going to be a 204b in charge of Maintenance employees. Why is she in a 204b position when her husband is in charge of Maintenance. Oh, yes... someone will say that Lee Miller is actually in charge while Charles Sweet is up in Pacific Area. But, since when has Lee Miller had a thought of his own without asking Sweet's permission to blow his nose.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Never again (I hope): Information Overload????

http://php.app.com/usps/search.php

Information Overload????

To all of you who have tried to post where to go and find out about what any Postal employee's base salary and other information is concerning them. You can go to the below link :

http://php.app.com/usps/search.php

So... look up anyone you like by name or by job description or even by facility. Just have fun and spread the word.

Also I would like to extend my congratulation's to Jim Roland who is now our Vice President of our Local 197. Jim, or anyone else who can answer this question for me, When will Bill Tagart be back in his old job at MLS P&DC? Would you care to let us know please? Maybe you can ask Tom Wood when Tagart has to go back?

Thanks,

MOM

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Who will be the new "Vice President"

Well on the 2oth of March which is tomorrow all of us will find out who our Vice President of our Local will be to lead us into the future. I know that I voted for the one that I believed best would be for our Local from the three candidates listed below alphabetically:

1. Jim Roland
2. Bill Tagart
3. Gwen Wills

Whichever one of these individuals is elected I pray and hope that they and all of us can put the past behind us as we look and go forward into the future. Our Local and us depend on them to do so.

Thanks,

Mom197

Monday, March 2, 2009

Election Time...

Well.. it is that time again to vote for who we would like to be our Vice President of our APWU Local 197.

1.Why are we going through this special election for our Vice President of our APWU Local 197?

2. Who is paying for this special election? National APWU or our Local 197?

3. Who is the better person to fill this position? Tagart? Roland? or Wills?

So before you vote think about the above questions before you submit your ballot. Chose wisely for this is going to be affecting you and me for the next 2 1/2 yrs. During this time, our National Contract will be negotiated and our Locals Memorandum of Understanding will be redone. How you vote will affect all of us in the Local.

I cannot state any better than this... "CHOOSE WISELY"

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Town Hall Meeting

On 18th February at MLS P&DC will be the next Town Hall Meeting given by the MLS Plant Manager John Bertolina. So far what I have heard is that Tour 3's meeting will be at 5pm on the 18th of February.

So what will be told to all the employees at the plant? That things are getting tough and we all must work together to lower our costs. Or will he also talk about the excessing of clerks and mailhandlers. But, let's not forget that with less craft employees that EAS employees will be scampering for jobs or they will be excessed also.

I know ask your help to talk to other employees and to post here if there is going to be more meetings for the other tours at Midway and MLS P&DC. Plus what is going on at the stations?? Are they going to be given Town Hall Meetings by the San Diego Area Manager or his staff? So they can be properly informed of what is going on within their craft and work area.

Communication between each of us is important so that we can respond quickly and efficently to whatever management has planned. As long as Management goes by the contract I have no problems with them. But, let all of us be vigilant and aware that Management will do what it takes even if it goes against the contract to protect themselves.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

RE-RUN ELECTION NOTICE

RE-RUN ELECTION NOTICE

FOR VICE PRESIDENT ONLY

APWU SAN DIEGO AREA LOCAL 197

A secret ballot election for the office of Vice President will be conducted by mail. Ballots for this election are being mailed to members on February 27, 2009. Any eligible member who has not received a ballot in the mail at home by March 6, 2009 or any member who spoils a ballot may request a new ballot by contacting the Election Chairperson Judy Curtis at (619) 905-2126. A duplicate ballot will be mailed by the following business day. If you request and return two (2) ballots, only the replacement ballot will be counted.

Ballots will be picked up on March 20, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. from the following location:

PO Box 2355
El Cajon CA 92021

Ballots will be counted directly after they are picked up on March 20, 2009 at the following location:

APWU San Diego Area Local 197
Union Hall
3737 Camino Del Rio
Suite 200
San Diego CA 92108


**Important Facts to Remember**


Nominations will not be re-opened.

The election includes only the office of the Vice President.

The candidates on the ballot will be the only ones running for Vice President.
Write-in votes shall not be valid, counted or considered.

IMPORTANT: Mail your ballot in sufficient time for it to be received at the following
address no later than 11:00 a.m. on March 20, 2009:

PO Box 2355
El Cajon CA 92021


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Interesting Information....

I also have heard about Tricky Ricky Cornholieo leaving our Union. Why is he leaving it now? Is it because he did not really want to be a member or was it only for the power trip? So I thought he was going to stay in and "help" other members? Well, in my opinion it is no loss to this Local since he screwed it up during his 3 yrs in office.

Also, I have hear that soon our Local will have to have a special election for the Vice President position. Something about how Will Tagart abused his position as a Chief Shop Steward while campaigning for his office. Any ideas on how long it will take to have this election and get the results back?

Monday, January 5, 2009

NEW YEAR... Old or New Problems.... Solutions??

Well.. I have taken a nice long break away from the computer since my last posting. Now that the new year of 2009 is here I am back ready to begin anew.

This coming year will see several problems carry over from the last year and will have new problems arise that will affect each and everyone of us. Some of these problems will be due to the economy and the fallout of our National problems. Others will be due to Postal mismanagement or just plain stupidity of our coworkers.

But, no matter what each of our unique problems that each of us face just remember that others have had to face these problems also and somehow all of us will find our own solutions that work for us. Look around and do not be afraid to ask others for help... be it a friend , coworker, or even management at your place of work(Yes, sometimes they can help)..... But, just remember that you are never alone... Others will help you if you are willing to help yourself.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Keep the blog alive or not.. that is the question....

Some of you have voiced that you want this blog to stay around. Well, is anyone of you willing to take it over from me? If so you know how to contact me by email.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Craft Employees who think Rules are not for them

How many of us out there work around someone who does not think the Post Office rules or regulations are something that they need to pay attention or follow?

Well, let me start off today with an easy one. I will pick on Maintenance again since they so often do not feel the need to follow the rules like all of us other employees. Just a few days ago, I brought up about how Maintenance Managers/Supervisors/204b's feel they "need" their own private entrance into MLS P&DC that has no security or control on it. Well, there is at least one craft employee that feels the same way. This employee is a support clerk in Maintenance for Tour 3. This employee's name is Veronica Phung. I would like for everyone to think back to when the last time this person actually walked into or out of the employee's entrance like all the other craft employee's. Why should she be any different than any other craft employee? Is it because she believes that this rule is one that does not pertain to her? Or is it maybe because of her relationship with Charles Sweet?

What do you think?

Now let me hear from all of you about employee's you work with that think that rules do not pertain to them. Or is she the only one like this in all of San Diego area?

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Bitching time.....

Before I do shut this blog down.. I still have a few things to get off my chest. So I will start with this one today... In a few more days I will continue getting things off my chest.


Even with the excess notices being given out to clerks and mailhandlers I still notice a lot of them let the supervisors continue to do craftwork instead of just supervising. Do these individuals think that this supervisor actually cares about them? Or just that the mail is gotten out of there quicker? Majority of these craftworkers do not remind me of jellyfish... no backbone to stand up and tell the supervisor to leave the mail alone and to let the shop stewards know about it.