Prez Says July 2002

NALC Branch 843 | home

Prez Says July 2002

The Prez Says

by Ron Woods,

President

Our trip to the State NALC convention went well. The absence of Dave Bybee was definitely felt by all the attendees. He was not only a good National Business Agent; he was a very motivational speaker and a strong political advocate for NALC. Neal Tisdale will be filling in for the remainder of Dave's term and is now running to be elected as our next National Business Agent.

Lisa Madigan and Rod Blagojevich were the two main politicians that made an appearance. The NALC supports both of them because of their pro-labor positions. Our Union was one of the first unions to support Blagojevich's candidacy.

During the main session I was able to question our National Executive Vice President, Bill Young, about what was going on with the route adjustment grievances being put on hold. His answer was that he was instructing the Dispute Resolution Teams to take them off hold and try and resolve them. If they cannot resolve them, then they have to send them to the National Business Agents office for him to look over and decide how to proceed from there. The NALC representative on the Dispute Resolution Team was at the convention and informed me that they would start reviewing the grievances that are on hold right away, but didn't think they would be resolved at that level. I am still waiting to hear how that is going and as soon as I do I will pass the information along. If these grievances go to arbitration it will still be some time before they are settled. Neal Tisdale told me that after he receives the grievances he is going to confer with National Vice President Gary Mullins about how they will handle the grievances. The DRT already had 10 grievances on hold and could be receiving as many as 40 more in the near future.

It looks like Congress is once again not going to get anything accomplished with Postal Reform. The House Government Reform Committee has rejected the current restructuring bill. This was largely due to the fact that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, (R-IL) wouldn't assure that the bipartisan bill would be presented to the full House for a vote. United Parcel Service and the Teamsters Union were among those that lobbied against the bill. They strongly urged Hastert to insure that the legislation did not move forward. I hope any NALC members that live in his district remember this when he comes up for re-election.

I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July.

Ron Woods

Union Meeting July 10th 4:30.


	NALC Branch 843 \| home Prez Says July 2002 The Prez Says by Ron Woods, President Our trip to the State NALC convention went well. The absence of Dave Bybee was definitely felt by all the attendees. He was not only a good National Business Agent; he was a very motivational speaker and a strong political advocate for NALC. Neal Tisdale will be filling in for the remainder of Dave's term and is now running to be elected as our next National Business Agent. Lisa Madigan and Rod Blagojevich were the two main politicians that made an appearance. The NALC supports both of them because of their pro-labor positions. Our Union was one of the first unions to support Blagojevich's candidacy. During the main session I was able to question our National Executive Vice President, Bill Young, about what was going on with the route adjustment grievances being put on hold. His answer was that he was instructing the Dispute Resolution Teams to take them off hold and try and resolve them. If they cannot resolve them, then they have to send them to the National Business Agents office for him to look over and decide how to proceed from there. The NALC representative on the Dispute Resolution Team was at the convention and informed me that they would start reviewing the grievances that are on hold right away, but didn't think they would be resolved at that level. I am still waiting to hear how that is going and as soon as I do I will pass the information along. If these grievances go to arbitration it will still be some time before they are settled. Neal Tisdale told me that after he receives the grievances he is going to confer with National Vice President Gary Mullins about how they will handle the grievances. The DRT already had 10 grievances on hold and could be receiving as many as 40 more in the near future. It looks like Congress is once again not going to get anything accomplished with Postal Reform. The House Government Reform Committee has rejected the current restructuring bill. This was largely due to the fact that Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, (R-IL) wouldn't assure that the bipartisan bill would be presented to the full House for a vote. United Parcel Service and the Teamsters Union were among those that lobbied against the bill. They strongly urged Hastert to insure that the legislation did not move forward. I hope any NALC members that live in his district remember this when he comes up for re-election. I hope you all had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July. Ron Woods Union Meeting July 10th 4:30.