American Postal Workers Union

Austin Area Local 299

General Membership Meeting Minutes

5/15/10

President Larry Roberts called the meeting to order at 12:05 pm at the AFL-CIO Bldg. Brother Al Garcia led the Pledge of Allegiance. There was a roll call of the officers by Cory L. Purifoy. There was a quorum.

Excused Absent: Roy Vasquez, Cathy Robbins, and Monte Lane

Unexcused Absent: Joe Aaron and George Roman

 1. The General Membership Minutes from April were provided to the members for review and questions. A motion was made by Brother Al Garcia to accept the minutes from April. (Motion passed)
 
2. The Financial Report from April was provided to the members for review and questions. A motion was made by Brother Al Garcia to accept the Financial Report from April. (Motion passed)
 
3. The Executive Board brought forth a request before the General Membership that the local pay 40hrs of Union LWOP to trustees Roy Vasquez and Leonard Lara for audit. (Motion passed)
 
4. The Executive Board brought forth a request before the General Membership that the local spend up to $1250 per delegate to attend the APWU National Convention in Detroit, Michigan - August 23-27, 2010. (Motion passed)
 

5. There was a discussion about the local signing a new lease agreement and downsizing to a smaller office.

 
6. There was a discussion about the local’s membership head count.
 
7. President Roberts recommended that employees start submitting their own PS Form 3971 in addition to using the computer-generated copies produced by Postal Supervisors. 
 
8.  There was a discussion about management citing “staffing” as the appropriate reason for denying leave request submitted by employees. In most cases, the leave boards are open. Contact your Steward.
 
9. There was a discussion about the National Reassessment Program.
 
10.  There was a discussion about OWCP.
 
11. There was a discussion about the OIG.
 
12. There was a discussion about car thefts and break-ins around the General Mail Facility. The Union is addressing security issues with Postal management.
 
13. There was a discussion about a class action lawsuit filed against the USPS regarding the rights of injured workers.
 
14. There was a discussion about the VMF.
 
15. There was a discussion about the Postal Service seeking to reduce the salaries of the workforce.
 
16. President Roberts recommends that employees make contributions to COPA.
 
17. There was a discussion about breaks, rotations, and swings. 
 
18. There was a discussion about Postal management’s desire to restructure work hours at the GMF.
 
19. There was a discussion about the 4-Day Workweek.
 
20. There was an issue about maintenance testing out-of-sequence mail during mail processing operations on tour 1.
 
21. Vice-President Linda Daniel reports that the new Union T-Shirts are available. The T-Shirts are $10.
 
Nominations were accepted for “members in good standing” wanting to participate as delegates representing the local for the upcoming APWU National Convention in Detroit, Michigan – August 23-27, 2010. The local President is an automatic delegate.
 
Clerk Craft (7) Automatic Delegates (Note: no voting was required for the Clerk Craft because only (7) nominations were collected)
 
Clerk Craft Delegates: Cathy Robbins, Jacque Brock, Linda Daniel, Roy Vasquez, Trish Holmes, Al Garcia, and Monte Lane
 
 
There were (3) nominations accepted for the Maintenance Craft: Christopher Thomas, Joe Aaron, and Jeff Regal 
Voting results: Christopher Thomas (1), Joe Aaron (1), and Jeff Regal (0)
 
Maintenance Craft (2) Delegates:
Christopher Thomas and Joe Aaron
 
Motor Vehicle Craft (1) Automatic Delegate (Note: no voting was required for the Motor Vehicle Craft because only (1) nomination was collected)
 
Motor Vehicle Delegate: Steve Dingman
 
Announcements:
 
No COPA Drawing for this month! 
 
Door Prize for next month is $25
 
A motion was made to adjourn.
 
  Meeting adjourned at 1:10 pm.
 
United As ONE,
 
 Cory L. Purifoy