Charles Denson

1^st Vice President

AFSM-100*******AWESOME

The postal service is on a quest to eliminate jobs in all crafts. That means that they are on a serious mission to downsize the workforce. Management means to accelerate the process as humanly possible. To make sure that the downsizing does not cause a condition to create more jobs, a new generation of automated machinery has been introduced. The new machine is called an Automated Flat Sorting Machine 100 (AFSM-100)

The above paragraph was meant to catch your eye. Those of you who didn’t already know what the initials AFSM stood for, let me tell you. The initials stand for trouble with a capital “T”. The Automatic Flat Sorting Machine 100 is another piece in the postal service’s arsenal on the road to full automation. The mission of the postal service is to have as many of these machines installed and operational in the shortest time possible. These machines are already operational in many areas across the country. I’m pretty sure that in those facilities where the machines have been installed the workforce is already declining.

The AFSM 100 replaces the older generation of flat sorting machines. The 100 requires only one (1) person to feed the flats to the machine. It does all the rest of the work. That means there is no longer any need for employees to sit at consoles to key in the pertinent data.

The AFSM 100s will cause a great loss in jobs especially in the TE (Temporary Employees) ranks. Quite a number of TEs have already been eliminated from the rolls. After the process is complete with the temporary employees, then the downsizing will begin with the career employees with reassignments to other jobs and areas.

Some of these reassignments will be voluntary but a lot of them will be of the involuntary nature. This is where the practice of vigilance comes in. As I have said before, “Don’t grab at the carrot being dangled before you.” A lot of assign-ments may seem like something good when in fact, once you get there, it is something totally different. Then there won’t be any to undo the damage that has already been done. If transfers and reassignments have to happen, make sure that you have researched all the avenues available to you before making a decision. Then make the best one for your own well-being

Remember that when a transfer or reassignment is involuntary, you always have retreat rights back to your workplace. of job. The only caveat to the retreat rights is that you have to bid on every vacancy in your previous job position whether you want it or not. If you don’t bid, you lose your retreat rights and there is no recourse.

LOSS OF MEMBERSHIP

The loss of TEs will cause a precipitous drop in the membership rolls of some Locals. This is the time to step up and help your Local by recruiting career members. The overall effect on some Locals with large contingents of TEs will be devastating. Recruitment will and should -- be the number one priority

Recruiting new members whether they are new employees or employees already in the workplace should not be very hard. All it takes is determination and a willingness to succeed. You need to have your tools of recruitment - the information kit, a blue Alliance brochure, and an 1187. Try it. You will see just how successful you are in helping your Local to grow.