THE BURNING EMBER 8

YOUR STEWARDS ARE UNDER ATTACK

APWU Local President Greg Stinson, known as the bullfrog, recently launched a selfish political attack on your representatives. This attack has been directed at the clerk stewards. He has taken well-trained and experienced stewards and replaced them with his “country club” pals; people with little or no experience. Political hacks that are only stewards in order to file grievances on their own behalf for their own self-seeking needs. It has been reported to me that these replacements have minimal training and make no attempt to attend training. One of the replacements, which bullfrog put onto the stewards list is a 204b-acting supervisor. I guess this blunder would save time as this person can meet with herself at Step 1 of the grievance process. The most destructive thing about this attack on the stewards is that it interferes with the grievance procedure. These stewards have active grievances on which they are currently working. Bullfrog’s dunderheaded and arbitrary removal of them in the middle of the grievance procedure leaves the members they are representing at the mercy of management. There are time limits in the grievance procedure. If those limits are not kept management wins. Of course management is again taking advantage of this insanely stupid stunt. Stewards showing up to meet with employees or supervisors are told to leave because they are not the stewards anymore. This is causing problems for members. Some members have even been forced to meet on their own grievances, without the training or knowledge needed to effectively deal with management. It is also putting the local in jeopardy of having charges filed against it by the National Labor Relations Board for failing to meet its duty of “fair representation” under Federal Law. It is sad enough that the bullfrog would slash up the clerk stewards lists, but his complete ignoring of the local constitution on this issue is even more demonstrative of his disdain for the members of the local.

Our local constitution allows the president to appoint stewards. The president should do so in consultation with the craft directors. If the president sees the need to remove a person from the steward list he can do so. Courtesy, though, dictates that he should at least notify the craft director and the employee—Stinson chooses to only notify management. There are some protections against the abuse of power; our local constitution grants the person being removed appeal rights. The person can make an appeal to the local executive board, which meets and hears the case and then votes to either support the removal or overturn it. After bullfrog’s latest chop job on the clerk steward list, the members appealed. The executive board properly called for a special meeting in accordance with our local constitution; the paperwork is at the local office. The bullfrog refused to attend. The board overturned the removals and directed bullfrog to put the employees back on as stewards. He refused to do so. At the next regular executive board meeting, which Stinson conveniently missed, the board affirmed its previous decision and with the absence of the bullfrog directed the vice-president to put the members back on the steward list. He did so, but when Stinson returned to work after his “miracle recovery” he sent another list to management removing the stewards again. When questioned by an employee, who managed to get through to bullfrog on the phone, as to why he removed the stewards his only response was, “I have my reasons.” Well, I also have my suspicions as to why he yanked the stewards off the list. The first one is the most obvious, political favors to his “country club political hacks.” Another is retaliation—these stewards have boldly spoken out against him on occasion concerning his improper actions and he is exacting revenge on them, at the expense of the members. The last, but not so obvious, is that he is fulfilling his pledge to management to not have certain grievances filed at University Station. I was shown the paperwork by the City Stations Director, who, by the way, was one of the stewards removed from University Station. Stinson conveniently covers University Station himself—again with the $60,000 a year steward. So I guess it I was wrong it; is pretty easy to see what is going on with that.

Members need to speak up. There is a general membership meeting Sunday, July 20 after the local’s chili cook-off. I have the feeling that it is going to be hotter during the meeting considering how the bullfrog attacks your stewards and disobeys the will of the membership.

E-mail him and ask him at:orbulldog1@verizon.net or gstin29803@yahoo.com