Newly elected Philadelphia, PA President allegedly locks out other local officers and prevents them from representing members.
The National American Postal Workers Union has suspended and placed into trusteeship the Philadelphia, PA -one of it’s largest local unions- according to a notice published by 21st Century Postal Worker, . The suspension comes less than one month after members ousted the previous president (and one of the Rank & File members who voted for current contract) Gwen Ivey and elected Nick Casselli, the former Chief steward, Tour 1. Casselli was installed as Local President on June 22, 2011 by National APWU Vice-President Greg Bell. Casselli allegedly locked out officers listed below who were re-elected from the previous local administration.
According to the notice issued by Cliff Guffey, National APWU President:
“My finding that immediate trusteeship is necessary is based on the fact that the Local President has changed the locks on the offices of the Local, thus preventing the Local’s officers, including its elected Treasurer, from performing their official duties. The Local President also has informed postal management that three of the top four elected officers of the Local, the Vice President, the Treasurer, and the Director of Industrial Relations, are no longer permitted to serve as officers of the Local and must return to the workroom floor. By these actions, the Local President has prevented the Local Treasurer from issuing payroll checks and otherwise paying the just debts of the Local and has prevented the handling of the funds of the Local in accordance with the Local’s Constitution. I find that these actions by the Local President make it necessary for me to suspend the Philadelphia PA Area Local immediately to prevent the misappropriation of the Local’s funds and property. These actions also expose the Local to civil liability. All this has been done in violation of the Constitution of the Local and in violation of the Constitution and Bylaws of the National Union.”
The Philadelphia Area Local of the APWU represents more than 2,500 workers at Philadelphia’s main post office and stations, the Philadelphia Air Mail Center, and the Elkins Park and Bristol post offices.
The Real Deal.
You are the liar. The Philly three did not call in a locksmith. Who told you that lie!
The door was broken into. That is why the FBI was called in. The police would not have been called for a cleanly picked lock. They are thieves. That is why the membership is petitioning to get out of the APWU today.
They don’t want to be part of this local any longer. Hundreds have signed the petition already.
Read up on the decertification process under NLRB. It can be done if those of you dues payers have the balls to make the move. Its either that or more of the same just like in this article.
To enufisenuf: Well said. I don’t care who calls me what. The use of the word “scab”, is an indicator of a person who has no argument with facts. The basic tenet of freedom is the ability to choose for ones self. More power to me if choose not to support a union that is out of touch IN MY OPINION.
Hey Betty Ford you are a liar. The new President changed the locks on the outside doors to the union hall. Not only that he changed the locks on the doors of the other elected officers. The room that was “broken” into was the mailing room, a common room and the Treasurer has a right to send out official mail. And it wasn’t kicked in – denied access the Treasurer called a lock smith to remove the lock so the business of the Local could be conducted. And what idiot would lock their laptop in a common room anyway??? when they have their own office in which he changed the locks to, and that nobody else had a key to. In my opinion it sounds like the other officers were being set up and framed for commiting a crime that never happened…
What postal workers need to do is rise up and demand decertification of the apwu. Its deference to politics and egos first has resulted in a continuing debaclle now referred to as the ratified contract. APWU has lost sight of its obligations to the membership. 30 second time slots on prime time is not the answer. You lost the support of the public a long time ago. COPA donations are not the answer…it hasn’t gotten you anywhere.
Local unions are replete with johnny-come-latelys full of themselves and their own personal agendas – not the memberships. Widespread apathy creates the revolving door of union officials spewing forth the mantra, “Vote for me and I’ll set you free…” The lemmings that do remain loyal all follow in mindless worship without even a remote review of how it was once upon a time and how those officials managed to run tight ships.
No, the johnny-come-latelys are not interested in representing you. Their only interest is to stay off the workroom floor and protect themselves from excessing via their superseniority…a status worth being elected to office on its own in todays environment.
Things will not change from within. Its too late for that. Maneement is plowing forward in their Hummer and your union is a mere speed bump on the road. Your grievance machine is just an old lawnmower sputtering and choking from all the gas in it.
Decertify the APWU or just keep watching the mass exodus of members while you stand and call them scabs. Who cares? The raise in pay you were unable to get and/or deferred, they will get by filling out those 1188s.
So stand idly by; call them scabs, pay your dues, don’t go to meetings, don’t ask questions, don’t demand answers, watch your union officers and stewards stay while you get excessed to Timbuctu. What a joke you all are…just ask maneement!
This is the one fault I personally found in former president Burrus i.e. he gave local presidents full atonomy. I know that my local president has engaged in the same tactics of de-certifying elected officers, engaging in nepothism, unauthorized expenditures of more than the By Laws permitted, and just a dictatorial rule type of leadership. In order for the membership of APWU to be fully protected, there need to be a full blown independent audit of all locals and the national, starting with the national.
Isn’t the vice-president of the National APWU from Philadelphia?
If you hate APWU so much, why are you on this website?
TO 1st Cav 229th, You have a short memory span. When UPS went on strike, the APWU donated to the Teamsters (that was when that little rat Jimmy Hoffa Jr was their president) Only a few months later the little @##$%$% testified in front of a congressional comittee telling them the USPS should be broken up. Yeah we really need to bring him back to life.
Way to go Joe! Union free and proud of it!
The APWU has been selling us down the road for years. Our local threw out our office steward for representing his office. In his place they put,(without a vote), a scab that had been tearing down union posters. He found that he would get “super seniority” if he became steward. The former president of our local “stole” most of our local treasury money. They wouldn’t let me attend union meetings because I had once been a 204B. I got the hell out. They won’t get a dime more of my money. CROOKS!
I think they should go find the 3 letter carriers that were caught drinking in the bar in Northeast Philly… Go have a brewsky!!!!
Someone needs to leave a dead fish at the front door. Jimmy H. must be proud of u. Take a vacation to Sicly.
HM-m-m-m- Sounds like trained by Congress !
To soon to be retired; how do you know liberalheadhunter is a guy. As 4ource use to say; I’d rather be a scab than a liberal sore oozing pus.
and further more, you must raise your hand to use the head.
no telling jokes, or farting in the luch room.
and one more thing, you will only take 20 minutes on your 10 min break, no expceptions.
I think the president needs a hug.
I’ve seen it all.
The Philadelphia president did not lock the representatives out. It was just one room for an audit of the Treasurer. The new President had a right to change locks but he only changed the locks after his laptop and briefcase was stolen. The Vice President and Treasurer and D.IR. kicked the door in because they wanted to send unauthorized mail totaling over $400.00 to get the executive board to make the vice president the president through the executive board which can not be done. They even left a note saying they did it. Then the Vice President sent management a letter telling them he was the new president and to disregard anything that the President Nick Casselli said.
The President changed the locks on the doors after the break in to stop anyone from destroying union property. All of this was to put the past president Gwen Ivey back in office. The letter from the National never mentioned the Breaking and entering charges and the use of unauthorized funds to the membership. which was not fair.
The war rages on..
forget this loser Cliff Goofy & aPwU…….call Jimmy Hoffa Jr and get the Teamsters…….I bet they would not have signed off on a 30 hour full time work week or screwing us out of our $1019.00 COLA that Goofy gave away!
Goofy is a rat that needs to go too sweet!
To the guy bragging they are 100% non-union. You, sir, are a scab. Benefit from collective bargaining, even if you don’t like every single thing, and pay nothing.
From Obama to Congress to PGM Dohahoe to Local Management…the entire world is crushing USPS. I can’t stand the Union, but I think the Union is our last voice! I will support the Union as long as I have a job!
The APWU is a bunch of losers! This should happen to all of them! My boss, is an ASS!
The national rank and file uprising happens every month. As members dues deduction anniversary date occur, many are choosing to keep the money they pay in dues in their pocket. My office had one last month with two more to follow. Regretfully, mine is not until January, 2012, but my paperwork is already to go. There is only three union members, so we will be 100% non- Apwu. We simply do not feel we were adequately represented in the outcome of the last contract.
The real rank and file rose up and took out the local president (Ivey). Guffey had hand picked Ivey to serve on the Rank and File Committee that approved and championed the recent tentative agreement. But, the rebels overstepped their bounds when they locked out the rest of Ivey’s administration. This opened the door for Guffey to step in and reverse the rebel gains. Can a national rank and file uprising be far behind? May the farce be with you.
They need to get that “so called” Local President for the AMC O”Hare Midway T” Local # 7011 in Chgo because he did the same thing to our Elected Vice President and Organizational Director.
They also Spending monies without the approval of the Membership !
From what I have read, sounds like someone is letting their “power” go to their head. I’m sure this new President will be dethroned soon.
This is no way to operate, sounds like something management would do, and we know they’ve got a bad reputation for doing stupid stuff.
Good luck to all in PA.