Attend a Pre-Convention Workshop

Twenty-nine workshops will be offered on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016, the day prior to the craft meetings, at the Swan & Dolphin Hotels.

All APWU members are welcome and encouraged to sign-up online by the early registration deadline of Monday, Aug. 1. This deadline is firm for participants with special needs: If you need a sign interpreter, for example, you must register by Aug. 1. Other participants may try to sign up for workshops after they arrive in Florida; however, late registrants will have a limited choice of workshops and will not receive certificates. Click here to register.

1. Arbitration Forum: Provides an exceptional opportunity to observe a panel discussion where an arbitrator, USPS Labor Relations Manager, and an APWU NBA give their unique perspectives on preparing, presenting, arguing, and deciding cases. (2:30 pm-5:30 pm) 
2. Basic Shop Steward’s Training: Guidelines for new shop stewards, with a focus on proper documentation of grievances, and the duties, rights, and guidelines for shop stewards. (10 am-5:30 pm)
3. Beginning Maintenance Steward’s Training: Covers each section and subsection of Article 38. This training is highly beneficial for new representatives. (10 am-1 pm); also offered (2:30 pm-5:30 pm) 
4. Connecting the Dots with Article 37.3.A.1 and MDAT: Outlines how to use these tools to create and preserve jobs in the Clerk Craft, reduce the PSE complement, create desirable duty assignments, convert PTFs to FT in small offices, reduce disputes on reversions and abolishments, and reduce excessing when the USPS is utilizing PSEs. (10 am-1 pm)
5. Department of Labor and IRS Reporting Obligations: Reviews the federal and state reporting and insurance requirements for local and state unions. As these requirements are mandatory, new presidents, treasurers, trustees, and executive board members are urged to attend. (10 am-1 pm); also offered (2:30 pm-5:30 pm) 
6. Documenting Maintenance Grievances: Teaches how to research and document grievances to successfully represent the membership. The Line H example covers timekeeping reports, handbooks, application of settlements, and MOUs. (10 am-1 pm); also offered(2:30 pm-5:30 pm) 
7. Disabled Veterans’ Benefits: Assists representatives in helping disabled veterans obtain benefits. (10 am-1 pm)
8. Disability Retirement: Explains how disability retirement pay is calculated and how to avoid delays and disapprovals. (2:30 pm-5:30 pm) 
9. Effective Retiree Chapters: Discusses how to start a new chapter or reboot your current chapter. Information will be provided on maximizing membership and attendance, increasing volunteer participation, taking on leadership roles in the chapter and community, and supporting APWU’s legislative endeavors. (10 am-1 pm)
10. Electronic Grievance System (EGS) Training: Provides training on a web-based grievance storage system that allows stewards to fill out grievance forms, add documentation, and submit and save grievances electronically. (Participants must bring a fully charged laptop.) (10 am-1 pm)
11. Empowering Young Workers: Brainstorming over how to encourage young union members to become more actively involved in the union, increase activism and aid in building a more diverse labor movement. (2:30 pm-5:30 pm) 
12. Excessing: Examines Article 12 and answers questions on what causes excessing; the timetable when excessing occurs, and the process – from notification to the Regional Coordinator, meetings, production of information, comparative workhour reports, retreat rights, “senior in lieu of,” super-seniority, preference eligible veterans rights, and saved grade. (10 am-1 pm)
13. Family and Medical Leave Act: A “how-to” session on FMLA forms, eligibility, leave requirements, and guidelines. (2:30 pm-5:30 pm)
14. Handling Workplace Injuries: Designed for beginners or to refresh your knowledge of the types of OWCP claims, forms, achieving claim approval, appeals, COP, wage loss compensation, medical treatment, return-to-work, job offers, reasonable accommodations, suitability determinations, and employer violations. (10 am-5:30 pm)
15. How to Win a Grievance Without Filing One: Addresses building workers’ power on the job without getting bogged down in paperwork. Answers the question, “How do we become a fighting union and not just a grievance machine?” (2:30 pm-5:30 pm)
16. Innovative Organizing: Focuses on real-life organizing challenges. Learn techniques and strategies to expand membership and strengthen our union. (10 am-1 pm)
17. Labor History Comes Alive! A dynamic look at what we can learn from the major struggles of the past and how we can apply the lessons to the challenges we face today. (10 am-1 pm)
18. Labor Law Fundamentals: A look at the National Labor Relations Act, with a focus on the rights of APWU members, the Duty of Fair Representation, and how to identify unfair labor practices. (10 am-1 pm)
19. Large Office Issues (Function 1): Covers common issues in large mail processing facilities. Topics include creating jobs, preserving existing jobs, filling residual vacancies, machine safety and staffing, and RI-399. (2:30 pm-5:30 pm)
20. Legal Issues and Union Communications: A review of editorial policies, union regulations, libel, copyright and federal election laws that apply to hardcopy and electronic forms of communication. (2:30 pm-5:30 pm)
21. 2016 Elections, Legislative Issues and Political Action: An analysis of the important races and legislative issue that affect postal workers and their families, and a discussion of political action “best practices.” (2:30 pm -5:30 pm) 
22. Motor Vehicle Craft Issues: An update on MVS issues and information on Articles 39, 32, and other articles of the CBA that apply to the Motor Vehicle Craft. (10 am- 5:30 pm)
23. PSE Issues: Focuses on enforcing contractual rights of Clerk Craft PSEs. Topics include protecting PSEs’ rights, holding management accountable for exceeding the use of non-career employees, increasing the career workforce, and seniority issues. (10 am-1 pm)
24. Reaching the Membership: Communicating at the Local Level: Examines the importance of information-sharing using various mediums with special emphasis on the process of producing a member-oriented, high quality union publication.  (10 am-1 pm) 
25. Representing Employees When Discipline Is Issued: An in-depth discussion of how to protect APWU members from unwarranted discipline. Proper investigation techniques will be explained in detail, along with common arguments for defending employees. (2:30 pm-5:30 pm) 
26. Retail and Small Office Issues (Function 4): Discusses common issues in retail operations and small post offices. Topics include creating jobs, preserving existing jobs, filling residual vacancies, POStPlan, and postmasters/supervisors performing bargaining unit work.(2:30 pm-5:30 pm) 
27. Retirement Planning for Civil Service Retirement System (CSR) employees and Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) employees: Provides information on annuity calculations, best date to retire, benefit choices, important records to keep, and tips on successfully completing the application. (10 am-1 pm)
28. Safety on the Job - A Top Priority: Provides a tutorial on using the OSHA website to file safety and health complaints. Covers PS Form 1767 and other tools; the role of Safety Committees and the safety inspection process for various types of postal facilities. Participants will learn to differentiate between a safety issue and a health issue; know union rights during inspections, and understand the next steps after OSHA is contacted. (2:30 pm-5:30 pm) 
29. Saving the People’s Post Office: Discusses how to build worker-community alliances to keep offices open and located in the communities they serve. Examines an essential element in the fight to protect jobs and improve service. (10 am-1 pm)

If you have problems registering online, please contact Joyce B. Robinson at jrobinson@apwu.org or by telephone at (202) 842-4225.