Meet Support Services

(This article appears in the March/April 2014 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Steve Brooks, Director  

My name is Steve Brooks and I am the new director of the Support Services Division of the APWU.

Before becoming director, I was the president of the Twin Cities PDC Local, located in Eagan MN.

When I mention “Eagan,” I probably get most members’ attention. Why? Because Eagan is known as the place that generates our pay checks.

What most people don’t know is that the workers at Eagan do far more than deal with pay checks. Workers there are responsible for a wide variety of functions for the Postal Service.

The same can be said for the entire Support Services Division. We are perhaps the most diverse division in the APWU and perform many different jobs. The division is made up of USPS units as well as private-sector groups. We also have numerous separate and distinct collective bargaining agreements.

The postal facilities covered by the Information Technology/Accounting Services (IT/AS) agreement are located in Eagan MN, San Mateo CA, St. Louis MO and Wilkes-Barre PA. These units have been without a contract since January 2011. We are heading to “interest arbitration” because negotiating sessions with the Postal Service have hit a brick wall.

The Postal Professional Nurses, who were welcomed into the APWU during the 2008 National Convention, also have their own collective bargaining agreement. This agreement expired in 2012 and at this time we are continuing to work toward a negotiated contract.

Support Services also includes many postal units that are covered by the main APWU Collective Bargaining Agreement, which also covers employees in the Clerk, Maintenance, and Motor Vehicle Service Crafts. The Western Area Supply Center (WASC) in Topeka KS, Mail Equipment Shop (MES) in Washington DC, Operating Services (OS) in Washington DC, and the Materiel Distribution Center (MDC) in Topeka KS are covered by Articles 40 and 41 of the main agreement.

The Support Services Division also includes private-sector truckers employed by Pat Salmon & Sons, Mail Contractors of America (MCA), and B & B Trucking. There are four separate contracts in these companies. The terminals where we represent truckers are located in Shreveport LA, Little Rock AR, Memphis TN, Dallas TX, Tallahassee FL, Des Moines IA, Kansas City MO, and Detroit and Kalamazoo MI. We also have an MTEC in Detroit under another separate contract with PAE.

As you can see, Support Services has members across the country. As you meet these members at various union conferences and conventions, please remember, we do much more than prepare your paychecks!