Lone Star

Postal News

Proud Member of the Postal Press Association

Official Publication of the Texas Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO

Volume 42

November/December 2015

Publication #2

Inside This Edition

Happy Holidays

Texas Postal Workers Union Officers..............................2

Goals and Objectives.......................................................3
A New Term.....................................................................4
1.6B Global Settlement....................................................4
Education is the Key to Success and Knowledge is Power
.........................................................................................5
It Pays to Belong.............................................................6
APWU POWER 17th Biennial National Convention.....6
H.R. Where Does Your Representative Stand.................7
Calendar of Events..........................................................8
Articles Due Dates..........................................................8

Page 2

TPWU Lonestar Postal News

November/December 2015

Texas Postal Workers

Union Officers
Executive Committee Members

President
Carlton Williams
2010 Postal Way
Dallas, TX 75212
(o) 214.678.0523
214.213.7457
(f) 214.631.3184
Carltondallas5@aol.com

Executive Vice President

Ruben Campos
1505 Skyline Dr
Portland, TX 78374-2226
361.249.3115
6brownducks@msn.com
Secretary/Treasurer
Wanda Coleman
P.O. Box 8956
Tyler, TX 75711-8956
(o) 903.592.5190
apwuwandac@aol.com
Director of News Information/Website/
Editor
Tonya M. Brooks
P.O. Box 183784
Arlington, TX 76096
817.688.3691
lonestareditor@yahoo.com
Clerk Craft Director
Tammy Armstrong
2010 Postal Way
Dallas, TX 75212
(o) 214.802.2682
(f) 214.631.3184
Show45time@yahoo.com
Maintenance Craft Director
Robert Wentzel
P.O. Box 483
Lubbock, TX 79408
(o) 806.762.7869
tpwumaintcraft@yahoo.com

Motor Vehicle Craft Director

Lee Nelson
102 W. Tidwell Rd
Houston, TX 77022
(o) 713.691.4818
713.263.4073
lnelson@pwuhouston.com
Executive Board Members
Legislative Aide
Bernadette Baker
102 W. Tidwell
Houston, TX 77022
281.748.1789
Bbdett44@aol.com
District #1 VP SCF 790-794
Eric Flores
P.O. Box 483
Lubbock, TX 79408
(o) 806.762.7869
806.544.2933
(f) 806.762.7882
Tpwuvpd1@yahoo.com
District #2 VP SCF 797-799
David Estrada
P.O. Box 740
Fabens, TX 79838-0740
(o) 915.764.3712
915.539.6390
(f) 915.764-5901
Davidvp2@elp.rr.com
District #3 VP SCF 795-796, 768-769
Judy Glossup
2026 Grand Ave
Abilene, TX 79605
(o) 325.518.3643
325.672.1020
(f) 325.698.2168
jglossup@aol.com
District #4 VP SCF 780-782, 788
Norma Impallari
P.O. Box 774
Converse, TX 78109
(w) 210.658.5129
Nimpallari0195@att.net

District #5 VP SCF 760-764

DeAnna Newsome
12 Greenwood Dr
Witchita Falls, TX 76301
(c) 940.224.1291
uniondeanna@yahoo.com
District #6 VP SCF 758, 765-767, 778
Mike Holloway
3817 Oak Valley Dr
Killeen, TX 76542
(o) 254.466.4336
254.690.5696
Mdmj41!@aol.com
District #7 VP SCF 79, 786-787, 789
Jessie Benavides
P.O. Box 140225
Austin, TX 78714
(o) 512.342.1480
(f) 512.342.1477
jesseleg@aol.com
District #8 VP SCF 783-785
Cindy Martinez
2912 Mynah Ave
McAllen, TX 78504
(f) 956.618.1281
District #9 VP SCF 750-757
Billy Jones
2010 Postal Way
Dallas, TX 75212
(o) 214.631.3174
214.803.7659
(f) 214.631.3184
billyjones@dallasapwu.org
District #10 VP SCF 759,770-777
Earl Vaughns
102 W. Tidwell Rd
Houston, TX 77022
832.771.0913
evaughns@apwuhouston.com

November/December 2015

TPWU Lonestar Postal News

Page 3

Goals and Objectives

A special recognition to Debbie-Barrett
Wiltz. I thank you for your commitment, all
of the hard work, dedication you exemplified
during the two years you served as TPWU
Secretary-Treasurer. Thank you for making
my job easier as President. Your diligence
made a difference. I want to thank you for
your contributions to the TPWU.

Congratulations to
Newly Elected Officers

Carlton Williams
TPWU President

Former TPWU Officer

June 2013-2015

Ben Solis, served as Executive President

from June 2007 until June 2015. Debbie
Barrett-Wiltz, served as Secretary-Treasurer
from June 2013 until June 2015. Lecia
Styles, served as Director of Information/
News and Editor from June 2013 until June
2015. Joe Neveu, served as Maintenance
Craft Director from 2005 until June 2015.
Art Zeno, served as Motor Vehicle Craft
Director from 2007 until June 2015. Stacia
McKinney, served as District VP #10 from
2011 until June 2015.
Thank you for your service, your time, and
hard work each one you provided as TPWU
Officers, Executive Committee and Executive Board Members. Thank you for your
dedication to serving the members and commitment to the TPWU. It was an honor and
privilege to work with each of you. Good
luck and I wish you the best.

Five new faces on the Executive Committee.

Vice President
Ruben Campos ----- Corpus Christi
Secretary-Treasurer
Wanda Coleman-----Tyler
Director of News InformationWebsite/
Editor
Tonya M. Brooks ----Fort Worth
Maintenance Craft Director
Robert Bob Wentzel ---- Lubbock
Motor Vehicle Director
Lee Nelson ----- Houston
Three new faces on the Executive Board
Newly Elected District Vice Presidents
District VP # 2
David Estrada ----- El Paso
District VP # 8
Cindy Martinez ----- McAllen
District VP #10
Earl Vaughns ----- Houston.

I look forward to working with each of you

for the next two years. I have great and
positive expectations that we will work
cooperatively together, develop cohesiveness, deal with adversities, and overcome
obstacles and resolve issues. I encourage
all TPWU Officers to unite and lets make
a commitment to work together and put our
differences aside. Lets exercise and utilize
our skills and training. Lets commit to the
members, assist and help each other for a
common approach and common purpose,
representation.

Goals and Objectives

Focus on and provide the best Representation

to our members. Increase union assets by
developing strategies to boost membership
and sign up the non members. Continue to
provide training to Officers.

Global Settlement Payouts

The Global Settlement identified

$1,793,334.00 to be compensated in the
State of Texas.
Who is my Union Representative? These are
the District Vice Presidents and the Districts
Zip Codes they represent. (see page 2)

All Craft Conference

October 12-14, 2015

Las Vegas, NV

Page 4

November/December 2015

TPWU Lonestar Postal News

A New Term
Thank You

I would like to thank the outgoing officers

who dedicated so much time and effort
promoting our Union. I am also grateful for
those new officers who have undertaken their
duties with so much determination.

1.6B Global Settlement

The first four months have not been without

challenge. At the Executive Committee
meeting in August 2015, the Executive
Committee discussed the overwhelming enforcement issue the 1.6B Global Settlement
has created. The potential return on invested
Steward hours is a potential windfall for
members. I am submitting a copy of a recent
1.6B Settlement that only required a couple
of hours of preparation. It is very important

to notify your Stewards if you suspect that

Postmasters or Supervisors are exceeding the
hourly limits they have on the performance
of Bargaining Unit Work. Postmasters are
frequently under reporting the hours that they
do in the Clerk Craft. By comparing the 1260
to the Postmasters 1412 it is easy to find where
they are lying about the hours. Remember all
the hours they work the window from the time
they sign in until the time they do their end
of day report counts as hours worked on the
window, even if they are just twiddling their
thumbs in the office next door.

2015 State Convention

I have found errors in the current Constitution that will need to be corrected due to the
language not being corrected after previous

State Conventions. I have provided this list

to the President and Constitution Committee for verification and review prior to the
next board meeting. Unfortunately due to
space limitations they cannot be included
in this Article. Any member that would like
a copy of the corrections please contact me
at my e-mail address and I will forward a
copy of the list.
I believe that this group of Officers is committed to correcting any errors we encounter
and are doing our best to move this Union
forward. Please contact me if I can be of
service to you or your local.
Submitted by: Ruben Campos,
TPWU Vice President

All Craft
Conference
October 12-14, 2015
Las Vegas, NV

November/December 2015

TPWU Lonestar Postal News

Page 5

Education is the Key to Success

and Knowlege is Power
2015 Conventions

I attended the 2015 Biennial Conference

Postal Press Association in Madison, Wisconsin, August 20-22, 2015. I attended the
following classes:

Thank You

I would like to thank the membership at the

TPWU State Convention which was held
June 23-26, 2015 for electing me as the State
Director of News Information/Website/Editor. I have great things that I will be bringing
to the membership.

My Goals

As your newly elected Director of News

Information/Website/Editor, I will provide
you with:
A paper that you will enjoy
No personal attacks will be allowed
Articles will reflect whats important to
you, the member
Recognizing members and their families
Positive informative articles

Conducting Interviews-Asking the

Right Questions
Developing Strategy for Getting Your
Message Out
Websites, Facebook, Twitter: Other
Forums for Reaching Members
Legal Issues, Your Responsibilities
Editorials, Columns, Letters: The Pulpits
of Your Publication
Union Newsletters, More Than Just
Words on Paper

I also attended the All Craft Conference that

was held in Las Vegas, NV, October 12-14,
2015. I again think that if your local can afford to send your elected officials then they
should attend. At this Convention member
have the opportunity to hear the NBAs and
the National Officers speak on different
Articles of the Contract and how to apply
them in your local.
Education is the Key to Success and
Knowledge is Power.
In Union Solidarity

If your local can afford to send your Editor

and Associate Editor to the Postal Press
Association Convention, you should attend.
The classes that are offered will help you,
and you meet Editors from other locals and
you can discuss some of the issues that you
face in your local. You get a chance to see
other publications and get some ideals from
other Editors.

All Craft Conference

October 12-14, 2015

Las Vegas, NV

Page 6

November/December 2015

TPWU Lonestar Postal News

It Pays to Belong
grievances concerning violations of Overtime, Crossing Craft , Bargaining Unit Work,
Higher Level Pay, Conversion/Maximization and more. Also I have filed many step
two grievances, some appealed to step three
at the national level for resolution.

Earl Vaughns
District #10 Vice President

It Pays to Belong

To all my brothers and sisters it gives me

pleasure to represent you as Vice President
District 10 of the APWU. Since becoming
Vice President I have encountered many Post
masters who have little or no respect for the
contract, nor their employees. Would you
believe many try to intimidate their workers to
the degree, that the employee are threatened
not to call the union. I have filed numerous

Many members have received pay for

violations, so if you feel your rights have
been violated dont hesitate to contact your
Representative. Most of the discipline that
employees received is unwarranted. In some
post offices Management do not adhere to
breaks, nor lunch breaks. Management tends
to change schedules daily or weekly, not
acknowledging that full time employees have
a bid that should be respected and adhered
to. Full time regulars should have a break
two hours after reporting, lunch break, and
two hours before you end tour.

Craft. On the state level go TPWU.org. On

Thursdays wear your union gear or anything
to show solidarity until a contract has been
negotiated.
Again it gives me a pleasure to represent you
and it pays to belong.

If you need information about the APWU,

simply go to APWU.org and click on departments for Clerk Craft or Maintenance

APWU POWER 17th

Biennial National Convention
Texas POWER

First I would like to thank the Texas POWER

sisters for re-electing me as their Texas
POWER Chairperson. It is a pleasure to
serve you.
I had the pleasure of representing Texas at
the APWU POWER 17th Biennial National
Convention in Atlanta, Georgia in August.
The Convention included POWER sisters
from all over the country. We the Southern
Region were host. The workshops were
used to educate and inspire women to take
leadership roles in their lives as well as in
their Union.
The Convention begin on Friday with the
presence of National President APWU, AFLCIO, Mark Dimondstein, as our Keynote
Speaker. President Dimondsteins message
was one to let us know that the fight continues
and our help is needed. We were introduced
to several female National Officers, who
inspired us to set goals and work hard. Also

local female Presidents were recognized. I,

Bernadette Baker, was the Mistress of Ceremony on Friday. I am the first Alternate
of the Southern Region.
On the second day of the Convention, we had
National Executive Vice-President Debby
Szeredy as our Keynote Speaker. Executive
Vice-President Debby Szeredy is a long and

strong member of APWU POWER. She

thanked the sisters for their support and told
us of the work she has been doing. Another
long and strong POWER sister is National
Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Powell.
One thing we focus on at the Biennial POWER is COPA. We collectively contributed
over $25,000 to COPA.
We took a moment to show appreciation to
our greatest supporter, Director of Research
and Education Department, APW U, AFLCIO, Joyce B. Robinson.
A good time was had by all. We concluded our
Convention with our theme song, Sisters
Are Doing It For Themselves.
Submitted by: Bernadette Baker,
Texas POWER Chairperson

November/December 2015

TPWU Lonestar Postal News

Page 7

H.R. 54
Where Does Your Representative Stand

H.R. 54

If your Representative is not showing in the

shaded area, we need your help in getting his
or her support for H.R. 54.
Every Democrat in the state has signed on
except two, Beto ORouke and Joaquin Castro. If either of these are your Representative,
contact them and have other co-workers and
citizens contact them as well.
For those of you that have a Republican
Representative, contact them too. Tell them
about the delaying of the mail to all of their
constiuents.
This is not just a Democratic fight, this is
about giving the American public the service
it expects and deserves.
Its time for All Hands on Deck.
Submitted by: Bernadette Baker,
Texas Legislative Aide

November/December 2015

TPWU Lonestar Postal News

TPWU Lonestar Postal News

Tonya M. Brooks,
Director of News Information/Website/Editor
P.O. Box 183784
Arlington, TX 76096

Page 8
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage

Paid

Fort Worth, TX
Permit No. 2009

Address Service Requested

Printing by: JMH Printing Co

Place Label Here

Calendar of Events
Arbitration Advocacy Training
February 28-March 5, 2016
Linthicum Heights, MD
For more information contact :
Joyce B. Robinson, Director
Research & Education

Editorial Policy

Any and all opinions in the Lone Star Postal

News are the opinions of the writers and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Editor or the Union. All contents must be
received no later than the deadline published
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name will be withheld upon request. All
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address corrections must include mailing
label along with new address.

Articles Due Dates

March 16, 2016
June 16, 2016
September 16, 2016
November 16, 2016

Education Conference
June 2-4, 2016
San Antonio, TX
Hotel: La Quinta
Phone: 210.222.9181
Fax: 210.228.9816
Room Rate: $109.00
2016 National Convention
August 22-25, 2016
Orlando, FL
Pre-Convention Workshops:
August 19, 2016
Craft Conference: August 20-21, 2016
Information subject to change

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