in April; however, he hopes to have another CCA event after the summer. In Flushing, NY, CCA trainings have been held quarterly since May 2013. There typically are 75 to 80 carriers in attendance, the majority of whom are from Branch 294, but letter carriers from surrounding branches also can attend. While the majority of attend- ees are CCAs, career carriers also are encouraged to attend. For about three and a half hours, attendees learn about the union, rights and procedures, lo- cal benefits, safety and conduct, and resources that are available to them. “It shows them, No. 1, that we care,” Branch 294 President Tony Paolillo said. “You know, I always say actions speak louder than words.” Paolillo makes sure to bring in former CCAs who have gone through the training to talk to current CCAs. Among them is Kareem Hunter , a letter carrier since 2016. He began working at the Flushing station in 2018 and attended training about one month after he started. He said that he had learned a lot of information that the station managers hadn’t told him about, such as what forms were avail- able to CCAs and how to fill them out. Since his initial attendance in 2018, Hunter has returned several times. He said that every time he goes, he learns something new. He spoke at one of the meetings in 2023, where he shared his positive experience with the training and talked to CCAs and answered their questions. “They teach us how to do our job the correct way, and it just makes every carrier’s job easier,” Hunter said. “It’s very informative. They give you crucial information that most of the time people remember for the rest of their postal career.”
“I have 21 sta- tions in Flushing, and we have about 12 of our stations [where] the shop steward is a former CCA. They got involved because they first came to CCA workshops,” Paolillo said. Each executive training segments, along with legisla- tive and political organizers who board member covers various
Olympia, WA Branch 351 holds a CCA bar- becue (top) in the parking lot of the post office on a Sunday when CCAs are working. Additionally, they provide uniform items (above).
discuss current legislative issues. They also provide free uniforms and dinner, which gives CCAs and other carriers the chance to socialize. “We try to give them as many tools in their tool kit as we can to defend themselves and to maximize the ben- efits that they do have,” Paolillo said. “As we all know, so much is thrown at CCAs in such a short time,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. “Whatever we can do to bring them up to speed and give them the tools to succeed, the better it is for all of us. That’s one of our fundamental missions—from the branches to NALC Headquarters—as union leaders.” PR
The Postal Record 9 August 2024
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