August 5-9, 2024 Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
52 The Postal Record August 2024 The gold cards are presented to our 50-year members (since 1939); the lapel pins are given to our 60- year members (since 1954) and 65- year and 55-year members (since 2012); and the plaques are awarded on the members’ 70th and 75th an- niversaries (since 1974). A number of 80-year plaques have also been tion and, as such, retain both their membership and union rights. But more than that, when they have be- longed to the NALC for 50 years or more, we honor them with either a gold membership card, a lapel pin or a plaque. Leadership Academy F ounded in 2005 by President Emeritus Bill Young and then- Executive Vice President Jim Wil- liams, the NALC Leadership Acad- emy continues to reflect the national leadership’s belief in the importance of developing and preparing cur- rent and future NALC leaders for the challenges of today and those that are surely ahead. Since the Chicago convention in 2022, the Academy has graduated Classes 26, 27 and 28. There are more than 830 gradu- ates since its inception. Class 29 will begin on Aug. 25 and graduate in December. Applications will be ac- cepted for Classes 30 and 31 starting on Aug. 5 and will close on Sept. 27. Interest in the Academy has re- mained high. Each year, hundreds of NALC activists apply for one of the 30 slots available in each class. Most encouraging to me is how closely the demographics of the applicants reflect those of NALC as a whole. As of our last application period, 35 per- cent of the applicants were female and 45 percent came into the Service as city carrier assistants, the appli- cants came from branches of fewer than 20 members to those with more than 7,000, and from members with barely a year in the Postal Service to
new Leadership Academy class. At last count, 28 state presidents, 28 regional administrative assistants, 11 Headquarters staff members, all three of our full-time advocates, eight regional workers’ compensa- tion assistants, six regional office assistants, 11 regional grievance as- sistants, five legislative and politi- cal organizers, 12 national business agents and five resident national of- ficers are graduates of the Academy. Additionally, Academy graduates have been elected to leadership po- sitions in their local branches, small and large, with many becoming full- time union officers. Just as important: Hundreds of graduates have gone on to serve NALC in various other ca- pacities. These include as arbitration advocates, Dispute Resolution Team members, Office of Workers’ Com- pensation Programs representatives, shop stewards, route adjustment team members, and Carrier Academy instructors, as well as food drive, MDA and community service coordinators. The commitment to working hard and helping others seen in each suc- cessive leadership class is always encouraging. If this is any indication of the future of NALC, the union has a bright future ahead of us. Equal opportunity employer N ALC continues to honor and subscribe to its affirmative action program, which pro- vides for a continuing analysis of the association’s human re- sources and personnel policies and practices and formalizes our commitment to recruit, hire, train and promote all persons without regard to race, color, creed, re- ligion, sex, marital status, age, handicap, veteran status or na- tional origin. This program has the strong support of this admin- istration.
those with more than 33. More than 45 percent were applying for the first time, while dozens were seek- ing admission for the sixth, seventh or eighth time. This is promising on many levels. It shows that there’s a high interest among newer members in becoming of greater service to the union. It also shows that in spite of not being selected in previous at- tempts, many continue to reapply each year, showing that they are de- termined and not easily discouraged, both characteristics of a good leader. Admission to the Academy begins with the completion of a written ap- plication form available on the NALC website during the application ac- ceptance period, which, as previ- ously stated, begins this year on Aug. 5 and runs through Sept. 27. Applicants must be endorsed by a union leader who commits to being their mentor throughout the Leader- ship Academy experience and pro- vides them with additional learning opportunities. It’s an extremely dif- ficult job to select only 30 students for each class from among the many qualified applicants. The rivers of NALC talent and dedi- cation continue to run deep, as evi- denced by the high quality of each awarded (since 2014). Most of our branches make quite an occasion of the actual presenta- tions, and NALC sends a letter to the retiree expressing gratitude for his or her continuing support of the NALC over the years. The following presentations of life membership awards have been made since the Chicago convention: 50-year gold cards 3,637 55-year pins 7,476 60-year pins 1,278 65-year pins 808 70-year plaques 197 75-year plaques 122 80-year plaques 10
Honoring longtime members T he NALC honors its retirees in a unique way. Our retirees are an integral part of our organiza-
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