Branch Items
72 The Postal Record August 2024 The union leadership would like to let all our members know that we are continuing with our in-person local union meetings. We are holding our meetings the third Tuesday of every month for anyone who is interested in at- tending, and we have established a Zoom link for members to participate who cannot physi- cally attend the meetings; please contact the union office to receive the Zoom link. Food will be provided at the meeting for those who are able to attend. We look forward to seeing all of our members who are able to make it out. Also, if anyone is interested in participating in our local union in any capacity, please contact our We would like to congratulate our fellow union brothers on their recent retirements, both of whom retired on May 31. Arthur Moore was assigned to our WT Harris Station and retired with 33 and a half years of service. Also, Francis E. (Frank) Martin, who was as- signed to our Downtown Station, retired as the senior carrier of the Charlotte installation with 43 years of service. We wish you both the best on the next chapter of your lives. Albany, New York O ur Branch 29 delegates to the national convention are looking forward to catch- ing up with old friends and making new ones in Boston. The national convention is where the rank-and-file city carriers from across the nation vote on proposals submitted by the lo- cal branches, which steer the direction of our union for the next two years. The very posi- tions that are being bargained for currently for our next collective-bargaining agreement were proposals adopted at the last national convention. It truly is an excellent example of democracy at work that many of our brothers and sisters simply take for granted. We need all city letter carriers to bring their voices to the table and help guide the union in the direction we feel it needs to go. If you leave that up to the minority who shows up, you may not be happy with the direction they take us. Not to mention that the training classes offered before and after the convention each day are some of the best training NALC has to offer. So, if you didn’t make it to Boston this year for whatever reason, start planning right now for Los Angeles in 2026. That convention will have the nominations for national officers, who we choose to lead the union in the direc- tion we choose. Norris Beswick, Branch 29 Charlotte, North Carolina B ranch 545 would like to thank all its dele- gates who were able to attend the NALC na- tional convention in Boston earlier this month. We appreciate your dedication to the union and to this branch. We look forward to each and every one of you sharing the knowledge that you gained from all the classes to make us a stronger branch going forward. Also, city carriers, please be aware that children will be going back to school soon, if they haven’t al- ready. Please be careful and watch out for the children, as well as make note of when the school traffic will be heavy and change your line of travel if necessary.
ment actually made decisions on a daily ba- sis for their unit. However, the ISP initiative was introduced, the Impotent Sheep Program (couldn’t help myself). They are so microman- aged they couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag without a phone call and technology has lowered their collective IQs. Day to day you come to work, put up your mail, load your truck and carry your assign- ments. Your day should not be dictated by a computer program or a scanner, as you are not a machine. Your day is affected by the weather, traffic flow, package volume and mail volume, to name a few—simply put, it takes what it takes. It doesn’t matter if it’s walking, mounted, cluster or apartment delivery, you still need to replenish your vehicle, load your bag, and take your comfort stops, breaks and lunch. Yes, let’s not forget there is no clicking of the heels to get from Point A to Point B. As someone who for 12 years had the privi- lege of representing hundreds of carriers in the various route adjustment processes, I can tell you that, despite management’s best efforts to reinvent the wheel with their latest acronym, delivering the mail is still one delivery at a time. You do yourself a disservice when you buy into their rhetoric and allow yourselves to be intimidated. Use their technology against them by not cutting corners, by not running your as- signments, and by creating a paper trail. In solidarity— Nestor J. Chaves, Branch 40 Cumberland, Maryland B others and sisters, holding management accountable—that’s the challenge we all deal with every day. We are on the move toward a new agreement while we are backlogged with grievances at DRT and countless grievances waiting to be scheduled for arbitration, all still under our current agreement. A new agreement is moving forward, but un- til management lives up to their signatures on any settlement/agreement, the grievances will continue to pile up. Those who have been wait- ing patiently for their grievances to be settled and then complied with are suffering. Stay strong, be active and maintain solidarity. Respectfully— Paul Kirby, Branch 638 Emerald Coast Florida R ecently, I received a courtesy copy of an email that was sent to my sister branch from the Region 9 national business agent. It seems that one of the MPOOs in our area de- cided to have a contest to see who could get the most street observations done in a month, with a prize at the end. He thanked them for their support, but stated that he did not see one EP. As I was reviewing the charts, I noticed that there were three supervisors in my branch whose names were on these charts. They claimed that they had numerous observations. This sparked my curiosity, so I instructed the stewards to request the PS Forms 4584, 4588
local union office or speak with the union stew- ard in your office. Justin Fraley, Branch 545 Cincinnati, Ohio G reetings from the Queen City. August is upon us, and this means that schools starting back up is right around the corner. Soon, before we know it, political mail will be in abundance, fall inspections will be here, and the same old hamster wheel will be turning in every office with our so-called lead- ership not knowing which way is up and which way is down. Counting one route a week by
management in every station is mind-boggling to me, especially during the months of June, July and August, when it really means abso- lutely nothing. It can’t be used for anything, so why are they wasting the time, and energy, oh wait, never mind, I almost forgot—that is their daily routine. Stationary events, the topic of the past few months, is very comical to me. Es- pecially when I am out walking the beat, think- ing of the time I was called to the supervisors’ desk the next day after my scanner was sup- posedly sitting for 11 minutes. I know I’m not alone out there in Carrier Land walking the beat thinking of all the crazy things that go on with our job. One thing that helps me through the day is putting the names of people we see and have on the mail we deliver, and sometimes the street name into a song or with a saying from a movie or even the title of one. What is your crazy thing that goes on in your daily routine? Does this help you deal with the so-called leadership in your station? Meetings are every second Thursday of the month in Forest Park; come and receive more postal knowledge, which is power. In solidarity— Chris Rought, Branch 43 Cleveland, Ohio W e have become a society so reliant on technology that it has thwarted our ability to think for ourselves. It’s not that technology is not appreciated; it has enhanced our lives and solved many problems. There was a time, and I know most of you will find this hard to believe, local manage- Western Wayne County, MI Br. 2184 Fi- nancial Secretary Mark Owen and Ex- ecutive Vice President Jackie McGregory present a 50-year gold card to member Deborah Peterson.
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