South Carolina State Association of Letter Carriers

Tell SCSALC, what is on your mind? (all views are the sole opinion of the author and does not necessarily express the views of the state association or it's members)

April 7, 2011

This week’s unprecedented congressional hearing on a negotiated agreement between the U.S. Postal Service and one of its craft unions shows just what letter carriers and the rest of the postal workforce are up against in the 112th Congress.

On Tuesday, the Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a hearing called “Are Postal Workforce Costs Sustainable?” – aimed at scrutinizing the tentative pact recently hammered out between USPS and the American Postal Workers Union. Though the pact has yet to be voted on by the union’s members, some legislators were eager to voice their opinions of it – with several anti-labor committee members contending that it didn’t go far enough in reducing postal costs.

Such negotiations have traditionally been left to the parties involved, and the president of the APWU as well as the Postmaster General testified about their satisfaction with the agreement they had reached. That didn’t stop some legislators from offering their criticism of various aspects of the agreement and, more broadly, of a process they claimed – without offering any proof – is biased toward labor.

Three of the four witnesses spoke in clear terms about the value of the USPS to our country and its residents, about the ways that good labor-management relations have helped lead to increased productivity and customer satisfaction, and about the give-and-take that produced the tentative agreement. A good number of legislators also voiced strong support for the Postal Service and its employees.

But they did so in the context of a hearing clearly aimed at discrediting the agreement and raising doubts about the collective-bargaining process itself – an effort that will not surprise those who live in Wisconsin, Ohio or other states where local officials have sought to vilify the notion of public employees engaging in bargaining.

“What we saw in Tuesday’s hearing was nothing short of a kangaroo court,” NALC President Fredric V. Rolando said. “We thought that Congress had gotten out of the business of interfering with the collective-bargaining agreements of government workers, but it turns out that some clearly want back in.

“Keeping politics out of postal bargaining has served the parties, the American people and the mailing public very well for 40 years – we have decent jobs, the mailers get high-quality service at very affordable rates and the taxpayers don’t have to foot the bill,” Rolando said.

“This type of congressional interference,” he added, “makes the results of next year’s elections all the more important, and the need to begin preparing now for those contests all the more urgent.”

What really matters

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) focused on the tentative contract.

“We have deep concerns that some of the provisions of the [APWU] contract may in fact be the wrong direction,” Issa said, “to less flexibility, less ability to trim the workforce and less ability to in the future make the kinds of investments we need to make.” Rep. John Mica (R-FL) repeatedly referred to the Postal Service as a dinosaur in the age of the Internet.

At the same time, the hearing was replete with positive comments about the USPS and employees who for six consecutive years have been named by the public as the country’s most-trusted federal workers. The central role the Postal Service and its employees play in America was a constant theme, as was the high proportion of veterans and other groups that form the Service’s workforce.

The real financial situation at the Postal Service also was frequently mentioned, as several representatives and witnesses pointed to the fact that the agency’s fiscal problems have nothing to do with labor costs and everything to do with the 2006 congressional mandate that the USPS pre-fund future retiree health benefits to the tune of $5.5 billion a year. Without that requirement, which no other agency or company faces, the Postal Service would have been profitable the past four years – even with the worst recession in 80 years and even with competition from the Internet.

Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, one of the four witnesses called to testify at the hearing, repeatedly pointed out that reforming the retiree health benefits pre-funding mandate and gaining access to USPS surpluses in the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System are key pieces of the financial puzzle.

“What we need is your help on these big issues that are beyond our control,” Donahoe told the committee. “We have excellent relations with our employee unions and management associations. Take care of those things and you’ll never see us again.”

Several committee members, including ranking member Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Rep. Bruce Braley (D-IA) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), praised the work of all postal employees – letter carriers as well as clerks and mail handlers – and congratulated the Postal Service and the APWU for arriving at a negotiated agreement that includes some gains and some losses for both sides. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) called the new pact “one of the best labor-management agreements I’ve seen in a long, long time.”

The fight ahead

But for every instance where Donahoe or Democrats made their case, anti-labor members of the committee just as often returned to criticism of the APWU-USPS agreement. Many appeared to favor ideas that tipped bargaining scales in the Service’s favor and that would reduce workers’ benefits and wages.

Also called to testify were APWU President Cliff Guffey as well as Postal Board of Governors Chairman Louis Giuliano and member James Miller. Although Miller acknowledged that the Board had unanimously approved of the APWU-USPS deal, most of his comments during the hearing – which he stated were made solely on his own behalf – served largely to agree with Issa’s unfounded complaints about postal pay and benefits.

Miller, appointed by George W. Bush and a former Board of Governors chairman, has made no secret of his interest in privatizing the Postal Service and nullifying its collective bargaining agreements with its craft unions.

Rolando put the session in a broader context.

“We letter carriers are fooling ourselves if we believe that we are going to get a pass from these anti-labor forces that are unfairly targeting firefighters and police, nurses and teachers, and are doing so with little regard for the facts,” he said.

“And in this atmosphere, it won’t be impossible to get our legislative agenda passed, but it will be extremely difficult. It will take all of us standing together, and working with our allies on Capitol Hill and elsewhere.”

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Hello Fellow Union Members, 

    I would like to share some information about your health care enrollment opportunities during the open

season scheduled for Nov 8 - Dec 13, 2010.  OPM has released the Health Benefit Plans for 2011. Every

carrier should receive a copy of the NALC Health Plan by November 8, 2011. Carriers who do not receive

their open season information brochures and instruction should call your Union Hall or your personnel office.

    Please remember that all FEHBP plans that you have to choose from are good. All cover hospital and

doctor care, prescriptions, outpatient diagnostic lab tests , home health care, routine mammograms for women

over 35, routine prostate cancer tests for men over 40, smoking cessation programs, and treatment for mental

illness. I urge you to consider a plan that meets all your health needs. You could make a costly mistake choosing

"Self" when you may need a "Family" plan. Or you could make a mistake by choosing a low cost plan to save

money and then find out that you may have to pay more because of an unforeseen family emergency. Remember

the NALC plan only offers the "High Option" tier.  

    As I said in my last article "Dare To Compare", the NALC plan is just as good as or better than most of the other

FEHBP plans that you have the right to choose from.  We have always been ranked at the top for overall plan

satisfaction, getting care quickly, customer service, claims processing, and shared decision making. These are

some of the "Quality" plan profile comparisons from the OPM web site. (http://opm.gov/insure) 

    I urge you to go to the OPM website and compare our plan against the other available plans. I believe you will be

surprised to see what the NALC plan has to offer. The NALC Health Plan can take care of you and your family's

health needs.

    As always, for all of you that have our insurance, thank you so much for your loyalty to our plan.

Fraternally,

Juan Vilches, HBR Branch 233

For what is the mailman, if not a dashing adventurer wrapped in blue?  Does he not daily brave the sidewalks of America, that place where the average citizen roams wild, unhindered and real?  Does he not tackle blizzards, endure tempests, wrestle frothy-mouthed dogs, overcome mobs of sticky children, and yes, successfully navigate those bizarre and unique spaces most commonly known as lawns?

Yes, the mailman does it all.  But few have chronicled his tales of adventure... that is, until now!

In a style that's decidedly humorous, not encyclopedic, quirky, but not in need of psychiatric care, letter carrier, Austin Brown, recounts fifteen years of postal life as a mailman.  The doors are thrown wide open, and like the contents of a fragile parcel, the mysteries of postal life are shattered, revealing the inner workings in all their brilliant glory.  It’s a book meant for regulars, lamentable PTFs, number crunching managers and clerks of all shapes and sizes... and of course, everyone else.

Buy the book not only for a good laugh, but in order to help a great cause, as a substantial portion of the proceeds will go directly to the Be The Match foundation, an organization dedicated to helping people find life saving bone marrow matches.  A number of letter carriers from across the nation have already signed up and been willing to deliver the gift of life, but there is still need for more.  Much more.

For more information about the book and how you can help, visit the website at:  www.walkingwiththemailman.com, or www.bethematchfoundation.org.

Visit Amazon to order your copy today.  Link.

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October 3, 2010

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August 4, 2010

Dear NALC Congressional District Liaison,

On July 15, 2010 the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal
Service, and the District of Columbia successfully marked up H.R. 5746,
sending it to the full Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for
further action.

This legislation marks the first huge step toward financial solvency for the
United States Postal Service and will help strengthen the case against
eliminating a day of mail delivery.

Now is the time for us to act quickly and gather co-sponsors for the bill.
We want to get as many as we can before Congress adjourns for the August
recess.

When asking your member of Congress to co-sponsor the legislation, please
use the following talking points:

H.R. 5746 will:

* Fairly recalculate the USPS surplus in the Civil Service Retirement System
(CSRS) using a methodology that uses fairness and equity by using an
employee's high three salary when computing the   annuity.
* Would return assets paid for by RATEPAYER and EMPLOYEE contributions (not
TAXPAYER funds) to the Postal Service's sub-account in the CSRS.
* Once the accurate "postal surplus" is determined by the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM), the agency would then have 90 days to write
regulations with directions for how and when these funds will be transferred
to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund (PSRHBF).
* This legislation does NOT repeal or in any way address the legally
mandated pre-funding payments into the PSRHBF, it simply fixes the massive
over-funding to the Postal CSRS account and transfers it to the PSRHBF.
Additional legislation would be necessary to repeal the scheduled
pre-funding payments to the PSRHBF in the future.
* The date of transfer for the overpayment is less important than the
acknowledgment by Congress and the OPM that the USPS has sufficient assets
to cover all their retirement obligations; which would then make the case
for repealing the pre-funding requirement irrefutable.

NALC's Fact Sheet on HR 5746 can be found here:
http://nalc.org/depart/legpol/pdf/fact-sheet--hr5746.pdf

Thank you for your efforts in moving this legislation forward.

-NALC's Department of Legislative and Political Affairs

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July 28, 2010 

All,

As promised I am following up with you regarding H.R. 5746.  The
Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of
Columbia successfully marked up the legislation today and it will now be
reported to the full Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  Chairman
Lynch (D-MA) offered a substitute amendment which simply clarified a few
areas of the bill that were not clear.  Including a section that now clearly
states that this legislation will have no impact on any individual's
benefit.  This change was made to satisfy the concerns of the other federal
employee organizations.  The bill was marked up by a voice vote and was
passed 8-1 on a roll call vote:

Chairman Lynch (D-MA) - Aye
Del. Holmes Norton (D-DC) - Aye
Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) - Aye
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) - Aye
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) - Aye
Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) - Aye
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) - Aye
Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) - Aye
Ranking Member Jason Chaffettz (R-UT) - No
Rep. Ahn "Joseph" Cao (R-LA) - Not present
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) - Not present

Now is the time for us to act quickly and gather our co-sponsors for the
bill.  We want to get as many as we can before it goes to full committee,
possible as early as next week.  When asking your Member of Congress to
cosponsor the legislation please make sure to include the major points
below:

H.R. 5746 will:

* Fairly recalculate the USPS surplus in the Civil Service Retirement System
(CSRS) using a methodology that uses fairness and equity by using an
employee's high three salary when computing the   annuity.
* Would return assets paid for by RATEPAYER and EMPLOYEE contributions (not
TAXPAYER funds) to the Postal Service's sub-account in the CSRS.
* Once the accurate "postal surplus" is determined by the Office of
Personnel Management (OPM), the agency would then have 90 days to write
regulations with directions for how and when these funds will be transferred
to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund (PSRHBF).
* This legislation does NOT repeal or in any way address the legally
mandated pre-funding payments into the PSRHBF, it simply fixes the massive
over-funding to the Postal CSRS account and transfers it to the PSRHBF.
Additional legislation would be necessary to repeal the scheduled
pre-funding payments to the PSRHBF in the future.
* The date of transfer for the overpayment is less important than the
acknowledgment by Congress and the OPM that the USPS has sufficient assets
to cover all their retirement obligations; the Postal Service already has
$37 billion in its PSRHBF and can access that until which time they would
need the transfer to occur.

Please keep you comments focused on these talking points and let me know if
you have any further questions.  We will be sending out an e-Activist at the
end of the week asking for grassroots efforts to gain co-sponsors, but we
wanted you all to make the first contact with your Congressional offices.
Thanks and good luck!

Jennifer Warburton
Director of Legislative & Political Affairs
National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO)
(p) 202-662-2801
(f)  202-756-7400
Warburton@nalc.org

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What is the truth about Healthcare Reform?

Hey,

I just checked out some facts about President Obama's plan for health reform.

If you currently have health insurance through your employer, under the President's plan you can keep your doctor and your plan if you

like it. You'll also be protected from insurance company abuses, and you'll likely see your premiums go down.

You can learn more about how health reform helps people with insurance through their employers:

http://my.barackobama.com/reformtruth1

Ed,

    It is worse, We need to be expanding our services to more customers. If they can not buy our stamps, how

can they use our services.  I know there are many outlets for stamps (i.e. grocery stores).  But when the

customer comes in to the Post Office, he/she expects a full service treatment.  Why do we disappoint them?

Juan V. Ramirez.

Hey Juan,

     I was disappointed to learn all the vending machines in Columbia were removed.  UPS Stores sell USPS's

Stamps for approximately a 10 cents profit.  I was told by one postmaster that servicing the vending

machines cost more than what they were worth.

     I learned recently that we may be losing our account with Blockbuster to UPS.  I have no idea as to why

we may be losing that account.  However, I know that I still represent city carriers for allegedly failing to

deliver Express Mail on time!  I know of one Blockbuster in the state of South Carolina whereas the

carrier was not picking up the packages because Blockbuster was closed in the morning when the

carrier came through.  Blockbuster was at the beginning of the carrier's route, I guess he or she felt

that they are not required to go back and get the pick-up.

      As Carriers we must change the way we think also, if we are going to survive in this competive

industry.

Ed

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$2.4 Billion Quarterly Loss for Postal Service

Updated 12:56 p.m. ET

  The U.S. Postal Service lost $2.4 billion during its third quarter and forecasts a $7 billion year-end loss, according

to figures released Wednesday. Mail volume has dropped 12.6 percent so far this year, adding to a sharp decline

in volume thanks to the economic recession that began in 2007 and Americans' wider use of the Internet.

  On average, the Postal Service now delivers 4.1 pieces of mail to each address, down from 5.9 pieces in 2000.

That decline has contributed to losses in 11 of the last 12 fiscal quarters, according to the new figures released by

 the service.

  Though much of the debate regarding the Postal Service's future focuses on cutting mail service to five days per

week, the removal of underused mailboxes and the potential closure of hundreds of Post Offices, the USPS' financial

woes can be tied in large measure to roughly $7 billion in payments it must make each year to fund current and future

retiree health benefits. Congress mandated the pre-payments in 2006 when it passed a Postal reform bill.

"We simply cannot afford these costs," Postmaster General John Potter said during a news conference announcing

the financial results. The payments will contribute to a $700 million cash shortfall at the end of its fiscal year in late September,

Potter said, unless Congress quickly changes the payment rules.

"If we were part of the federal government and treated as an agency, we would not be paying pre-funding to a retirement

benefit trust," Potter said. "On the other hand, if we were in the private sector, we would not be pre-funding these retirement

payments. So therein lies a bit of a dilemma."  Competing House and Senate measures to address the problem have cleared

committees and are nearing full votes, but the bills would only provide temporary relief. A broader, long-term discussion

regarding the future of American mail delivery is necessary, Potter said.  "The Postal Service does not want to do anything

that would disrupt this economy. Over a trillion dollars moves through the mail in any given year and we are a hub of an industry

that employs some 8 million Americans. We have no intention of doing anything that would disrupt the flow of mail," he said.

The Postal Service has taken several steps to reduce costs in recent years, including salary and hiring freezes and cuts to its

workforce and mail routes. USPS now employs 630,000 career employees, down from a peak of 802,000 in 1999. More than

12,000 city carrier routes have been cut and consolidated with others since 2000. And it recently renegotiated more than 300

service contracts, saving $200 million.

The troubling numbers follow the Postal Service's classification as a "high risk" government agency, and come just days after

it released a list of almost 700 Post Offices it will consider closing. Postal officials will testify Thursday at a Senate hearing on

the mail service's future.

What would you do to save the USPS more money?  send your comments to the Editor.

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To: All Letter Carriers of South Carolina

      NALC Branch 233

    Dear Brothers and Sisters, having served as the NALC laison officer for the Second

Congressional District on our behalf many years ago, it is indeed a pleasure at the young

age of 77 to once again accept the challenge that is now facing us.

    We have an enemy in the U.S. Senate by the name of Jim Demint.  In a House-Senate

Conference Committee meeting Jim Demint objected to the FERS provision.  Under Senate

Rules any amendments have to be agreed to unanimously.

    It appears that when it comes to Letter Carriers, the elderly and physically handicapped

 Mr. Demint is demented; Not only did his (demented) action block FERS; it blocked HR1604,

Help America Vote Act, HR2510, HR2393, and HR1256!

    I truly need your help.  Therefore, I strongly urge each of you to rise up and fight the dastardly deeds Senator

Demint has perpetrated against all letter carriers active and retired.

Thanks for your help!

Carl Kaney, Retired-City Letter Carrier

Loyal NALC Union Member

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                                                      Letter of Appreciation

                                                                                        From: Antionette B. Davoll Crawley

                                                                                                  Upper Marlboro, MD 20xxx

To: United States Postal Service

attn: Supervisor

1601 Assembly Street

Columbia, S.C.

                                                                                                                  June 19, 2009

Dear Supervisor,

    There is never a monetary amount that you can put on a person's life.  But if I were capable of giving your

City Carrier Herbert Garvin Jr. a million dollars, I would.

    I am the Grand-Niece of Cecilia Trottie who lives on Mr. Garvin's mail route.  In December 2008, Mr. Garvin

noticed that she was not picking up her mail.  He notified a neighbor, who notified my family, and the

authorities were called to check her well-being.  My 90 year old Aunt was found on the floor where she had

fallen and lain for 3 days.  She suffered a heart attack and was suffering from pneumonia.  The authorities

say that she would not have made it another night on the cold hard floor.  Without Mr. Garvin and his diligence

to follow through, she would not be here today.

    I know...I know....that the postmen/women are trained to be cognizance of potential circumstances, but we

are all witnesses to employees, in all professions, who don't take their job responsibilities seriously and slack

on the job.  In this instance, Mr. Garvin has proven himself to be worthy of accolades and words that are too

numerous to express.  He is my hero and thanks to him, I was able to spend another Christmas Holiday

season with my loving Aunt who has proven to be a wonderful mentor and inspiration to me and the members

of my family.  I've been traveling back and forth from Maryland to South Carolina, helping her to get situated

and many times I wanted to stop by your office to express my gratitude in person.  But there is never enough

time and already too much time has passed and I've already been way too negligent on sending my

appreciation.  I just didn't want another day to go by without me thanking Mr. Garvin properly for his wonderful

service and charitable deed.  Just recently in May, my Aunt celebrated her 91st birthday.  She is slowly,but

surely, recovering in the Brian Center Nursing Home.

    I am appreciative. I am grateful. I am thankful. I thank God for placing such a spiritual, attentive, and

responsible person in my Aunt's path.  With all the bad going on in this crazy world we live in, it is nice to know

that persons of strong moral character who take pride in their work ethic still exist and "Love Thy Neighbor" rings

 true on a daily basis.

    Mr. Garvin is to be highly commended on his exceptional customer service and has proven to be a valuable

asset and a wonderful representation of all that is right with the United States Postal Service!

    Thank you Mr. Herbert Garvin Jr.!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

                                  Eternally Grateful,

                                  Antionette B. Davoll Crawley

                                  Grand-Niece of Cecilia R. Trottie

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Question:  How should Committee Members be compensated?

    The attached report shows the inequities of how the committee members were paid.  I know some of us

frowned upon the board wanting to change how committee members are compensated.  It was in the interest

of the board that committee members (whom are delegates) be paid fairly for their time serving on a committee. 

The year 2008 totals were almost three times this year's totals.  It would be easier to prepare a budget with 

more accurate figures or sums allotted.

    Since we have training the day before the convention, committee members are here the day before anyway. 

No one is inconvenienced by attending the committee meetings.  The Credentials Committee has the most work

to do and reports to maintain yet this committee gets the same compensation as the other two committees.  The

Audit and Bylaws Committee meet once while the credentials committee is required to be present the night before

registration and both days of the convention.  Hence the reason for the proposed changes.

    You need to know that all committee members were selected after their registration was paid and/or their hotel

reservations were made.  I am trying to use one delegate from each branch on the committees with the exception of

the audit committee.  I feel that a treasurer of a branch should do the audit since they are already familiar with the

requirements of the job.  I also am trying to select delegates that have never served before so we don't use the

same people over and over again.

    Review the following figures and share your opinion.

Credentials Committee

Mr. Frazier       $109.40 mileage

Mrs. Melton     $319.34

Mr. Lewis        $90.45   no mileage requested

By-Laws Committee

Mr. Smith                $353.90

Mr. Rector               $0      no voucher submitted

Mrs. O'Connor         $0      no voucher submitted

Audit Committee

Mr.   Freeman       $187.00

Mrs. Dees             $379.08

Mr.   Huggins        $186.41  

Submitted by,

Emily Lane, President

SCSALC

(all views are the sole opinion of the author and does not necessarily express the views of the state association or it's members)

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(send your comments, thoughts, or opinions to EdMartin422580@Bellsouth.net)