For the convention registration:

To : NALC Branch 439 Convention Fund

P O Box 825

Greenville, SC 29602

The Hotel is the Westin Poinsett 120 South Main St Greenville SC 29601 1-800-937-8461

DATES – APRIL 26,2012 FOR TRAINING

APRIL 27 AND 28,2012 CONVENTION

$129/night Be sure to ask for NALC booking

MAKE SURE TO MAKE THESE RESERVATIONS ASAP TO ENSURE THAT YOU GET A ROOM – ANY PROBLEMS, LET EMILY KNOW AT 864-877-2846

Registration – $35 for a delegate and $25 for a guest DEADLINE IS MARCH 23 – LATE REGISTRATION WILL BE $45 FOR A DELEGATE

For those branches paying for all delegates – each delegate, whether they are active or retired and whether they will be attending the banquet must be on the form- also any guest names. For those branches that are individual pays- each delegate must state the branch number on the check, whether
they are active or retired and whether they will be attending the banquet and if they are bringing a guest.

All officer registration will be paid by the State.This is required so an accurate count can be made. The number of banquet meals must be turned in by the Monday prior to the Convention. All names must be on the list for admittance to the banquet, as the State pays for the banquet for each
registered delegate and the additional cost for a guest.

Hello my Fellow Carriers,

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. According to the by-laws, each officer is responsible for 5 articles per year for the website. It has been almost 2 years since some of you have submitted an article. (per President Emily Lane in her article dated August 12, 2011) Back in the day when we had the newspaper, officers could not get away from writing an article. One of the reasons was because the paper was distributed by mail to every member in the state. I can say that at all the stations that I worked at, carriers discussed the information that was in some of these articles. Granted, some of the information was dated but it was new to us. The articles showed the difference between districts even though we were all in the same state. I have spoken and e-mailed some people and officers about my concerns about the website. I feel that the website is an excellent tool that we can use to keep carriers informed. Let me say thank you to the webmasters now and in the past for a great job in keeping it up and running. We live in a high tech generation, the website is our best tool for getting information. The NALC at a National Level understands this and their website is the best for getting all kinds of information out to the Letter Carriers. At the state level, if you write an article that is fine and if you don't that is also fine. Some carriers read the website and some don't and some officers read the website and some don't. Everyone knows the saying, "Use it or loose it." Let's start adding more articles so we can keep this valuable tool up to date.

Fraternally,

Juan Vilches HBR Branch 233.

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Dear Thomas,

Five weeks ago, I asked all members of this union to collect signatures in support of protecting the future of the United States Postal Service, and you delivered. From every corner of this country, from big cities and small towns, active and retired letter carriers alike gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures.

At last count, you and your brothers and sisters had collected more than 800,000 signatures in support of saving Saturday mail delivery service. Your work paid off, as the collective voice of these 800,000 Americans was not ignored.

Congratulations! Now, let’s keep going!

On Monday, the “super committee” on deficit reduction announced that it had reached an impasse and would not be issuing a recommendation to Congress on how to reduce the nation’s deficit by $1.2 trillion. But before that announcement, as the members of the committee worked to salvage a deal, the NALC learned that reducing mail delivery from six days to five was off the table. The good news is that our message got through to the 12 members of the super committee. The bad news is that, while we have we won this battle, the war is far from over. There are still hundreds of other members of Congress who need to hear that the American people do not support the elimination of a day of delivery, because there are two major bills pending before Congress which call for eliminating Saturday service.

Both bills, H.R. 2309 and S. 1789, have been approved by their respective committees and are now awaiting floor action. To ensure that Congress does not adopt drastic measures that would lead to the radical downsizing of the Postal Service, we need to continue to gather signatures from the American public. Let’s keep going—with a goal to get 1 million signatures by the end of the year.

Thank you for your continued efforts to educate customers about the impact eliminating a day of delivery and ending door-to-door delivery would have on their communities. It is because of your hard work that we can claim two victories: The super committee dropped the five-day delivery proposal, and H.R. 2309 has not yet been scheduled for a vote in the House of Representatives.

Let’s ring in 2012 with 1 million petition signatures and the full support of the American people behind us as we fight for the future of the USPS.

I wish you and yours a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

In Solidarity,

Fredric V. Rolando, President
National Association of Letter Carriers

If you need to update your NALC e-Activist Network e-mail address, you need complete the sign-up process again to help us validate your membership information. Click here to go to the e-Activist Network sign-up page at nalc.org.

If you wish to unsubscribe from the NALC e-Activist Network, please click here.

The National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO
100 Indiana Avenue NW · Washington, DC 20001-2144
202-393-4695 · nalc.org

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Remember if your office was adjusted in the latest JARAP and you think the routes need to be re evaluated then the LOC must return

the form mailed to them by Cathy Heirs. It must be returned with in 120 days.

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Oct. 11, 2011

The date is November 5, 2011 at the Columbia Union Hall, 4921 B Broad River Road, Columbia, SC. We will begin at 8 AM and go until 4 PM. I know this is early but we have to be out of the building by 4:30 due to some confusion with the use of the building. Lunch will be served and drinks provided during the day. Please let me know about how many of your members will attend so we will have a number to prepare for.

Training will be fiduciary, leadership, dispute resolution- improving your grievances and NALC updates. These are some of the items that have been requested.

THESE ARE FOR ALL LEADERS AND ANY FUTURE LEADERS OF A BRANCH.

Please let any of the small offices close to you know about this training. The notices will go out with the October mailing from the State Secretary.

Important upcoming dates

November 4, 2011 – Executive Board meeting from 7 PM until at the Columbia Union Hall

November 5, 2011 – Training day at the Columbia Union Hall on 4921 B Broad River Road, Columbia from 8 AM to 4 PM – NEED TO BE OUT OF BUILDING BY 4:30 PM

April 25 – 28, 2012 – Convention at the Westin Poinsett, Main St, Greenville - Check Website for hotel registration information

Fall Training – to be announced

COMMITTEE OF PRESIDENT MEETING – for any branch president that wants to attend – Registration fee $75

April 15 – 16, 2012 – Crowne Plaza, Chicago, Ilinois 312-829-5000

Fall – 2012 - Las Vegas – dates to be announced

Emily

Oct. 5, 2011

Before we held are national rally we had around 205 co-sponsers. As of today we are up to 222. A lot of the new co-signers are because
of those of us that rallied. We have started to open the eyes of many people including the media. Keep up the good work everyone.

Sept. 27, 2011

We had a good rally today on main street in Greenville S.C. We had around 50 people show up from all 4 unions and 2 Postmasters. We also collected over
300 signatures and presented them to a representative of District 4 Rep. Trey Gowdy. I will post pics as soon as I can figure out how to.

If anyone has any reports from the other districts please send me an email so I can post it on the Web site.

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Sept. 4, 2011

SCDL Juan Ramirez has come up with a petition for us to sign regarding HR 1351. We are currently circulating them in the upstate and will be handing
them to Juan and Rick Isom for District 3 to take to Washington with them to hand to our Reps. Trey Gowdy and Jeff Duncan. If you would like a
copy please give me a call and I will send a copy of the petition. Hopefully many of our fellow Bothers and Sisters will join us.

Wayne Harlow

864-363-3559

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Here is a response from District 3 Rep. to Greenville Branch 439 V.P. Keith Arrowood. Keep sending your letters and emails.

August 19, 2011

Dear Mr. Arrowood,

Thank you for contacting my office regarding your thoughts on H.R. 1351, the United States Postal Service Pension Obligation Recalculation and Restoration Act of 2011.

As you might know, Representative Lynch introduced this legislation on April 4th and it has been referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. It is still being debated in committee.

If this bill should reach the House floor for a vote this legislative session, I will review it with scrutiny, keeping your thoughts in mind. I welcome input from you and all my constituents as your Representative in Congress. Thank you once again for contacting my office to express your concerns.

Sincerely,

Jeff Duncan
Member of Congress

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Sept. 1, 2011

To help assist members to sign up to become an e-Activist, we are including a tear-out postcard in the upcoming August issue of the Postal Record. All a member has to do is fill in the information and drop it in the mailbox.

Additionally, as an incentive the NALC will be launching a raffle to encourage new sign-ups. At the end of year, the NALC will send an email to 10 lucky e-Activists announcing they have each won a $100 American Express gift card. You must be an NALC member and be a valid e-Activist by December 1^st, 2011.

Please remind the members and leadership in your state or region to promote the e-Activist program and this raffle at all remaining branch meetings, conventions, and regional trainings this year.

If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Legislative and Political Affairs.

George C. Mignosi, NALC
Vice President
100 Indiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

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Lets remember to continue to promote our own company. These are the latest Customer Connect numbers. This will help during negotiations.

According to the by-laws, each officer is responsible for 5 articles per year for the WEB site. I know this is new for the newly elected officers last May but not for the rest of us. Please submit an article to Wayne Harlow so it can be posted on the WEB. It has been almost 2 years since some of you have submitted an article. Send it to me if you don’t have Wayne’s e-mail address but you can get it off the website. If you have submitted an article since the convention- THANK YOU.

Remember that Congress is in recess, so now is the perfect time to get an appointment at the local office. Encourage your fellow carriers to read the article in the Postal Record about the bills and make a call. It was in the paper this morning and on the news that the Post Office was going to lay off 120,000 employees. If someone thinks that this does not effect them, they better think again. The Postal situation right now is critical and it will effect all of us in the end. Even the carriers that have 5 or more years to work, may have a rude awakening with some of the proposed changes. It looks like Congress is going to eliminate the 6 day delivery requirement from what I heard yesterday. When we were hired, we all thought that we were secure in our job and would have a good retirement. Nothing in life is certain except death. PLEASE do something other than just deliver the mail and then go home and forget about the Post Office. We have to many carriers that do just that. All they work for is the pay check and the overtime that they can make. Look to the future and pray that we still have one.

Emily

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Friday, August 12, 2011

Postal Service Cutting 228,000 Career Jobs; 185,000 in Total

Courier, Express & Postal Observer

The Postal Service proposal cuts nearly 228,000 career jobs between now and 2015, not the 120,000 included in many headlines. This figure is even larger than what the Postal Service has included in its discussion paper as it reflects employment levels at the end of June. The following table shows the actual changes from employment levels at the end of June with the 2015 employment levels based on the relevant paragraphs in the Postal Service's discussion paper. (Job reductions are in red and increases in black.)

The total number of jobs lost will [be] nearly 185,000 the Postal Service wants to increase the number of non-career employees by over 50%. Corporations announcing restructurings would have used the 185,000 figure in press releases and may have also included the 228,000 figure regarding career employees as well. The Postal Service most likely used the smallest number in its press release to minimize the political blowback that the job cuts will create.

The larger numbers are also more relevant as attrition is uncertain. The number of layoffs of RIF's could be higher or lower than the 120,000 depending on the pace of attrition.

Note: the Postal Service refers to a cut in career employment of 220,000. This figure may reflect a reduction from the number of career employees that it expects to employ on October 1, 2011 rather than the reduction from levels reported in the On Roles and Paid Employees Report for pay period #13.

The relevant paragraphs of the Postal Service's discussion paper are as follows:

Our most significant area of cost is in compensation and benefits, and one key driver of those costs is simply the sheer size of our workforce. Therefore, the Postal Service has to be able to reduce the size of our workforce if we are to have any hope of insuring that our costs are less than our revenue. Based on current revenue and cost trends, and assuming a move to 5-day delivery, the Postal Service can only afford a total workforce by 2015 of 425,000, which includes approximately 30% lower cost, more flexible, non-career employees.

Attrition and certain other measures will allow us to achieve a portion of the savings needed to match expenses with revenue by 2015. We estimate that attrition will only result in a staff reduction of approximately 100,000. However, in order for the Postal Service to reduce complement to meet projected volume degradation, we must eliminate roughly 220,000 career positions between now and 2015.

In order to eliminate the remaining 120,000 career positions by 2015, to restore the Postal Service to financial viability, it is imperative that we have the ability to reduce our workforce rapidly. Unfortunately, the collective bargaining agreements between the Postal Service and our unionized employees contain layoff restrictions that make it impossible to reduce the size of our workforce by the amount required by 2015. As explained below, it is not likely that the Postal Service will be able to eliminate these layoff protections through collective bargaining, given the nature of collective bargaining and interest arbitration. Therefore, a legislative change is needed to eliminate the layoff protections in our collective bargaining agreements.

USPS aims to cut a third of workforce

By STEPHEN LOSEY | Last Updated:August 11, 2011

Federal Times

The U.S. Postal Service is planning to cut 220,000 employees — roughly a third of its workforce, and half of those through layoffs — by 2015.

It also said it wants to set up its own health benefits plan for employees and stop offering a pension for new employees.

The Postal Service is essentially bankrupt and will run out of cash next month, which is forcing it to take drastic steps to cut costs. Federal Times obtained draft documents outlining the agency's plans, which were first reported by The Washington Post.

"If we were a private company, we already would have filed for bankruptcy and gone through restructuring — much like major automakers did two years ago," the Postal Service said in one paper.

The Postal Service said attrition will cut 100,000 employees, but layoffs will be needed to eliminate the other 120,000 and bring its total workforce down to 425,000. However, unions' collective bargaining agreements have for decades banned layoffs, and the Postal Service said it has been unable to convince them to give up those protections during contract negotiations. So the Postal Service is asking Congress to step in and pass a law removing those layoff protections.

Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, objected to the Postal Service's plans in a statement.

"The Congress of the United States does not engage in contract negotiations with unions and we do not believe they are about to do so," Rolando said. "Contract negotiations for NALC open Thursday, Aug. 18. USPS is free to bring these issues to the table. If they do so, we will bargain in good faith."

The Postal Service also proposes to speed up plans to close and consolidate facilities to cut costs. If it closes facilities but can't lay off employees, thousands will be left idle and the Postal Service won't be able to bring its expenses in line with revenues.

The Postal Service also said the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program doesn't meet its needs, and said it will ask Congress for permission to pull its 600,000 active employees and 480,000 retirees out of the program. The Postal Service would set up its own health plan instead, which it said would be simpler, more cost effective, and more in line with the private sector.

The Postal Service also wants to pull employees and retirees out of the Federal Employees Retirement System and the Civil Service Retirement System and put them into a new Postal Service Retirement Program.

But future employees would no longer receive a defined benefit pension, as CSRS and FERS employees do. They would only have a defined contribution plan, similar to a 401(k) or the current Thrift Savings Plan. It is unclear whether postal employees would remain under the TSP or would have their own defined contribution plan under the postal plan.

Existing retirees would continue to receive the same level of benefits. Current CSRS and FERS employees near retirement would receive the same level of benefits when they retire as they would have if they had stayed in their old plans.

The Postal Service said it may reduce future benefits for current FERS employees who are not near retirement.

2011 NALC National Rap Session
October 14-16, Las Vegas

The NALC Constitution, Article 3, Section 4(b) states:

The National President shall, once each year except in the year of the National Convention,
call a national conference. This conference shall be voluntarily attended by only State and
Branch Presidents or their designees, with their expenses to be borne by the State Association
or Branch represented.

The 2011 national conference, also known as a "rap session," has been set for October 14-16 in

Las Vegas. There will be a welcoming reception on the evening of October 14, a variety of workshops

on October 15 and the Rap Session on the morning of October 16.

Final hotel arrangements for the rap session have not yet been made. Please check back.

Note that both the Health Benefit Plan and Mutual Benefit Association seminars, also in Las Vegas, have been

scheduled to immediately follow the rap session.

Thank You!

South Carolina State Association of Letter Carriers Automatic Contributors for COLCPE 2009 and 2010

Branch 233

Cosmo Baccomo $120 $120 Penny Bacon $120 $120 J. Bertsch $120 $120 Mark Boatwright $130 $135

Arthur Bright $130 $135 Herbert Dabbs Jr. $60 $60 Thomas Delage $120 $120 Herb Garvin $130 $135

Gebraiel Hamm $60 $60 Paul Huggins $60 $60 Tommy Johnson $130 $135 Randy Lane $130 $135