NAPSHQ 2 U

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December 23, 2011

 


Louis Atkins

Louis Atkins

Letter from Louie

 

 

 

With the new year fast approaching, it is natural to take a step back and contemplate the events of this past year that have surrounded everyone with a stake in the United States Postal Service. We have seen legislators on Capitol Hill attempt to strip away the USPS' ability to fulfill its service to the American People, we have seen postal employees across the country band together and urge our leaders to open their eyes to what's going on. While all of this is happening, the business of the USPS and therefore the business of NAPS has been moving forward, despite the turbulent patches that have come our way. 

                 

At the forefront of all of this, were our ongoing pay negotiations with Postal Service Headquarters. With the economic condition creating a hesitant Postal Service and our duty to ensure that all EAS received the compensation that they deserve, talks had reached the point of both sides declaring an impasse in mid-November. NAPS elected to invoke its rights under Title 39 through making a request to federal mediators to, for the first time in our organization's history,enter into fact finding proceedings.

                 

However, with recent events, including the actions of the Postmasters organizations in regards to their own pay talks and NAPS wanting to act in good faith when it comes to its dealings with the USPS, NAPS has elected at this time to return to  pay talks with the United States Postal Service. While the outcome of these talks are uncertain to say the least, it is a process that NAPS will enter with the intention of being open-minded but resolute in serving our membership.                    

                 

Tied into the events surrounding our on-going pay negotiations were announcements by the USPS that they were preparing to shut down facilities across the country along with initiating an across the board reduction of local service standards for local delivery.  We have gone on record in saying that reducing these service standards would likely be even worse than embracing five-day delivery. When a mail-piece that is being delivered across town is sitting for days instead of being delivered the next day; this will erode public confidence and trust in the Postal Service and will reduce profits and mail traffic in a time where we can not afford to lose either.

                 

While it seems that we have been doing nothing but absorbing one right-hook after another, there is a shining moment that should at least give us a glimmer of hope. Last week, a group of United States Senators negotiated an agreement with the USPS on a five-day moratorium on the closure of postal processing facilities and rural post offices, an agreement that was designed to give both the Postal Service and the Congress the opportunity to come to more sensible solutions for the USPS' current financial crisis. In addition, lawmakers added provisions in the recently approved spending bill to delay the USPS' retiree health benefit bill until August 1 and also language that preserves Saturday delivery until at least September 30, 2012. I want to take the time to thank all of our members during the course of this year for their hard work when it came to reaching out to their legislators and urged them to take a stand for the future of the United States Postal Service.

                 

While these all represent tremendous victories, this fight is not over yet and as we enter into 2012. Myself, along with the rest of the Resident Officers and the Executive Board, will work to ensure that not only that the rights and livelihoods of all NAPS employees are protected but that the Postal Service that we all serve will continue in its tradition of service to the American Public for years to come.

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Jay's Notes

What about the customers?    

James Killackey

Jay Killackey

 

 

This week our members once again went all-out to ensure that customers who use the mail got the service that they deserve this holiday season. I visited my old office in Massachusetts this week and saw packages piled high and the carriers working diligently, sorting and loading their vehicles preparing for another long day on the street. The supervisors were busy ensuring that the routes were covered and that everything was running smoothly. If I didn't know better, it reminded me of what the office looked like when I was managing it.

 

Like you, I used to get a great deal of personal satisfaction when we put a lot of mail on the street and the employees all had a sense of urgency about their mission. On the last delivery day before Christmas we cleared the decks and made sure that every last card and package made its way to delivery to every home in our delivery area.

 

Today the work is still there and the dedication to our customers from both supervisors and employees remains. However, the commitment we all have held so close to our hearts for so long is now tempered by thoughts of all the turmoil that the Postal Service is experiencing and the fallout that it is creating in our lives.

 

In the coming year we are going to have to do everything in our power to educate the members of Congress and the public on just how much we care about postal customers and how important it is to properly fund and protect the institution known as the United States Postal Service.

 

Most of the time the work that we do every day is taken for granted both by our superiors and our customers. Their expectations of us are so high that when we do our job, there is never a pat on the back.

 

As a former employee, manager and as a customer, I want to say thank you for keeping the business running, for satisfying customers and helping to make the connections between families and friends through the mail this holiday season. Managing the complex operations of our Postal Service is a very important job, and we are fortunate that you are always up to the challenges that face you every day.

 

 


Seth's Slant

 

Seth

Seth Lennon 

  

  

One of the consistent themes that I have reiterated through each of these articles is the importance of contributions by all members, no matter the amount, to SPAC. This is a theme that cannot be overstated. As we enter 2012, it is time to lay the stakes out on the table for all to see.

                 

NAPS and the postal community as a whole achieved several legislative victories during the closing days of 2011, from the pro-postal alliance in the Senate working with the USPS to agree on a temporary halt on facility closures to the inclusion of measures to delay the USPS from having to pay into its retiree accounts and timeframe that prevents the USPS from implementing five-day delivery until later in 2012.

                

Now, I ask you to take a look at some of the key words from my earlier sentence; what do they all have in common? They all clearly state that these victories only buy the USPS time; 2012 in the postal world will be defined by what we exactly do with that borrowed time.

                 

During the 2010 elections, NAPS gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Congressional candidates that we felt would "Vote Postal." Now it's time for these candidates to put their money where their mouth is. To those NAPS members who attended fundraisers during the course of the last election cycle and at the beginning of the 2012 cycle, start reaching out to the congressional contacts that you made during the course of the cycle and let them know what is at stake. Let them know that without intervention, the Universal Delivery System that this country has built its foundation upon will crumble to the point of collapse.

                 

So now that we look ahead to 2012; I ask that everyone starts reaching out to those incumbents and even to those challengers who you believe will stand with us when it comes to crunch time. I also ask that you take a couple of seconds to think about how you can contribute to SPAC on a sustained basis; this does not have to be a substantial commitment. What matters is that you are making an effort to support our ability to reach out to those lawmakers who have the best interest of our members and the United States Postal Service as a whole, as a priority. Internally, NAPS will be unveiling some new initiatives, including a recognition program that will reward one of our most important parts of the fundraising puzzle, our branches that give as a whole.

                 

As we look forward to 2012, we must look back on 2011. Our membership took the idea of committing to SPAC to heart as we more than doubled our participation in electronic payroll deduction to SPAC through our outreach efforts at the Legislative Training Seminar and the Western Region Training Seminar. If you still want to have funds come into us to count towards your 2011 individual totals, please have your contribution postmarked by December 31st.

               
2011 was a good year, 2012 has to be even better. Our very future hangs in the balance.

Brian's Scoop

 

Highlights of 2011!    

  

Brian Wagner

 

As this is scheduled to be our last NAPSHQ2U for 2011, I want to take the opportunity to wish you and yours a very Happy Holiday and of course a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year. It is amazing how fast a year can go by when you are busy with work and family life. I would like to take a moment to give you a few highlights of the past year, here at NAPS Headquarters. Here's the scoop for 2011.

 

We had another successful LTS last March due to membership participation. Our success was enhanced by the behind-the-scenes work of our Executive Vice President, James Killackey; NAPS Legislative Counsel, Bruce Moyer; Event Planner, Ray Martin; and our NAPS HQ staff and interns.  Our first ever SPAC Caf� at LTS was a huge success. We plan to recreate that success at our 2012 LTS when we return to the Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel this coming March.

 

On July 5, we went live with the extreme makeover of our NAPS website. This was definitely a team effort from the membership, staff and our new web design company. We had to start from scratch, but we are very proud of our new professional and user friendly website. Please encourage other members to register on the site.

 

In September, our NAPSHQ2U became a year old. Whenever you start a new project you have to wonder how much interest it will generate. Thankfully, our new bi-weekly on-line newsletter has become a welcome addition to NAPS' communications library. Our goal is to email an issue every other Friday and provide special editions when needed. We have done a very good job with the Friday schedule, with only a few exceptions due to late breaking news. Overall, NAPSHQ2U is successful because of you. It is a living document, so it may change in format as changes occur in 2012 and beyond.

 

In October, the winners of the NAPS Vince Palladino Student Scholarships were drawn. The names of the winners were published in the December issue of The Postal Supervisor. Congratulations to all our winning students and best wishes for a successful 2012.

 

We had some staffing changes at NAPS Headquarters this year. In August, my assistant, Ruth Tisdale, left NAPS to attend law school. She did a great job and we wish her the best. This December, a dedicated NAPS employee for 37-years, Jill Barrett, retired. I considered Jill, Ms. NAPS Headquarters. She had volumes of NAPS HQ knowledge and experience that will be tough to replace. Speaking of being tough, Seth Lennon, with strong legislative and NAPS HQ office experience, will now take over the duties of Assistant to the President. Seth's replacement is Elliot Friedman. Elliot has legislative and PAC management experience with the Rural Letter Carriers Association. Please welcome Elliot as the newest staff member of "Team Awesome" at NAPS headquarters.

 

As we transition with the changes in NAPS staffing, we have temporarily hired Bailey Anderson as my assistant. I expect her to keep me in line. On December 23, Fairlie Benson will be off for a few months on maternity leave. Congratulations to Fairlie and her husband Omar on their new bundle of joy, with delivery expected around January 1. What a great start to 2012. To help cover Fairlie's absence, we have temporarily hired Paul Smith and Jovan Duncan to tag-team the new DCO program.

 

Speaking of the new DCO program, in December we also implemented our new web-based membership program called MemberMax. The new system will make managing and tracking of our membership much easier, now and into the future.

 

I know there was much more accomplished in 2011, but for a taste, I thought I would share this much. Speaking of sharing, my ice cream flavor recommendation of the week is the tasty - Eggnog.  

 

Happy Holidays & New Year!

 

 


Save America's Postal Service

 

Naps has joined the four Postal Workers Unions in the fight to save the postal service. Please visit the link below to find announcements, background information, and important events.

 

www.saveamericaspostalservice.org

 

 

2011 Restructuring Documents

 

NAPS logo

NAPS RIF FAQs  

Additional RIF FAQs 

2011 Organizational Redesign Information 

2011 Organizational Redesign VER 

2011 Restructure-Westchester District 

2011 Restructure-Suncoast District 

2011 Restructure-Baltimore District  

2011 Special Incentive Off FAQs  

 

 

SPAC Alert 

 

Have you donated to SPAC?  If not, visit our Legislative Center's SPAC section at www.naps.org to learn the many ways to donate.

 

 



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  Quote of the day!

 

One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.

 

                          ~ Plato