December 20, 2013
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Letter from Louie
Jay's Notes
Brian's Scoop
Seth's Slant

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Each month, one lucky new member sponsor will receive a $25 PNC gift card. For more details on the "Motivating Membership" drive, please review the August 2013 issue of The Postal Supervisor!  

 

June:

Sharon Guydon, Branch 80

 

July:

David Lum, Branch 375

 

August:

Bart Green, Branch 36

 

September:

Linda Donnelly, Branch 497

  

October:  

Kay Randle, Branch 369   

 

November: 

Jerry Wilfling, Branch 463 



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Numbers Current as of 12/20/2013

SPAC funds raised in 2013:
$169,971

National Per Capita Average:
$6.80 per member

Year-To-Date
SPAC numbers:
  (organized by NAPS region) 

SPAC Aggregate Totals:
  1. Southern:  $46,545
  2. Northeast: $39,470
  3. Western: $29,511
  4. Central: $29,465
  5. Eastern: $21,574

SPAC Per Capita Totals:

  1. Southern: $8.27
  2. Northeast: $8.18   
  3. Central: $7.17
  4. Western: $5.62
  5. Eastern: $4.17

Payroll Deduction or OPM Allotment aggregate totals:    

  1. Southern: $18,868
  2. Western: $14,668
  3. Central: $14,250    
  4. Eastern:  $12,710
  5. Northeast: $11,149

Number of Members who contribute to SPAC via Payroll Deduction or OPM  Allotment:

  1. Central: 78
  2. Southern: 57
  3. Western: 50
  4. Eastern: 34
  5. Northeast: 34 

 
NAPS Building
Breaking News:

 

The Postal Service has decided, through the consultation process with NAPS and the other management associations, to adopt a recommendation concerning the 2013 Pay for Performance Program.

Any non-bargaining employee whose 2013 overall numeric rating in the Performance Evaluation System (PES) is 3 or below, will receive an adjectival rating of contributor.

More information will be released as it becomes available.
 
Letter from Louie:

It's time for Shared Sacrifice  

Louis Atkins
Louis Atkins

 


Last week, the bipartisan Budget Committee, made up of Democrats from the Senate and Republicans from the House of Representatives, completed negotiations on a budget compromise that will avert a future government shutdown and seek to bring our nation's fiscal house back in order. The bill as currently written, contains over $63 billion in spending measures that should relieve some of the crunch caused by the across the board sequester cuts.

               

However, some of the proposed restructuring of retirement benefits will hit new federal and postal employees directly in the wallet. The proposal dictates that Federal (and Postal) employees who are hired after December 31, 2013 must contribute an additional 4.4% to their salary.

                 

While very real possibility of a 1% pay increase does exist, the overall message is very clear: Postal employee benefits are still under assault and we are being asked to shoulder a larger amount of the burden of balancing America's books.

                 

Do tough fiscal decisions have to be made in order to return us to a balanced budget? Absolutely. However, our lawmakers have consistently cut into the benefits and pay of dedicated public servants because no one on Capitol Hill has the political courage needed to take a hard look at entitlements, defense spending and right-sizing the tax code.

               

For the last few years, federal and postal employees have been criticized and wrongly looked at as "fat cats" living extravagant lifestyles. The reality is that these are good, middle class jobs whose benefits and livelihoods are under constant and direct assault. Think about where we would be without postal EAS employees, and other public servants. With the ongoing assault on individuals who choose a life of service, our best and brightest will look elsewhere and our nation will not have the pool of people to select from to offer outstanding public service. 

                

While some sacrifice is required, it is time for us as postal employees to stand up and say "no more". We need to tell our lawmakers to stop punishing us for choosing a life of service over one that potentially could have been more lucrative. This nation was built on a strong Postal Service, committed to public service. Think about the positive impact that we as postal employees contribute to the economy every day. EAS employees' commitment to service has never wavered and our lawmakers must keep that in mind when they wish to use us as a means to dig us out of the fiscal mess they created.

 

We must always cherish those who answer the call to serve their fellow citizens, not penalize them. In the season of hope and giving, we must thank those who give themselves in the name of a strong, prosperous nation because they truly represent the heart of America.  
 
Jay's Notes
A Christmas Story
Jay New
Jay Killackey


Many of us as postal employees have a touching Christmas story that may have been part of your career. I'd like to share one that I experienced in my job during this holiday season.

 

I was a station manager outside of Boston and several weeks before Christmas a collection carrier returned a letter to Santa that had been written by a young boy and placed in a collection box. It was only a simple piece of paper, unaddressed and looking like someone put trash in a mailbox.

 

The letter asked Santa to bring something for the boy's siblings but he said he didn't want anything for himself other than to get Santa's help to have his mother's boyfriend to stop hitting his mother. We were all touched by the unselfish letter and the humble request.

 

The carriers in the office canvassed their neighborhoods looking to find a little boy only by his first name and the fact that he had a little brother and a sister. The tenacity of the carriers turned up the name and address of the little boy and his family. I contacted the police and they conducted a quick investigation. The little boys story was validated and the boyfriend was taken from the house, so while the little boy got one of his wished from Santa. But, my employees weren't done yet.

 

The employees in the office took up a collection and bought so many toys that the wrapped boxes filled the back of an LLV. Our own "Santa" and some of his "elves" visited the house on Christmas Eve and delivered gifts and toys for the entire family. If there was any kid who now believed in Santa it was this brave little boy. I know that I will never forget this heartwarming story. Several years have now passed and that little boy is now all grown up. Like me, I know he will never forget the kindness of postal employees either.

 

We are finishing up another stressful period for the Postal Service including bringing the holidays to our customers. Postal employees step up everyday to meet our customers expectations. They also roll up their sleeves and help those who are less fortunate. Thanks for what you do and from my family to yours; Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 
Brian's Scoop
Send in the Substitute!
Brian Wagner
Brian Wagner

 

 

Remember those school days when you got a substitute teacher for the day and you thought he or she would not be as good as your regular teacher? Much to your surprise, they delivered the same educational value as if your regular teacher was present. That is what's happening with the NAPS gift cards that our sponsors receive for signing up new members. Here's the scoop!

 

As you may have seen in previous NAPSHQ2U issues, we mentioned that NAPS HQ had depleted its current supply of PNC VISA NAPS Gift Cards. That is great news because that means NAPS is signing up new members. The bad news is that our members and some of the members who were signed up before September 30 have been waiting for their gift card.  

 

Unfortunately, in trying to get our supply replenished as quickly as possible, we discovered that PNC Bank changed the way NAPS had to order its PNC Visa NAPS gift cards, so there has been a slight delay in getting a new supply. Fortunately, our NAPS gift cards have been ordered and are on their way.  

 

However, not to further delay our members receiving their well-deserved gift cards for sponsoring a new member and for those new members who joined before September 30 NAPS has initiated a great substitute. NAPS took advantage of the recent waiver of fees by the Postal Service of its American Express gift cards and purchased enough $25 gift cards to cover our current shortfall and more.  

 

Be advised, if you happen to receive a substitute American Express gift card for sponsoring a new member or for becoming a new member, the message on the card may say "Happy Birthday" or "Congratulations". However, don't worry. The card is still worth $25. No matter the actual message that is on your substitute gift card, our true message from NAPS is "Thank You" for motivating membership.  

 

However, I must admit I have found no true dessert substitute for my love of ice cream.

Therefore, my ice cream flavor of the week recommendation is

Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Sundae and Happy Holidays to you and yours! 

 
Seth's Slant
Issues Advocacy: One Picture at a Time
Seth
Seth Lennon

 

 

Social media, like any tool, needs to be effective in order to have any kind of value. How do you judge how effective social media is? It's actually a pretty simple formula: likes+shares+views=an effective social media campaign. So how has NAPS been doing? Over the last couple of weeks, we have been knocking it out of the park.

 

The last few weeks have seen several postal-related issues become front and center; the end of door to door delivery in certain areas in Canada, the possibility of drones delivering small parcels from Amazon, and the changes in pension benefits for newly hired postal employees as a result of the budget compromise being moved through Congress. Each one of these developments will have a bearing on the future of the Postal Service in some shape or form. With the potential impact on our membership, it is important to raise awareness on these topics.

 

So where does the NAPS social media apparatus fit in to this equation? Images have always grabbed attention faster than strictly the printed word. Social media is very image focused, especially with the rise of internet sensations such as Grumpy Cat. Through a simple image, a vast range of emotions can be communicated. With our social media image campaign, we have applied this concept in a way that brings awareness to postal specific issues.

 

On our Facebook and Twitter pages, NAPS has designed viral images focused on these core issues. These images highlight the value of the Postal Service and its employees and the contribution they make everyday. Our goal was for these images to be shared on Facebook pages of our members and subsequently find their way onto the Facebook walls of their friends and family.

 

So far, these early campaigns have been a rousing success. Our initial campaigns that were in response to the discussions regarding the Amazon drones did very well, receiving between 6,000 to 9,000 views and about 200 shares.

 

Last week though, we hit an absolute home run. With the budget committee discussing revising retirement contributions for new postal employees, NAPS wanted to spread the word that postal employees should not be solely responsible for getting our fiscal house in order. So, we began a viral imaging campaign to this effect. One week later, this campaign has almost 70,000 views and 1,500 shares. To put this in perspective, NALC's Facebook page ran a similar campaign that only attracted a quarter of the traffic. Want to take a look at our campaigns? Click here and here for examples. 

 

These viral campaigns have already shown a great deal of promise and as we hopefully begin the final stages of debate on Postal Reform, NAPS will use this advocacy tool to mobilize NAPS members to take action.