Ivan Butts

As we approach the November 4 mid-term elections, I'd like to put some emphasis on a subject that I have raised before. I need to express my belief that our battle is far more dynamic than the issues that we face as Postal Leaders in this Agency and as members of this Association. We, along with other Management Associations and craft Unions are working tirelessly to move our legislators to institute a moratorium not to close the 82 processing facilities and pass commonsense legislation to address the needs of the Postal Service. We do have a tremendous mountain to climb, however if we stay on common ground we can hopefully achieve this goal which is to preserve America's Postal Service. I must admit that there is another battle that we must also fight. That is the fight to maintain and defend the middle class.

In response to the financial crisis, corporate structures are now continually looking at how to promote change in order to capture finances. Whether it is shipping jobs out of America to foreign countries, introducing technology aimed at supposedly improving productivity/efficiency to enable increased profits through staffing reductions or efforts to strip collective bargaining from workers and thus strip away benefits. Whatever the scenario, the ultimate impact is on the middle class worker.  

In order to combat this, we must first recognize it and then become vigilant on not only the issues that impact us as middle class postal employees, but impact the entire middle class workforce. I researched and wrote on the subject concerning what the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) accomplished in Wisconsin, where Governor Scott Walker attempted to strip away collective bargaining rights of employees and excluded police and fire fighters in an attempt to divide and conquer labor.

Although it did not impact their association, IAFF still played an active role in defeating this attack against the middle class worker. We all could benefit from this type of pro-active action because  middle class America is truly in this together.

Additionally, we must examine every election to ensure that we have the right people in place dedicated to protecting  the middle class worker with not just words in speeches, but with actions and deeds. November is coming. Let the middle class speak.

Brian Wagner

October is a month of prevention and awareness issues. Whether the prevention is geared towards safety and awareness is health, it all pertains to your livelihood. How does prevention and awareness pertain to NAPS members? Here's the scoop!

NAPS area vice presidents provide training to educate members about appealing discipline under ELM 650, legislative advocacy, the consultative process, and officer duties and responsibilities, just to name a few of the training topics. The main intent of training is to be preventative. NAPS training is to ensure members are doing the right thing to avoid issues when working in their postal job or performing their duties as a NAPS officer, not to mention learning about new initiatives at the USPS and NAPS.

The secondary part of training is awareness. NAPS training makes members aware of the challenges they may experience in the workplace or as a NAPS officer. As for the postal workplace, members need to be aware that some bosses may encourage or instruct a member to take action that is contrary to USPS policies and procedures. When the member takes such action, they need to be aware of the potential consequences.

Modifying an employee's clock rings to avoid paying them overtime, improperly recording mail volume, or failing to report delayed mail are just some actions that have caused members to receive disciplinary action that includes proposed removals. Be aware that your actions have consequences that could affect your livelihood. Training also makes members aware that personal actions related to their USPS position can be preventative as well. How do you ask?

First, don't use your USPS government issued travel card for personal use. Use it only for official USPS travel. Second, don't sexually harass anyone. Be respectful of everyone's space and keep your talk respectful, too. Third, don't take what is not yours. Even if you have permission from your boss to take something from postal premises that was not originally yours; if in doubt-don't take it out. How do you know your boss has the authority to give you the permission to take something? Take preventative measures by being aware of the rules so you avoid jeopardizing your postal livelihood. This is where NAPS training is so important.

The list of upcoming NAPS training is on the NAPS website at www.naps.org or in the most recent issue of The Postal Supervisor. We know not all members can make the training seminars. However, on the NAPS website under our Forms and Documents section there are various documents related to members' rights. Be aware that special exempt EAS are to be paid T-Time when worked. EAS may request a representative during an investigative interview. There is a process the USPS must follow when involuntary reassigning you. These are are just a few of the policy documents you will find on our website. 

Being proactive in prevention and awareness as it relates to your postal position will help protect your livelihood.  

Furthermore, I won't let anything prevent me from making you aware of my ice cream flavor of the week recommendation -

Coffee Toffee Crunch.

Seth Lennon

If you consider the proportion of the emails you receive on a daily basis, most of it falls into the category of "junk." We all have the emails that we subscribe to that we read like clockwork, but on the whole most of the email we receive heads straight to the recycle bin. However, the question that you have to ask yourself- how's your inbox doing when it comes to NAPS?

Obviously, if you are reading this, you have taken the first step by subscribing to NAPSHQ2U, which is one of our flagship communication tools. NAPSHQ2U is a great starting point to stay on top of what is happening with NAPS and the Postal Service but you can't stop there if you really want to know what's going on.

With the debate over Postal Reform and the mid-term elections on the horizon, have you taken the time to sign up for the Legislative Updates penned by Bruce Moyer, our NAPS Legislative Counsel? Bruce's legislative updates give you the most up-to-date account of what is happening on Capitol Hill and how NAPS is working to impact how our lawmakers approach postal policy. In addition, have you ever filled out your email on a SPAC receipt? You might want to start doing that. Through our VOCUS online PAC compliance software, we can send you out an alert when we need you to take action politically.

Finally, if your branch president, state president, Area Vice President and/or Regional Vice President has an email list, be sure to find out how to get your way on there as well.

We are always working on ways to keep our members informed on how we are serving them. This will not be the extent of how we use email to reach out to our members. We are always looking to expand our toolbox. Take advantage of all the NAPS tools at your disposal.