November 7, 2014
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Ivan's Den
Brian's Scoop
Seth's Slant

Open Season, the period in which federal employees and retirees can enroll in FEHBP or switch plans, will run from Nov. 10 through Dec. 8.  

 

Between four percent to seven percent of enrollees typically switch plans annually.



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Total Members as of the September 2014 DCO:

Active
24,046

Associate
1,388

Grand Total
  25,434  


Numbers Current as of 11/7/2014

SPAC funds raised in 2014:
$192,495

National Per Capita Average:
$7.61 per member

Region Aggregate
 
Southern$53,282
Northeast$37,152
Eastern$35,477
Central$35,191
Western$31,058

Region Per Capita
 
Southern$9.46
Central$8.27
Northeast$7.62
Eastern$6.69
Western$5.95

Area Aggregate
Southeast$30,422
New England$17,399
New York$14,891
Pacific$14,252
Mideast$13,490
Capitol-Atlantic$12,294
Texas$11,541
Pioneer$11,493
Rocky Mountain$9,931
Michiana$9,581
MINK$9,161
North Central$8,320
Illini$7,005
Northwest$5,370
Central Gulf$4,923
Cotton Belt$4,810

Area Per Capita
 
Southeast$13.37
New England$10.50
North Central$9.36
Pioneer$8.59
MINK$8.50
Michiana$8.25
Central Gulf$6.78
Rocky Mountain$6.73
Texas$6.73
Illini$6.57
New York$6.30
Mideast$6.08
Cotton Belt$5.58
Northwest$5.53
Pacific$5.25
Capitol-Atlantic$4.88

CCC Members
Central81
Southern66
Eastern59
Northeast53
Western49

CCC Members
New England33
Texas28
Michiana24
Pioneer23
Capitol Atlantic22
Mideast22
North Central21
Pacific21
MINK20
Illini16
Rocky Mountain15
Central Gulf13
Northwest13
Southeast13
Cotton Belt12
New York12



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Louie's Letter 
The Postal Landscape after November 4th
 
Louis Atkins
Louis Atkins

 

The dust has settled on a mid-term election that dramatically changed the landscape in Washington. An anti-incumbency wave took hold and swept many lawmakers, including many postal allies, out of Congress. The Postal Service has rarely been a priority to the American voter and that was on full-display during this election. With many of our friends in Congress caught up in a wave of voter fear and an apparent rejection of the policies of the White House, we are now left with a much different looking United States Congress than we started with.

 

The upcoming 114th Congress is one that can be described as being potentially quite hostile to postal and federal employees. It is a real possibility that the committees in the House and the Senate will be chaired by individuals who have not been favorable to maintaining the universal delivery mandate currently in place. In fact, it is quite possible that we will start hearing the slow drumbeats of privatization, a prospect that should scare all Americans.

 

It is understandable why the election went the way it did; there is real fear within America about the direction our country is heading. However, this fear- founded or unfounded- could cause a great deal of harm to several of America's vital government institutions, notably the Postal Service. We must take action immediately before truly irreparable harm is done.

 

As the 114th Congress is seated, NAPS will be working to develop relationships with legislators from both sides of the aisle in order to have any hope of crafting legislation that does not dismantle the Postal Service.  We are going to need you, our members, stepping up to the plate and laying the foundation for these relationships.  

 

As soon as you hear about your newly elected Member of Congress (regardless of party) opening their new office, go take an opportunity to introduce yourself to their local staff member or even perhaps the legislator themselves. You have the added benefit of not only being a member of NAPS and a postal employee, but also a constituent (and a voter.) This gives you added clout during this initial discussion. Use that to your full advantage.

 

We are faced with a very challenging new reality with the Postal Service. However, it is vital that we do our best to make "Lemonade out of Lemons." By engaging this new Congress early and often, there is a hope that we can perhaps save America's Postal Service.   

 

Finally, if you did not get out to vote on Tuesday, please take a moment to reconsider how valuable the right to vote is. Despite the flaws in our system, we still live in a democracy where the power of the ballot box is still a factor. Do not take this right for granted.    

 
Ivan's Den 

Leadership through Change 

 
Ivan Butts 

 

This week's mid-term elections brought about changes in power in Congress that could have repercussions for the postal world. Chairmanships of key committees will change, and new battles are likely to be fought over what ails the Postal Service, as well as the size of health and retirement benefits for postal and federal workers.

 

With the turnover of control in the Senate to the Republicans, Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) is expected to turn over the gavel of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI).   

 

Mr. Johnson is a conservative with a business background, and has been a frequent critic of the federal workforce and the Postal Service. He has called for significant federal budget cost-savings through reductions in federal employee and retiree benefits, including the realignment of the "high-three" federal retirement annuity formula. He also has called for the Postal Service to enter into bankruptcy and has fought with mailers over raising postage rates.

 

On the House side, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is term-limited as committee chair and will no longer serve at the helm of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. During his tenure as chairman, Issa called scores of hearings targeting agency scandals and shepherded numerous bills through committee aimed at cutting benefits and increasing oversight. We could see Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), or Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) succeed Chairman Issa.

 

Several of NAPS' best friends on the Senate postal oversight committee will depart at the end of this Congress. Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) will retire after six terms as the longest-serving Senator in Michigan history. Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) was defeated on Tuesday by Republican Tom Cotton. Sen. Pryor championed our MSPB appeal rights legislation and secured its inclusion in the Carper-Coburn postal reform bill. The fate of two more endangered allies on the Senate committee remains to be determined. The victor in the reelection race of Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) has not yet been declared and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) faces a runoff election on December 6.

 

Despite these setbacks, NAPS will continue to forge new friendships on Capitol Hill and work with champions who have been valuable to us in the past. This group includes Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Stephen Lynch (D-MA), all of whom won re-election easily.  

 

Two federal workforce heroes, Reps. Jim Moran (D-VA) and Frank Wolf (R-VA), will step down this year and we are hopeful that their successors will fight for feds in the same way. We are also excited about the election of two freshman House members -- Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) and Rep. Mark Takai (D-HI) - who've expressed understanding of the Postal Service's financial situation and the need for Congress to pass reform legislation.

 
Brian's Scoop

New Member Sponsor Reward: The Results Are In!


 

Brian Wagner
Brian Wagner

 

In my June 20, 2014 NAPSHQ2U article, I addressed some good news and bad news about our new member incentive program. Basically, the good news was that NAPS provided sponsors with a $25 PNC NAPS Gift card for every new member they recruited to join NAPS. The bad news was the $25 gift card fees and expiration dates changed, so we provided a temporary substitute. So is there good news? Here's the scoop!

 

Since June, NAPS tested the idea of mailing $25 checks made payable to sponsors of new members, instead of mailing out the $25 PNC Visa Gift Cards. Why?

  • First, all new PNC NAPS Gift Cards NAPS ordered had a shorter expiration date.
  • Second, the administrative fee for each NAPS Gift Card ordered was $2.95. This was an 11.8% fee on a $25 value.
  • Third, the initial cost to process each $25 check by our NAPS accountant was approximately a dollar. After further analysis, the cost for each printed check is less than 15-cents.

NAPS HQ has received favorable feedback from sponsors. The test results are in and the checks are too.  

 

Let's do the math on savings. If a sponsor signs up more than one member in a month our accountant would batch each $25 reward into one check. For example, a sponsor would receive a $100 check for signing up four members in a month. Therefore, NAPS saved about 45-cents in not having to print three additional $25 checks. The bigger savings comes in NAPS not having to pay $11.80 in admin fees for the four $25 gift cards (4 x $2.95) it would have sent the sponsor. When you subtract the 15-cent expense to print one check from the $11.80 in fees, our overall savings is $11.65.  

 

Win-Win! Not only is NAPS cashing in on saving money on lowering printing and admin fees, our members continue to receive their full recruitment reward for sponsoring a new member.  

 

Therefore, effective immediately, NAPS HQ has officially decided to make the $25 NAPS check our permanent sponsor reward program.   NAPS HQ will send out sponsor checks at the end of each month. However, if we see a large increase of 1187's (hint), we will look at processing checks at least every two weeks. Each sponsor will still receive a letter notifying them of the new member or members that is or are associated with each check, just like we did for the gift cards.

 

This is a red letter day! Therefore, my ice cream flavor of the week recommendation is - Red Velvet Cake.

 
Seth's Slant
If it quacks like a (lame) duck...

Seth
Seth Lennon

 

Election Day has come and (perhaps thankfully) gone and now focus returns to Capitol Hill as the House and Senate reconvene for what is known as the lame duck session. This lame duck is of particular importance due to the fact that it represents an opportunity to accomplish a legislative victory on the postal front.  

 

The challenge is that window of opportunity is a narrow one and depending how a couple of runoff elections play out, moving effective postal legislation through Congress to the President's desk could become even more challenging than it already is. Needless to say, it is imperative that we get something done now, whether it is securing a moratorium on plant closures or even some form of postal reform.

 

We are going to truly need "all hands on deck" from our membership if we want to accomplish our goals in the lame duck session. Before we "take the plunge" however, it's time to make sure that you have all the tools you need in order to be an effective advocate. This is most certainly going to be a broken record from things I've discussed in previous HQ2U's but considering how high the stakes are, this reminder is more vital than ever.

 

Make sure that you have signed up for Bruce Moyer's legislative updates. Bruce's updates are the best way to receive information on how actions (or in-actions) in Congress will impact NAPS and the Postal Service. Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the NAPS website, specifically the CapWiz online advocacy page. We have lauded CapWiz for sometime and its importance becomes magnified with our need to engage in the lame duck session. In less than the time it will take to read this article, you can send an advocacy message to your Member of Congress and/or Senator regarding the need to take action on Postal Issues.

 

Finally, "like" us on Facebook (facebook.com/postalsupervisors) and "follow" us Twitter (twitter.com/napshq) for we will use those tools to distribute information regarding the political and legislative climate and to promote use of our advocacy tools when it comes time to utilize them to urge our lawmakers to take action.

 

The change in control in Congress will make our fight a difficult one, but if we can engage our members early, we can make inroads during what is sure to be a tumultuous time in America.