Welcome

William C. Doherty Branch-40

National Association of Letter Carriers

Cleveland, Ohio

For the Latest News CLICK HERE.

We have posted the LMOUs for the following Associate Offices:

Avon, Avon Lake, Berea, Brunswick, Chagrin Falls, Chesterland, Hudson, Kent-Streetsboro, Lodi, Macedonia-Northfield, Medina, and North Olmstead.  We will post the remainder as soon as we get them scanned in.

Have you noticed that package sizes have been getting smaller, that there are less chips in a bag?  It’s not your imagination, it’s shrinkflation. For more read this article:

https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-12/measuring-shrinkflation-and-its-impact-on-inflation.htm

Opinion | Susan Knopf: Where’s my coffee?

For those members who have the NALC Health Benefit Plan High Option, this is the link for the Physical Therapy Benefit:

https://www.hingehealth.com/share/nalc

Note: This only applies to NALC High Option

We have a Power Point presentation on how to use the new ECOMP system to file workers comp claims.  USPS and DOL are going to make the use of ECOMP MANDATORY, ie. no more paper forms.  It is important that every carrier becomes familiar with this process.  To see this presentation click the link on the right of this page.

The new March 2022 JCAM is available by clicking the link to the right.

The latest Carrier Seniority List for City Stations as of 01/31/2023 has been posted.

The latest CCA Relative Standing List as of 01/31/2023 has been posted.

OSHA Vaccine Rule Applies to Postal Service Employees 

More information is to come from USPS and its unions. For more info Click HERE.

The March Bid Sheet is out as of Friday 03/17/2023. Bidding starts on Tuesday 03/21/2023 and ends on Thursday 03/30/2023.  To see the March Bid Sheet CLICK HERE.

We have received the February Bid Awards as of 03/11/2023.  Awards will be effective Saturday 03/25/2023.  To see the February Bid Awards Click HERE.

Next Stewards Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday April 5, 2023 at the Pipefitters’ Hall, 6305 Halle Drive at 7:30PM.  Masks are OPTIONAL. Stewards Meetings are for VIPs, STEWARDS, ALTERNATES, and BRANCH OFFICERS ONLY.

Next Branch Meeting is scheduled for Friday April 14, 2023 at the Pipefitters’ Hall, 6305 Halle Drive at 7:30 PM.  Branch meetings are for ALL members.  Masks are OPTIONAL. 

We know a lot of you say that both parties are about the same.  Well, that might have been true 40 years  ago,  but now one party is supporting lies about elections being stolen, they downplay the insurrection, traffic in dangerous conspiracy theories, claim that they should have the power to overturn elections if they don’t like the result, by force if necessary, that they should make voting as difficult as possible, and are quietly attempting to subvert state election systems.

The other party believes that in a democracy, all citizens should be able to vote, and that voting should be as easy as possible.  They promote the use of vote by mail, early voting periods, universal voter registration to promote the maximum voter participation in every election.

The differences between parties couldn’t be more stark.  One believes in democracy of the people, the other believes in an oligarchy by the few.   If you believe in government of the people, by the people, and for the people, it is absolutely imperative that you register and vote in this election, because all across this nation one party’s candidates are promoting the end of our democracy by standing for the ideas that they, and only they, should determine who will make the rules and laws in this country.  They are pushing the end of personal freedom as we know it. They are pushing the idea that their beliefs should be everyone’s beliefs, and that nothing else will be tolerated.  They are pushing the banning of books that disagree with their ideas.

If you believe in the the concept of Liberty, and Democracy, you must register and vote.  This election is the most important one of our lifetimes.  Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines.

GET INVOLVED LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT.  REGISTER AND VOTE.

Here is a little questionnaire, to make you think.  Yeah, yeah, we know. Letter carriers don’t like to think. That’s why we took a job that we can do on auto-pilot.  Well, humor us.  Just take it for grins.

• How secure is your job?
• Do you understand the mechanism of getting business done in Washington?
• Who is your representative in Congress?
• Who are the two people running for senator from Ohio?
• How much did the USPS make from operations last year?
• Who did you vote for for Congress in the 2020 election?  (If you didn’t vote, click HERE)
• Can Congress eliminate your job?

If YOU don’t know the answers to ALL these questions, and the reasons behind the answers, you need to get educated. We understand, it’s more fun to follow the Browns, Cavs, and Guardians.  But while that is mindless fun, it won’t help you keep your job if  congress decides to privatize the Postal Service.  We know a lot of you say that both parties are about the same.  Well, that might have been true 40 years  ago,  but now one party is claiming that all elections are rigged, that they should have the power to overturn the results they don’t like, that they have a responsibility to make voting as difficult as possible, that if they don’t like the results of an election they can overturn it by force if necessary.  The other party believes that all citizens should be able to vote, and it should be as easy as possible.  The differences between parties couldn’t be more stark,  One believes in democracy of the people, the other believes in autocracy by the few.  Pay Attention! All our jobs exist at the whim of Congress.  Your job and your and your family’s security hang in the balance.  If you are not involved politically, you need to GET INVOLVED. Never in our lifetimes has democracy itself been under such a coordinated  attack by the corporate and moneyed elite. To find out how YOU can help click HERE     Founded in 1889, NALC is the union of city letter carriers employed by the U.S. Postal Service. Letter carriers delivered 156 billion pieces of mail last year, six days a week, to more than 153 million homes and businesses in every city, suburb and town in America. National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 40 (NALC) 9700 Rockside Road, Suite 110 Valley View, Ohio 44125 Phone: 216.642.1040 Fax: 216.642.0960

• For active and retired member to sign up via bank transfer click HERE.
• Contribute automatically, using PostalEase (either online or by phone) to set up an allotment deduction from your USPS paycheck. click HERE.
• How immediate family members of NALC members contribute to the Letter Carrier Political Fund using Electronic Fund Transfer or by making a One-Time contribution click HERE.
• Retired members to have LCPF deduction taken out of their annuity click HERE.

To check your voter registration CLICK HERE.

To update voter registration or register to vote CLICK HERE.

To request an absentee ballot to Vote by Mail CLICK HERE.

Photos of the Installation Ceremony for the new Officers for 2021-2024

 

NALC and the Postal Service have settled national-level case Q16N-4Q-C 20345187 concerning the Postal Service’s implementation of a test of the delivery initiative entitled Expedited Street/Afternoon Sortation (ESAS). As a result of the settlement, the parties agree that the ESAS pilot test is concluded and terminated as of August 19, 2020. Additionally, any future modifications or alternate applications to the Expedited Preferential Mail (EPM) Delivery Program, as outlined in Section 144 of Handbook M-39, Management of Delivery Services and Sections 223, 450, and 924 of Handbook M-41, City Delivery Carriers Duties and Responsibilities, will be subject to discussion through the City Delivery Task Force. Furthermore, any grievance pending as of the date of this agreement at any step of the Dispute Resolution Process asserting the ESAS delivery initiative violated the collective bargaining agreement will be closed.

The settlement (M-01927) can be found in NALC’s Materials Reference System on the NALC website.

There are important regular News Stories regarding the postal service, NALC, and letter carriers posted in Latest News.  To read the stories click the link above.

Branch 40 has published a Covid-19 Update as of 06-29-2020.  To read it Click HERE.

On May 26th Branch 40 contacted Governor Dewine’s Health Advisory Board.  They confirmed  there is a limit to mass gatherings  to 10 people. So in accordance with the Center for Disease Control, State of Ohio COVID-19 guidance and National Association of Letter Carriers Executive Council, Branch 40 will suspend all meetings until September 2020.

NALC President Fredric Rolando issued a Letter of Dispensation for all Branch and State schedule changes which states in part:

“For any branch or state association that decides to postpone or cancel an event scheduled in calendar year 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak, and dictated by its by-laws, this letter will serve as dispensation to do so.”

Branch 40 Leadership will review the situation in August to determine if further cancellations are necessary.  As always, the health and safety  of all our members is of the upmost importance in the decisions we make. We wish you all have a safe and healthy summer and hope to see you in September.

Bill Barnes

President Branch 40

 

FOR NALC AND USPS INFORMATION ABOUT COVID-19 CLICK HERE.

To listen to NALC Podcast “You are the Current Resident” from National Executive VP Brian Renfroe Click HERE.

TAKE ACTION BY CLICKING HERE.

Former TE Step Advancement

In accordance with the MOU Re: Step Credit for Former TE included in the 2016 National Agreement, any CCA who was employed as a TE after September 29, 2007 and has been converted to a career position may be eligible for a one time advancement to a higher step on the career pay scale.  The advancements took place on Saturday May 26, 2018, and will be reflected in the June 15, 2018 pay checks.  For those converted to career status after May 26, 2018, the advancement will take place upon conversion.

When the Mailmen Rebelled

By Paul Prescod

In 1970, postal workers went on strike and provoked a national crisis for the United States government.

Their rebellion holds lessons for labor today.

For eight days in March 1970 the country was rocked by an unprecedented and shocking national strike by postal service workers. Starting in New York City, the strike spread quickly and affected thirteen states, two hundred cities and towns, two hundred thousand workers, and 671 stations across the country. This action by seemingly docile and harmless federal workers provoked a crisis so severe that President Nixon sent twenty-two thousand National Guard troops to New York City to somehow move the mail and restore order.

Time magazine concluded that the strike “. . . underscores the helplessness of government in the face of organized, even if nonviolent, lawlessness.” It went on to warn that it “could set a pattern of ruinous civil service strikes.” In his speech authorizing the deployment of the National Guard, Nixon went as far as to claim that, “What is at issue is the survival of a government based upon law.”

The government was indeed helpless, and the postal workers achieved an overwhelming victory amid a broader political climate of protest and working-class militancy around the country. A look back at the strike is instructive for grasping the current eruption of teacher strikes, as well as the dilemmas of dealing with hostile labor law.  To read the full article CLICK HERE.

The Letter Carrier Political Fund and the NALC e-Activist Network

Working to elect members of Congress who support NALC priorities is the primary objective of our political affairs operation. There has never been a more important time to participate in the NALC’s political process. The Letter Carrier Political Fund is our political action committee (PAC) that helps pro-labor, pro-letter carriers candidates get elected so they can go to Washington to support and protect letter carrier jobs. The NALC is not partisan and neither is our fight. Our struggle is for letter carrier jobs and we deserve support for that struggle from all political parties.

All NALC members need to know and understand the process and how to get involved. 

Over the last several years, an ugly swarm of mean-spirited legislative proposals to reduce retirement benefits has appeared in the House and Senate.

The proposals would increase employee contribution rates to the CSRS and FERS, decrease the amount of pension benefits, end the employer matching 5 percent to the Thrift Savings Plan, completely eliminate both the Special Annuity Supplement and the entire FERS annuity benefit, reduce COLAs, and more. If all of these proposals were enacted into law, minimum retirement eligibility age would be pushed back to age 62.

But that wouldn’t matter, because postal retirees would be left with below-poverty-rate incomes and unable to retire at all.

Our pensions are under direct attack. The war is being waged in the halls of Congress and the NALC is fighting on the front lines. Our weapons are Letter Carrier Political Fund dollars and e-Activist Network voices.

Join your brothers and sisters already fighting for our jobs and retirement in the halls of congress by joining the Letter Carrier Political Fund and becoming an E-activist.

Pay Attention!

All our jobs exist at the whim of Congress. 

Your job and your family’s security hang in the balance. 

If you are not involved politically, you need to

GET INVOLVED.

You and everyone else’s votes DO MATTER if we want to have a truly democratic country.  Always vote in EVERY ELECTION.

If you don’t vote, you lose your right to complain about the government.

If you would like to vote by mail(a great idea), go to our Request Absentee Ballot link,  which will take you to where you can download an application. There are also links to County Boards of Elections.

A new CCA Resource Center link has been added to the Branch Info center to the right.  Currently it contains CCA Tips and Training from the CCA workshops in both October and November.

 

To find out what it’s really like to be a CCA you should read

Blues on Wheels by Jess Stoner 

reprinted from The Dallas Morning News.  She is off base on some things, like claiming the NALC caved on the TEs during the contract negotiations.  She obviously doesn’t understand that binding interest arbitration is not caving, that it was forced on the union by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, and that the arbitrator, Shyam Das, decreed  the terms of the contract.  Otherwise, spot on.

There is a new Legislative Update available.  To read it CLICK HERE.

 

Following is the transcript of the Declaration of Independence for those who have never taken the time to read it.

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor

Happy New Year

Shortly after the shootings in San Bernardino, I found myself in the Social Security Administration office in Waltham. After having been there for a bit, I began having thoughts about San Bernardino and I couldn’t help but survey my surroundings. I was in a government facility, the people that were waiting were of clearly diverse race, and there was minimal security.

I began to think about a text message that I had received from Jim Nutter. Jim had suggested that each installation should discuss an active shooter plan. I found myself surveying the office, looking to see if there were another set of doors in addition to the ones I had entered. I couldn’t see any.

I don’t know how many carriers are thinking about such things, but in today’s world, it’s probably a good idea to raise awareness. I searched online and was able to find various videos produced by assorted security companies and the like. The Department of Homeland Security has produced an informational booklet. The link can be found under Branch Items DHS Active Shooter Handbook.

While on the subject of online resources, I would be remiss if I didn’t advise you that the Postal Service is “catching up” to the social media world. No, I’m not referring to them having a Website or a Facebook page, I’m referring to the fact that they are beginning to make an effort to monitor social media of employees. There has been a revision to the Administrative Support Manual (ASM) dealing with the “Responsible Use of Social Media”.

At the moment, the rules and regulations apply to Postal Service employees who use social media in their official capacity to communicate with the public or Postal Service employees. The language reads: “Be respectful. Whether in the actual or virtual world, your interactions and discourse should be respectful. Do not verbally attack other individuals or companies. This includes fellow employees, contractors, customers, vendors, and competitors.”

I have seen things on social media that have made me cringe. There are postal employees that are quite uninhibited in the way they conduct themselves on various Websites and groups. Don’t get caught up taking pictures with your cell phone at work. Don’t post pictures of a customer’s mail, mailbox, house, whatever. You can take pictures in a public place on your break or lunch. There should be no addresses showing nor should there be any way to identify the sender or recipient without the address. Please be smart on social media.

Dave Barbuzzi, President, Branch 25

Reprinted From Branch 25 – Mass NE Merged

The 2022 Leave Year runs from Saturday 01/01/2022 through Friday  01/13/2023.   

 

Associate Offices may have different dates for Prime Time.  See your NALC Steward or consult your particular LMOU for exact dates in those offices.

To see the video “The Strike at 40” about the great Postal Strike of 1970 CLICK HERE.

To see photos of the State Convention, taken by Branch 40 carrier Maureen Gochett, CLICK HERE.

Branch 40 – Carrier Tip of the Month

Protect Yourself.

Use PS Form 3996.

By Paul Biggs, Treasurer, Branch 38, Springfield, NJ

PS FORM 3996 IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FORMS AVAILABLE TO PROTECT YOU AS A LETTER CARRIER!

If you believe you will be unable to complete your daily assignment within eight hours, you will need management’s approval to use overtime or to get assistance. Without a copy of a properly submitted PS Form 3996, you may be disciplined for using unauthorized overtime. Without a properly completed 3996, we may be unable to successfully file a grievance regarding a contractual violation of the national agreement concerning issues such as overtime. It is not enough to say “management knew I would be late,” we must be able to document that you told them. Management is required to give you this form when you request one. If they refuse, have your steward initiate a grievance. It is your responsibility to submit the PS Form 3996 in a timely manner. Make certain that the supervisor acts on your request, so you know if your request is authorized or denied. After completed by the supervisor, ask for your copy prior to leaving for your street duties. If you don’t receive a copy, contact your shop steward. If you determine you still cannot complete your assignment after you have already left for the street, it is your obligation, when reasonably aware of the situation, to contact management and inform them of your circumstances. You must have a legitimate reason for requesting the additional time. When you do call, don’t allow the supervisor to put you on the defensive by asking the question, “What happened out there? ”  That is a psychological ploy to unnerve you because it is human nature to try to explain. The correct answer to this question is: “Nothing happened. I informed (you/the AM supervisor) this morning that I would need (xxx) – minutes of (assistance/overtime) to complete my assignment today. My request was denied, and I informed (you/the AM supervisor) that I would do my best, but would call if I did need extra time. So I called. I need (yyy) minutes to finish. What do you want me to do, finish and come back late, come back on time and bring the mail back, or will you send someone to help me?” If the supervisor says, “I want you to deliver all the mail and come back on time.”, your reply should be, “That is not one of the three options. If I could do that, I wouldn’t be calling you. What do you want me to do, finish and come back late, come back on time and bring the mail back, or will you send someone to help me?” Make THEM make the decision. Do not get frustrated, hang up and then make a decision on your own of what to do. By doing that, you are setting yourself up for discipline, and the NALC will have a hard time defending your actions. If they hang up on you, (which is very rude and disrespectful) call them back and say that you had been “cut off” and ask for their instructions again. Tell them that the longer they keep you on the phone, the more time you will need. It cannot be over stressed: Once management has been notified, it will be THEIR decision to either

• send you assistance,

• have you complete your assignment, or

• tell you to bring back the mail.

Those are the only three acceptable options. Period.

It’s a good idea to note the time you called, and who you spoke with.  Use your cell phone so that you can go online and download your call records in case they claim you didn’t call. If they flat out refuse to give you specific instructions, bring the mail back to avoid being disciplined for using unauthorized overtime. If instructed to continue delivery at that time, follow those instructions. You must follow these procedures in order to fully protect yourself. If you fill out a PS Form 3996 in the morning, and timely notify management if you need additional time or assistance for a legitimate reason later in the day, the NALC can successfully defend you, if discipline is issued.

Retain all copies of PS Form 3996 submitted.

 

If you want to contact your senators and representative CLICK HERE.

US Postal Management’s Dysfunctional and Failing Culture

This is an interesting and thoughtful article by a retired Postmaster detailing the problems with the USPS management culture.    To read more click HERE.  

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save