July 20 - 25 NALC National Convention Philadelphia, PA
July 20 - 25 NALC National Convention Philadelphia, PA
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Site updated
July 13, 2014
| 2015 Leadership Academy: The application period for the 2015 Leadership Academy has begun. Any active NALC member may apply. Applicants will receive a confirmation letter upon receipt of the application form at NALC Headquarters. Click here to find out more and to download the application form. Deadline is Aug. 31. |
| 6-day language makes it into House appropriations bill: Language mandating six-day mail delivery—intentionally left out of the draft version of the House Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government’s Fiscal Year 2015 spending bill—was successfully reinserted into the measure that was approved on Wednesday by a voice vote of the full House Appropriations committee. “This is a clear victory for letter carriers and other supporters of a strong Postal Service,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “We’re grateful to Reps. José Serrano (D-NY) and Tom Latham (R-IA) for their bipartisan effort to make sure this language is once again part of this legislation, just as it has been for more than three decades.” Click here to read more. |
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Memorandums of understanding extended, modified: NALC and the Postal Service have agreed on extensions and modifications of three memorandums of understanding. The first, Re: Full-time Regular Opportunities – City Letter Carrier Craft (M-01834), extends the August 30, 2013 MOU Re: Residual Vacancies – City Letter Carrier Craft (M-01824) through May 31, 2014 and, effective June 1, 2014, incorporates changes to the process for filling full-time regular opportunities in the city letter carrier craft. For detailed information on the changes to the process, click here. The second, Re: Sunday Delivery – City Carrier Assistant Staffing(M-01835) extends the agreement that city carrier assistants who served as city carrier TEs directly before their initial CCA appointment will not serve a probationary period when converted to full-time career status during the term of this MOU, and continues the process of jointly monitoring on a weekly basis at the national level the necessary CCA resources during the implementation of the MOU Re: Residual Vacancies - City Letter Carrier Craft (M-01824), the MOU Re: Full-time Regular Opportunities – City Letter Carrier Craft (M-01834) and the Sunday parcel delivery test. The third, Re: Signing Overtime Lists (M-01836), continues to allow the installation head and branch president or their designees to mutually elect to develop a process that allows employees who transfer from another installation or part-time flexibles and CCAs converted to full-time status after the two week period for signing the overtime desired lists to place their names on either the overtime desired list or work assignment list. All three MOUs are effective through March 31, 2015. For the current list of city letter carrier positions available for transfer under the provisions of M-01834, click here. These positions have been posted in e‑Reassign since April 1. The e‑Reassign posting will remain open for 21 days |
 USPS announces new scanning device:The Postal Service has announced the deployment of a new Mobile Delivery Device (MDD) to be used by letter carriers. The device, from Honeywell, will transmit scan data in real time and will replace the current Intelligent Mail Device (IMD) and paired cell phone. For detailed information on the new MDD, read an advance copy of Director of City Delivery Brian Renfroe's April 2014 Postal Record article here. |
| Obama’s 2015 budget follows PMG’s misguided lead: President Obama’s 2015 budget proposals not only fail to address the main source of the Postal Service’s problems, they also directly threaten nearly 100,000 good postal jobs at a time when the Postal Service’s finances have rebounded strongly. “The Office of Management and Budget remains under the spell of a misguided postmaster general, a leader who seems committed to sticking to an obsolete austerity plan devised in very different circumstances,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “OMB has lazily produced a weak, job-killing postal reform plan that Congress should soundly reject.” Click here to read more. |
 Rolando appoints Drass as VP, Renfroe as city delivery director:NALC President Fredric Rolando has appointed Lew Drass of Huntsville, AL Branch 462 (left) as national vice president and Brian Renfroe of Hattiesburg, MS Branch 938 (right) as national director of city delivery. “I am thrilled to have Lew and Brian in their new positions on the NALC Executive Council,” Rolando said. “Both of them are smart, hard-working and totally dedicated to the well-being of fellow letter carriers.” Click here to read more. |
| ‘Highly encouraging’ report reveals $765 million USPS profit: Last Friday, the U.S. Postal Service released its financial report for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2014, which covers the last three months of 2013. “The Postal Service figures are highly encouraging and show why the postal network must be maintained and strengthened, not degraded,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “The announced operating profit of $765 million for the first quarter is dramatic in itself—and it continues the operating profitability that began last year.” Click here to read the president’s full statement. |
| MOU for filling residual vacancies: The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Re: Residual Vacancies - City Letter Carrier Craft, M-01824, puts in place a procedure for filling residual vacancies that includes assignment of unassigned regulars, conversion to regular of part-time flexibles (PTFs), transfers, and city carrier assistant (CCA) conversions to full-time regular career status. Read more about the procedure here. An updated list of vacancies available for transfer opportunities under M-01824 was posted in eReassign Jan. 1 and is available here |
| PRC okays temporary stamp price increase: On Dec. 24, the Postal Regulatory Commission announced its decision to allow the United States Postal Service to raise the price on postage above the rate of inflation for the next two years to deal with the effects of the Great Recession. The PRC rejected the permanent increase the USPS requested. PRC press release |
| Budget negotiators reject Saturday delivery cut, unfairly target future federal employees: NALC grassroots activists and the American public scored a huge victory on Tuesday when efforts to include elimination of Saturday mail delivery in the emerging budget agreement for 2014 failed. Click here to read more, including a statement from NALC President Fredric Rolando. |
| Customer and employee rights when USPS solicits customers to change to centralized delivery: NALC has recently become aware of an effort by the Postal Service in different parts of the country to convince customers to agree to change their mode of delivery to cluster box or centralized delivery. Click here for information that details the rights of both postal customers and letter carriers. |
| NALC announces creation of network to address safety issues: NALC President Fredric V. Rolando has issued a statement regarding the creation of a nationwide network to address safety issues and offices with routine mail delivery well past traditional delivery hours. This new joint effort is designed to identify and address safety issues that pose threats to America's letter carriers. Click here to read more. |
 USPS made $600M delivering mail in 2013: "The dramatic improvement in postal finances announced today is great news," NALC President Fredric Rolando said. "With the economy gradually recovering from the recession, the Postal Service has returned to operational profitability - with an operating profit of $600 million delivering the mail this fiscal year." Click here to read his complete statement. |
MOU on CCA staffing: In a memorandum of understanding (M-01826) dated Oct. 22 regarding city carrier assistant (CCA) staffing, the NALC and the Postal Service agreed that city carrier assistants who served as city carrier temporary employees (TEs) directly before their initial CCA appointment will not serve a probationary period when converted to full-time career status during the term of the MOU. Click here to read more. |
| 2014 retiree COLAs - 1.5% for FERS & CSRS: The cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for both Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) benefits will be 1.5 percent in 2014, based on the Oct. 30 release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September. Although the release of the September CPI was delayed by the 16-day federal government shut-down, the COLA will take effect on time and will be included in January 2014 annuity payments. The 2014 COLA is based on the increase in the average CPI between the 3rd quarter of 2012 and the 3rd quarter of 2013. Since the CPI did not increase by more than 2 percent, COLAs for both CSRS and FERS benefits will be the same in 2014. |
 Postal bill hearing: NALC President Fredric Rolando testified Thursday at the second hearing onS. 1486, the Carper-Coburn bill.Click here to read his submitted testimony. Click here to find out who else testified at the hearing and to read their submitted testimony. Click here to read a summary of Thursday's hearing. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which has Postal Service oversight, held its first hearing on S. 1486 on Sept. 19. Click hereto read more about that hearing. |
 USPS finances show 3rd quarter 'rebound': The Postal Service has released its financial figures for the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2013, which covers April, May and June. "The latest quarterly report makes clear that its finances are rebounding strongly as the U.S. economy improves," NALC President Fredric Rolando said. "The agency would have reported a profit of $660 million absent the $1.4 billion payment it was charged for pre-funding future retiree health benefits - a bill no other company or agency in the country is required to pay." Click the graphic above to see a larger version of it.Click here to read President Rolando's statement. Click here to read a fact sheet about the third quarter report. |
Scholarship Winners 2013 Walter Couillard Eugene McNulty $2000- Jake Tanner Jerome J Keating/Austin B Carlson $2000- Kaitlyn Brandon J. Wesley Woods $1000- Frances Eichten Leonard Larson/Barry Weiner Adult Scholarship- Lorene Banovetz and Michelle Benson _________________________________________________________________ |
NEEDED: UNIFORM DONATIONS PLEASE DONATE USED, CLEAN, CURRENT UNIORMS TO THE BRANCH OFFICE FOR OUR INCOMING MEMBERS
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MINNESOTA Day of action on March 24
NALC a day of action to mobilize public support for Saturday delivery service. Reminding our representatives in Washington to maintain the six-day mail delivery language in the continuing budget resolution.
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NALC President Emeritus
Jan 10, 2013 --Vincent R. Sombrotto, 89, a towering figure in the history of the National Association of Letter Carriers and one of the most significant U.S. labor leaders of recent decades, died Jan. 10. more |
Branch 9 Publications Contest Winners Best Website Best Editorial or Column Branch 9, Minneapolis, MN, "We Are Letter Carriers," by Chuck Glover, Branch Nine News Click here to view the other winners of the Branch Publications Contest. |
Save America's Postal Service
Branch 9 demonstrated: April 12, The National Association of Letter Carriers held "Save America’s Postal Service" demonstrated outside of Senate offices across the country, |
| New data indicates proposed cuts could mean greater losses in volume, revenue: The proposed cuts in service sought by the U.S. Postal Service could result in a far-greater loss of mail volume – and thus of revenue- than postal authorities previously have disclosed, new testimony indicates. In fact, the losses - outlined in a preliminary study commissioned by the USPS but which the agency has since kept under wraps - could outweigh any savings realized by the cuts. Click here to read more. |
| POSTAL FACTS. Click here for a point-by-point guide to help you spread the truth about the Postal Service and the need for immediate congressional action. Click here to find out how the NALC Communications Department can help you get the NALC's message out. |
| Not As Recent News archived here |
http://nalc.org/depart/mba/PDF/Brochures/maturity_income_cca.pdf CCAs: Understanding your health insurance options: Click here to read a letter from NALC Health Benefit Plan Director Brian Hellman that helps to clarify some complicated issues surrounding health insurance for CCAs and to ensure that all CCAs understand their options and rights under the NALC’s National Agreement with the Postal Service. |
Thanks for supporting the 22nd annual Letter Carriers’ Food Drive! Click here to send us your photos! • Follow the Food Drive on Facebook& Twitter. MINNEAPOLIS Associates 125,648 |
BRANCH 9 2014 SCHOLARSHIP DRAWINGSJEROME J. KEATING/AUSTIN B CARLSON - $2,000.00 School Attending Parent Work Location 1st Runner-Up Kylie Goodin Mankato State Nicole Goodin Champlin 2nd Runner-Up Taylor Feneis University of Minnesota Veronica Feneis Coon Rapids
WALTER E. COULLARD/EUGENE P. McNULTY - $2,000.00 School Attending Parent Work Location 1st Runner-Up Jake Rehwaldt Normandale Comm. College Jonathan Rehwaldt Shakopee 2nd Runner-Up Jessica Jacob SW Minnesota State University John Jacob Minnehaha
J. WESLEY WOODS - $1,000.00 School Attending Parent Work Location 1st Runner-Up Kelsey Burshek Mankato State John Burshek West Edina 2nd Runner-Up Sarah Shimota Winona State University Joseph Shimota Chanhassen
LEONARD A. LARSON/BARRY J. WEINER - ADULT SCHOLARSHIP - $1,000.00 Position Work Location 2nd Winner Lorene Banovetz Retired Runner-Up Bob Baird Retired |
Cheryl Stately's children, Jeff Reiger, |
CONVENTION! |
letter carrier Melissa Rakestraw apeared on MSNBC's "The Ed Show" to describe how she calmly defended the Postal Service to Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) during his recent headline-grabbing meet-and-greet .Click here to watch the video. |
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Thanks to the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation and their support of Branch 9 events in their publication. Check them out at http://www.minneapolisunions.org
* General Membership and Steward Meetings are held at the VFW Post 7051
Golden Valley, 7775 Medicine Lake Road in Golden Valley Minnesota, (map) website http://www.goldenvalleyvfw.org/
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Contact: Branch 9 email branch9@branch9nalc.com
S. 316: In the Senate, 30senators (of 100) so far have co-sponsored S. 316, a postal modernization measure that preserves Saturday mail delivery. Has yours? 
H.R. 630: In the House, 172members (of 435) have co-sponsored H.R. 630, a postal modernization measure that preserves Saturday mail delivery. Is your representative a co-sponsor? 
H.R. 961: In the House, 161members (of 435) have co-sponsored H.R. 961, a measure that calls for a refund of the USPS’ surplus in FERS. Is your representative a co-sponsor? 
H. Res. 30: In the House, 206members (of 435) so far have co-sponsored H. Res. 30, “expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its 6-day mail delivery service.” Has yours?