Greater East Bay Branch 1111 News Volume 41 Number 476
April 2022
The Food Drive Returns
Saturday May 14 After 2-Year Hiatus
North Oakland carrier Stephen Chen displaying his fully loaded vehicle from our last food drive in 2019
Branch 1111 News
April 2022
NALC HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN SERVICE LINES General Claims Inquiries Hospital Precertification (Required) Prerecorded Benefits Information Prescription Customer Service Line
1-888- 636-NALC 1-800-622-6252 1-888-636-NALC 1-800-933-NALC
BRANCH PAPER DEADLINE The deadline for copy for Branch 1111 News is the 5th of each month. News stories, articles, letters, drawings, or cartoons, as well as photographs -- either recent or historical -should be submitted to the Branch office. Short notices of personal or shop floor interest are especially welcome. The Editor and Assistant Editor retain the right to edit, delete, or reject articles and artwork for the good of the Branch.
BRANCH 1111 OFFICERS Edward P. Fletcher, President Jose Ochoa, Executive Vice President Narciso Paderanga, First Vice President Francisco Cabrera, Second Vice President Mary Abante, Third Vice President Terrence Super, Fourth Vice President John Ferreira, Secretary-Treasurer Mary Phelps, Asst. Sec-Treasurer Currently Vacant, Sgt-at-Arms Jacob Morgan, Insurance Officer Rickie Cox, Trustee Jerry DePoe, Trustee Ron Jones, Trustee
Greater East Bay Branch 1111 News Branch 1111 News is the official monthly publication of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), Greater East Bay Branch 1111. Circulation 3,000 Offices Served:
Alameda, Alamo, Antioch, Benicia, Berkeley, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Crockett, Danville, El Cerrito, Fairfield, Fremont, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Oakland, Orinda, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasanton, Richmond, Rodeo-Hercules, San Lorenzo, San Ramon, Suisun City, Union City, Vallejo, Walnut Creek
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EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS
Elizabeth Corriea, Marisela Fletcher, Ray Garcia, Irene Liljedahl, Shana Lum, Joshua Pearl, Frances Rodriguez-Swint
BRANCH 1111 OFFICE HOURS Monday-Friday: 8 am to 5 pm 402 – 37th Street Richmond, Ca. 94805- 2134 510-237-5111, Fax 510-237-5181
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/nalcbranch1111 WEBSITE: www.Branch1111.org Meetings are held every fourth Tuesday of the month except in December
BRANCH 1111 NEWS STAFF Editor - Joshua Pearl: joshpbranch1111@gmail.com Assistant Editor – John Jekabson: jjbranch1111@gmail.com Contributors -- Ed Fletcher, Jose Ochoa, John Ferreira, Narciso Paderanga, Mary Abante, Liz Corriea, Ron Jones, Jerry DePoe, Francisco Cabrera, Mary Phelps, Terrence Super, Jacob Morgan. Views expressed in Branch 1111 News do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor, Assistant Editor, Branch Officers, or members of National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 1111
April 2022
Branch 1111 News
HYBRID MEETING ON The Tuesday, April 26 Branch meeting will be hybrid: -in-person or virtual. We will be monitoring the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations and keep having inperson meetings as long as they are deemed safe.
HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU The following letter carriers retired recently: Sam Ching of Concord; Carmen Ortiz, Jack Duval, and Sukhwinder Singh of Oakland; Felix Pastor of Livermore; Olga Sanchez of Pittsburg; and Robert Cunanan of Richmond. We wish many years of leisure to all.
VACANCY ON EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
The position of NALC Branch 1111 Sergeant-at-Arms is vacant. For those interested applications are available through May 31, 2022. The duties of the office are as follows: “The Sergeant-at-Arms shall preserve order in the meetings under the instructions of the President. It shall be his/her duty to see that none, but members are present at the meetings unless directed by the President or a vote of the Branch. For the faithful performance of these duties the Sergeant-at-Arms shall receive payment of 4 hours of the highest step of CC Grade1 per month, plus paid time when authorized when authorized by the Branch.” To apply contact the Branch office.
(Long serving Oakland Shop Steward)
STATE CONVENTION IN SAN DIEGO The 56th California State Convention of the CSALC (California State Association of Letter Carriers) will convene in San Diego. It will be held April 28 through April 30. Branch 1111 is sending the following compensated delegates to the convention: Ezekiel Bradley, Elizabeth Corriea, Edward Fletcher, Samuel Green, Oswald Jacob, Colleen Karnthong, Ron Jones, Lynne Miller, Narciso Paderanga, Sullivan Smothers, Leticia Sanchez, Petra Ortega, Marisela Fletcher, Paul Petersen, John Jekabson, Mary Phelps, and Rickie Cox. The delegates will be eager to report on the proceedings once they return from San Diego.
COLA Increase Set at $1,331
The fifth regular cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for career letter carriers under the 2019-2023 National Agreement is $1,331 annually, following the release of the January consumer price index. This increase is added to every step in Table 1 and Step O in Table 2, and then applied proportionately to Steps A through N in Table 2. The increase became effective on February 26, 2022.
Food Drive coordinator Shana Lum displaying a t-shirt from the 2019 Food Drive
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April 2022
Branch 1111 News
A Dog and His Tail
222.214 and on the PS Form 1838-C (Carrier Mail Count/Worksheet). So, remember that no matter how many times management tries to “dig up” these old bones, “refurbish” or “polish them,” they are not “new time and or work standards.” So don’t get caught up in their misdirection much like when your dog wants to play catch, and you pump fake the ball or stick.
By Edward P. Fletcher, President
For example, the M-01769 states, “The subject office efficiency tool is a management tool for estimating a carrier's daily workload. The office efficiency tool used in the Greater Indiana District or any similar time projection system/tool(s) will not be used as the sole determinant for establishing office or street time projections. Accordingly, the resulting projections will not constitute the sole basis for corrective action. This agreement does not change the principle that, pursuant to Section 242.332 of Handbook M-39, "No carrier shall be disciplined for failure to meet standards, except in cases of unsatisfactory effort which must be based on documented, unacceptable conduct that led to the carrier's failure to meet office standards." Furthermore, as stated in the agreement for case Hi N-1 N-D 31781, "there is no set pace at which a carrier must walk and no street standard for walking." Projections are not the sole determinant of a carrier's leaving or return time, or daily workload. The use of any management created system or tool that calculates a workload projection does not change the letter carrier's reporting requirements outlined in section 131.4 of Handbook M-41, the supervisor's scheduling responsibilities outlined in section 122 of Handbook M-39, or the letter carrier's and supervisor's responsibilities contained in Section 28 of Handbook M-41.” Don’t be fooled by “fake doggy poo.” As per your Weingarten Rights, ask to see a Shop Steward when management is questioning you about their paw-less projections and you are of the belief that it could lead to disciplinary action.
There once was a dog that had a bushy tail. He would stand around and watch the other dogs do the hard work. The dog thought very highly of himself because of his bushy tail and his elevated position over the hard-working dogs. He also wanted to be the first dog to chase and catch his own tail. He thought to himself, if I could do that, I would be elevated above the rest of the other watchdogs in my craft. And, I would have to work even less then I do now and get paid more. So, he came up with a computerized program to show him how fast he needed to go to chase and catch his own tail. So, he booted up the program, pressed play and round and round he went hour after hour and day after day and week after week spinning in circles. After becoming extremely dizzy going in circles, one would think he would have figured that it was pointless, right? Wrong! Instead, he instructed the other watchdogs to spin their own circles of misdirection. The moral of this story is that if you spend your whole life spinning misinformation, your view in life will be distorted much like the unpleasant view of a dog chasing his own tail. Got it? Management’s Shiny Tools It never ceases to amaze me how much time, energy and wasted USPS dollars are spent by management to discredit the hard work that letter carriers do. Similarly, the USPS works very hard to violate, circumvent and attempt to set aside the parties National Agreement. Let’s get it straight! No matter how much shine they put on their Delivery Operations Information System (DOIS), Delivery Management System (DMS) and or any similar program, these programs by themselves are management tools. Their projected times and/or computerized assumptions do not change the Contract, your “Route Base Information”, the provisions of the M-41 “Carriers Handbook”, or the M-39 “Management Methods Handbook.” The only contractual time allowances and/or “base office times” (line items when less time is used) are listed in the M-39 Section 4
What Does the Contract say About Time Projections?
Our Obligations as Letter Carriers As per Article 34 of our National Agreement, the principle of a “Fair Day’s Work for Fair Day’s Pay” has long been established for all parties. As stated above in M01769, letter carriers are to follow the “Reporting Requirements” outlined in the M-41 Section 131.4., which states, 131.41 - It is your responsibility to verbally inform management when you are of the opinion that you will be
April 2022 unable to case all mail distributed to the route, perform other required duties, and leave on schedule or when you will be unable to complete delivery of all mail. 131.42 - Inform management of this well in advance of the scheduled leaving time and not later than immediately following the final receipt of mail. Management will instruct you what to do. 131.43 - Complete applicable items on Form 3996, CarrierAuxiliary Control, If overtime or auxiliary assistance is authorized in the office or on the street. 131.44 - Report on Form 1571 all mail undelivered — including all mail distributed to the route but not cased and taken out for delivery. Estimate the number of pieces of mail. In short, continue to follow all reporting procedures such as completing PS Forms 3996’s, PS Forms 1571’s and calling back the office when you are unable to complete all your duties or deliveries in the time allotted. Do not shortchange yourselves by running your route, shortening your lunch, or skipping your breaks based on management’s mystery tool kits, or barking tactics. Management’s Obligations to Employees First of all, management’s obligations to employees are more extensive than you might think. Management must do the following, but not limited to: provide safe working conditions in all Postal Installations; respond to all inquiries from employee’s; investigate and abate all unsafe conditions in the office and/or on the street; provide employees with all of the necessary tools to their jobs; ensure employees are properly trained, including when new equipment is introduced; inform employees in advance of all policy changes; treat employees with dignity and respect at all times; abide by the National Agreement; properly enter into TACS employee time records; properly pay employees for all hours work, overtime and or leave requested; and, give clear instructions to employees. If at any time, management fails to protect your safety, doesn’t pay you correctly, fails to give you clear instructions or purposely issues you bogus “catch 22” instructions, ask to see your Shop Steward. The NALC will not let management “dog you out!”
Fremont Irvington carriers receive info on the upcoming NALC food drive
COVID-19 FUNERAL EXPENSES
Branch 1111 News
By Jose Ochoa, Executive Vice President
If you are covering the cost of a COVID-19 funeral, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) may be able to help. You may qualify for up to $9,000 per funeral for expenses. FEMA may provide COVID-19 Funeral Assistance to you if: You are a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified non-citizen. The death occurred in the United States, including U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, on or after January 20, 2020; The death was attributed to COVID-19; and you are responsible for the eligible funeral expenses. What is Covered? FEMA may approve COVID-19 Funeral Assistance for expenses such as: funeral services, cremation, interment Costs associated with producing death certificates Costs due to local or state government laws or ordinances Transportation for up to two people to identify the person who died Transfer of remains, casket or urn, burial plot, marker or headstone, clergy, funeral ceremony, funeral home equipment or staff. What is Required? You must provide FEMA a copy of an official death certificate that shows the death occurred in the United States, including U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, occurred after January 20, 2020, and was attributed to COVID-19. If the death certificate was issued between January 20 and May 16, 2020, it must either: 1) attribute the death directly or indirectly to COVID-19 or 2) be accompanied by a signed statement from the original certifier of the death certificate, or the local medical examiner or coroner from the jurisdiction in which the death occurred, listing COVID-19 as a cause or contributing cause of death. This signed statement must provide an additional explanation or causal pathway, linking the cause of death listed on the death certificate to COVID-19. You must provide FEMA with a signed funeral home contract, invoice, receipts, or other documentation that includes: Your name, showing you are responsible for some or all of the expense, the name of the person who died, itemized expenses, proof that the expenses were incurred on or after January 20, 2020
To learn more or start an application, call 844-684-6333. 5
Branch 1111 News
April 2022
PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS BEING SAID TO YOU By Liz Corriea, Berkeley Chief Steward
You might find yourself being questioned in the morning by your supervisor about what happened the previous day. Whatever it is that they are trying to get information from you, a word of caution before you answer any questions. Keep this thought in mind, why are they questioning you? If you feel this could lead to discipline action, you might want to say, “I would like to answer your questions, but I feel this could lead to disciplinary action, and would like to have my shop steward present through your questioning.” You have the right to a shop steward present anytime you feel your questioning could lead to disciplinary action. Some supervisors talk to you very casually, and you don’t even realize that you’re being sucked into their trap to give them information that could possibly hurt you. You must ask yourself are they being friendly when normally they could care less about you, just to get information from you? There are some good supervisors, but unfortunately they are hard to find. In fact, I could say I haven’t met one in many years. The current ones seem to lack knowledge about their job. I guess that’s due to the fact they are learning as they go. It would be nice if they took a course on how to treat employees with dignity and respect as their number one priority. It amazes me how there are those carriers who like to kiss Management’s you know what, to get what they want. Management will sometimes listen to these individuals, where neither one is right, and they usually go against our Contract. Nevertheless it is like the blind leading the blind. We know these carriers will usually get what they want, simply because managers themselves don’t know what’s right. BERKELEY BLUES NEWS Berkeley seems to be improving in many ways, but still has a lot of organizing to do. We still lack enough employees; this is probably happening to other cities as well, where our days off are cancelled, and you work late night hours. We’ve had some new employees come aboard, but some have already quit. WOW! It’s ridiculous that new employees have no choice but to work these long hours with hardly any rests. What are the chances they will stick it out, when it seems like it’s an endless hard-working job. Berkeley Management is more concerned about making supervisors out of our new carriers instead of trying to fill vacancies. We are lacking clerks, which is another big problem in Berkeley. If and when this problem is resolved then perhaps there will be much improvement. Until then I am guessing we’re going to be suffering these long hours of work. In the meantime we can only hope that these new employees will hang in there. Knowledge is Power 6
The Biggest Food Drive in History! By Terrence Lee Super, Fourth Vice President
The Food Drive is back, and it will be the biggest one in history. We all must step up for our communities! The last Food Drive we had was in 2019, then Covid-19 hit us in 2020 where we weren’t able to do the Food Drive for those next two years. The communities really took a hit during that time. Even though people were able to make cash and check donations, the Food Banks took a hit as well not being able to provide as much food to needy communities as before. We are in a unique position. We have an opportunity to really get the food banks stocked again with this National Food Drive on May 14, 2022! Let’s do our part to get the word out on as many outlets as possible, maybe even radio! We are coming into the summer months pretty soon. We know there are going to be extremely hot days, so please take care of yourselves out there by drinking plenty of water. Especially on the day of the Food Drive. Remember you will be picking up food that people will be eagerly willing to donate. This is what makes the Letter Carrier craft so special. The community trusts and relies upon you not only to deliver their mail, but to pick up this donated food every year when the Food Drive comes around. But even more than that, the people who desperately need this food rely on you, and this year we can really come through for them in a HUGE way! It’s very important that the Postmasters and Supervisors are 100% in support of this important event. If any of your management officials are not cooperating with this event on May 14, please call the Branch and let us know. There is absolutely no reason why the District would not be in support of this year’s Food Drive, so please get us involved if you get ANY resistance from management. We will be getting the announcement cards soon to be delivered a week or two BEFORE the Food Drive. It is extremely important to make sure management doesn’t attempt to procrastinate by curtailing the delivery of the cards which show the date of the Food Drive and instructions on how to donate the food for the carrier to pick up. Again, if management is doing this, please let us know. Those cards MUST be delivered on time so the community can be made aware of when the Food Drive is, and how to donate. Remember our communities need us, thank you all in advance, and please be safe out there.
April 2022
Branch 1111 News
Good News Bad News By Narciso Paderanga, IV, First Vice President
If you haven’t already heard, President Biden signed the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 into law on April 6th. This is important because this law repeals the pre-funding mandate and sets the USPS on a more sustainable and stable financial footing. Some of the other key provisions regarding this law is it codifies a minimum of six-day delivery of mail and packages into federal law without the need to renew it every year through the congressional appropriations process. This also maximizes the integration of future postal annuitants into Medicare. This had been a long battle but finally this historic moment has come. The bad news. Management still has not figured out its staffing issue. Not only can it not find a better way to hire, but it also cannot find a way to keep them on board once they are hired. If only they’d listen. I warned a supervisor just recently that the new employee was not happy because of not only being mandated to come in but having to work in another or different installation. A week later the same employee resigned from the Post Office. Across the board, this entire district has had this chronic problem and has gotten worse since the districts were combined. Carriers who do not wish to work overtime are frustrated from being constantly required to work excessive hours. Exhausted carriers end up having to call in sick. The morale in some stations hasn’t been worse than its current state. The reason, it simply cannot sustain a sufficient number of carriers to cover all of the routes. Hopefully, this new law will allow for the parties at the National level to negotiate a better contract in the future which includes higher starting wages for new employees and better benefits that will encourage them to stay on board and have a great and long career with the Postal Service. I hope this agency will have the same reputation as it did when I first started my career almost 27 years ago and the notoriety is discontinued.
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April 2022
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NALC Branch 1111 Balance Sheet As of March 31, 2022 ASSETS Current Assets Bank Accounts 100 - Petty Cash 213.96 126 PPCU-50 166,332,69 Mechanics Bank Accounts 201,463.54 PPCU-Acct 70 25,635.67 United Bank Accounts 241,653.19 Total Bank Accounts $666,146.91 Other Current Assets Total Current Other Assets 0.00 Total Current Assets $659,306.87 Fixed Assets 189 - Accumulated Depreciation -156,914.57 190 - Accum Deprec - Furn./Eq. -68,743.00 191 - Accum Deprec - Computer Eq. -11,561.00 192 - Accum Deprec - Copier -6,896.60 193 - Accum Deprec - Building/Improv-153,573.66 197 - Accum Deprec - Storage Shed -430.00 198 - Accum Deprec – Prior -61,391.17 Total Fixed Assets $ 389,294.56 TOTAL ASSETS $1,055,441.47
Branch 1111 News LIABILITIES & EQUITY Total Liabilities Net Revenue 3900 Unrestricted Net Assets Equity
$12,806.38 -70,249.03 1,112,884.12 $1,042,635.09
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
$1,055,441.47
Oakland Laurel Shop Steward Ashley Strong
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NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID CONCORD CA Permit 1
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS GREATER EAST BAY BRANCH 1111 402 –37TH STREET RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA 94805- 2134 (510) 237-5111
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Aghiles Siahmed Robert Forcum Olivia Brown Andrew Rodriguez Ruvalcaba Lopez Marie Paul Eric Carrolan Yonjan Bina Sylvester Francis Gelek Gyatso Oscar Cisneros Vanessa Perillo Hsiu Wang Hector Chapa Kathryn Fried Kenneth Gini Thaw Zaw Kaylin Parker Jorge Souto James Boyd Mary Franklin Chanral Irmiter Jkeyah Sheppard Keyaria William Hyme Rankin Jyisha McDonald Sangsoon Park Yadira Gonzales Mia Fierro Abril Duran Brett Hatley Bryan Cortez Dean Martinez
Alamo Alamo Berkeley Berkeley Berkeley Berkeley Danville Brentwood El Cerrito El Cerrito Fairfield Fairfield Fremont Livermore Livermore Martinez Martinez Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Pinole Pinole Pleasanton Pittsburg San Ramon San Ramon Union City Walnut Creek
Franz Ravago Dominic Ruma Qing Wang Clara Leiffer
Walnut Creek Walnut Creek Walnut Creek Vallejo
Pittsburg retiree Mark Armijo joins the Last Punch Bunch. We wish you all the best!
On April 26, the Branch will hold a hybrid In-Person/Virtual Meeting. Call the Branch Office at 510-237-5111 if you’re interested in taking part. Meetings will now be counted as official