Greater East Bay Branch 1111 News Volume 41 Number 464
April 2021
The Letter carrier political fund Congressional Bills currently being lobbied by the NALC HR 695, S145 USPS Fairness Act HR 1636 Postal Vehicle Modernization Act HR 1102 Easy Access to Mail Act H.RES.47 Anti-Privatization Resolution
Our Top Branch LCPF Donor Liz Corriea
See page 8 for the complete list of top donors
H.RES.114 Six-Day Mail Resolution
Branch 1111 News
April 2021
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 3rd 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 Julie McCormick, Third Vice President Terrence Super, Fourth Vice President John Ferreira, Secretary-Treasurer Mary Phelps, Asst. Sec-Treasurer Keith Massey, Sgt-at-Arms Jacob Morgan, Insurance Officer Jose Corral, 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, San Lorenzo, San Ramon, Suisun City, Union City, Vallejo, Walnut Creek
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EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS
Christina Aviles, Elizabeth Corriea, Rickie Cox, Marisela Fletcher, Ray Garcia, 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, Julie McCormick, Liz Corriea, Ron Jones, Jerry DePoe, Francisco Cabrera, Mary Phelps, Terrence Super, Keith Massey, Jacob Morgan, Jimmie Braden Jr. 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 2021
Branch 1111 News
VIRTUAL BRANCH MEETINGS During the foreseeable future virtual Branch meetings will be considered official and members who sign in will be recorded. Attending 80 percent of official Branch meetings is a prerequisite to becoming eligible to be a compensated delegate to any upcoming NALC Convention The next Branch meeting is Tuesday, April 27th at 7:00pm.
Rebecca Aranda’s last punch in Piedmont where she worked for 35 years
HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU! The following carriers retired recently: Jose Sinigayan and Jaime Garcia of Pleasanton, Dilbert Williams and Robert Zhao of Richmond, Loung Ly and J. Cromwell Antonio III of Oakland, Edward Rivas of San Ramon, Meena Sharma of Fremont, Eileen Tylor of Alameda, and Lisa Chatham of Orinda. We wish many years of leisure to all.
USPS Shrinking Management Workforce As part of an ongoing agency restructuring, USPS is making voluntary early retirement offers to avoid a nonvoluntary reduction in force to managers. Postmaster Louis DeJoy recently clarified the scope of this ongoing headcount reduction of the agency’s administrative workforce. The agency, he said, is looking to shrink its 60,000 employee management workforce by a “small percentage” in the coming months. NAPS (National Association of Postal Supervisors) officers were advised in mid-March which of their senior members are eligible for “voluntary” retirement. Are you ready to say farewell some of your favorite managers?
Wilfredo Santos happy to clock out for the last time from Benicia
Third Contract COLA set at $416 The third regular cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for career letter carriers under the 2019-2023 National Agreement is $416 annually following the release of the January Consumer Price Index. This increase will be 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 will be payable retroactive to February 27.This COLA will be included in back pay calculations, which are ongoing. More information on the implementation of the new contract will be released as soon as possible.
Get Vaccinated all Letter Carriers should now be eligible to receive a shot. Protect yourself and your co-workers
Berkeley DDU carrier Shaswanda Vanhoose is ready to start her route
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April 2021
If You Don’t Know, Now You Know By Edward P. Fletcher, President
As Full-Time Officers or as Shop Stewards and much like firefighters, it is our job to “sound the alarm” or “ring the bell” to let our brothers and sisters know “what’s up.” We do that by informing our members what their rights are, and what to do when their rights have been violated. We communicate issues by speaking directly to our members, posting information on the NALC bulletin boards, writing articles in the Branch 1111 newsletter or by posting information on the NALC or Branch 1111 websites. To be “in the know,” you must know where to go to find answers. The simple answer is to go directly to your Union, and not others who are not certified union representatives. So please continued to use all available resources and attend union meetings (in person or virtually) to know and enforce your rights on the job. The New 2019-2023 National Agreement The 2019-2023 National Agreement was overwhelmingly ratified on March 8, 2021 with 94 % of our members voting in favor of the new contract. The questions that everyone is asking me, is “when will our pay be updated” and “when we will receive our back pay?” As of this writing on April 9, 2021, that information has not been released by the two parties. Nevertheless, as posted in the December 2020 issue of the Postal Record, we have had five retroactive wages increases. There are two general wage increases of 1.1% on November 23, 2019 and November 21, 2020. We also had three COLAs that will be added to our annual salaries retroactively to the following dates: $166 on February 29, 2020; $188 on August 29, 2020; and $416 on February 27, 2021. Thus, if you were a T-6 letter carrier at “Step O” prior to November 23, 2019 (first wage increase), your annual salary went from $ 66,403 to $ 68,640 as of February 27, 2021. For T-6 Carriers at Step O, that is an annual increase of $ 2,237. For letter carriers who were not T-6s and who were at Step O prior to November 23, 2019, your annual wages went from $65,037 to $67,243. That is an annual increase of $2,206. Notably, we still have four more COLAs and two more general wage increases of 1.3% and a new “Step P” through 2023. National is also projecting through the end of this National Agreement and based on their Steps (A-P) on the wage scale, carriers hired prior January 12, 2013 will see their annual wages increase from around $4,304 to $4,990. In addition, for all of our hard-working brothers and sisters who worked massive amounts of overtime in the last 1.5 years, the good news is that all of those overtime hours will be recalculated and included in your retroactive pay. The union also negotiated a 2.1% general wage increases for 4
Branch 1111 News CCAs and MOU, M-01946 that converts CCAs to career status after working 24 months. Always remember that all of our wage increases and benefits are not gifts, but were hard fought and negotiated exclusively by your union.
Exposing the Sleight of Hand In my tenure in the USPS, I have worked with the good, the bad and the ugly at heart. I have seen just about everything under the sun, the moon and the stars. Supervisors and managers who have no ability to lead letter carriers and only became supervisors because they could not carry mail. Supervisors and managers who falsely misrepresent employee time records, delete overtime hours and/or who “ghostly change” to operational moves. Supervisors and managers who don’t treat employees with dignity and respect and violate the USPS Codes of Conduct. Supervisors and managers who discourage employees from filing OWCP claims or willfully fail to process claims to the District Office within 24 hours and/or the DOL within 10days. Yet, they all still remain on the job and continue to cost the agency ungodly amounts of money in grievances and EEO settlements. Please know that when your rights are violated, you must go to your Union. We are not omniscient. Management will not tell your Union nor will they admit to any violations. More likely than not, they will try to sweep everything under the rug. The only way to stop any continuing and unscrupulous behavior is to know your rights, expose the perpetrators and file escalating grievances for non-compliance. If you didn’t know, now you know. Understanding What Unity Means As a union, we ask our brothers and sisters to always stand together in unity. By definition, “unity is being together or at one with something. It is the opposite of being divided.” Why is unity important? Because division it is one of the main tools used by those who seek to destroy us as a union. Think about it; for example, those who seek to privatize the Postal Service do not actually care about providing universal and great service to our customers. But rather, they are motivated by universal greed. They spread misinformation in the hope of breaking up the USPS, taking the most profitable services and raising rates. Similarly, there are a few individuals among us who speak ill of the very union that protects them. They may not like certain parts of the Contract or certain decisions when they themselves did not follow USPS rules or regulations. They falsely claim that the Union is not helping them rather than listening to the advice of their union or following proper procedures and working together in unity to protect everyone’s rights. Brothers and Sisters please be advised that anyone who seeks to destroy the Postal Service or your Union is not only in it for themselves, but also does not care about protecting letter carrier jobs. We will always be successful when we all stand strong in knowledge, peace and unity- know this!
April 2021
Branch 1111 News
One of the few things that the Union and Management can agree on is getting new Revenue for the Postal Service! By Terrence Lee Super, Fourth Vice President
This month I would like to recognize Livermore Carrier Kathleen Isola. She is responsible for bringing in a whopping $800,000 of revenue for the Postal Service via Customer Connect. Kathleen is working on bringing in even more business that is in progress right now. It is carriers like her who should be commended, for not only doing their job by delivering the mail, but also taking the time during her route to get businesses to use the Postal Service as their means to ship their goods and products. Thank you so much Kathleen for your persistence and excellent work in getting your business to use the Postal Service. You are a very valued member and worker of the NALC and the United States Postal Service. Kathleen also has the respect of her fellow carriers and always has a positive attitude whenever I come to do a station visit. She is the reason why I love my job because of members like this who really care. We have a lot of members that are like Kathleen and that is what keeps me getting out of bed every day to come to work, being around such wonderful people with positive attitudes. It is extremely contagious when everyone works together and has a positive outlook on, not only their job, but on life in general. When the members read this, I hope I did not embarrass you by saying all this. Just want you to know that there are many people who appreciate what you do and continue to do day-in and day-out. Just as a reminder to all carriers, please make sure that you are all doing things by the book while delivering on the street. Management is cracking down on carriers who are not wearing their seat belts, driving with the door open, leaving the vehicle running while dropping off packages, etc. Please be safe and have an excellent month.
Kathleen Isola receiving her customer connect award from the USPS.
The Bay Valley District Is no Longer Good or Bad? By Jose Ochoa, Executive Vice President
Well, in case you haven’t heard Bay Valley is merging with the Sacramento District. Could that bring improvements to the current working conditions, perhaps better MPOOS? Unlike the current dinosaurs who for years promoted and enabled Postmasters to distribute misery and abuse to the employees, eventually ending in complete chaos in each and every office they landed. Not to mention obvious nepotism. In fact, recently a federal judge spoke of one Postmaster as follows “It is largely undisputed that……(guess who) was grossly incompetent at managing other people and engaged in a vindictive management style which created a toxic environment for nearly all subordinates, Yet, the Postal Service allowed…..(guess who) to continue to serve in this important managerial roles” all the more egregious by the undisputed evidence that the agency was well aware of……(guess) years long pattern of harassment and abuse towards others and yet inexplicably failed to address such problem, instead preferring merely to transfer this individual to different job locations over and over, all with predictably disastrous results!
Postal Service Policy on Work Place Harassment Prohibited Activities Harassment is unwelcome verbal or physical conduct, which is severe or pervasive, that interferes with or changes the conditions of one’s employment by creating a hostile, intimidating or abusive working environment. Examples may include but are not limited to, making offensive or derogatory comments or engaging in physically threatening, intimidating or humiliating behavior based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disability or in reprisal for an employee’s complaint about or opposition to discrimination or participation in any process or preceding designated to remedy discrimination. These activities are prohibited by Postal Service policy and may amount to harassment in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws. Violation of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. The Postal Service is committed to providing its employees a safe, productive and inclusive workplace and will tolerate nothing less! So, stand up! Don’t take any form of harassment from Management, that big mouth supervisor telling you that he/she can disrespect you, yell at you and nobody can do nothing about because her MPOO has her back, probably doesn’t know that her MPOO can’t override an arbitrator decision to remove her, but we will be happy to show him/her, all you need to do is get involved, write statements and don’t be afraid! Man or mouse? You decide. “There is no stability without solidarity and no solidarity without stability” 5
Branch 1111 News Carrier Spotlight
Interview with Alameda Carrier Virgil Valerio By Julie McCormack, Third Vice President
For this month’s article I wanted to do something a little different. Instead of writing about what management is doing wrong this month or something about the Contract, I thought why not interview one of our members. Our members come from so many backgrounds and are so diverse which should be recognized and celebrated. Virgil embodies every essence of being a Letter Carrier. Virgil has been with the Postal Service since the 1970s. His experience in life and within the Postal Service is fascinating and invaluable. So reader, I introduce to you, Alameda Letter Carrier Virgil Valerio. Julie – So why don’t you introduce yourself, who you are, what you do, and how long you have been carrying mail? Virgil – Well I am Virgil Valerio and I have been carrying mail, I signed up and got started with the Postal Service in 1971. But in 1975 I took about three years off, then I got back in carrying mail in 1978. As of this year, it would be the 50th anniversary of when I actually started. Julie – Wow fifty years with the Postal Service that is crazy. Virgil – See the thing is, when it comes to the job, a lot of people get started with physical type jobs and this job is no different than other physical type jobs that you do whether it be working on an assembly line, working in a factory, etc. It’s infringing on your freedom to have free time and I think that is why new workers tend to get upset. Anything that deviates from their day has to be because of the organization, but it’s not. Julie – So with initially starting in the 1970s with the Postal Service, and you allude to the infringement upon personal time, was it always like that? Do you remember a time where you were working 8-hour days consistently? Virgil – You know I come from a background where I was a farm worker in my teen years. I worked with farm workers. I remember being paid $.64 cents per hour and working ten hours in the hot sun with a lot of immigrants. My dad had served in WWII, wanted his sons to have a work ethic. So, because of the work I had done in my teens, it had translated to working at the Postal Service. I thought to myself, gee this is a piece of cake compared to what I was doing before for $.64 per hour. Julie – Sounds like working as a farm worker was a night and day difference to being a Letter Carrier. Virgil - That kind of background gave me a positive attitude about working for the Postal Service from the get-go. What people have to understand is you are trading your time for a paycheck. Postal workers can blame the Post Office for their annoyances and inconveniences, but it’s going to be the same at any company. Someone might be annoyed with these things until you get into the rhythm of work. There are a lot of positive things about being a Letter Carrier. But work maturity comes with time. 6
April 2021 Julie – Exactly. You get to be outside all day, you have a free gym membership from walking all day, etc. Virgil – Exactly, it is a workout. We don’t have to work harder outside of work to stay in shape. Julie – You stated earlier your dad wanted more for his sons, and you came into the Postal Service right after the infamous wildcat strike/reorganization. Do you remember the impact the strike had on you and your family when it happened? Virgil – Not really. That happened in 1970. During this time, I was actually attending UC Berkeley. I graduated in 1967. It was a turbulent time. We had the Vietnam protests going on, civil rights, all of that stuff was happening. I remember sitting next to Sather Gate at UC Berkeley and watching a long haired mailman drive by on Bancroft and he was smiling ear to ear. So I figured why not join the Postal Service in Berkeley until all this turmoil with the protests and things blows over. When I carried in Berkeley, I was told that Berkeley had more dogs per square mile than anywhere else in the United States. I think having this kind of background before joining the Postal Service conditioned me to be able to handle any kind of neighborhood or circumstance that may arose Julie –What happened in 1975 when you left the postal service? Virgil – I just simply resigned from the Postal Service and moved to the east coast. I was naïve at the time because I thought the east coast was going to be just like the west coast. When I was back east, I tried other jobs, working in factories, working construction, etc. During this time the minimum wage was $2.10 per hour and got into a factory and they were paying me $3.50 per hour. I asked for a raise, I wanted $6.00 per hour, the factory offered be $4.00 per hour. During the course of all of this I found out the Postal Service was hiring and paying $6.00 an hour to be a mailman which I had experience in. So in August of 1978 I got right back into the Postal Service delivering mail in Baltimore. Julie – How did the experience being a carrier in Baltimore differ from your experience carrying mail in the Bay Area? Virgil – It is a whole new culture on the east coast. The winters is what caused me to come back to the west coast. I have delivered in 4 feet worth of snow with a wind chill of 0 degrees. The weather was such that I was doing a collection at 4am in the morning driving the 1-ton and doing 360s in the one ton on slick ice. That big truck would just slide around on the ice. Julie – That is hilarious. I bet you thought to yourself, you know I much rather deliver mail with California weather. Virgil – Haha, yeah that is right. Julie - Can you describe some of the tools and ways delivering mail was different back in the day? Virgil – Yes. We used to use number one sacks. There were a lot of things we used back in the day that we don’t use today. We used to use leather straps to tie up and bundle our mail. We used to sort everything for each swing. We would have maybe 25 bundles in our jeeps to deliver. The number one sack was a very large heavy-duty sack that we used for the collection of mail. There were also number two sacks and number three sacks. The number two sack was smaller than the number one sack and the number three sack was half the size of the number two sack. Today we have trays and rubber bands, and we don’t
April 2021
Virgil Valerio and wife Pat enjoy a Hawaiian vacation
sort everything thanks to DPS. The cases have changed, we used to have a letter case and a flat case. Julie – Being a Letter Larrier, especially now, is one of the last well paying, blue collar jobs out there. You don’t need a college degree, you can come straight out of high school with no job experience and be hired as a carrier with good wages, health insurance, annual and sick leave, retirement, the ability to transfer anywhere in the US for the same wages, etc Virgil – I agree. I encourage everyone to sign up for their TSP because before you know if you’ll have a good chunk of change in there for your retirement. Julie – Do you have a family Virgil? Virgil – Yes. I have been married for 42 years, my sons are all in their mid to late 30s, my eldest son just turned 40. I have a grandson in college. Julie – You were able to support and care for your family on a letter carrier’s salary? Virgil – Yes. My wife is good with numbers and she decided to start working only after all the boys had gotten into high school. We raised our family, our kids went through college, and we were able to buy a home. All by being a Letter Carrier. Julie – I really wanted to highlight this point especially for the younger generation of postal employees because the Postal Service offers so much opportunity. You can have a family, you can buy a house, you can have retirement and excellent insurance, etc. The Bay Area is a little expensive, but many younger carriers are making it work. Virgil – Exactly. One of the greatest things is as soon as you are in with the Postal Service, you can transfer to anywhere in the country for the same wage and create even more of an opportunity for yourself. Julie – Have you always been a union member? 6
Branch 1111 News Virgil – Yes from day one. Julie – You know today, especially in schools, you are not taught a lot about labor unions and the importance of unions, so a lot of people don’t really understand what a union is or does. Why did you decide to join the union from day one? Virgil – Well going back to 1970 and the reorganization and the Postal Strike, because of the union, wages and benefits increased. There were just a lot of good things that happened because of the union. The nature of corporations is to save money and pay less. Amazon is going through that right now. Julie – You are exactly right. Labor unions care about the welfare of the employees. Our contract is over 50 years of bargaining with the Postal Service for better wages, hours and working conditions for Letter Carriers. Prior to the wildcat strike, letter carriers wages and benefits were so terrible the average carrier qualified for assistance. That is just crazy to think about. What motivates you to continue your career in the Postal Service even at nearly 50 years of service? Virgil – Well I am just thankful I am in good health. I have told other carriers; this is a paid workout. When you have a job that provides sunshine, vitamin d, and exercise, you can’t beat it. I didn’t always understand that when I first started. I am enthusiastic about fitness and I really appreciate this perk of being a letter carrier. Carriers who have years in start to realize this too, you have a job that keeps you physically fit. Julie – Exactly. You don’t have a supervisor observing you for the majority of your day, you are outside, you aren’t in a cubicle sitting in a chair, staring at screen all day long. You also get to see generations of families grow, that is special. Virgil – I have literally seen generations grow up. I have seen a young couple move into a neighborhood, they have babies, and those babies go through elementary, middle school, high school, and then become a secretary at a business I deliver to. I have literally watched this one young woman from being born, who is now a secretary at one of my business and who is started a family of her own. And that was 20 years ago! It is amazing. The parade of life is what I call it. Once you stay in a city, you watch the parade of life. For me, it’s been wonderful. Julie – My last question is, what are your top three words of advice for brand new carriers out there. Virgil – Number one is attitude. Think positive, have a can-do mentality, I can do this. Every day is a do-over, it’s like the movie Groundhog Day, -- haha. Number two, be nice to people, be nice to everyone. In the Postal Service, there is the word SERVICE. You are there to serve. When you are delivering a letter or package, or anything, just imagine it is coming from a dear relative of yours, you want to protect the sanctity of the mail. Treat delivering mail how you want it delivered to your house. Treat your customers like family. Number three, sense of urgency. Never forget someone is watching you. I would like to thank Alameda Carrier Virgil Valerio for taking time to tell his story and share his experience working with the Postal Service. I also want to thank Virgil for nearly 50 years of dedicated service and membership with the Union. The Postal Services reputation as one of the most trust government agencies is built because of Letter Carriers like Virgil.
Branch 1111 News
April 2021
Branch 1111 LCPF Top Donor List ($100 or more annually) Elizabeth Corriea Curtis Flores Colleen Karnthong Peggy Kaise John Ferreira Lynne Miller Narciso Paderanga IV Mary Phelps Susanlyn Coleman Rose Haymon Renee Frazier Patrick Gyamfi Jacob Morgan Petra Ortega Kulvinder Pannu Richard Maldonado William Yee Ezekiel Bradley III Dan Dorman Huu Luong Robert Lawson Cyril Butler Debra Butler Michael Chavez Paul Malone Joshua Pearl Stephen Robinson Nicole Saumalu Leslie Franz Oswald Jacob Ruben Ramirez Jeffery Valentine Ronald Jones Petra Ortega Marguerite Baria Francisco Cabrera Julie McCormick Jose Ochoa Edward Fletcher Scott Babcock Thaddeus Cabras Miguel Castellon Rickie Cox Gary Dell Lawrence Doyal Denise Grant Sylvia Serrano Jeffrey Shipp Jaspal Hundal Kiet Huynh 8
$910 $657 $637 $560 $430 $390 $360 $360 $300 $260 $260 $260 $260 $260 $260 $250 $250 $240 $240 $240 $240 $240 $240 $240 $240 $188 $182 $180 $180 $180 $180 $180 $170 $160 $150 $140 $140 $140 $140 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130
Wei Li Manuel Madrigal Santiago Manalili Scott Mason Keith Massey Bobbie Namoki Marian Namoki Jose Nunez Francis Rodriguez Sylvia Serrano Jeffrey Shipp Jonathan Tanner II Michael Aragon Jose Nunez Angela Pritchard Frances Rodriguez Patrina Armour Andrew O’Callaghan Gary Greiner Ray Garcia Raymond Adams Anne Blount Thelma Brown Jerry Depoe Theodus Heart Herschel Jones Jr. Richard Segraves Archie Threats Neil Zarchin Yolanda Duenas Marisela Fletcher Sandra St John Anthony Steeley Carolyn Hayes Lynnea Quinlin Antonio Ramirez Fred Slone Sullivan Smothers Marcos Gomez Teresita Nicolas Chris Calica Paul Petersen Brian Synmoie Rosemary Villegas Gurmail Saini
$130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $130 $125 $125 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $120 $115 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100
To donate contact LCPF Coordinator Julie McCormick at 925-483-1030 For more information about the LCPF go to: https://www.nalc.org/government-affais/political-activity
Branch 1111 News
April 2021
The 2021 Food Drive has been indefinitely postponed, but we Letter Carriers can still make a difference to those in need in our community. Encourage your fellow carriers to donate online or take up a collection. Branch 1111 voted to give $1000 to each of the local food banks, but more help is always needed!
To Donate: Alameda County https://donate.accfb.org/
Contra Costa/Solano County https://www.foodbankccs.org/give-help/donate.html 9
Branch 1111 News
April 2021
Danville retiree Daniel Johnson (center with cake) celebrates the end alongside his fellow carriers
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April 2021
Emergency Federal Employee Leave By Francisco Cabrera, Second Vice President
This month I write to you the members of Branch 1111 in order to shed light on Emergency Federal Employee Leave (EFEL) which is part of the American Rescue Plan. The American Rescue Plan (Act) provides employees with up to 600 hours of paid Emergency Federal Employee Leave (EFEL). This leave is available to employees beginning on March 12, 2021, and continuing through September 30, 2021—or until the funding established in the Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund for reimbursement is exhausted. The leave is available to eligible employees who are unable to work due to one of eight qualifying reasons below. 1. You are subject to a Federal, State, or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19. 2. You have been advised by a health care provider to selfquarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19. 3. You are caring for an individual who is subject to such an order as in (1) or has been so advised as in (2). 4. You are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis. 5. You are caring for your son or daughter if the school or place of care of your son or daughter has been closed, requires or makes optional a virtual learning instruction model, requires or makes optional a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning instruction models, or if the child care provider of your son or daughter is unavailable, due to COVID-19 precautions. 6. You are experiencing any other substantially similar condition. 7. You are caring for a family member with a mental or physical disability or who is 55 years of age or older and incapable of self-care, without regard to whether another individual other than the employee is available to care for such family member, if the place of care for such family member is closed or the direct care provider is unavailable due to COVID-19. 8. You are obtaining immunization (vaccination) related to COVID-19 or recovering from any injury, disability, illness, or condition related to such immunization. Employees seeking to use EFEL should submit a PS Form 3971 indicating for which of the eight qualifying reasons they must take leave, and employees must affirmatively state that they are unable to work because of the qualifying reason. Please be advised that at present it has been confirmed that pay from the above leave does not allow for deductions of Thrift Savings Plan, and you will not accumulate service credit while on Emergency Federal Employee Leave. Stay Safe my Friends!
Branch 1111 News
Manage your Expectations By Narciso Paderanga, IV, First Vice President
Time really does fly? I can’t imagine we have gone though one whole quarter this year and one year has passed since the start of this pandemic. I hope most of you have already gotten your vaccines in order to end this horrible pandemic. What may we expect from work are as follows: Route inspections – Management is required to maintain routes as close to eight hours as possible. Management has probably been rubbing its hands together in a slow pace expecting to eliminate as many routes as possible which is bad for the carrier craft. With that in mind, I encourage you not to take short cuts whenever delivering your routes. As an example, we shouldn’t be working off the clock. Also, we should not be casing in mail that is not supposed to be cased in. When we make our street time shorter, our routes will most likely be added on to. Also, when loading mail into your trucks, ensure that you are already on street time and not still on office time. Fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay. Increased open routes – with the new law into place, the American Rescue Plan / Emergency Federal Employee Leave Fund (EFEL), employees have submitted requests to be off based on one of the eight qualifying reasons. Please be mindful when requesting such leave. You must know that under the EFEL, you cannot contribute to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and you do not earn credible years of service. The Bay Valley District has also informed us that you will be considered on Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status which means for every cumulative 80 hours, you will lose your earned annual leave. With increased open routes, the carriers who are working are most likely required to cover such routes that are open. Disciplinary Actions – I have been informed that in some stations, management has questioned their employees about backing up their vehicles and in some stations disciplinary actions have been issued. Note that there is no prohibition in backing your vehicles, however, it is required that you avoid backing up whenever possible, that if you can, park where you will not have to back up to pull away from a parking place. Management has also been issuing disciplines for allegations of unauthorized overtime, and/or working in an unsafe manner. We should always work safely by wearing our seatbelts, closing our vehicle doors and not leaving our engines running while we are not inside. Also, we should not be working overtime without first obtaining authorization. When we request for additional overtime and Management instructs us to finish delivering we should only do the overtime as approved. If we need more time as previously requested, call your supervisor back and obtain authorization for the remainder of the time that you need. New Upper Management – the Postal Service is currently implementing a realignment of assignments in the District or Area level. The Pacific Area has decided to combine several Districts together. Do not be surprised if you are introduced to a new higher-level management official. I am expecting some of these officials will attempt to make changes or “bright ideas” that will cause the Service additional monetary remedies for the violations of the Contract or simply an inconvenience to the employees. They tend to “fix” things even though they are not broken. 11
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April 2021
Branch 1111 News
NALC Branch 1111 Balance Sheet As of March 31, 2021 ASSETS Current Assets Bank Accounts 100 - Petty Cash 213.96 126 PPCU-50 166,250.02 Mechanics Bank Accounts 253,142.21 PPCU-Acct 70 25,622.86 United Bank Accounts 196,911.38 Total Bank Accounts $642,140.43 Other Current Assets Total Current Other Assets $41,993.59 Total Current Assets $684,134.02 Fixed Assets 189 - Accumulated Depreciation -142,194.57 190 - 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 $ 404,014.56 TOTAL ASSETS $1,088,148.58
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April 2021 LIABILITIES & EQUITY Total Liabilities Net Revenue 3900 Unrestricted Net Assets Equity
17,544.55 -67,711.77 1,138,315.80 $1,070,604.03
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
$1,088,148.58
Martinez carrier Dan Imam hopping to it for Easter
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
Desire Davis Muhammad Gorsi William Bartlett Thomas Page Justin Pastores Destiney Lopez Joseph Walker Joshua Silverman Syed Nisar Ahmed Mele Noah Lokotui Sonearra Cross Nancy Maharaj Donal Singh Justin Lamb Damon Lewis Jr. Brian O’Farrell Paul Ramos Marvin Scott Qing Zhu Prabhjot Singh Christian Conde Kurt Kalafatis Rosa Gonzalez Ellen Labat Haiqing Liu William Murphy Nima Rai Henry Scott III Mayra Sosa London Franklin Derek Leung Jessica Shoupe Debra McCarthy John Cooper II
Alameda Antioch Berkeley Berkeley Berkeley Berkeley Berkeley Concord Danville Fremont Fremont Fremont Livermore Livermore Livermore Martinez Martinez Martinez Martinez Martinez Martinez Martinez Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Oakland Pittsburg Pittsburg
Adam Carnahan Kurt Heffron Oyuki Porras Cruz Vinh Tonthat
Richmond Richmond Union City Walnut Creek
Union City carrier Calvin Maxey punching out for the last time Best of luck to you in the days ahead
On April 27, the Branch will hold a virtual Informational Meeting. Call the Branch Office at 510-237-5111 if you’re interested in taking part. Meetings will now be counted as official.