February 2020 Newsletter

Greater East Bay Branch 1111 News Volume 40 Number 450

February 2020

2020 Brings New Stewards to Branch 1111

Clockwise from top left: Victor Beltran Jr. of Oakland and Roy Gignac of Alameda; Jonathan Orellana of Pittsburg; Elissa Chan of Fairfield; Dean Penton of Richmond; Krista Beals of Vallejo and Jerred Belser of Orinda; and Teresa Rodriguez of Livermore

Stewards’ Award Brunch Sunday, March 22

Branch 1111 News

February 2020

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

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

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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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, Julie McCormick, Mary Phelps, Terrence Super, Keith Massey, 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

February 2020

Branch 1111 News

Important 2020 Dates to Remember:

USPS Fairness Act Passes House On February 5, the House of Representatives passed the USPS Fairness act (H.R. 2382) in a 309-106 vote. This bipartisan bill seeks to end the onerous mandate for the postal service to prefund retiree health care decades in advance. A companion bill (S. 296) has been introduced in the Senate.

Fingers crossed everyone.

Stewards’ Brunch State Convention Food Drive Branch Picnic National Convention Retiree’s Night

March 22 April 30-May 2 May 9 June 28 August 17-21 August 25

Stewards’ Brunch The signup sheets for the upcoming brunch to be held March 22 at Golden Gate Fields should be posted at your station. See page 7 for more details

Massive Construction Projects

Concord carrier Rita Kaur clocking out for the last time after 30 plus years with the USPS

The above graph shows over 50,000 units that are in various stages of being proposed, built or approved just in the western portion of the East Bay alone. Please contact your FTO if your route has been negatively impacted. (graph courtesy of Red Oak Realty)

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU! The following carriers retired recently: Enrico Espiritu of Lafayette and Rene Clementin of Oakland. We wish many years of leisure to both!

MDA Winners $75 cash donated by Brookfield Uniforms/John Hammond and Beanie & Gloves both won by Manual Aviles

Kitchen set & Arm Strap won by Mary Phelps 50-50 drawing of $69 won by Ron Doyal

Fremont Mission Peak carriers saluting retiree Robert H. Paschal (front with plaque) for his 42 dedicated years of service to the USPS.

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Branch 1111 News

PRESIDENT’S VIEW

The Purpose

By Edward P. Fletcher, President

I believe since the beginning of time itself that every human being has wondered why he or she is here. Or, where are we going? Or, how did we get to a certain point or position in life? For us Letter Carriers, some of us may be asking how did we end up in the Postal Service? Or, what was I thinking or drinking when I decided to work for the United States Postal Service? Or, can management really be that obstinate, shallow minded or duplicitous in nature to name a few?

February 2020

Service and to strive at all times to promote the safety and the welfare of every member; in conjunction with the Postal Service, to strive for the constant improvement of the Service…”

Another way to look at it is, the union’s job is to hold management accountable by defending and enforcing our rights we have won through collective bargaining. Or if you prefer, to deal with unscrupulous and duplicitous managerial individuals. For those of us who are still wondering what “duplicitous” means, one of the definitions that I found stated, “Someone who is duplicitous is almost like two people saying one thing but then doing something very different, even contradictory.”

Doesn’t that sound too familiar in the USPS?

What is the Purpose?

The definition of purpose is, “the reason for which something is done or created for which something exists.”

In doing further research to this question, one of the answers was, “When you know your life’s purpose, it becomes easier to focus on what matters the most in your life. By keeping the focus on one particular goal, you are able to find your direction and stay away from the distractions.”

Why do We Need a Purpose?

With all of the craziness in the world, I think that it is important that we all remain positive and focus on the things that matter. And also not lose sight of the things that are important to us such as our families, good health, improving our livelihood and finding a cause or purpose that we fight for or makes us happy.

Another quote I found stated, “knowing your purpose in life helps you live life with integrity.

People who know their purpose in life know who they are, what they are, and why they are. And when you know yourself, it becomes easier to live a life that's true to your core values.” To each of us it is important to find your own purpose. Find what is worth fighting and living for.

What is the Union’s Purpose?

For the NALC, our purpose is defined under Article 1 Section 5 of the NALC Constitution, which states: “The objects of the Association shall be to: unite fraternally all letter carriers and other employees of the Postal Service for their mutual benefit; to obtain and secure our rights as employees of the United States Postal 4

ONWARD BRANCH MEMBERS….

Pioneers of our past, We lay this tribute at your feet: You fought on nor wavered not, Though oft halted by defeat.

Present officers and bothers, Let not their memories fade, Give at your level best, And forget not the cost they paid Leaders of the future, In great moments of decision, By remembrance of the past, May you have fuller vision.

Fight on Brothers! Ever fight on, And retain what we’ve won, Forward, onward! Ever advance!

To our place in the sun.

Clyde Smith

Clyde Smith was a letter carrier and the historian of NALC Oakland Branch 76. He wrote the above poem in 1937

Branch 1111 News

How Many of Us Really Know What is Going On? How Many of Us Really Care?

By Narciso Paderanga, IV, First Vice President

Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 On December 9, 2006, … Congress passed the farreaching Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, H.R. 6407. President Bush signed the act into law on December 20, 2006. The act divided postal products into market-dominant and competitive categories; created the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) out of the Postal Rate Commission and increased the PRC’s regulatory powers; … and replaced escrow requirements to fund retiree health benefits. https://about.usps.com/publications/pub100/pub100_061.htm (Emphasis added)

Title VIII: Postal Service Retirement and Health Benefits Funding (Sec. 803) Transfers responsibility for paying the government's contribution of the health benefits of postal annuitants, effective in FY2017, from the Postal Service to the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund (established by this section) up to the amount contained in the Fund, with any remaining amount to be paid by the United States Postal Service.

Establishes in the Treasury the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, to be administered by OPM. Requires the Postal Service, beginning in 2007, to compute the net present value of the future payments required and attributable to the service of Postal Service employees during the most recently ended fiscal year, along with a schedule if annual installments which provides for the liquidation of any liability or surplus by 2056. Directs the Postal Service, for each year, to pay into the above Fund such net present value and the annual installment due under the amortization schedule. Makes OPM actuarial computations subject to PRC review. (Emphasis added) https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/housebill/6407

February 2020 In April of 2019, NALC President Frederick Rolando testified in a hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform; “A simple repeal of the prefunding mandate remains the most obvious solution to the postal financial crisis,” said President Rolando. “If enacted, we would still have 12-13 years of funds set aside for retiree health premiums – a total of $47.5 billion.”

As I started writing this article, the NALC at the national level reported the following: “Today, the House of Representatives passed the USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) in a 309 to 106 vote. As letter carriers know, this bipartisan bill seeks to end the mandate for the Postal Service to prefund retiree health care decades in advance. Passage of H.R. 2382 is a tremendous achievement for letter carriers and the broader postal community. This is the first major piece of legislation tackling postal issues that has passed the House of Representatives since the 2006 passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which forced the disastrous prefunding mandate onto our employer.”

“Letter carriers should be proud of their hard work to educate members of Congress and gain their support on this very important issue,” said NALC President Fred Rolando.

“House passage is a major victory in the battle to end this disastrous mandate, but our work is not done. We must now turn our attention to the Senate.”

We now urge each and every NALC member, postal employees, your families and friends to take action, to contact and educate your Senators and staff on the dire need to repeal the Act which placed the USPS in a “fabricated crisis”. It will be up to the Senate to take action on S 2965, which is a bipartisan companion bill.

Winning this battle would be very beneficial for all NALC members as well as all USPS employees. In my opinion, ending the prefunding mandate may allow the USPS to bargain better, allowing for better benefits and higher wages at the bargaining table.

Now that you know, should you really care? This is your livelihood, you should show support and that you really care!

Contact your Full-time Officer or Branch 1111 for more information.

JOIN US! GET INVOLVED!

In short, this “Act” has been the reason you are hearing that USPS is losing money (in the billions) year after year. This “Act” mandates the USPS to put money into a fund where no other federal agency is required to make. That’s right! No other federal agency is mandated to prefund Retiree Health Benefits for future employees decades into the future.

However, your union has been fighting in Capitol Hill for years in order to end this ridiculous mandate.

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El Cerrito carriers celebrating the holidays together

February 2020

Double standard, different rules for management?

By Jose Ochoa, Executive Vice President

Some time ago several carriers got fired for clocking in/out fellow carriers. Even if it was just one incident, the postal service argued they had violated the code of conduct and so many other rules and regulations that they could no longer be trusted.

What happens when a member of management gets caught doing the same thing? Clocking-in/fixing the time for a subordinate running late while getting coffee for the supervisor. Sometimes even the more serious offense of deleting or fixing a carrier’s time to meet their manager’s unrealistic goals.

The higher managers responsible for protecting the agency, decide that they see no evil, hear no evil and continue to keep and promote these kind of individuals.

Their choice of remedy is often more training or perhaps specialized training in how not to get caught the next time.

A few days later the same supervisor disciplines another carrier for being late. The poor guy did not have a supervisor willing to “fix” his time, maybe if he had stop and gotten coffee for the supervisor there would be no discipline?

That kind of double standard is what demoralizes and takes away the employees’ trust and respect for the agency.

We will never give up, holding these individuals to the same standards, same rules and regulations.

No voting is not a statement It is rendering yourself invisible.

It is silencing your own voice It is allowing your future to be determine by other people.

Always remember that bad officials are elected by good people who fail to vote.

Branch 1111 News

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

By Berkeley Shop Steward Liz Corriea

Say goodbye to last year, and welcome the New Year, here’s hoping all of you and your families a safe, healthy prosperous year. Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? I didn’t bother, because mine consistently repeats itself, “oh well” someday I will get it right. Nevertheless cheers! To those carriers who did make a New Year’s resolutions.

OVERWORKED I can’t speak for other postal offices, I can only share what has been happening in Berkeley. Perhaps other post offices have been experiencing similar situations, i.e.; overworked, not enough employees to finish deliveries, carriers having to carry two full routes. What do you think will happen when your body is totally exhausted? More than likely carriers are going to call in sick, and can you blame them? Does management think that carriers are invincible and can work long hours day after day without any breaks?

It amazes me how many carriers are willing and able to work those long hours, hopefully they are on the ODL (Overtime Desired List). But usually in our office they are not.

There is constant work that needs to be finished by more hired employees. Will that ever happen? – well, that remains to be seen. If our office continues to be mismanaged by management, then this could be an endless cycle.

Now I am hearing some carriers are being disciplined for calling in sick. What is even more troubling is that some management attendance records might not be as good as the carriers they are disciplining. Management is not dealing with the elements of the outdoors that letter carriers face every day.

You might wonder who is watching management.

If you’re overworked, be aware as not to endanger yourselves or others. Take care of your physical self, and also take care of your mental state. In the event you need additional help you can contact E.A.P. (Employee Assistance Program) at 1-800-EAP-4-YOU. E.A.P. (Employee Assistance Program) operates 24/7 hours. It’s an agency that is outsourced from the Postal Service, it is private, and confidential and helps postal employees and their families in many different areas; such as alcoholism, physical abuse, drugs, etc.… just “Make the Call” is all you have to do. Sometimes our personal issues are more complex and may feel at times beyond hope, -- just “Make the Call” it’s there for you.

Knowledge is Power

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February 2020

Branch 1111 News

NALC Branch 1111 35th Annual Shop Steward’s Brunch Sunday, March 22nd 2020 DEADLINE: Friday, March 06, 2020!

All Branch 1111 members, families and guests welcome!

Honor your Shop Steward: Invite carriers in your office to join us in recognizing and supporting all of our Shop Stewards.

Location: Golden Gate Fields @ the Turf Club from 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM. Stewards, Chief Stewards, Step B Reps & a guest – are FREE! Cost: Adults are $22 each and Children (4-10) are $12 each.

Seating will be first come first serve- no saving of seats.

Menu: Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes and Parmesan, Belgian Waffles with Raspberry Sauce and Whipped Cream. Crisp Bacon and Sausage Links, Turf Club Potatoes. Northern Pacific Cod Vera Cruz, Golden Gate Fields “Famous” Crispy Fried Chicken, Penne Pasta Marinara with Italian Sausage. Carved Prime Rib, Roasted Breast of Turkey and Honey Roasted Dearborn Ham. Mixed Baby Greens, Caesar Salad and Belmont Potato Salad. Fresh Fruit, Firecracker Cole Slaw. Assorted Seasonal Pies, Cakes, Lemon Bars and Brownies.

Guest Speakers from National, NBA & State: from 11:30-12:30 PM! Raffle: For all regular Shop Stewards - Great Prizes!

Reservations and payments must be made in advance through a Steward and/or Full Time Officer, or directly through our office!

Pre-paid List: No Tickets will be sold at the event.

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Branch 1111 News

YEARS AGO AND NOT SO FAR AWAY…..

By Julie McCormick, Third Vice President

In last month’s article, we left off with the creation of the National Association of Letter Carriers on August 29, 1889.

As you can imagine the Postal Service was in shock when it found out letter carriers had organized themselves into a union. With this sense of shock came retaliation by the Postal Service, forcing union members to work eight hours on and off over a 24-hour period, giving union members the least desirable routes, and even attempted to infiltrate local NALC branches.

But even letter carriers themselves were wary about a “national association” and this idea did not take with carriers in the beginning. This resulted in clashes by the NALC and local associations who were lobbying Congress, both with different agendas, which left the members of Congress confused on what the goals of letter carriers were. This resulted in Congress deciding not to listen or act upon either group’s goals. It was apparent unity was needed across the board amongst letter carriers and the NALC. This was accomplished at a conference held in New York on July 4, 1890 between the newly established NALC and delegates from cities not associated with the NALC. The resolution of this convention united letter carriers into one organization under this common goal, “That every delegate at the Conference pledge himself to use his best efforts to further the interests of the National Association, and to induce their respective cities to promptly become Branch associations.

With the NALC united and ready to head into war for its members, its first battle was over the 1888 passing of the eighthour a day law for carriers.

The Postal Service decided to put its own interpretation of this eight-hour a day law to mean eight hours a day for seven days a week. For an example, if you had a total of 55 hours by Saturday, you would still owe the Postal Service an hour of work on Sunday.

The NALC sued the federal government over this absurd and unethical interpretation of the eight-hour a day law. This case went all the way up to the Supreme Court which ruled in

February 2020 the NALCs favor in 1893, awarding letter carriers 3.5 million dollars for all the overtime claims against the Post Office Department. This major win for the NALC helped turn members who were on the fence about joining, into union members. They saw the NALC was fearless and successful in its advocacy on behalf of the welfare of its members.

The Abusive “Spotter System” As usual, the Post Office attempted to find more ways to bully and harass letter carriers through the “spotter system.”

This is similar to the spoils system in my last article but with a more malicious intent. The Postal Service would hire carriers, rewarding them for their political loyalty to President Grover Cleveland. They were then given directives to spy on fellow letter carriers and report any and all violations of work rules which gave the postmaster of the installation the power to fire them and hire another carrier who supported the political party and interests at the time. Crazy right?

To put this into perspective, the “spotter system” resulted in one third of the letter carrier force in Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia having charges brought against them. The NALC was eventually able to raise awareness of the abuses of the spotter system through the press and numerous written protests. The spotter system was finally put to an end in 1896.

By the beginning of the 1900s, there had been no real wage increases for letter carriers in thirteen years. As you can imagine at the time, the working conditions were unimaginable. Substitute carriers, who were paid just one dollar contingency fee per year, were required to report to their employing office every morning and in the afternoon to see if they were needed. They would only be paid if they were used that day. The NALC angry about these conditions went to work to solve these problems. However, many members of Congress were vehemently against the very existence of the NALC, believing the formation of the letter carriers union was a threat to American democracy. As a result of this apparent threat the federal government felt, it started issuing executive actions with the intent of disbanding the NALC. Infamous “Gag Order” Due to the increasing political and legislative activity of the NALC and other postal service unions, President Teddy Roosevelt issued his infamous “gag orders” in 1902 which prohibited all postal and federal employees, “directly or indirectly, individually or through associations” to solicit members of Congress for wage increases or try to influence the passage of any other legislation.

Sounds like a violation of letter carriers constitutional right? Well it was.

Four years later, President T. Roosevelt issued another executive order which allowed government department heads to terminate employees without notice or reasons in writing.

Additionally, this executive order prevented carriers from discussing their working conditions in public.

Three years later, in 1909, President William Taft banned letter carriers from answering congressional requests for information about their wages, hours, and working conditions unless authorized by department heads. Ultimately, the NALC found its way around the gag-order and was 8

Branch 1111 News

February 2020 that, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the United States entered into World War II. Over 15,000 letter carriers joined the armed services to fight for their country and everyone else continued to carry mail which was crucial during this time of war. However, since the wages for replacement carriers were so low, it was hard to keep substitute employees, so carriers absorbed their fellow carriers’ duties. Although the conditions were rough and the whole nation was standing behind the war efforts, letter carriers remained resilient in their duties, even participating in extra wartime tasks such as delivering over 120,000,000 ration books.

Attempting a new postal delivery system: Atlanta, 1919

eventually able to support legislation to overturn this rule in 1912 through the Lloyd-LaFollette Act. But like usual, this was not the end to the Postal Service’s antics. In the 1920s there emerged a concept called “Taylorism” or also known as “scientific management.” The whole objective of this theory was to improve economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. What did this mean for the Postal Service and its letter carriers?

Well, management started to experiment with Taylorism, singling out the youngest and most physically fit mail carriers and use them as a basis for an “average” carrier which would eventually become a standard held to all carriers. This had negative effects amongst letter carriers which resulted in adverse action, physical and mental harm and even reduction in wages for not meeting this unrealistic standard.

In 1929, at the start of the Great Depression, letter carriers still had job security and their wages were enviable at that time. Towards the end of President Herbert Hoover’s term, the federal government launched a direct attack at federal employees, including letter carriers in the passing of Hoover’s Economy Act of 1932. The passing of this law authorized the first wage reductions in the history of the federal service, resulting in an 8 and 1/3 percent reduction in wages for letter carriers.

This situation was not alleviated with the election of Franklin Roosevelt as president in late 1932, it was actually aggravated. President Roosevelt replaced Hoover’s reductions in pay to a straight 15% salary cut along with a nine-day furlough which reduced letter carrier wages to their 1916 levels.

These salary cuts only lasted three years when the NALC and other postal/federal organizations were victorious in restoring the wages of all government employees.

In 1941 letter carriers had gone sixteen years without a pay raise. The economy was turning around, cost of living was increasing, and laborers in shipyards and the defense industry were making nearly triple the wages letter carriers were. This issue was brought up at the 1941 NALC convention and NALC President William Doherty planned on initiating a major salary increase campaign. However, before he could do 9

Oakland Branch 76 Marching Band at 1937 Kansas City NALC Convention as carriers had secure and enviable jobs during the Great Depression

There was a problem though, it was 1941 and these hardworking carriers were being paid 1925 wages, making it difficult to provide for their families.

I hope you all reading this have hung in there this far.

Next month’s article will be the culmination of this series about the history leading to the Great Postal Strike of 1970.

As you can see, from the very inception of the Postal Service, the struggle for tolerable wages, hours and working conditions for letter carriers has been a never-ending battle. As soon as one issued was resolved, something else happened.

All of these conflicts and issues will eventually come to a head for carriers across the nation in 1970.

Headline Richmond Independent: March 24, 1970

Branch 1111 News

Being Patient with the Dispute Resolution Process/ Grievance Procedure (Part 2) By: Terrence Lee Super, Fourth Vice President

I hope I didn’t bore you with part one of this two-part article because last issue I left off with how long it can take for a case to be adjudicated by the Dispute Resolution Process (DRP). I also wanted to add that it could take close to a year for a case to be heard in front of an Arbitrator if the Step B Team declares an Impasse. Meaning that both the Union Step B Representative and Management Step B Representative can’t come to a resolve at that level, which can happen at times. When it does, they declare an Impasse and the National Business Agent’s office takes over after that. It is a Business Agent’s job to appeal to Arbitration or Interpretive Step which in turn means that the case can be taken all the way to Arbitration or given another try to be resolved one last time prior to Arbitration.

I know this may sound boring to you, but this is the system we use to get things done at the local and national level and it’s important to know these things because it involves all of our precious carriers. A lot of you have no clue what happens behind the scenes, and that’s ok, but I feel dutybound to educate our carriers on this process. Even though this process can, at times be annoying, we have gotten some REALLY good decisions at the Local level via the Step B Team. We also have good arbitration and national decisions in our favor! The process may be long at times, but it does work!

We at Branch 1111 may not agree with some of the decisions or feel at times we should have gotten more from the decisions. We do believe in the process and we encourage our beloved members to believe in it as well. Because at the end of the day, DRP may not be perfect but then again what is? Our court system can at times take a lot longer than the grievance procedure, so I for one will take that ANY day!

We encourage our members to again please be patient with the process. Like I mentioned in part one of this article, management has the tendency to drag these grievances out, but we have other grievances we can file to counter that as well. Also, officers of Branch 1111 don’t just sit behind a desk. We try and show ourselves in the 42 different post offices in our territory so that management knows that we are keeping an eye of them. At times, because of us showing ourselves as much as possible, we can get issues resolved without even having to use the grievance procedure. We can get that Uniform Allowance they claim to have forgotten to give you, or get you paid for hours missing on your check. We can argue for you against the lack of dignity and respect in the workplace, and many other issues that we can immediately resolve without using the grievance procedure. We have been 10

February 2020 very successful at that as well in resolving issues BEFORE they become grievances.

So please continue to be patient and remember the Union has your back no matter what! No carrier should be afraid of management, no matter what they try and tell you.

Know your rights! We have the Dispute Resolution Process (DRP) to get things done, and when management tries to bully you, intimidate you or threaten you, we have a plethora of things we can do to get management to cease and desist! Just always be calm and let us deal with management for you. Let’s work together in removing these bad apples from their managerial positions with official statements of facts and also get rid of the ones that have no business supervising or running a post office.

Vallejo’s Norbert Moreno is congratulated by FTOs Francisco Cabrera and Terrence Super on his retirement, and is presented with his last “grievance” as a surprise

February 2020

Branch 1111 News

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Branch 1111 News

February 2020

Whack- a-Mole

By Francisco Cabrera Second Vice President

No, not GUACAMOLE Whack a what? A Mole.

What is that? It is what proactive letter carriers and their stewards do through the grievance procedure.

We file a grievance on Article 8, Article 41 and management pays money and agrees to comply. Shortly thereafter Article 10 violations pop up. Or Article 19 when they fail to pay you COP or forward your CA-1 or Article … and we hold them accountable for that; it never ends...Whack a Mole.

They must like it because they are paying you to play...So until the MPOO’s and District Managers hold their subordinate supervisors accountable, we as letter carriers will continue following orders, and have our stewards file grievances for our profit and benefit.

Just today, the date of this writing an Arbitrator “Whacked a” Management “Mole” She sustained the grievance within 45 minutes of the hearing and said to management: “Well we can do this one of two ways but the result is still going to be the same.”

That is the Union's grievance would be sustained and injustices rectified.

Now about Guacamole... Most people love it. But here at the branch we say that when management pulls something out of their… it is guacamole. When they make something up to hide their ineptitude, we call it the “Guacamole Act of 1810” So, when management gives us “guacamole”, not so much to like.

What do I mean by that? An example of the “Guacamole Act of 1810” would be “you must grab a bundle of mail for each stop when you are delivering, dismount in and out, and bring back what doesn’t belong to that address back to the LLV then do the same thing at the next delivery...” Wait Mr. Supervisor you want me to double or triple handle mail?

Or how about: “You can’t call in sick on Sundays or after a holiday.”

Or how about when you opt or bid on a T6 assigned and they don’t pay you at the right rate, or at all!

Or how about when your supervisor calls you on your personal cell phone and you answer (go figure that one out) to tell you, you are “slow and full of S#%t.” Yup, so when management gives you guacamole, call on your steward/Branch Officer and whack a mole!

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February 2020

Branch 1111 News

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Branch 1111 News

February 2020

With more than 70 patients from the Letter Carrier Association, Dr. Cabayan has been putting his patients first for over 30 years. Well versed in the rules of the Department of Labor, Dr. Cabayan is able to offer his patients services which include surgeries, braces, medication and medical creams. We hope Cabayan Orthopedics is the practice you will trust to help you heal.

“I highly recommend Dr. Cabayan. He listens to you and will ultimately do whatever it takes to try to heal you. He will actively seek the best option for the patient. I trust him implicitly and have advised my family to see his medical practice.”

-Tony Crancer

“Dr. Cabayan treats patients in a warm, sincere manner, and he always makes sure you know why a treatment needs to be done and what options you have. I have sent many people to him, and I highly recommend him.”

-Marie Rayner

Please visit our website for more patient testimonials.

CABAYANORTHOPEDICS.COM (510) 724-4586 Richmond Office: 2970 Hilltop Mall Road, Suite 200 Richmond, California 94806

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Pittsburg Office: 2260 Gladstone Drive, Suite 7 Pittsburg, California 94565

Branch 1111 News

February 2020

NALC Branch 1111 Balance Sheet As of January 31, 2019 ASSETS Current Assets Bank Accounts 100 - Petty Cash 126 PPCU-50 Mechanics Bank Accounts PPCU-Acct 70 United Bank Accounts Total Bank Accounts

128.30 87,576.52 98,866.44 25,610.02 237,267.94 $449,469.22

Other Current Assets Total Current Other Assets $893,228.53 Total Current Assets $1,342,697.75 Fixed Assets 189 - Accumulated Depreciation -112,256.57 190 - 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 $- 414,852.00 TOTAL ASSETS $927,845.75

15

LIABILITIES & EQUITY Total Liabilities Net Revenue 3900 Unrestricted Net Assets Equity

11,749.95 -75,051.58 944,258.86 $916,095.80

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

$927,845.75

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Next Branch Meeting February 25th 7:00 pm