June 2020 Newsletter

Greater East Bay Branch 1111 News Volume 40 Number 454

June 2020

Service Above and Beyond

Branch 1111 Letter Carriers organized and spearheaded raising much needed funds by donating their own money to make up for the cancelled nationwide NALC Food Drive. President Ed Fletcher presents a check of $8,770 from Oakland postal employees to Katherine Avila, Food and Fund Drive Coordinator for Alameda County. As of this date over $20,000 has been collected for both Alameda and Contra Costa-Solano County Food Banks in the ongoing drive. For individual station totals-see page 4.

Branch 1111 News

June 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

June 2020

Branch 1111 News

Online Branch Meetings The Branch is looking into hosting its monthly meetings on Web Ex by July or August at the latest. We’ll keep you updated on any official developments or progress.

Pandemic forces cancellation of the NALC National Convention The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the cancellation of the NALC’s 72nd National Convention. At the direction of the NALC Executive Council, Headquarters has notified the convention center, convention hotels and various convention vendors of its decision to cancel the convention, which was to be held Aug. 17-21 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Council made the unprecedented decision after it became clear that the state government of Hawaii could not provide any assurance that gatherings with the number of delegates attending would be allowed in August. Nor could it be assured that travel to Honolulu would be permitted under the state’s strict quarantine law, which currently requires all travelers to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival in the islands. President Rolando thanked the leadership of Honolulu Branch 860 for all their hard work in preparing for the convention and expressed the NALC’s hope that it would be possible to convene in Hawaii in the future.

Piedmont carrier Yin Li receiving her retirement plaque and check from Branch President Ed Fletcher. We wish you all the best going forward

USPS begins testing different types and styles of face coverings The Postal Service has begun testing the use of various types of materials and styles to be used as face coverings during the hotter months. The testing is being conducted in Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, FL; Dallas, TX; and Greenwood, SC. The styles of coverings being tested include various bandannatype masks, neck gaiters and even cooling masks. While NALC does not yet have the final data from these tests, initial results indicate that letter carriers liked three of the five styles tested, two of which were the neck gaiter style, and the other being a bandanna style. The Postal Service will be ordering the selected styles in the near future.

Branch Scholarship winner Maha Ghafoo, recent graduate of Pinole Valley High. daughter of El Cerrito carrier Abdul Ghafoor. She plans to attend Contra Costa College in the fall

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU! The following carriers retired recently: Carl Ching of Antioch, Rafael Portillo of Benicia, Jonny Duenas of Berkeley, Duc Tran of Fremont, Laura Foster of Livermore, Sergio Daveris of Moraga, Leopold Quintana and Richard Davis of Oakland, Gilberto Tolentino of San Ramon, Michael Crippen of Pleasant Hill, and Sukhjinder Deol of Vallejo. We wish many years of leisure to all!

Corrections The newspaper apologizes to Sulaiman Zahid for incorrectly misspelling his name in last month’s issue. Also Michael Shultz’ name was misspelled in the new members list on page 16 two months ago.

Secretary-Treasurer John Ferreira thumbs up for Branch 1111

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June 2020

Branch 1111 News

Letter Carriers Face Triple Threat

By Edward P. Fletcher, President

It has been three months since we have been under the porous umbrella of the Coronavirus and some form of “stay-at-home” orders and meeting restrictions. Although we were granted dispensation for meetings by President Fred Rolando, we have been successfully conducting our Executive Council meetings by Zoom.

Given that there is no apparent end in sight and no vaccine for COVID-19, it is time that we now also conduct our Branch meetings the same way. Thus, we are looking into paying for the services of Web Ex or Zoom.

It is my hope that we will be able start the interactive conferencing by the July 28, 2020 Branch meeting. We will post that information on the Branch1111.org website, Facebook Page and Branch Newsletter.

Protests and Civil Unrest With the death of George Floyd at the hands of rogue Police Officers on May 25, 2020, the United States and the Bay Area witnessed unprecedented protests and civil unrest. While delivering in areas of civil unrest, you have the absolute right to immediately leave that area to abate any unsafe conditions. Curtail the mail and call your supervisor.

The mail can be redelivered, and or replaced. Your life can not be replaced. It is a real shame that we are still fighting against racism in 2020.

We are all Americans. We are diverse. We are Strong. And, we all need to stand together to fight all forms of racism, promote peace

The Season of the Coronavirus As we stated in the safety standups that Branch 1111 has done on COVID-19, we all need to continue to be “safety vigilant.” Continue to practice social distancing and wearing your masks. There is no guarantee that the virus will “magically disappear” during the summer and or not be resurgent in the fall. After months of working without any known letter carriers in Branch 1111 testing positive with COVID-19, that changed on June 5, 2020 in the Fairfield Post Office . When this happens, management must act immediately to protect the safety and health of all employees. The union is conducting an investigation to ensure that all safety protocols were timely followed.

Management is required to work closely with the public health department to identify close contacts, follow the CDC guidelines for cleaning the facilities, notify the union and conduct standup talks. Any employee who was exposed to 4

COVID-19 at work and or off the clock should immediately seek medical advice, request to be tested and notify local management.

California Fire and Heat Illness Season Well, if all of the above was not enough to deal with for us letter carriers, we are now in the California wildfire and heat illness season. Please drink plenty of water throughout the day, wear a hat and watch out for the signs of heat illness: fatigue, dizziness, headache, disoriented, weakness excessive sweating, cold and a change in physical and mental performance. If you are experiencing mild symptoms you must abate the heat and move to a cool, shaded place with circulating air. If you or someone you know is experiencing severe symptoms: high fever, not sweating, rapid breathing, face flush red and the skin dry and hot, these are signs of severe heat illness and emergency medical attention is needed. In the event that you are working in an area that is being inundated with smoke from a nearby (in some cases far away) fire, management should supply us with the N-95 masks. It is a necessary and required item used to block out the smoke particles.

June 2020

Does USPS Management Really Care About You? Is Safety Really a Core Value?

By Jose Ochoa, Executive Vice President

In talking to more than a dozen UPS (United Parcel Service) drivers, the following was revealed: every day they are given a face mask, gloves, and hand sanitizers. Upon return from the routes a team moves in to clean and sanitize their trucks. Does this sound like the same concern for your safety at your office?

Lately, a letter carrier tested positive for Covid-19, management assured us a “team” had gone in and sanitized the installation. When we arrived to the office the custodian happen to be around and told us he was the “one man team” and that he did not sanitize the cases, not even the floors were clean. He wasn’t even told why he was cleaning up!

We immediately gave a stand up and made everyone aware to go to their doctors and said that they may had been exposed to another carrier who tested positive, get tested and ask for medical advice and/or if you should be quarantined.

Also carriers were reminded of the new rights under the Family’s First Act. Sadly, a couple of days after the stand up, another carrier tested positive. I wonder how many more carriers have to test positive before management decides to fully sanitize and close the building for 24 hours. Safety is a core value! We have engaged the help from OSHA and are awaiting the results of their investigation.

To make matters worse, management can’t properly process the leave for the few carriers who have taken leave per the Family Leave Act. In my area 8 of 10 need further adjustment either because of management ineptitude to do it

Branch 1111 News

correctly or just because they don’t care. Consequently carriers and families are left to suffer economic harm.

I am willing to bet that if it was those individuals pay as the issue, they would know exactly how to do it right, who to ask, and to follow up to insure they get paid because they have bills to pay, or a mortgage or rent and a family to feed – unlike you, right? Some managers and 204Bs are just vindictive “Inglorious Bastards.”

Shamefully, in many offices, management used the pretext of Covid-19 to change the starting times. Even after we showed them the e-mail from the MPOO with instructions to only change starting times due to mail volume. The time change had nothing to do with Covid-19!

On the other hand, there is also a memorandum to all area vice presidents subject: Air conditioning unit inspections.

The memo commences “when summer weather and hot temperatures is on the horizon, it is critical to ensure that air conditioning systems are properly maintained to prevent failure when they are needed most. Preventive maintenance is important and is the best way to ensure trouble–free operation and peak performance. Here are some steps management should take to ensure employees and customers comfort throughout the summer season” The list goes on about all steps and maintenance needed to avoid air-conditioner failures! And it ends with “Remember: safety is a core value”.

Here we go again, The Concord Post Office, one of the largest offices in our Branch has been without air condition for approximately 2 weeks why? Because nobody care! I am sure more offices will follow with air conditioners break downs Some offices claim to have a “hydration” station for one day or two, then the postmaster will say something stupid like “I don’t have to provide water” So we have to ask again; is safety really a core value?

James Henry,(center) Regional Administrative Assistant from NALC District One Business Agents Office visits as Branch 1111 FTOs are on hand to greet him; Everyone wearing their masks! pictured (left to right) Narciso Paderanga, Jose Ochoa, Julie McCormick and Ed Fletcher

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Branch 1111 News

June 2020

IT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE

earlier time. Also by having carriers conduct parcel runs in the morning rather than delivering all of the mail later in the day due to the change in the starting time. But NO! All they care about is the numbers!

What management may not realize is that carriers may take longer to complete delivery of the mail when it’s scorching hot and may take as many comfort stops as needed to avoid suffering heat exhaustion.

In solidarity!

By Narciso Paderanga, IV, First Vice President

As of the day I wrote this article, the confirmed number of people across the country who tested positive for Covid-19 has reached approximately two million with over six hundred thousand who have recovered and over one hundred thousand who have died. With the state and the country beginning to open up businesses and the economy as a whole, no one knows the effects or what the “re-opening” would result into. We can only hope for the best.

You should continue to practice social distancing, wear protective equipment whenever necessary, wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizers and avoid touching your face.

I understand all this would be difficult to do considering you are on the street during the majority of the day, especially with the upcoming summer months and a very hot weather to deal with.

Managers at numerous different installations have made some changes in scheduling, which we are challenging through the grievance procedure. Although the Service has the right to change the schedule permanently, it must do so in accordance with all relevant Contract provisions. We will make every effort to challenge the Service’s arbitrary and unilateral action and to show that it did not comply accordingly. Management claims its actions are to save the Postal Service money. But historically, the majority of the time its decisions ultimately violated the Contract and ended up costing the Service additional compensation or make whole remedies due to its inappropriate actions. Who put these so called “experts” or “decision makers” in charge or in their positions?

Wouldn’t it be more sensible to start carriers at an earlier time during the hot summer months to avoid longer exposure to heat and possible heat illness? Of course, but the USPS and the personnel in charge do not care or just don’t have the capacity to understand.

Take your 10 minute breaks and your lunch as you are entitled to do. In addition, you are entitled to reasonable comfort stops to prevent heat exhaustion. Protect yourself at all times. If any management official prohibits you from taking necessary comfort stops when you are in the performance of your duties, inform your Shop Steward immediately and let your Branch Officer know. In the event you suffer from heat exhaustion, report it immediately and seek medical attention promptly.

This first half of the year has been very challenging for everyone so far, the pandemic, the protests for equality and senseless police brutality and killing of people of color, the riots, the fires, etc, ect. You would think management would do its part in protecting its employees from possible harmful situations such as heat exhaustion by starting carriers at an 6

Lafayette Letter Carrier and Food Drive Coordinator Scott Babcock obtained a donation from his church "Unity of Walnut Creek" in the amount of $1000 to the Contra Costa-Solano County Food Bank.

Branch 1111 Online www.Branch1111.org

www.facebook.com/ nalcbranch1111

June 2020

Branch 1111 News

When Doesn't Time Equal Money?

When Time Equals Life

By Francisco Cabrera, Second Vice President

So another month has come and gone. How are you my fine brother and sister Union letter carriers doing?

I hope this edition of Branch 1111 News finds you well, in health and in happiness.

Does 1 equal 2 equal 3 or equal 4? I hope one will only equal two; as you'll see why.

In the Fairfield Post Office last week, there was a confirmed positive test for Covid-19. Did local, District or any USPS management entity (your employer) follow the guidelines of the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and close the facility. At least the areas where the employee physically went in the days prior to his positive test, and sanitize appropriately once they found out about the positive test result?

You know the answer to that. Instead, we had a standup from the District Manager and his crew. Do you want to hear what he said?

He said the best thing we can do at this time is to be at work because most people contract Covid-19 during hours at home.

I'm not a scientist or a doctor. But I ask you? Have you been told or heard from the experts that the risk of contracting Covid-19 is higher in the evenings or at home?

I share this with you brothers and sisters to shed light on this serious matter. It is a life or death matter.

We have filed an OSHA complaint and a grievance for the negligence in sanitation and failure to adhere to CDC guidelines in the Fairfield Post Office. Guess what happened a few days later? A second employee tested positive for Covid-19 in the Fairfield Post Office.

I truly hope this is the last positive we are going to hear about anywhere. Unfortunately, with the current care and observance of protocol from upper management in our District, it appears this conclusion goes against the odds.

So what should you do? I encourage everybody, whether a postal employee or not, and in accordance with the CDC guidelines to go get tested.

Inform your healthcare provider that you are an essential worker. If you’re from Fairfield, let them know that you have been exposed to at least 2 people who tested positive for Covid-19.

If you don't feel safe at work, what are your rights?

You are entitled to 80 hours of emergency sick leave. That is paid leave not out of your own Sick or Annual Leave.

And if you contract Covid-19 at the workplace, file a Form CA-1 as it is a job related illness or injury.

Once again, stay safe brothers and sisters!

Martinez safety team giving a stand up

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Branch 1111 News

Congratulations!

You have been converted What happens next?

By Julie McCormick Third Vice President

You have been working your tail off being a CCA at your office for EVER! You had to work Sundays, most (if not all) holidays, multiple days in a row, and worked overtime every day.

Finally, one fateful day, you are notified that you are being converted to a full-time regular. What a relief! All the pain and agony of being a CCA for so long has finally paid off! This article is for those of you who are newly or nearly converted full-time regulars about what you can expect as a full-time regular.

When you are converted, you now have a 60 day window to sign up for health benefits. With being converted to a full time regular, you now have access to the plethora of health plans offered by FEHB (Federal Employee Health Benefits). Prior to being converted to a full time regular, the Postal Service was required to offer you mediocre and costly health insurance through the Affordable Care Act as a CCA. But now, you have access to all the health plans offered to Federal employees. Do not miss this 60-day window from when you are converted to sign up for health benefits because you will not be able to enroll in health insurance until Open Season (unless you have a qualifying event).

As a union member, you will also have access to the NALC Health Plan which offers three different tiers of health benefits to fit your needs. The NALC health plan offered is one of the cheapest and best plans out there, and it was developed by letter carriers for letter carriers. It is also a non-profit health plan. If you have a significant other, sit down with them and determine your health insurance needs. You can also compare the health plans here at www.opm.gov. Once you determine your health insurance needs, you can log into your liteblue or call USPS shared services to enroll! It is that easy!

Let’s talk about your work hour guarantees. When you were a CCA, your work hour guarantees were either 2 of 4 hours depending upon the size of your office. Now as a full-time regular, you are guaranteed 8 hours of work per day and 40 hours of work per week. If in the event you happen to be mandated to work your non-scheduled day as a full-time regular, you are still entitled to 8 hours of work. Management cannot deprive you of these work hour guarantees.

As a full-time regular, you do not receive a new uniform allowance anniversary date. Whatever your uniform allowance anniversary date was as a CCA, will follow you once you are converted. What will be different now as a full-time regular is you will receive a pre-paid debit card in the mail to use to purchase your uniform allowance through a postal approved vendor. With your first uniform allowance as a full-time regular, you will receive an allowance of $464.00 plus $107.00. You are receiving the additional credit of $107.00 due to this being your first uniform allowance as a full-time regular. After your first uniform allowance as a full-time regular, per the current Contract, you will receive an allowance credited on your card every year on the same anniversary date for $464.00. Please let your local steward or fulltime officer know if you have not received the uniform allowance debit card in the mail.

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June 2020 Now some of you may be thinking that because you are a full-time regular now, you will not be working as much overtime (unless you want the overtime of course). But my intention with this article is to not sugar coat it. With being converted, that means you will now be the lowest seniority carrier within your office.

Which also means if management is mandating carriers, you will be one of the first ones to be mandated. Ideally and contractually, management is supposed to mandate carriers on a rotating basis by juniority, but we all know this does not necessarily happen.

Now, if you were mandated improperly to carry overtime off your assignment and there was an available overtime carrier or even a CCA then that is potentially a violation of Article 8, so let your steward know and they will investigate.

Probably the most important part of being converted to a full time regular is RETIREMENT! As a newly converted CCA, you will be paying into retirement. The postal service retirement is a three-legged stool. The first leg being the standard postal service retirement, the second leg is social security and the third leg is TSP (Thrift Savings Plan). Under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) new career carriers like yourself are automatically enrolled is TSP and contributions are taken out of your paychecks (unless you opt out). TSP works like a 401(K) allowing employees to save with tax advantages and to benefit from employer contributions. The maximum percentage the employer will match is 5% of your pre-taxed income per pay period. You are able to adjust your TSP contribution up or down by authorizing deductions of up to $19,500 per year. The more you are able to put away the better. And remember, these deductions can be taken out PRE-TAX, meaning the more you put into TSP, the less your taxable income is.

As a new full-time regular, remember to continue to help out your fellow CCAs who may not feel there is no end in sight.

Reassure them and offer them guidance through their CCA journey. The demographic of the postal service is shifting, about half of the current letter carrier work force are or were previously CCAs. If you have any other questions about being converted please reach out to the Branch office, we are here to help you. I hope you all are staying healthy and safe out there. Thank you for continuing to provide resilient service in these uncertain times.

Full-Time Officer Julie McCormick with Alameda Shop Steward Roy Gignac going over cases

June 2020

ARE WE STILL STAYING SAFE?

By Berkeley Shop Steward, Liz Corriea

Thought I’d share this photo that was taken of me, since Berkeley management went around sharing this photo among themselves. It started out by me asking for the necessary supplies to clean out my vehicle one morning. My immediate supervisor provided me with this huge roll of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. WOW! Unbelievable. I was so surprised that I had another carrier take this photo and U sent it to my Full-Time Officer. Who, in turn, sent it to the District Manager and it somehow made its way back to Berkeley.

My Manager questioned me about why I didn’t ask for supplies. I informed him that I did, and this is what was provided to me. Apparently, Berkeley is hiding their supplies for fear that the carriers will use them all up. Well, using them is why they’re stocked.

The Coronavirus has not gone away. Hopefully, many of you are still wearing your face mask, distancing yourself, and following all the guidelines to help protect yourself as much as possible?

Some of us carriers are at high risk and need to take extra precautions with everything we do. Making sure your vehicle is sanitized daily has created longer vehicle check time for me in the morning. Well guess what, it is what it is. Taking safety precautions is no joke, and safety must always come first because our lives are at stake.

Lately, I noticed that some of our employees are getting too relaxed, not always wearing their masks and gloves. We must never let our guard down. It’s easy to do. I find that I will occasionally slip up and walk out the door without my mask and then having to go back home to get it.

For the protections of ourselves and our fellow coworkers,

Liz Corriea on clean-up detail

Branch 1111 News we must always wear our mask. So please, do the right thing and wear one. You should always ask to be provided with one by management. You should also be equipped with any cleaning supplying needed to clean your vehicle and/or your work area.

The Berkeley Blues Not much improvement going on in Berkeley. Berkeley’s management team seems to think they have it together, but it’s still unorganized. Vehicle keys seems to be the latest issue.

You have a vehicle but no keys. At times, it seems like we don’t have enough vehicles. All that this is doing is causing frustration and creating a hostile work environment amongst the carriers. Especially when supervisors are handing out keys to other carriers from another zone knowing that those keys belong to someone else. This seems to be happening a lot.

Accountables are another hot issue. Be aware of what management does and remember it’s not the carriers’ fault.

Knowledge is Power!

Thank You Letter to the Branch My name is Gloria Sonico. I’m a mail carrier at the Concord Post Office.

On June 2, 2018 Saturday, I was on my route when I was flagged down by a customer. As I walked to see what the customer wanted, my vehicle started rolling backwards. I ran after the vehicle for fear of it hitting someone. I fell, sustained a knee injury and dislocated my right elbow.

Mary Abante, Shop Steward, helped me with my case. I returned to work August 12 to October 12, 2018.

On October 12, 2018 I was sent home pending my Arbitration Hearing. In early March 2019, I met with Shop Steward Ray Garcia and my advocate Charlie Smith from the NBA who represented me at my Arbitration.

Throughout this time frame Ray Garcia was very supportive and without his knowledge and representation I probably would have lost my arbitration. Charlie was also very knowledgeable as well and walked me though the arbitration process. This was very scary as I as fighting for my job.

I want to thank Mary Abante, Ray Garcia, and Charlie Smith for doing an exceptional job in helping me win my job back. My advice to all letter carriers is to always do your job safely! Never leave your vehicle on when exiting, and always practice safety, even if takes you a little longer. You cannot get fired for being safe but believe me if you have an accident of any kind, they will try to remove you from the Post Office.

I returned back to work in May 2019 with all my back pay, annual leave, sick leave, etc., reimbursed back to me. The sad thing is, before this, I had 32 years of service with zero discipline on my record.

Support your fellow workers and support your union!

Gloria M. Sonico 9

Branch 1111 News

June 2020

Staying Positive During This Pandemic

By Terrence Lee Super, Fourth Vice President

It is easy for us to state the above when a lot of you may think that we’re safely sitting behind a desk answering phone calls, but that’s simply is not the case! We are going through this with you and are fighting for you now more than ever before. Because we want you to continue to go home safe to your families. If you only knew about the heated telecons we have had with the District these last few months on things that should be common sense. It boggles the mind how the Post Office does things so halfheartedly when it comes to your safety, but we as a Branch do not do things that way in anything we do for our members. Especially when it comes to your safety, which is the most important thing to us. We will continue to fight to make sure management feels that way as well!

Staying positive is of course easier said than done, especially when you have to deal with management on your back in the office and also deal with things out on the street as you deliver. This pandemic is not making things any easier.

Also, the recent rioting, looting and protests going on can really be frustrating. Sometimes it is even scary to be out there, but yet you do it. All of you should be given a Metal for Bravery for it. Your customers see it as well, and they definitely show their appreciation with signs, calls to the Stations, and donations of masks, sanitizer, and wipes so that you all are as protected as can be while out there.

What I am trying to say is, your customers love and appreciate you, and we do too. We will get through this, just stay positive and continue to do the exemplary work you are doing. Let us show everyone that the Post Office is not going anywhere and that we are here to stay.

I want to make sure I give a special thanks to all our Stewards because without them we wouldn’t be able to give our full attention to this crisis and making sure all of our Stations have everything they needed as far as Personal Protection Equipment. Their work has doubled since the COVID-19 struck down hard on us. They have been working their tail off to make sure no grievances slip through the cracks. So, if you haven’t already done so, please thank them for their hard work. The things they do behind the scenes, you may never know about, but I promise you they are fighting for you just as your Full Time Officers.

Speaking of them, the officers of Branch 1111; Jose Ochoa, Narciso Paderanga, Julie McCormick, and Francisco Cabrera are a team and we believe in each other and I would like to personally thank them for their help and guidance. John Ferreira, and Mary Phelps do a lot behind the scenes as well and I want to recognize them for their dedication to making this Branch function. They are the heartbeat of this Branch and I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else. Last, but definitely not, least our leader Ed Fletcher, who has fearlessly led this Branch. He has done an excellent job keeping us all focused despite all that is going on and I, for one, have appreciated his advice and guidance through all of this. Don’t worry, I know this sounded like a goodbye statement, but I assure you it’s the exact opposite, I will be here as long as you allow me to be.

My love for our carriers and this Branch gives me the strength to NEVER give up, so again continue to stay positive and we will get through this. Be safe out there!

Livermore retirement: Ruben Arellano receives an award from Livermore mayor John Marchland as Steward Bonnie Taxera and FTOs Terrance Super and Ed Fletcher look on

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Branch 1111 News

June 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

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

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Branch 1111 News

June 2020

June 10, 2020 orientation for new hires, -- all signed to join the union 12

June 2020

Branch 1111 News

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June 2020

Branch 1111 News

NALC Branch 1111 Balance Sheet As of May 31, 2020 ASSETS Current Assets Bank Accounts 100 - Petty Cash 128.30 126 PPCU-50 116,207.42 Mechanics Bank Accounts 147,995.58 PPCU-Acct 70 25,613.21 United Bank Accounts 283,016.80 Total Bank Accounts $572,961.31 Other Current Assets Total Current Other Assets $848,804.56 Total Current Assets $1,421,765.87 Fixed Assets 189 - Accumulated Depreciation -127,446.57 190 - 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 $- 430,042.00 TOTAL ASSETS $991,723.87

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Jane 2020 LIABILITIES & EQUITY Total Liabilities Net Revenue 3900 Unrestricted Net Assets Equity

177.78 14,462.84 977,083.25 $991,546.09

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

$991,723.87

Steward Ron Jones bids farewell to Paul Espinol as he leaves Oakland’s West Grand Annex for Benicia

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