November 2019 Newsletter

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November November 2019 2019 November November 2019 2019

Oakland OaklandAirport AirportTrio TrioCelebrate CelebrateRetirement Retirement

Branch Branch President President Ed Ed Fletcher Fletcher congratulates congratulates andand bidsbids farewell farewell to Oakland to Oakland Airport Airport carriers carriers Edgardo Edgardo Tablan, Tablan, Francisco Francisco Vallena Vallena Jr.,Jr., andand Connie Connie Kwan Kwan Walnut Walnut Creek Creek members, members, including including some some who’ve who’ve already already retired, retired, show show up to upsay to say farewell farewell to Joe to Joe Balogna Balogna (in (in dark dark jacket). jacket).

Pictured Pictured leftleft to right to right areare Steve Steve Cantreras, Cantreras, Terry Terry Madden, Madden, RodRod Loquiao, Loquiao, RonRon Buscaglia, Buscaglia, Kurt Kurt Scneider, Scneider, Kory Kory McNeely, McNeely, Tony Tony Williams Williams andand Robert Robert Narez Narez in chair in chair in front. in front.

Branch BranchOfficer OfficerInstallation InstallationNovember November2626

Branch 1111 News

November 2019

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 retains 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 Terrence Super, Second Vice President Francisco Cabrera, Third Vice President Julie McCormick, 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, Frances Rodriguez

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

BRANCH 1111 NEWS STAFF Editor - John Jekabson: jjbranch1111@gmail.com

Assistant Editor – Joshua Pearl: joshpbranch1111@gmail.com

Contributors -- Ed Fletcher, Jose Ochoa, John Ferreira, Narciso

Paderanga, Julie McCormick, Liz Corriea, Ron Jones, Jerry DePoe, Francisco Cabrera, Jaspal Hundal, 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, Branch Officers, or members of National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 1111

November 2019

Branch 1111 News

Mea Culpa

The newspaper staff regrets inadvertently leaving Assistant Secretary-Treasurer Mary Phelps out of last month’s calendar issue. We apologize for the oversight.

Postmaster General Retiring

The Postal Service has announced that Postmaster Megan Brennan is retiring, effective January 31, 2020. Brennan is the 74th Postmaster General and the first woman to serve in this role. Upon her retirement, she will have served in the position for five years. She began her career as a letter carrier in Lancaster, PA. The search for the 75th Postmaster will commence in a few months.

Overtime Exclusion Period Announced

This year the December exclusion period begins November 30, 2019 and ends December 27. Penalty overtime regulations are not applicable during this time

Mary Phelps hard at work.

2020 Scholarship Opportunities

Have a graduating senior at home? Please see pages 8 and 9 for information about local and national scholarships available to the children of letter carriers.

A Salute to Verle Craven

A picture our newspaper staff took of Verle receiving an award for his service at our July meeting, was used on page 51 of the Postal Record.

Our CCA’s and PTF’s Need Uniforms!

If you have retired and have gently used or new uniform items, we are collecting those items at the Branch 1111 office for them as they go through their evaluation period .

Special Guest for November Meeting

National Director of City Delivery Christopher Jackson is coming to our November Branch meeting to install all the new officers and council members

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU!

The following carriers retired recently: Aung Thet of Concord, Rosemary Levy of Oakland Eastmont and Manuel Madrid Jr. of Rodeo-Hercules. We wish many years of leisure to all!

MDA Winners

$50 Brookfield Uniforms prize won by John Jekabson and $38 50/50 Raffle won by Oswald Jacobs.

Feeling Generous this Holiday Season?

Please consider donating to the Letter Carrier Political Fund. Call Branch for details.

Recent Union City Retiree Johnny Hedges(center) with shop stewards Yolanda Duenas and Curtis Flores

Reminder: There is no December Branch meeting. Happy Holidays to all.

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Branch 1111 News

PRESIDENT’S VIEW

The Spinning Wheel Must Be Balanced

By Edward P. Fletcher, President

In life, there are checks and balances that must be maintained to keep things in order. In short, one thing offsets another. For example, water is used to put out fires. A credit or deposit is used to offset a debit or check written from a bank account. We all must ensure that we will have more credits than debits to avoid being overdrawn. Have you ever driven a car where the tires pull to one side or the other? Have you noticed that your tires have worn out unevenly? If so, that is proof that your car needs a front-end alignment or your wheels need to be balanced.

Well, the US Postal Service is no different and must stop spinning its wheels and find balance to succeed.

The USPS’s Unbalanced Business Model

Given that Branch 1111 does the majority of orientations for new letter carriers in the Northern Bay Area, I can tell you that the USPS’s approach to hiring is unbalanced and needs an overhaul. The first sign that the air is leaking out of the tire is the fact that attrition rate is still extremely high. Senior carriers are retiring in droves, like flocks of birds heading south for the winter. It is not the simple “circle of life” theory here in the USPS. For example, when I started in 1985, there were a lot of senior carriers who worked way past the Minimum Retirement Age (MRA). Today, so many carriers are leaving the USPS as soon as they reach their MRA. What is wrong with this picture?

We are losing too many long-term career and experienced letter carriers and replacing them with a workforce that has low retention rates. The USPS will continue to expend a lot of resources hiring and training new employees only to have them leave and start the whole process over again. This will also create insufficient staffing levels, excessive overtime, more Contract violations and sacrifice proper service to our customers.

It is time to take the car into the shop for a complete overhaul! What is the fix?

The USPS needs to go back to hiring an all career workforce. Increase the starting wages and benefits while shortening the time it takes to reach the higher pay levels.

Case Consolidation Lawsuit Dismissed On November 6, 2019, the federal district court in Washington D.C. issued a decision dismissing NALC’s lawsuit 4

November 2019 that sought to halt the Consolidated Casing Initiative. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg concluded that the court lacked jurisdiction to issue the preliminary injunction that the NALC requested, which would have halted the Initiative pending the outcome of the national-level arbitration.

The arbitration is presently scheduled to begin November 22, before national arbitrator Shyam Das. The court reasoned that a preliminary injunction halting an employer action pending arbitration is only warranted when the employer’s action would render the arbitration “meaningless.” The court concluded that a preliminary injunction was not warranted here because Arbitrator Das will have the authority (if he rules for NALC) to find that the Consolidated Casing Initiative violates the National Agreement and to order the USPS to end it (nalc.org). What does this mean for us? In short, it was deferred back to the grievance arbitration process to be adjudicated. We will continue the fight against this unbalanced and reckless initiative that I believe is destine to fail.

What should the USPS do with the Consolidated Case Initiative? Simply put, “junk it!”

In the Midst of it All, We Must Still Give Thanks It is that time of year again where families are traveling from afar, gathering together, enjoying the holiday feast, telling stories, watching football and giving thanks for our blessings.

For those reasons, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite time of the year. So, what am I thankful for? For all of my family members, from the eldest teacher to the youngest child.

I am thankful for my brothers and sisters who fight every day in the NALC to uphold our contractual rights. I am thankful to serve the membership of Branch 1111 as your President with all my fellow Officers.

Even though the USPS will continue to spin its unbalanced wheels, we must be thankful for our families and the benefits that we have obtained and we will continue our fight for the benefits, health, and welfare of all Letter Carriers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Branch 1111 News

Open Season is Here

November 2019 strongly encourage you to look into what the NALC Plan has to offer and reach out to me if you have any questions you may need answered.

NALCHBP.org has loads of information available at the click of a button or two. Make the most out of 2020 Open Season and get the most out of your health insurance policy.

By Jacob Morgan, Insurance Officer November 11th through December 9th marks the time frame for the 2020 Health Care Open Season. Weather it be an increase in premiums or adjustments to coverage, most every health insurance policy has slight changes every year.

Do you know what the changes to your policy will be in 2020?

Now is the perfect time to sit down and review your current policy and the options available.

Many brothers and sisters sign up for a health insurance policy early in their career and become complacent with it.

Some may go to their check-ups, have routine procedures and examinations, and pay what bills come to their mailbox without thinking too much about it. They may not know why various charges show up on their explanation of benefits statement or what they even relate to. You may or may not be one of these members. Regardless of how knowledgeable you are about your current health insurance policy, I would encourage you to reevaluate your health care coverage and needs.

If you're unaware of where to start, here are a few questions you may want to consider: 

How is my family covered?



What is my deductible?



How much is my copay?



What is my premium cost?



What is subject to co-insurance?



Are inpatient hospitalizations covered?



Is Chiropractic/Acupuncture care covered?



How will my policy interact with Medicare?



What procedures and examinations are covered?



What is my policy's catastrophic limit (maximum out of pocket per year)?

Of course, as the NALC Health Benefits Representative for Branch 1111, I would love to see everyone switch over to the NALC Plan. Everyone has different needs when it comes to health care and I think that the NALC Plan High Option has the best coverage for the cost out of many plans out there. I would

Jacob Morgan and Marisela Fletcher attending the 2018 NALC Convention in Detroit

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Branch 1111 News

Remember When?

November 2019 Continue to do the hard work that you do and continue to be safe while working.

In solidarity!

By Narciso Paderanga, IV, First Vice President

Remember when we had “coffins” full of flats and excessive flats all over and around our cases?

Remember when our office times were more than 3 or 4 hours because of all the letters and flats we had to case?

Remember when we had carrier craft positions such as “Routers” who were assigned to assist letter carriers on their routes in casing 3rd class mail and “lining” of flats, express mail delivery, and collections?

Remember when management didn’t care where we were as long as we finished our routes in 8 hours?

Now, we barely have any letter or flat mail to case, our office time shrunk to about one hour, no Router positions to assist us, and management “pinging” our location every minute of the hour and our street times are as long as six and a half hours or longer.

“Consolidated Casing”

Management also wants to cut our wages and/or our benefits such as medical and retirement. It also wants to change our ways of delivery by having a pilot program called “consolidated casing.” According to National Director of City Delivery Chris Jackson in his Postal Record article in May of 2019, USPS intends to consolidate six routes into one casing assignment for one letter carrier to case and pull down while other letter carriers come in, get their keys, scanners and accountable items, then go straight to the street.

Management wants to eliminate most of the office times used by our brothers and sisters by this plan and to make room for the increased parcel volume. Another brilliant idea?

I think not.

Since management’s unilateral action, your Union has filed a class action grievance at the National level which is scheduled to be heard at National Arbitration on November 22, 2019 and a lawsuit against the Postal Service in the federal district court in Washington D.C. asking the court to issue an injunction stopping the Postal Service from continuing its Consolidated Casing Initiative until the pending national level grievance is resolved.

Although, the U. S. District Judge concluded that the federal district court lacked jurisdiction to issue the preliminary injunction as requested by the NALC, the NALC will continue to fight this battle at the national level arbitration.

Will the USPS’s plan work or not? So far, there has been word that in bigger offices, it has failed but in a low-volume office, it has worked. So, it has yet to be determined.

In the meantime, the NALC will continue to enforce the Contract and all of the provisions contained within and will continue to better your hours, wages and working conditions as we face contract negotiations for the upcoming years.

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New Richmond McVitty Steward LaNina Wilson-Kennedy at last month’s Branch meeting

Highest Volume Days approaching

With a projected 800 million package deliveries between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the Postal Service delivers more packages to homes than any other shipper. The Postal Service will expand Sunday delivery beginning Nov. 24 to locations with high package volumes. USPS already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities and anticipates delivering more than 8 million packages on Sundays in December. Mail carriers will also deliver packages for an additional fee on Christmas Day in select locations.

Busiest Mailing and Delivery Days

The Postal Service’s busiest time of the season peaks two weeks before Christmas, when much last-minute shopping starts. Customer traffic is expected to increase beginning Dec. 9, while the week of Dec. 16 is expected to be the busiest time for mailing, shipping and delivery. Additionally, the Postal Service predicts that nearly 2.5 billion pieces of First-Class Mail, including greeting cards, will be processed and delivered the week of Dec. 16.

November 2019

Branch 1111 News

Being treated with Dignity and Respect!

By Terrence L. Super, Second Vice President

It’s sad that I even have to write an article about something like this. Being treated with dignity and respect should be number one when it comes to working for the Postal Service or any job for that matter!

When management talks to you or wants to give you instructions, it should be in a respectful way. There have been way too many times when a supervisor or even a postmaster have yelled, gotten into a carrier’s face, and even actually put their hands on a carrier!

This is unacceptable!

There is NEVER an excuse to put your hands on, yell, or get in a carrier’s face, violating their personal space. As Stewards we MUST protect the rights of our members in situations like this. If this is going on in your station, “SAY SOMETHING!” I don’t care if the Supervisor tells you to go back to your case, our job as Steward is to de-escalate situations that could potentially become violent. I will back up any Steward that does this.

With that being said, it is important not to make the situation worse. We should calmly try to resolve the situation and not stoop to managements’ level by yelling or screaming back at them. If that were to happen management will attempt to blame us for making the situation worse!

So again, calmly try and resolve the issue and keep our carriers out of trouble. As far as management is concerned 9 times out of 10 it is they who provoke the situation in the first place! If they hadn’t yelled at you or treated you disrespectfully it never would get to that point.

Also, we have the grievance procedure which could allow us to make management take sensitivity training, and/or even remove that offending person from supervising in that particular office. If it gets to a point where it makes other carriers uncomfortable, it could rise to the level of violating the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace.

So again, there are many things as a Union we can do when it comes to issues like this, but we need our members help.

In order to file a successful grievance on Dignity and Respect and/or the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace we need other carriers on the workroom floor to step up and write statements if they hear management yelling or screaming at another carriers.

Because if not, it becomes a “he said, she said case,” which are very difficult to win. I know some carriers “just don’t want to get involved,” but you would want someone to stand up for you if it happened to you………right?

So please fellow union members help each other make management cringe whenever they even think about disrespecting you.

We are all human beings and should be treated as such.

Berkeley DDU Safe Driving Awards to Chuck Frajo,,Tina Cruz, David Low, Angel Pagan, and Linda Martinez.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From Branch 1111

Safe Driving Awards to Oakland Airport carriers Edgardo Tablan, Danny Martinez and Mike Balolong

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Branch 1111 News

November 2019

2020 Carl J. Saxsenmeier Scholarship Program The California State Association of Letter Carriers (CSALC) is now accepting applications for the 2020 Carl J. Saxsenmeier Scholarship Program. All applications must be received by the Scholarship Chair by January 3, 2020. The Chair will send scholarship packets to all applicants by the end of January 2020. The scholarships are available to the children or grandchildren of members of NALC Branches within the State of California who have not served in a supervisory capacity in the previous two (2) years from the date of 2019 award announcement. Applicant’s parent / grandparent must be a member in good standing of the NALC for at least one year prior to applying. Applicant must be a high school senior when applying. Saxsenmeier Scholarship awards are issued in the year of graduation and are not renewable.

Jeff Parr Saxsenmeier Scholarship Chair 1177 Levine Dr-Santa Rosa, Ca 95401 707-523-1818 Saxsenmeier Scholarship Application (Please Print) Student’s Name: NALC Member’s Name: Home Address: City / State/ ZIP Home Telephone: Cell / Fax: Email Address: Applicant’s Signature: NALC Member Signature:

Relationship to Applicant:

Local NALC Branch Officer Signature required for verification of member in good standing: NALC Branch Officer Signature: Branch Officer Printed Name: 8

Title: Branch Number:

November 2019

Branch 1111 News

NALC BRANCH 1111 SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

Applications are being accepted for the Branch 1111 Katherine Ellis Memorial Scholarship. Applicants must submit the form provided below no later than February 28, 2020 Eligibility requirements: 1) The applicant must be a member of the graduating class of 2019-2020 2) The applicant must be so or daughter or legally adopted child/ stepchild of a member in good standing with Branch 1111.

Any questions about the scholarship should be referred to John Ferreira of the Scholarship Committee at: 510-237-5111

Date______________

(Please print clearly)

Please send instructions as to how I can compete for the Scholarship Award.

I will be a senior in the year 2019-2020 I am the child of (active) (retired) or (deceased) member ___________________________________ (name) My Name is ____________________________________________ My Home Address is _____________________________________________________________________ My Social Security Number is ______-____-______ Signature of NALC Parent______________________ Branch 44, Manchester NH Office/Station of Parent Member _______________________ Branch Official _______________________ NALC Parent’s Social Security Number______-____-______ Title______________ Date ______________

Doherty & Donelon Scholarships In honor of the NALC’s president from 1941-1962 the William C. Doherty Scholarship Fund will again award five $4,000 scholarships to children of members in good standing. The John T. Donelon Scholarship Fund will award one $1,000 scholarship. Each scholarship is renewable for three consecutive years thereafter providing the winner maintains satisfactory grades.

To be eligible, applicant must be the son, daughter or legally adopted child of a letter carrier NALC member in good standing-active, retired or deceased.

Stepchildren and grandchildren are eligible if they live with the letter carrier in a regular parent-child relationship. All applicants must take the SAT or ACT in either their junior or senior year. For more information, go to www.nalc.org or the current issue of the postal record.

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Branch 1111 News

Carrier Reporting Requirements

By Julie McCormick, Fourth Vice President

I have recently seen an increase in discipline in my areas for carriers working “unauthorized overtime”. The union has been successful in fighting this discipline and having it thrown out, I just wanted to reiterate some of the reporting requirements for letter carriers. For some of you this may not be news to you, but this should be especially useful to our brand new employees who are still navigating the murky waters of being a new letter carrier.

M-41 Section 131.41 and 131.42 requires carriers to verbally inform your supervisor and/or manager when you believe you cannot carry all the mail distributed to your route in eight hours or within your normal schedule. This is not an option. Anytime you are of the opinion that you cannot finish your assignment within 8 hours, you must notify management.

M-39 Section 122.33 requires your supervisor to provide you with a PS Form 3996 when you request it. When you fill out your 3996 for your own assignment in the morning, it is important to fill it out completely. In Section “J” of the 3996, this is where you write down the reasons why you cannot complete your assignment within eight hours. Generalization such as “heavy volume, heavy parcels, route overburdened, etc.” are not acceptable reasons. Please see our Branch website at www.branch1111.org under the tab “carrier resources” you fill see a form that lists reasons you can use to write in section “J” on your 3996. As we all know, your supervisor will either approve all your time, some of your time, or none of

November 2019 your time. Either way, do not argue with management, it will not help, just say you will do your best and ask them what they would like you to do if you are not able to deliver the mail in the allotted time. Always ask for a completed copy of your 3996. After submitting it to management, let your shop steward know immediately if they refuse your request.

We get paid to deliver the mail and not make decisions.

Put the decision back on management! During the course of your day, if you are still of the opinion you will be unable to complete your assignment within eight hours, call your supervisor at your usual afternoon reporting times (every office is different but follow local instructions).

Let your supervisor know how long you believe it will take you to finish your assignment. Ask whether they want you to bring back the mail or finish the route. If your supervisor refuses to tell you what to do with the remaining mail or if you are unable to finish your assigned duties in the amount of time your originally thought, return to the office in the allotted time and ask for further instructions. Follow whatever instructions your supervisor gives you. If you have additional issues, please contact your local Shop Steward or Full-Time Officer.

I would like to remind all of our members that we have a Branch website! The link again is www.branch1111.org.

Please check it out, as it contains upcoming Branch events, news, information, etc. There are sections of the website dedicated to local shop stewards, the NALC Health Benefit Plan, Branch events, and much more. We are also starting to upload the monthly newspaper on the website as well! So not only will there be a hard copy mailed to members, it will also be available anytime digitally at your fingertips!

I hope all of you have an excellent and safe Thanksgiving!

FTOs Francisco Cabrera and Julie McCormick greet new CCAs Frank Garibay of Brentwood and Tiffany Miller of Oakland Laurel Station

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November 2019

Branch 1111 News

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Branch 1111 News

USPS Awards Zebra Technologies Scanner Contract Worth $570 Million LINCOLNSHIRE, Illinois Zebra Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: ZBRA) last month announced that the United States Postal Service (USPS) awarded the Company an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to supply TC77 touch computers to scan, track and trace packages across its carrier network.

The USPS will start deploying 300,000 TC77 mobile devices as its next-generation Mobile Delivery Device in the first half of 2020.

Crains Chicago Business reports the contract is worth $570 million.

Zebra’s Android ™ based TC77 mobile computers will help the USPS optimize operations in the on-demand economy while providing customers with the speed, accuracy and realtime tracking they expect. The ultra-rugged TC77 features Zebra’s Mobility DNA suite of software tools that increase worker productivity, simplify management and strengthen the security of Zebra’s Android-based, enterprise-class computers.

Zebra will also provide accessories, software, help desk support, repairs, maintenance, and software development.

“We are honored to work with the world’s largest postal service and are excited to provide our innovative mobile technology, services and support to the USPS and its customers,” said Anders Gustafsson, CEO, Zebra Technologies. “We look forward to building on our relationship with the USPS and providing a performance edge to its letter carriers.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS  



The USPS awarded Zebra an IDIQ contract to provide 300,000 next-generation Mobile Delivery Devices.

Starting in the first half of 2020, USPS will use the Zebra TC77 touch computer to scan, track and trace packages across its delivery network and provide real-time information to its customers.

The mobile devices will help the USPS’ letter carriers as it expands its package delivery products and services.

One Way to Honor Vets?

Protect the Postal Service I’m a veteran from a family of veterans. After serving in the Marine Corps, I got a good-paying postal job that put me on a solid path to financial security.

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November 2019

Now I lead the Detroit Area Local for the American Postal Workers Union. Our 1,500 members include many veterans, some of whom I served with myself.

Across the country, nearly 113,000 veterans now serve as postal workers. With former military members accounting for over 18 percent of our workforce, the Postal Service employs vets at three times their share of the national workforce.

Why? For one thing, military values like hard work, showing up on time, and taking pride in your work set you up perfectly for postal jobs.

For another, USPS gives veterans like myself preferential hiring treatment. Disabled vets, like many I work with, get special consideration too. And once they get here, they get generous medical leave and benefits, including wounded warriors leave, among other hard-earned benefits won by our union.

Unfortunately, these secure jobs for veterans are now under attack.

A White House report has called for selling off the public mail service to private, for-profit corporations.

And a Trump administration task force has called for slashing postal jobs and services for customers.

In particular, they want to eliminate our collective bargaining rights, which would jeopardize all those benefits we’ve won for veterans and other employees.

They also want to cut delivery days, close local post offices, and raise prices, which would hurt customers.

Instead of slashing and burning the USPS, we need to be expanding and strengthening it.

One idea is to let post offices expand into low-cost financial services. Veterans are four times more likely than the national average to use payday lenders for short-term loans, which typically charge exorbitant interest rates.

But if post offices could offer affordable and reliable check cashing, ATM, bill payment, and money transfer services, we could generate all kinds of new revenue — while protecting vets and their communities from predatory lenders.

From discounting care packages to employing disabled veterans, our Postal Service plays an important part in the lives of our service members. USPS does good by Americans who’ve dedicated a portion of their lives to armed service, and by the millions of Americans who rely on them.

I hope you’ll join me in applauding these veterans — and the Postal Service. Let’s build the USPS up, not tear it down.

By Keith Combs Keith Combs is a 30-year postal worker and president of the Detroit District Area Local of the American Postal Workers Union. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org

November 2019

Branch 1111 News

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Branch 1111 News

November 2019

NALC Branch 1111 Balance Sheet As of September 30, 2019 ASSETS Current Assets Bank Accounts 100 - Petty Cash 126 PPCU-50 Mechanics Bank Accounts PPCU-Acct 70 United Bank Accounts Total Bank Accounts

1,488.75 39,993.82 944,258.86 $982,252.68

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

$983,741.43

128.30 76,755.77 113,432.30 25,603.57 333,868.93 $549,788.87

Other Current Assets Total Current Other Assets $848,804.56 Total Current Assets $1,398,593.43 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 $983,741.43

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

Oakland Civic Center retiree Glenn Law joining the last punch bunch

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

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