Branch 920

        DRT new address
       3190 South 70th St.
       Phila., Pa. 19153                                                                       Ų Letter Carrier Pay Chart

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H.R. 22 is vital to USPS future: President Young has asked that members contact their house representatives and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 22. He also told state legislative chairs at their recent training session in Washington to make sure every senator and representative knows how important passing H.R. 22 is to letter carriers and the Postal Service. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), ranking Republican on the committee that oversees USPS, addressed the chairs’ gathering as well. And Young released a response to reports that PMG Potter is seeking to curtail mail delivery to five days. Statement | Bulletin | H.R. 22 fact sheet

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Ų There was much talk about how our poor economy will affect our union . Mail volume has declined another 16% since Jan. Although the five day delivery is probably not going to materialize, at least for now, there are some other things that could happen. TSP match may stop or decrease. We could be facing massive layoffs. Yearly route adjustments could become a reality. Our union may be forced to make concessions by opening our current contract and forfeiting pay raises. We are being asked to contribute to colcpe to support our lobbyists in Washington. Unfortunately money talks in D.C. Both Ed and I are strongly considering donating to the colcpe fund. The union asks that we contribute $5.00 a pay. Payroll deduction is the easiest way . I have always been skeptical about donating to this cause , but the more I read and hear about how important it is to our jobs , the more willing I am to contribute. If you decide to contribute I can help you with the appropriate paper work.

Things are changing in our office. Money is tight. Our management is feeling the pressure and so are we. We all need to give an honest days work and due to decreasing volume that may mean working on routes other than our own. Do yourself a favor and be honest. If you have the down time do the job. If you don't ,and they won't listen, fill out the 3996 and let a steward know if you have gone into OT . Don't take chances on the street by extending breaks or lunches. They will be watching . I heard that they were out on the street today checking to see if unattended vehicles were properly locked.

And you don't want to give them another way to save money by decreasing the workforce.

From the NALC Bulletin:

Let Let me make the following clear to one and all, including Postal Service management at headquarters and in the field, and all letter carriers, at every level in the union and in every post office: No one, at any level, has any authority to amend or violate the national contract, period.

I continue to receive calls from branch officers who inform me that local managers have approached them and attempted to secure agreements to violate the national contract. These same managers have the audacity to suggest that I am cooperating with the Postal Service and that they should, too!

The plain fact is that I encourage cooperation with the Postal Service because I realize the current financial crisis requires cooperation, where appropriate.

If any manager approaches you with a suggestion for creative ooperation, advise them to send their ideas to USPS headquarters, which will then make the determination whether to present such ideas to us. Some of the ideas floating around now are not grounded in common sense. For example, the idea of prohibiting all carriers from working their nonscheduled day off, and then requiring non-ODL carriers to work overtime is a clear violation of the contract – one we will stop through the grievance procedure, and one that will cost the USPS dearly in the end. We must be mindful of the critical difference between contract amendment/contract violation on the one hand, and creative, positive cooperation on the other.

Food Drive 2009: More than 1,100 branches are already registered for the annual drive on Saturday, May 9. Also, the Postal Service has announced that its Priority Mail service will lead the way in supporting the drive this year—its logo will be included on all food drive promotional literature.

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Ų The Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees each letter carrier up to 12 weeks of leave each postal leave year, for:
A new child in the family—by birth, by adoption or by placement in foster care;
Caring for a family member with a serious health condition; or
The employee's own serious health condition that prevents him or her from performing the job.

Ų Contains Interpretations Endorsed by NALC and USPS: The JCAM contains the authoritative, agreed-upon interpretations of the National Agreement. The National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service have agreed at the national level that this is the definitive interpretation of the contract.
Is Binding on Both Parties: Postal managers and NALC representatives at all levels are required to follow the JCAM's interpretations of the contract.
Should Be Used to Settle Disputes: The JCAM should be used by the local parties to help resolve disputes and should be introduced in the expedited and regular arbitration forums.

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