NALC's Director of of Safety and Health is responsible for following safety and health issues that relate to letter carrier jobs. The current director is Brian Hellman, who also represents NALC's interests on:

• the National Joint Labor-Management Safety Committee established by Article 14, Section 3 of the National Agreement, and
• the National Joint Labor-Management Uniform Control Committee established by Article 26
• the National Joint EAP Committee established by Article 35.

Letter carriers' occupational safety and health is protected by Article 14 of the National Agreement and by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (see the OSHA page).

News and rumors about the outbreak of Influenza A(H1N1), commonly referred to as Swine Flu, are everywhere, but it's important to get the facts about what is going on. The World Health Organization is updating their website daily to help you keep informed on the situation both in the United States and in other countries. You can find their updates here.

Below are links to topic pages on several web sites with more information that you may find useful:

• NIOSH:
  www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
  
• OSHA:
  www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/pandemicflu/
  
• CIDRAP (good overview article on swine flu):
  www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/biofacts/swinefluoverview.html

Postal Service Interim 2009 H1N1 (Swine Flu) Influenza Outbreak
Guidance

The Postal Service is establishing interim measures to be taken by management and employees based upon the presence or absence of H1N1 influenza cases in the immediate community and among employees or their families. These mitigation measures are based upon the current advice regarding the influenza outbreak from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other responsible federal agencies. (PDF)

Pandemic Flu Cleaning Contingency Maintenance Management Order (MMO)

This Maintenance Management Order (MMO) supersedes MMO-129-06 and provides updated
guidance regarding additional disinfecting procedures required at any facility located in an area
experiencing an influenza pandemic. (PDF)

Use of Surgical Masks During the H1N1 (formerly swine flu) Outbreaks

The Postal Service will provide surgical masks when available. Use of a mask is only a part of what you should be doing to avoid influenza. Frequent hand washing and avoiding close contact with other persons at work and home, are equally or more important in avoiding disease. (PDF)

Here is some information on staying safe in freezing temperatures. OSHA has published an easy-to-understand guide to the "cold-stress equation," which you can find here. At a quick glance, you can learn the the risks of working in specific cold temperatures.

The following Q&A is from the OSHA booklet, which will help you to better understand these risks.

Frostbite—What happens to the body:

• Freezing in deep layers of skin and tissue; pale, waxy-white skin color; skin becomes hard and numb; usually affects the fingers, hands, toes, feet, ears and nose.

What should be done:

• Move the person to a warm, dry area. Don’t leave the person alone.
• Remove any wet or tight clothing that may cut off blood flow to the affected area.
• Do not rub the affected area; rubbing causes damage to the skin and tissue.
• Gently place the affected area in a warm (105 F) water bath and monitor the water temperature to slowly warm the tissue. Don’t pour warm water directly on the affected area because it will warm the tissue too fast causing tissue damage. Warming takes about 25-40 minutes.
• After the affected area has been warmed, it may become puffy and blister. The affected area may have a burning feeling or numbness. When normal feeling, movement and skin color have returned, the affected area should be dried and wrapped to keep it warm. Note: If there is a chance the affected area may get cold again, do not warm the skin. If the skin is warmed and then becomes cold again, it will cause severe tissue damage.
• Seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Hypothermia—What happens to the body:

• Normal body temperature (98.6 F) drops to or below 95 degrees; fatigue or drowsiness; uncontrolled shivering; cool bluish skin; slurred speech; clumsy movements; irritable, irrational or confused behavior.

What should be done:

• Call for emergency help (i.e., ambulance or call 911).
• Move the person to a warm, dry area. Don’t leave the person alone. Remove any wet clothing and replace with warm, dry clothing or wrap the person in blankets.
• Have the person drink warm, sweet drinks (sugar water or sports-type drinks) if they are alert.
• Avoid drinks with caffeine (coffee, tea, or hot chocolate) or alcohol.
• Have the person move their arms and legs to create muscle heat. If they are unable to do this, place warm bottles or hot packs in the arm pits, groin, neck and head areas. Do not rub the person’s body or place them in warm water bath. This may stop their heart.

How to protect workers :

• Recognize the environmental and workplace conditions that lead to potential cold-induced illnesses and injuries.
• Learn the signs and symptoms of cold-induced illnesses/injuries and what to do to help the worker.
• Select proper clothing for cold, wet and windy conditions. Layer clothing to adjust to changing environmental temperatures. Wear a hat and gloves, in addition to underwear that will keep water away from the skin (polypropylene).
• Avoid exhaustion or fatigue because energy is needed to keep muscles warm.
• Drink warm, sweet beverages (sugar water, sports-type drinks). Avoid drinks with caffeine (coffee, tea or hot chocolate) or alcohol.
• Eat warm, high-calorie foods like hot pasta dishes.

Magellan Behavioral Health, the contractor providing the Postal Service with Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) services, has created a free, informative, new website for postal employees. Letter carriers may join the site by surfing to EAP4you.com, clicking "New User," entering 800-327-4968 and registering with an anonymous user name and password.

The site contains a huge storehouse of up-to-date health and wellness information on everything from coping with workplace stress, to child and elder care, to time and money management, to learning the warning signs of substance abuse. It also offers an "ask the expert" section for customized advice, anonymous self-screening tools for such problems as depression and alcohol abuse, and a wealth of links to Internet resources on all things related to personal or family health.

Employees covered under the 2006-2011 United States Postal Service-National Association of Letter Carriers (USPS-NALC) national agreement who are eligible to receive annual clothing allowances, as specified in Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) section 932.1, are entitled to an annual allowance increase effective on allowance anniversary dates occurring on or after November 21, 2008, as follows:

Regular Uniform Program (ELM 932.11):

The allowance amount is updated on the uniform allowance anniversary date. The Uniform Purchase Card will reflect the increase approximately two weeks after the employee’s uniform allowance anniversary date. In accordance with the 2006-2010 national agreement, increases are effective on November 21 of the contract year.

— Uniform Program Labor Relations, 11/20/06

Newly eligible employees entering the reimbursable uniform program will receive an additional credit to the employee’s allowance as follows:

• Effective November 21, 2008: $82, if entitled to the $353 per annum.
• Effective November 21, 2009: $84, if entitled to the $362 per annum.
• Effective November 21, 2010: $86, if entitled to the $371 per annum.

The meeting of the National Joint EAP Committee was held at APWU Headquarters in Washington December 16, 2008. Attendees included Brian Hellman, (NALC); Sue Carney, (APWU); and Debbie Atkins, (EAP Administrator). Sandy Savoie, (USPS – Manager, Contract Administration NPMHU and EAP/WEI Programs) was absent. Minutes

The EAP National Joint Committee, from left to right: Susan Carney APWU; Brian Hellman, NALC; Sandy Savoie, USPS; Deborah Atkins, USPS.

On November 12, 1968, in San Francisco, the first office became available to help those in the Postal Service dealing with alcoholism. It was called the Program for Alcoholic Recovery (PAR).

From those humble beginnings has come a state-of-the-art and awarding-winning EAP.

The EAP is now a free, voluntary, and confidential program that offers assessment, referral, short-term counseling and work/life consultation to postal employees and their families. The EAP can help you resolve your personal concerns, so you can be your best at work and at home. The EAP is designed to assist in the identification and resolution of personal, family, and workplace concerns.

In this milestone month, we are proud to announce the receipt of an award from the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA). On October 18, 2008, EAPA held their Awards Luncheon at the Annual World EAP Conference in Atlanta. It was announced that the Postal Service was nominated and selected for the Ross Von Weigand Award, which honors a labor/management Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that exemplifies exceptional cooperation and working relationship.