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No. 04-03 February
20, 2004 |
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On
the Front Lines ! |
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Carriers
Asked to Deliver
Antibiotics in Emergency
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USPS Drafts Plan
for Catastrophic Biological Attack |
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NALC President William
H. Young looks on as (l-r) Homeland Security Secretary
Tom Ridge, PMG John Potter and Health and Human
Services Secretary Tommy Thompson sign Agreement
to draft plans for letter carriers to deliver antibiotics
in event of biological attack. Standing with Young
are Rural Letter Carriers President Dale Holton,
center, and Gen. John Gordon, Assistant to the President
and homeland security advisor to the White House.
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Letter carriers are being asked by the government to help
save American lives in the event of a catastrophic biological
attack by volunteering to deliver antibiotics from the Strategic
National Stockpile to residential homes along their normal
routes.
With NALC President William H. Young in
attendance, a Memorandum of Agreement to develop the draft
plan was signed February 18 by Postmaster General John E.
Potter with the Departments of Homeland Security and Health
and Human Services. National Rural Letter Carriers President
Dale Holton was also present.
Young noted that because letter
carriers deliver mail six days a week in every state, every
city and every neighborhood in America, they develop a close
attachment to the families they serve – families they
would want to help in an emergency.
"In the event of a dangerous
bioterrorist attack, we consider it essential to help
our postal customers protect their health," Young
said. "We all hope that such an incident never occurs,
but if needed I am confident that members of the NALC
would regard this volunteer activity as a patriotic duty
not only for their friends and neighbors, but for the
nation as a whole."
NALC Director of Safety and Health Alan
Ferranto has been involved in meetings for several months
as the plans were drafted to ensure the protection of letter
carriers if they are asked to carry out this task, including
use of protective clothing and respirators, decontamination,
and administration of antibiotic prophylaxis for carriers.
Additional information is available on the Safety
and Health section of the union's website: www.nalc.org.
Details of the plans are still being developed.
In a statement, the Postal Service said
it was approached because of its extensive delivery reach
and the trust its carriers have in the nation's neighborhoods.
It said further discussion of the plan with state and local
officials will be required to determine the feasibility
of incorporating these capabilities into emergency planning
by municipalities.
USPS said the delivery plan would
supplement the public health system in the event of a catastrophic
emergency, with procedures under consideration adding to
– not replacing – local plans.
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to topics
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We're
No. 1 in Public Trust
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Americans have a higher level of trust
in postal employees – and specifically letter carriers
– to maintain their privacy than any other government
employees, according to a survey of 6,000 Americans by the
Ponemon Institute, a leading privacy think tank.
In light of public concern over government
invasion of privacy following September 11, the survey asked
adults to indicate their confidence, as it relates to protecting
privacy in 60 different government agencies from the Postal
Service to the new Department of Homeland Security.
The organization said the Postal Service achieved the
highest privacy trust rating – 78 percent – and
had the lowest percentage of "unsure" responses.
Other ‘trusted" agencies included the Department
of Veterans Affairs, Social Security Administration and
the Internal Revenue Service.
"When we spoke with some
of the survey respondents, they indicated having the most
confidence in the Postal Service because of their personal
relationship with their mail carrier; that relationship
translates into trust of the Postal Service overall,"
said Institute founder Dr. Larry Ponemon.
Dr. Ponemon, who also serves as
adjunct professor of ethic and privacy at the CIO Institute
at Carnegie Mellon University, said organizations that didn't
have high privacy trust ratings included the CIA, Justice
Department, and the Office of the Attorney General.
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Third
COLA - $187
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The third regular cost-of-living adjustment under the National
Agreement will be $187 annually based on the Consumer Price
Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W)
for January announced February 20 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
The cost-of-living adjustment, effective the pay period
beginning March 6 (pay date March 26), is the third of eight
regular COLAs called for in the 2001-2006 contract. It was
based on the increase in the CPI-W between July 2003 and
January 2004.
The third COLA of $187 annually is equivalent to 9 cents
per hour, or $7.20 per pay period.
The accumulation towards the 2005 retiree COLA stands
at 0.3 percent based on the January CPI-W. The 2005 COLA
is to be based on the increase in the CPI-W between the
third quarter of 2003 and the third quarter of 2004.
The COLA for Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA)
beneficiaries in the year 2005, determined on the CPI-W
from December 2003 to December 2004, stands at 0.6 percent
based on the January data. As previously announced, FECA
recipients will receive a 2004 cost-of-living adjustment
of 1.6 percent, effective in March.
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NALC
Abstains Due to ‘No Consensus'
As AFL-CIO Backs Kerry for President
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NALC President William H. Young abstained
February 19 when the AFL-CIO General Board met in Washington
to vote on endorsing a candidate for President of the United
States.
Young said his decision to abstain
came after results were tallied of a poorly responded survey
of NALC members via a special ballot card in the Postal
Record. Only 13,000 of a potential 305,000 members bothered
to return the survey form.
"Since there was no consensus
expressed among the NALC membership – and the number
of survey forms returned was insufficient to determine
a solid leaning toward anyone – I decided to remain
neutral at this stage and abstain," Young said.
In the end, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)
won the nod of the labor movement.
In the NALC survey, former House
Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-MO), who later dropped
out as a presidential candidate, led those on the Democratic
side of the political scale. President George W. Bush was
the top Republican.
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Valpak
to Mail 40 Million Packets
Boosting May 8 NALC Food Drive
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Val-Pak Direct Marketing Systems, Inc.,
which produces and distributes direct mail advertising packets
to homes in all 50 states, joins as a major national supporter
of the food drive this year. Between March 24 and May 3,
the firm will promote the drive on the front of the envelope
and local and regional businesses will also be able to join
in support via inserts inside the envelopes.
NALC President William H. Young praised
the generosity of Valpak in supplementing the 105 million
Campbell Soup/U.S. Postal Service postcards being mailed
to homes a few days before the drive.
"This effort by Valpak provides a one-two punch that
should have a significant impact on alerting the public
of the drive and encouraging donations," Young said.
"We applaud the company's unselfish move to help
fight hunger in America and welcome them into our family
of food drive supporters."
Melissa Fisher, senior vice president
of Marketing & Communications for Cox Target Media,
provider of Valpak networks products, said this is the first
time Valpak has nationally supported a non-profit effort,
noting the drive "is tied so closely with the letter
carriers, who ensure the quality delivery of our product."
By reminding our more than 40 million Valpak households
this April about the food drive, we hope to raise the awareness
of this campaign."
Nearly 1,200 NALC branches were registered
for the drive as the
NALC Bulletin went to press.
Coordinators should check the NALC
food drive website to confirm their branch is registered.
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Support COLCPE in 2004
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© 2001-2005 National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO |
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