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Updated
September 19, 2005
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No. 05-17 September 16, 2005 |
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Topics in this issue:
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| Hurricane Katrina Update! |
NALC/USPS Work to Fill Vacancies
with Displaced Gulf Coast Carriers
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Local Postmasters Should be Contacted |
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After a meeting with NALC President William H. Young September 15, the Postal Service agreed with the union to allow letter carriers displaced by Hurricane Katrina to temporarily work in the city where they now reside.
While a formal Memorandum of Understanding on the situation is being developed, the NALC and USPS have agreed that any employee who wants to work where they are now situated should contact the local postmaster.
“Because of the emergency nature of this situation, the Postal Service has agreed that the temporary placement of these employees in local installations is appropriate,” Young said. “We are working with the Postal Service on identifying vacancies that currently exist and it is our intent to accommodate as many displaced employees as possible who are seeking transfers to post offices where they are now located.”
Young added that he has received several calls from letter carriers who have been told by local management that they must report to work at a location they can not reach due to hurricane damage or be considered AWOL.
Young said if a carrier receives a call like that from a manager, they should explain their personal situation to the manager – Do they have a home to go to, Do they have a car to get back to that city, Where are they currently residing? – and they should understand that they have an option to report to work at their current location.
“Local branch presidents should not overreact to these harsh and uncalled for management directives,” Young said. “Instead, they should contact NALC Director of Safety and Health Brian Hellman at NALC Headquarters and report the specifics of what happened so it can be addressed at the national level.”
As of September 14, there were still 92 letter carriers unaccounted for in the New Orleans area and 380 missing postal employees in total. All letter carriers have been accounted for in Alabama and Mississippi.
Young strongly encouraged any displaced carrier who has not yet called the Postal Service Hotline to do so immediately and inform the Service of their whereabouts so arrangements can be made for the delivery of paychecks. |
Hurricane Contributions Pouring In
for Postal Employees’ Relief Fund |
| NALC Executive Council Votes $50,000 Donation |
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The NALC Executive Council has approved a $50,000 donation from the union’s national treasury to the Postal Employees’ Relief Fund to help postal employees who sustained major damage from Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast.
“The devastation of Hurricane Katrina has impacted thousands of letter carriers and other postal employees,” Young said. “The NALC continues to believe that the best way to help our postal colleagues is through a donation to the Postal Employees’ Relief Fund.”
Young said he hopes the donation from the national union will provide the impetus for additional contributions from NALC branches throughout the nation as well as individual donations from active and retired letter carriers.
Young said a special pull-out envelope will be included in the October Postal Record that NALC members can use to make a personal tax-deductible donation to PERF.
“I am overwhelmed by the generosity being exhibited by NALC members across the country,” Young said. “Many of them have volunteered uniforms, clothing, food and I fully expect there are going to be levels of funding in the Relief Fund that have never before been achieved.”
In addition to the NALC donation, Postmaster General John E. Potter announced that the Postal Service was donating $250,000 to PERF.
Numerous NALC branches and individuals have already sent in checks to the Fund or made a donation online at the Fund Website: www.postalrelief.com. Postal employees can also help by making a pledge to the Postal Employees’ Relief Fund (CFC #9891) during this fall’s Combined Federal Campaign.
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Seventh COLA Accumulation
at $197.60 |
The projected accumulation for the seventh of eight regular cost-of-living adjustments under the 2001-2006 National Agreement stood at $197.60 following release September 15 of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for August.
The seventh COLA will be based on inflation between July and January 2006 and will be payable in the second full pay period following release of the January, 2006 index. The $197.60 annual accumulation equals 9 ½ cents per hour or $7.60 per pay period.
The sixth COLA of $707 annually was announced last month and took effect on September 3. It will be reflected in carriers’ September 23 paychecks.
The projected accumulation toward the 2006 retiree COLA was 3.8 percent following release of the August CPI-W. The 2006 COLA for Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) participants was 3.3 percent based on the latest figures. |
Branches Should Decide Survey Issue
NALC President William H. Young said that local branch presidents should suggest to their members what course of action to take if postal management tries to have letter carriers fill out a Voice of Employees (VOE) Survey form.
Young said he is still being contacted on whether or not members should participate.
“I continue to believe that the decision is best made by the president of each branch involved,” Young said. “They can weigh all the factors and make a suggestion to their local membership according to the local circumstances.” |
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Hillary Clinton Addresses State Chairs;
Backs ‘Fair and Effective’ Postal Reform |
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| Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), left photo, the former First Lady and possible candidate for President in 2008, took time from her busy schedule September 15 to meet with NALC State Legislative Chairs in Washington at a reception during their week-long legislative workshop. She pledged to continue to work with them for passage of “the right kind of postal reform.” Later, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), right photo, a member of the House Government Reform Committee, said supporters of postal reform “need to stand firm” on their issues, while trying to get final passage in the midst of a Congress handling Hurricane Katrina aftermath and Supreme Court nominations. (Photos by Lorraine Swerdloff) |
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USPS Tosses Monkey Wrench
into Postal Reform Enactment |
Miller-led Board of Governors Strikes Again;
Seeks More Control over Employee Benefits |
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The USPS Board of Governors threw a monkey wrench into the drive for enactment of postal reform by telling key lawmakers it opposes substantial aspects of the pending legislation at a time both the House and Senate are struggling with a jam-packed agenda in the waning weeks of the current congressional session.
Board Chairman James Miller III, Postmaster General John E. Potter and six other Board members, sent a letter to Capitol Hill on September 13 arguing that both S. 662 and H.R. 22 shift too much power from the Board of Governors to a strengthened postal regulator, the Postal Regulatory Board. It also goes on to again request greater authority and flexibility to control labor and infrastructure costs.
The Board’s latest intervention was surprising to many, coming at a time when the Senate was poised to take up the legislation after the House of Representatives passed it 410-20 on July 26 and a Senate version had won Committee approval.
“Once again, the Postal Service has shown that it has a political tin ear,” said NALC President William H. Young. “While we understand the Governors’ point of view on the governance issues raised in the letter, NALC categorically rejects the Board’s repeated attempts to reopen the issue of postal employee benefits and collective bargaining rights.”
Young reiterated his comment of last February when the Board sent a similar letter to Congress. “Letter carriers want postal reform, but we won’t accept reform designed to reduce the pay and benefits of postal employees or to undermine our collective bargaining rights.”
In a new message to NALC e-Activists on the union’s website: www.nalc.org, Young said he was “disturbed that the Postal Service has once again failed to play a constructive role in the debate over postal reform.”
“Too often, the USPS has failed to offer workable alternatives to the provisions it opposes,” Young said.
Young said neither Hurricane Katrina nor the Board of Governors’ opposition will deter NALC from pursuing postal reform, but acknowledged that these new stumbling blocks may make it necessary for the union to pause and reassess its strategy.
“I plan to consult with key Members of Congress and their staffers as well as with our allies in our pro-reform coalition of mailers and employee groups in the weeks ahead,” he said. “Once we have a new game plan for moving forward, I will be in touch with you again.”
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NALC Health Benefit Plan
Holds Competitive Rates |
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The NALC Health Benefit Plan, along with many others participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program (FEHB), was successful in holding down the amount of rate increases for 2006 despite rising medical costs and retaining quality benefits for both active and retired enrollees.
NALC Plan rates for 2006, announced September 15 by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), includes adjustments in employee and annuitant contributions in line with others in the FEHB system, which experienced the smallest average premium hike in nine years.
“Our retired members can ill-afford the increase,” commented NALC President William H. Young. “The nation’s retirees are going to be saddled with increases that are not insignificant, but it just mirrors what is going on in the health care industry.”
Young and Health Benefit Plan Director Thomas H. Young, Jr., were pleased, however, that NALC Plan, administered and operated by the union, was able to continue offering its quality benefit package while preventing the rates from increasing substantially more than other FEHB plans.
For those not currently enrolled in the NALC Plan, President Young urged both active and retired carriers to compare the benefits of the NALC Health Benefit Plan – medical services provided by physicians, inpatient and outpatient hospital services, emergency treatment, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and NALC’s prescription drug program – along with the other plans during Open Season – November 14 through December 12.
“I am confident that you will find the NALC Health Benefit Plan meets the test for providing comprehensive coverage for yourself and your family at a reasonable and competitive cost,” he said.
Employee contribution rates effective in January 2006 for active letter carriers and annuitants in the NALC Health Benefit Plan are: |
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Self-Only |
Self & Family |
| Active Carriers (biweekly) |
$ 37.97 |
$ 59.07 |
| Annuitants (monthly) |
$ 136.71 |
$251.64 |
| This is a summary of some of the features of the NALC Health Benefit Plan. Detailed information on the 2006 NALC Health Benefit Plan can be found in the official brochure. Before making a final decision, please read the Plan's officially approved Brochure (RI71-009). All benefits are subject to the definitions, limitations, and exclusions set forth in the official brochure. |
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| NALC Delivers $1.8 Million to MDA |
| NALC branches from across the country presented donations and pledges totaling $1.8 million to the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon this year, helping the telethon attain nearly $55 million in donations.
Executive Vice President Jim Williams represented NALC President William H. Young at the nationally televised event. He was accompanied by representatives of the top NALC branches in 2004 MDA collections. NALC has been one of the major group donors to the MDA, which is leading the research for cures for neuromuscular disease, since the telethon was created.
Young, who serves as a MDA vice president, congratulated all letter carriers and other volunteers who helped NALC collect funds for the telethon.
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| Jerry Lewis thanks NALC Executive Vice President Jim Williams after Williams presented final pledges and donations from NALC’s effort totaling $1.8 million during the nationally televised MDA Labor Day Telethon. |
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© 2001-2005 National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO |
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