‘They Are Who We Thought They Were’

July 2019

‘They Are Who We Thought They Were’‘They Are Who We Thought They Were’ page 5page 5

page 3page 3

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July 2019, Volume 110, No. 7

www.naps.org

Objective

The objective of the Asso-

ciation shall be to pro-

mote, through appropriate

and effective action, the

welfare of its members,

and to cooperate with the

USPS and other agencies

of the federal government

in a continuing effort to

improve the service, to

raise the standard of

efficiency, and to widen

the field of opportunity

for its members who make

the Postal Service or the

federal government their

life work.

FEATURES

7 Louis M. Atkins Presidential Student ScholarshipsNAPS will award five $1,000 student scholarships.

8 April Consultative Upgrade to Maintenance manager position,impact of emergency closure on Pittsburgh NDC among items discussed.

26 EAP Offers Exciting, New Services New Directions Behavioral Health is the new provider of EAP services. New features include a live-chat feature, video counseling and an EAP mobile app for smartphones and tablets.

RESIDENT OFFICERS

3 When Leaders Don’t Follow the Rules! Brian J. Wagner

4 Pushing Forward Ivan D. Butts

5 ‘They Are Who We Thought They Were,’ Part TwoChuck Mulidore

COLUMNS

18 Legislative Update Bob Levi

20 The Associate Member John Ferrell

22 The NAPS Postmaster Aric Skjelstad

DEPARTMENTS

10 NAPS of Note

14 Views from the Vice Presidents Marilyn Walton

19 Quarterly Financial Report For the period ended Feb. 28, 2019

25 Thoughts from the NAPS Branches Reginald Gramblin

NAPS Training Calendar

NAPS 2019 State Conventions

27 Notes from the National Auxiliary Linda Rendleman

July 2019In This Issue

The Postal Supervisor / July 2019 3

Commentaryfrom the Resident Officers

ctions speak louder than words.” “The bestleaders are the best followers.” These are just acouple quotes about leadership I found on theinternet. True leadership is earned. Once

earned, to maintain a leadership role, a leader mustfollow—the rules. Here’s the scoop:

Postal employees, including EAS and postal execu-tives, have many postal laws,handbooks, manuals, memoran-dums of understanding (MOUs),union national agreements andmanagement association pay pack-ages and management instructions(MIs) filled with policies or rules tobe followed in the performance ofone’s job. It’s these policies andrules that keep order in the PostalService to ensure we operate effi-ciently, effectively, safely and withintegrity.

Inherently, when we don’t follow established laws,postal policies and rules, there can be serious conse-quences, such as additional labor or operating costs,grievance settlements, OSHA fines, accidents and in-juries, EEO claims, lost work days and a decline inservice to postal customers, to name just a few. Somemay rationalize that when the immediate result maybe positive or no one will be harmed, it doesn’t makesense to follow the law, policy or rule. However, rush-ing to achieve a short-term result by side-stepping therules may just create long-term consequences for thefuture.

Some leaders tend to follow the spirit of the law or,in some cases, policy or rule. In short, this spirit meansan interpretation of the law, rule or policy that pro-vides justification for a person’s action, even if this in-terpretation does not fall within the law, rule or policyas written. Another school of thought is there alwaysare exceptions to the rule.

Exceptions do occur, such as modifying a workschedule to accommodate a medical appointment, al-

lowing someone to register for a training class or eventafter the deadline has passed, etc. However, commonsense must prevail when exceptions are made. Laws,rules, policies, MIs and agreements are established fora purpose and are meant to be followed by leaders andthose they lead.

Imagine the consequences if regular exceptionswere made by postal leaders not to follow rules or poli-cies related to safety, proper recording of employeeworkhours, using the OT admin program, reportingmail volume, the Joint Statement on Violence and Be-havior in the Workplace, sexual harassment and dis-crimination in the workplace. Not only could employ-ees be harmed physically, but financially andmentally, as well.

Would a true postal leader give any EAS employeea verbal instruction to violate safety rules, postal poli-cies or the law? Let’s hope not. It’s not in the best in-terest of the Postal Service or its employees to haverogue or renegade “leaders” who believe they are ex-empt from following the rules. It’s always best to getclear, written confirmation from any leader whose in-structions appear to be in violation of a rule, policy orlaw.

Have you ever run into the following situations?You receive instructions from your leader not to au-thorize penalty-overtime (P-OT), no full-day overtime,ensure all carriers are off the street by 1800, EAS em-ployees must deliver mail or mandates of no late dis-patches from the plant. To adhere to such instructionsmay require a violation of one or more postal rules,policies or union contracts.

You follow your leader’s instructions and achieve ashort-term result. However, you may just have createdlong-term consequences, possibly resulting in finan-cial grievance settlements, safety and OSHA violationsto meet dispatches or poor service to postal customers.

Also note there are rules, policies and managementagreements that postal leadership should follow as itrelates to EAS employees. These include the proper

A

Brian J. WagnerPresident

When Leaders Don’t Follow the Rules!“

Continued on page 6

4 July 2019 / The Postal Supervisor

t the writing of this column, we had just re-ceived and digested the response from theUSPS to the recommendations issued by thefact-finding panel in regard to the National

Performance Assessment process being employed bythe USPS for EAS employees. Pushing forward.

Additionally, I have just been informed that a mem-ber of our USPS Executive Leader-ship Team does not like the tone ofmy articles. I have written severalarticles that referenced OIG auditsand, on review, I believe the col-umn at issue is my March 2019 col-umn, “We Will Leave No One Be-hind.” I pointed out a fundamentalfact that an OIG audit, HR-AR-11-006—2009 Pay for PerformanceProgram, found that NPA scoreshad been reduced.

This is not the first time I haveheard that someone at USPS Headquarters did not likethe “tone” of my articles. The statement was not that Imisspoke, I misrepresented or I outright lied. If thatwere the case, it would be of great concern to me and, ifproven correct, would prompt me to make an immedi-ate correction and heartfelt apology. However, that isnot the case.

USPS Headquarters leadership is not saying any ofthose things. They are saying it’s my “tone,” which, tome, is saying, “Ivan, I know you’re right about whatyou’re saying, but I just don’t like the way you are say-ing it or the fact you are saying it.”

I don’t know another way of talking about the in-justices I hear from our members or see how USPS lead-ership engages EAS employees. I make no apology forfacts being misread as tone. Someone must speak aboutthis deteriorating state of connectiveness between theleaders of the USPS and the EAS managers who fulfillthe mission of the USPS.

If the USPS has a better way of accomplishing this,other than the current “I don’t care about EAS employ-ees” approach, my email address and phone numberare publicly available. I look forward to engaging you inthis conversation.

Now, to the point of this article, which is the USPS’response to the sound, rational and articulated recom-mendations of the fact-finding panel. Working as an EASemployee in the USPS during the past 10 years of what I

term as a blatant attack on the pay and benefits of EASemployees from the highest levels of postal leadership,the USPS’ response to the fact-finding panel’s recommen-dations was nothing less than par for the course.

During this time, EAS employees steadfastly havebeen the continuing, driving force keeping America’spostal service moving. I wonder if this is not part of theproblem. Could EAS employees’ commitment to pro-viding America with the best mail service possible alsobe a contributing factor to the USPS’ neglect and refusalto adhere to the statutes of Title 39 U.S. Code § 1004?

I am sure the USPS would disagree with that state-ment. However, I will ask you: Have you driven yourprivately owned vehicles without the voluntary rider(not supported by NAPS) policy for USPS work? Do youeat lunch at your work location and continue working?Do you use your personal cell phone for USPS business?Do you work any time beyond that for which you arepaid? Do you answer phone calls off the clock (thanksto AJ)? These things may seem noble. However, couldthey also be fueling a “They’ll get it done” attitude ofneglect from USPS leadership?

The USPS has taken some tremendous strides instating that EAS employees are part of the LeadershipTeam. I have seen and written columns about the highlevels of engagement at safety symposiums and leader-ship meetings. However, in the matter of fair and rea-sonable pay for EAS employees, this leadership contin-ues to fall short of the mark; we see a continued loss ofwealth.

One last thought on the issue of tone. When I re-flect on the tone of the USPS before the start of our paytalks to what this final pay package reflects, I thinkabout something Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said. Ina May 17, 1957, speech titled, “Give Us the Ballot,” hereferred to the high blood pressure of words and ane-mia of deeds concerning congressional leadership ad-dressing the case of justice.

Leading up to pay talks, we heard the high bloodpressure of words about how leadership knows EAS payneeds to be fixed. We now stand at the point of anemiaof deeds with a pay package that, once again, devaluesthe work and commitment of EAS employees. The sameemployees who are constant and steadfast in our re-solve to manage and deliver service for America’s USPS.

No “tone,” just facts. Pushing forward.In solidarity …

[email protected]

A

Ivan D. ButtsExecutive Vice President

Pushing Forward

n my column in the February issue, I wrote aboutthe late football coach Dennis Green’s epic rant ashead coach of the Arizona Cardinals after a partic-ularly difficult loss to the Chicago Bears. Answer-

ing reporters’ questions about the loss, a visibly agitat-ed Green pronounced about the Bears, “They are whowe thought they were!”

I likened that rant from Coach Green to the fact-finding process that recently hadconcluded between NAPS and theUSPS. Our side had carefully pre-pared and had clear argumentsproving the failed EAS pay systemneeded to be replaced. The PostalService came with PowerPoints,talking points and a poor defenseas to why the Pay-for-Performance(PFP) program is a fair way tocompensate EAS employees. This,even as thousands of EAS employ-ees do not receive just raises in

their pay each year.

The USPS merely showed up. They had no specificplan to defend their compensation system, likely be-cause they did not believe they should have to. Theyalso objected to NAPS being the only management or-ganization with the nerve to question the pay process.NAPS played offense with precision and defense withskill. We were, and still are, prepared. They were, well,who we thought they were.

Now, as you know, the neutral panel of mediatorsfrom the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Serviceissued its final report on April 30. The panel over-whelmingly sided with NAPS on all the core issues ofcontention that led to NAPS requesting—as it’s enti-tled to under law—fact-finding in the first place. NAPSwas forced into this process by a Postal Service reticentto discuss its EAS compensation system. The agencyalso has been overly sensitive to criticism of a failedpay system that has left thousands of EAS employeeswithout raises for the past several years. At the sametime, every craft employee and senior postal executiveenjoys raises, cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), stepincreases or bonuses.

The panel agreed with NAPS that the PFP sys-tem was “broken and counterproductive.” NAPSanticipated this strong endorsement of its posi-tions on EAS compensation, supervisory differ-ential with the craft, COLAs, locality pay and thebroken PFP system—which provides neither paynor performance—would provoke a responsefrom the USPS. NAPS hoped that USPS leader-


I

Chuck MulidoreSecretary/Treasurer

‘They Are Who We Thought TheyWere,’ Part Two

Total Regular Total MembershipArea Members NonMembers PercentageArea 1 - New England Area 1,477 614 70%

Area 2 - New York Area 2,282 701 76%

Area 3 - Mideast Area 2,286 807 73%

Area 4 - Capitol-Atlantic Area 2,906 976 74%

Area 5 - Pioneer Area 1,422 585 70%

Area 6 - Michiana Area 1,245 491 71%

Area 7 - Illini Area 1,119 479 70%

Area 8 - North Central Area 917 583 61%

Area 9 - MINK Area 1,170 689 62%

Area 10 - Southeast Area 2,203 903 70%

Area 11 - Central Gulf Area 767 418 64%

Area 12 - Cotton Belt Area 989 447 68%

Area 13 - Texas Area 1,767 722 70%

Area 14 - Northwest Area 1,121 412 73%

Area 15 - Rocky Mountain Area 1,471 642 69%

Area 16 - Pacific Area 2,821 1,148 71%

Report Totals 25,963 10,617 71%

National Association of Postal Supervisors Member Percentage Report

April 2019

ship would take this moment to en-gage with us to seek to rectify theselong-standing concerns. While wewere hopeful, we also were realisticenough not to have been surprisedby the USPS’ response, which essen-tially criticized the fact-finding panelfor the conclusions it reached.

Basically, all three fact-findersfound the Postal Service’s EAS paypackage for FY16-19 violated thestatutory requirements of Title 39that EAS pay be comparable to theprivate sector, be sufficiently higherthan the pay of clerks and carriersbeing supervised and be sufficient toattract and retain qualified supervi-sors and managers and maintain awell-motivated workforce.

The panel submitted its long-awaited conclusions to NAPS andthe USPS on April 30. By statute, thePostal Service had 15 days to imple-ment a pay decision for the 31,000

field EAS employees covered bythese pay consultations. During thattime, NAPS waited for the USPS tocontact us to, perhaps, seek somenew solutions to address the con-cerns of EAS employees, engage withus jointly to develop a process to re-place the broken PFP system with apay process that allows all EAS em-ployees to receive regular pay in-creases and reward their hard workand dedication to the success of thePostal Service. Also, address our con-cerns about the pay differential withthe craft employees we supervise andconsider the need for COLAs insome form and locality pay for EASemployees who work in high cost-of-living areas.

These conversations could havebeen based on the outlines providedby the fact-finding panel. Unfortu-nately, the call from L’Enfant Plazanever came. Instead, on the 15th

day, an email was sent by the PostalService with an attachment that out-lined the final USPS pay decision. Somuch for engagement. They are whowe thought they were.

So now we move forward—not bychoice, but by the need for justiceand fairness. We now must set afoundation for the future that thePostal Service must consider for up-coming generations of managers, su-pervisors and postmasters. Thus, theconclusion of the fact-finding processis not the end—not for NAPS. Which,once again, takes me from the greatfootball coach Dennis Green to thegreat statesman Winston Churchill,who said, as the tide began to slowlyturn during World War II: “Now thisis not the end. It is not even the be-ginning of the end. But it is, perhaps,the end of the beginning.”

The future awaits. Game [email protected]


handling of involuntary reassign-ments, timely approval of EAS leaverequests, providing ELM 650 anddebt collection appeal rights, emer-gency placement and additional payfor special-exempt EAS employees,to name a few. When postal leader-ship violates these rules and policies,contact your local NAPS representa-tive to resolve such issues.

In my judgment, when a personin a leadership role does not followestablished policies and rules, itsends a mixed message—usually abad one—to those who are led. “Doas I say, not as I do” may not be thebest mantra for a leader. This, too,sends the wrong message as it givesthe impression to those in the chainof command that it’s alright for aleader to violate rules and policies,

but everyone else best not do thesame.

Again, actions speak louder thanwords. If a leader is not willing tofollow the established policies andrules of an organization, but requiresall others to do so, that hypocrisywill weaken the trust of those whoreport to or seek guidance from thatrespective leader. Basically, leader-ship that once was earned now islost.

Whether your leadership role ispostal supervisor, manager, postmas-ter, other managerial personnel, partof the USPS Executive LeadershipTeam, elected or appointed NAPS of-ficer or community volunteer, toname just a few, we all are leaders infulfilling the roles to which we haveaccepted responsibility. As such,leaders need to set the example.When it comes time to lead, followthe rules.

Even in NAPS, there are national,state and branch constitutions andbylaws that govern how NAPS offi-cers and branches conduct business.There also is “Robert’s Rules ofOrder, Newly Revised,” which pro-vides structure in conducting NAPSbusiness during meetings.

NAPS members expect those inNAPS leadership roles to also followestablished association policies andrules. Otherwise, our NAPS leaderscan be viewed as hypocrites by thosewho elected them to do the rightthing for the association and themembers they represent.

To keep my monthly policy andnot to violate my own rule with anexception, my ice cream flavor-of-the-month recommendation for Julyis Reese’s fudge swirl.

[email protected]

When Leaders Don’t Follow theRules!Continued from page 3

Louis M. Atkins Presidential Student

Scholarships

National Association of Postal Supervisors

he Louis M. Atkins

Presidential Student

Scholarships are

awarded to honor former Presi-

dent Louis Atkins and other for-

mer NAPS presidents for their

dedication to NAPS members

and their families. These scholar-

ships are sponsored solely by

NAPS.

Applicants for this scholarship must be the

children or grandchildren of a living NAPS mem-

ber, active or associate, at the time of drawing.

Furthermore, the children or grandchildren must

be attending or have been accepted by an accredit-

ed two- or four-year college or university.

NAPS will award five $1,000 Louis M.

Atkins Presidential Student Scholarships. One

winner will be randomly selected from each of the

NAPS regional areas: Northeast, Eastern, Central,

Southern and Western.

Applications must be received

no later than Dec. 27, 2019. On-

line applications only will be ac-

cepted using the NAPS website.

Please go to www.naps.org under

the “Members” tab to apply for

the Louis M. Atkins Presidential

Student Scholarships, or go to

https://naps.org/Members-

Scholarship.

Scholarship winners will be announced in Jan-

uary 2020. In addition, the scholarship winners

will be listed in the March 2020 issue of The

Postal Supervisor.

Members whose child or grandchild have

been awarded a Louis M. Atkins Presidential

Student Scholarship will receive a check, payable

to the college or university listed in the applica-

tion, in January 2020. Scholarships may be used to

pay expenses in the student’s current or following

semester.

Deadline: Dec. 27, 2019

T

Louis M. Atkins Presidential Student

Scholarships

National Association of Postal Supervisors

Deadline: Dec. 27, 2019

T

Online applications only: https://naps.org/Members-Scholarship


April 10 Consultative

resident Brian Wagner, Exec-utive Vice President Ivan D.Butts and Secretary/Treasur-er Chuck Mulidore attended

the April consultative meeting. Rep-resenting the Postal Service wereBruce Nicholson, Phong Quang andHenry Bear, USPS Labor RelationsPolicy Administration.

Agenda Item #1NAPS has received questions

from the field in regard to the Main-tenance Manager (MM) positionscheduled for an upgrade. The matterhas been put on hold, though, basedon a July 20, 2018, memo fromSimon Storey, USPS Employee Re-source Management vice president.

NAPS has not received any corre-spondence concerning the hold onMM upgrades. NAPS requested abriefing on the status of the up-grades, as well as the following fromStorey’s July memo: “A project is un-derway that may result in changes toplant facility types and levels, as wellas to the criteria for staffing author-ized within plant facilities.”

Correspondence was sent to NAPSHeadquarters before Storey’s July 20,2018, memo. This project still is in theevaluation stage. If it is determined thatchanges are required to the establishedstaffing criteria, it will be proposed toNAPS in accordance with the consulta-tion process in Title 39 § 1004 (d)1004. NAPS will be contacted in ad-vance of any changes to this staffing cri-teria.

Agenda Item #2NAPS brought Agenda Item #5

from the April 11, 2018, consultativeto the table for an update:

NAPS Headquarters has beenmade aware of a recent settlement inthe National Reassessment Program(NRP) in which monetary awardshave/will be made that could directlyimpact total operating expenses(TOE).

NAPS requested responses to sev-eral questions. Roger Collado, man-ager, Injury Compensation & Med-ical Services (A), attended andaddressed this item:

There was no settlement. This was aclass-action decision by the EEOC. Noti-fications have been sent to the classmembers. The Postal Service currently isin litigation.

• What is the current financialimpact to the USPS?

The financial impact has not beendetermined as we currently are in litiga-tion.

• What are the impact implemen-tations to NPA?

The impact to NPA has not been determined as we currently are in litiga-tion.

• What is the future financial im-pact from implementation of thisprogram?

This program was ended in July2011.

• How will settlements be paid?Settlements are yet to be determined

as we currently are in litigation.• What has happened to the pro-

gram?

The program was ended July 2011.• Are EAS employees impacted?A small group of EAS employees are

class members.The Postal Service’s most recent

response:The Postal Service still is in litiga-

tion.

Agenda Item #3NAPS asked for the standard posi-

tion description for the recently cre-ated supervisory EAS-19 positions inthe Sales Retention Team units.

The position description was provid-ed during the meeting.

Agenda Item #4NAPS brought Item #2 from the

Aug. 4 consultative, which was final-ized, back to the table. This agendaitem was a follow-up to the April 11,2018, consultative when NAPSbrought back to the table AgendaItem #1 from the Feb. 14 consultativefor an update:

NAPS requested an OCC code re-view for consideration of the Super-visor Differential Adjustment (SDA)for the following EAS positions as-signed to the Stamp Fulfillment Ser-vices Center (SFSC):

• OCC Code 2355-0011, EAS-17supervisor, Maintenance OperationsSupport (SFS). Currently, this SFSCEAS employee supervises five PS-10ETs, 10 PS-4 labor/custodians andone PS-7 MOS clerk.

• OCC Code 2375-0015, EAS-17supervisor, Order Processing (SFS).Currently, this SFSC EAS employee

P

Upgrade to Maintenance Manager Position, Impact of Emergency Closure of Pittsburgh NDC Among Items Discussed

supervises one PS-7 Customer Serviceclerk, one PS-6 general clerk and 17PS-6 Stamp Fulfillment Servicesclerks.

NAPS requested the salaries forthe EAS positions with OCC-codes2355-0011 and 2375-0015 be correct-ed and updated in ELM 412.12b.NAPS also asked whether the USPSauthorizes the SDA for work that hasbeen and is being performed by thesetwo EAS positions.

These positions are being reviewedby USPS Headquarters Compensation.NAPS will be informed of the Postal Ser-vice’s decision.

NAPS asked for an update on thisrequest. Following is the Postal Ser-vice’s response at the April 11 consul-tative:

The supervisor, Maintenance Opera-tions Support (SFS), and supervisor,Order Processing (SFS), will be includedin the position group “All Other Eligi-ble” of the SDA, effective May 12, 2018.Retroactive pay adjustments are not ap-plicable when positions are added to orremoved from the SDA chart.

Following is the Postal Service’sresponse from the Aug. 4 consulta-tive:

As indicated in our response duringthe April consultative meeting, both jobswere added as SDA-eligible in the posi-tion group “All Other Eligible.” Salaryadjustments for employees in the two oc-cupation codes were made effective onMay 12, 2018, with no retroactive pay.

NAPS contends that OCC Code2355-0011, based on the staffingnoted in the original SDA update re-quest, clearly reflects an EAS OCCCode that should be in the PlantMaintenance Position Group forSDA. NAPS requested that OCC Code2355-0011 be placed in the correctposition group of Plant Maintenanceand pay adjusted from the USPS ef-fective date of May 12, 2018.

Headquarters Compensation con-ducted a review of this position, com-

mencing in January 2018. As we havein the past and as a courtesy to NAPS,we will ask Compensation to review thisHeadquarters position and advisewhether it is consistent with the SDApay policy.

Follow-up response from USPS:The Postal Service has made a deter-

mination to add this position—supervi-sor, Maintenance Operations Support(SFS), Occupation Code 2355-0031—under the position group of Plant Main-tenance on the SDA chart.

Agenda Item #5On Sunday, March 24, 2019,

NAPS Headquarters received calls andinquiries regarding the emergencyclosure of the Pittsburgh NDC due toa hazardous material spill (mercury)at that facility that occurred onMarch 23. This call came from em-ployees at the facility because noemergency actions took place. Poten-tially exposed employees were senthome. The Spill Team did not arriveat the facility until March 24; therewas no response from area leadershipuntil March 24.

NAPS only received notificationof this hazardous situation after itcomplained to the USPS regardingthe lack of notification. NAPS stillhas received no official briefing ofthe incident that potentially exposedits members to harmful levels of mer-cury.

NAPS asked for a briefing on thehazardous spill, as well as for a copyof the COOP, POC or other currentemergency response plan in use bythe USPS.

Local NAPS representatives were in-formed of the mercury event, as well asplanning and recovery events. National-level representatives from the manage-ment associations were informed of themercury spill once it was received byLabor Relations. However, the InspectionService is investigating this matter. Oncethe investigation is complete, a briefingwill be provided to advise of additionalfindings.

Agenda Item #6Field EAS employees provided

NAPS the following information thatimpacts its members:

Eastern Area, Pittsburgh PlantReopening, Pittsburgh District

“Regular operations will resumeFriday, April 5, 2019, at 5 a.m. ET forthe Pittsburgh NDC, 300 Brush CreekRd., Warrendale, PA 15095. We ap-preciate your patience during thisunexpected closure.”

NAPS Headquarters is disheart-ened that USPS leadership has failedto engage NAPS on issues that impactthe health and welfare of its mem-bers. However, now that this facili-ty—a major hub for all classes ofmail—is being reopened after a 13-day closure, NAPS is requesting abriefing on the mitigating factors forthe PFP process due to this closure,which has impacted NPA scores on anational, area, district, MPOO area,Lead Finance number and Unit Fi-nance number. The shutdown of thisfacility has negative impacts on vari-ous NPA scores. These impacts applyacross the nation in various NPA in-dicators—not just service indicators.

The Postal Service disagrees withNAPS’ allegation that the Postal Servicefailed to engage NAPS on issues that im-


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Continued on page 13


NAPS of Note

National Postal ForumPresident Brian Wagner attended

the 2019 National Postal Forum May 7and 8 in Indianapolis. The forum waswell attended, with many vendors.Wagner, Executive Vice President IvanD. Butts and Secretary/Treasurer ChuckMulidore attended USPS Chief Operat-ing Officer Dave Williams’ Operationsmeeting on May 8. The resident offi-cers met with and heard from USPSleadership, including Postmaster Gen-eral Megan Brennan.

Deputy Postmaster General Ron Stroman and NAPS President Brian Wagner in front of theHot Wheels stamp display.

From left: NAPS Executive Vice President IvanD. Butts, Greater Indiana District Retail Man-ager (A) and Indiana State Branch 917 VicePresident Marcel Webb, USPS Greater IndianaDistrict Manager Todd Hawkins, NAPS Secre-tary/Treasurer Chuck Mulidore and PresidentBrian Wagner.

Marcel Webb, Greater Indiana District Re-tail manager (A) and Indiana State Branch917 vice president, was on hand to helpcustomers at the National Postal Forum inIndianapolis.

Executive Vice President Ivan D. Butts with Indianapolis Branch 8 member Monique Mosley,Fort Wayne, IN, Branch 204 member Alice Wims-Lee and Branch 8 member Tammy Malone.


Sacramento Branch 77 members, stand-ing, from left: Dianne Ingalls, Karyn Rah-ming and Marilyn Walton. Sitting: JackieRominger, Ralph Petty, and VontinaSwygert, Oakland Branch 127.

NAPS was a sponsor at the 42nd Annual Basque BBQ & VIP Reception at Rep. JohnGaramendi’s Touch the Earth Ranch in Valley Springs, CA. Many local and state politi-cians attended. NAPS members had an opportunity to network with Garamendi, as wellas visit with many local volunteers and other postal and federal union members. Fromleft: Arthur Smith (Marilyn Walton’s brother who lives in Garamendi’s district); BarbaraKelly, Sacramento Branch 77 Auxiliary; Western Region Vice President Marilyn Walton;Garamendi; and Vontina and Sharmaine Swygert, Oakland Branch 127.

California State Branch 905President Marilyn Jones in-stalled So. California BayDistrict Branch 266 officersMay 16. From left:Sergeant-at-Arms PatrickJohnson, Marilyn Jones,Sergeant-at-Arms TravisWatkins, Legislative ChairWillie Ann Hawkins,Trustees James Herod,George Turner and ToyaCato-Hodge, TreasurerMichael Chin, SecretaryEvelyn Benjamin, Vice Presi-dent Deborah K. Washing-ton and Joyce Roelants,standing in for PresidentAlma Williams.

Los Angeles Branch 39 hosted a table at a recentUSPS Career Day and chatted with Deputy Post-master General Ron Stroman. From left: Branch39 Vice President Sam Booth Jr., Legislative repYolanda Grayson, Stroman and Branch 39 Presi-dent Marilyn Jones.

New Supervisor Program graduates were welcomed by senior staff to their new assign-ments at the Bay Valley Plant in Oakland, CA. From left: MDO Karandip Dhaliwal, MDOJuana Ortiz, SMDO David Saldeco, acting Plant Manager Pedro Ortiz, SDO Robin Rogers,SDO Jan James and SDO Maria Tabasa.


On April 30, the House Oversight and Reform Committee conducted a hearing onthe financial condition of the Postal Service. Postmaster Megan Brennan (lower left)testified. Attending were, third row from left, NAPS Executive Vice President Ivan D.Butts and Director of Legislative & Political Affairs Bob Levi; fourth row, center, JamesE. Parks Jr. Nova District Branch 526 member James Reedy and former NAPS politicalrepresentative Katie Maddocks.

President Brian Wagner, with North Central Area Vice President DanMooney (left) and Central Region Vice President Craig Johnson, sworein Madison, WI, Branch 213 President Sheri Maggioncalda.

Newly elected CaliforniaState Branch LegislativeChair April Trevena at-tended a town hallmeeting by Rep. RoKhanna (D-17), her con-gressman. She had anopportunity to speakwith Khanna, who ex-pressed his support forpostal reform and saidhe is a friend of thePostal Service.

On May 21, Executive Vice President Ivan D. Butts, Legislative Counsel BruceMoyer and Director of Legislative & Political Affairs Bob Levi made a specialpresentation to House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC). Clyburn was sched-uled to speak at the Legislative Training Seminar in March, but was unable toattend because his flight was canceled.

The NAPS Legislative Team presented Clyburn with a framed copy ofMelvin Tolson’s poem, “The Sea-Turtle and the Shark,” in appreciation of hisleadership. The poem was published in 1965 by the Broadside Press in Detroit,which published the major African-American poetry of the time. The poem wasprinted poster-size with an illustration, making it a visual piece of art, as well.

Clyburn shared his insights about leadership with the NAPS LegislativeTeam.

Wisconsin State Branch 956 officers wereinstalled at the Wisconsin State Conven-tion in May at the Chula Vista Resort,Wisconsin Dells. From left: Secretary JoeMusolf, North Central Area Vice PresidentDan Mooney, Eastern Shores Area VicePresident Roy Strobl, Executive Vice Presi-dent Julie Joers, President Dale Koller,Treasurer Joanne Serdynski, Central Re-gion Vice President Craig Johnson, MetroArea Vice President Linda Pullen-Algeeand National President Brian Wagner.


Connecticut members attended the recentNew England Area Convention at the RedJacket Inn in North Conway, NH. From leftin each row, starting in the front: NAPS Sec-retary/Treasurer Chuck Mulidore, DenisWright, New Haven Branch 3; MarciaPerkins, Branch 3; Joe Viola, Branch 3; LisaDouglas, Hartford Branch 5; Pamela Size-more, Branch 5; Hector Curado, Branch 5;Jacqueline Fulmore, Bridgeport Branch 441;and Dan Bozek, Fairfield County Branch 47.

Miami Branch 146’s Executive Board honored Stanley Gold with an honorary lifetime membership in NAPS inrecognition of his many accomplishments on behalf of NAPS members. The award was signed by the residentofficers. From left: Carolyn Williams, Michael Murphy, Southern Region Vice President Tim Ford, Bailee Hall(Williams’ great-granddaughter), Kenny Franz, Michael LeCount, Pat Murphy, Stanley Gold, Victor Lopez, AnnStrickland and Linda Scott.

pact the health and welfare of its mem-bers. In this instance, local NAPS lead-ers were advised of the event and ongo-ing communication was provided.

The Postal Service follows the con-sultation process when proposingchanges to programs and policies affect-ing supervisory and managerial employ-ees and invites and encourages NAPS toparticipate in developing and makingchanges to those programs and policies.

The Postal Service also notifiesNAPS, often daily, of new initiativesand other postal matters deemed rele-vant to postal employees who are NAPSmembers. Headquarters Leadership en-courages its areas to engage NAPS onlocal initiatives.

Mail processing operations wereshifted to other facilities. It is too soonto determine whether there were any im-pacts to NPA indicators resulting fromthe closure of the Pittsburgh NDC.

April 10 ConsultativeContinued from page 9

Newly elected MassachusettsState Branch 924 officers,from left: Chris Capobianco,board member-at-large; Do-minic Russo, 2nd vice presi-dent; Roy Madden, secre-tary/treasurer; Dave Lum, 1stvice president; Kim Lewin,president; Chuck Mulidore,NAPS secretary/treasurer; JimMisserville, board member-at-large; Cindy Chapin, boardmember-at-large; and CyDumas, New England Areavice president.

On the Move?

Have you moved or are planning amove? Let NAPS know, too!Keeping your mailing address cur-rent at NAPS Headquarters helps uskeep The Postal Supervisor comingto you without interruption andavoid unnecessary “Address ServiceRequested” charges.Please let us know your new addressand its effective date as soon as youknow it. Address changes may bemailed to NAPS at 1727 King St.,Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-2753, or faxed to (703) 836-9665.


Viewsfrom the Vice Presidents

By Marilyn WaltonWestern Region Vice President

he second California/Hawaii Bi-State Convention opened withalohas from California State

President Marilyn Jones and PacificVice President Chuck Lum, conven-tion co-chairs. Students from Puna-hou High School (whichPresident Obama attend-ed) performed the presen-tation of the colors. LindaThomas, San FranciscoBranch 88, sang the na-tional anthem. KanaiAlos, Honolulu Branch214, sang Hawaii’s stateanthem.

Laurie Lum, Branch 214 presi-dent, welcomed everyone. Specialguests included USPS Pacific AreaVice President of Operations LarryMunoz, Honolulu District ManagerGreg Wolny, Honolulu A/Senior

Plant Manager Diana Munoz, Hon-olulu Postmaster Kenji Higaki, NAPSPresident Brian Wagner, ExecutiveVice President Ivan D. Butts, Nation-al Auxiliary President Patricia Jack-son-Kelley and me.

A memorial service that recog-nized deceased members was jointlyconducted by California and Hawaii

officers. There was an in-formative presentationfrom Rafael Nunez, thePacific Area’s chief inspec-tor, Postal Inspection Ser-vice.

During the two daysof convention businesssessions, 11 committees

provided reports and reviewed, readand supported or rejected 18 resolu-tions from the Rules, Audit, Legisla-tion, Constitution & Bylaws, Resolu-tions, Postmasters and Formalcommittees. NAPS training was pro-vided by John Aceves, former Rocky

Mountain Area vice president, onworkplace bullying and involuntaryreassignments.

Lum gave a presentation onmembership; I reported on legisla-tion and updated members on theNAPS spring Executive Board meet-ing. Butts provided updated infor-mation from NAPS Headquarters, asdid Wagner. Louis Atkins, past presi-dent, participated on the GreetingsCommittee and kept things lively.

California and Hawaii Branches WelcomeTheir NAPS ‘Ohana’

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From left: Greg Wolny, Honolulu District manager; Kenji Higaki, Honolulu postmaster; Chuck Lum, NAPS Pacific Area vice president; LaurieLum, Honolulu Branch 214 president; Marilyn Jones, California State president; Larry Munoz, USPS Pacific Area vice president of Operations;Marilyn Walton, NAPS Western Region vice president; Diana Munoz, Honolulu A/senior plant manager; Dorotha Bradley, NAPS CaliforniaState parliamentarian; and Ivan D. Butts, executive vice president.

California State President Marilyn Joneswelcomed attendees to the California/Hawaii Bi-State convention.


Six first-timers attended. NineAuxiliary members conducted meet-ings and assisted with the SPAC raf-fle. This year was an election year;Branch 214 held its election beforethe convention. California StateBranch elected Marilyn Jones presi-dent, John Wong vice president,Bridget Evans secretary, Sally Simpoatreasurer, and April Trevena legisla-tive consultant.

Five candidates ran for four areavice president positions. The success-ful candidates were Vontina Swygert,Oakland; Mariel Murillo, SanBernardino; Stephnia Campbell, San

First-timers, from left: Patrick Johnson, So. California Bay District Branch 266; Don Engkvist,Sacramento Branch 77; Sarah Stiles, Pacific to Sierras Branch 244; Kelii Eberhart, HonoluluBranch 214; Jackie Robinson Sr., Los Angeles Branch 39; and Lelton Gibson, San FranciscoBranch 88.

Honolulu Branch 214 members, from left: Lori Kamei, Wendy Iyoki, Chuck Lum, Laurie Lum,NAPS Executive Vice President Ivan D. Butts, Kanani Also and Kelii Eberhart.

California State Auxiliary members helped conduct a raffle for SPAC. Fromleft: Nina Graham, Kirisky Mitchell, Mayumi Nazareno and Barbara Kelly.

NAPS President Brian Wagnerand his wife Carol.

Los Angeles Branch 39 members with Larry Munoz, USPS Pacific Area vice president of Operations (center).Past NAPS President Louis Atkinsand his wife Bonita.

Outgoing California StateBranch Legislative Con-sultant Marsha Danzyhelped raise $8,642.50for SPAC.


Diego; and Ralph Petty, Sacramento.Two locations were in the runningfor the 2023 convention; Hawaii wasthe winner. Marsha Danzy, the out-going legislative consultant, andAuxiliary members raised $8,642.50for SPAC—an outstand-ing job!

The new Branch214 and CaliforniaState officers were in-stalled at the AlohaBanquet by Butts.Branch 214 officers andmembers, in conjunc-

tion with California State officers,made sure everyone enjoyed an out-standing week in Honolulu and ex-perienced the Aloha spirit!

The goal of our Hawaiian hostswas to make everyone feel like ohana

(family). After enjoying the greathospitality, food, entertainment andfun, we were, indeed, NAPS ohana.Next year’s bi-state convention willbe hosted by Branch 88.

[email protected]

At the California/Hawaii bi-state convention, the Greetings Committee performed its annual skit. Committee Chair Sam Booth, aka Spike LeeJr., directed the skit, “Empire 2.” NAPS President Brian Wagner and Executive Vice President Ivan D. Butts were among the “actors.”

Executive Vice President Ivan D. Butts, top left, installed newly elected Hawaii and California State Branch officers.

Los Angeles Branch 39 mem-bers with NAPS officers ChuckLum, Pacific Area vice presi-dent; Brian Wagner, presi-dent; and Ivan D. Butts, exec-utive vice president (top row).

15—Rocky Mountain Area (AZ/CO/NV/NM/UT/WY)Myrna Pashinski21593 E. Layton Dr., Aurora, CO 80015-6781(303) 931-1748 (C)[email protected]

16—Pacific Area (CA, HI, Guam, American Samoa)Chuck Lum95-12222 Moea St., Mililani, HI 96789-5965(808) 227-5764 (C)[email protected]

12—Cotton Belt Area (AR/OK/TN)Shri L. Green4072 Royalcrest Dr.,Memphis, TN 38115-6438 (901) 362-5436 (H) (901) 482-1216 (C) [email protected]

13—Texas Area (TX)Jaime Elizondo Jr.PO Box 1357, Houston, TX 77251-1357(832) 722-3737 (C)[email protected]

14—Northwest Area (AK/ID/MT/OR/WA)Cindy McCracken3247 109th Ave. S.E. #A, Bellevue, WA98004-7532(206) 465-8689 (C)[email protected]

9—MINK Area (IA/KS/MO/NE)Richard “Bart” Green7919 N Flintlock Rd., #K, Kansas City,MO 64158(913) 205-8912 (C)(816) 763-2579 (O)[email protected]

10—Southeast Area (FL/GA)Bob QuinlanPO Box 490363, Leesburg, FL 34749-0363; (352) 217-7473 (C)(352) 728-5992 (fax)[email protected]

11—Central Gulf Area (AL/LA/MS)Cornel Rowel Sr.808 N Sabine Dr., Baton Rouge, LA70810-2471(504) 450-1993 (C)[email protected]

6—Michiana Area (IN/MI)Kevin Trayer8943 E. DE Ave., Richland, MI 49083-9639(269) 366-9810 (C)[email protected]

7—Illini Area (IL)Luz Moreno625 Alhambra Ln., Hoffman Estates,IL 60169-1907; (847) 884-7875 (H)(773) 726-4357 (C)[email protected]

8—North Central Area (MN/ND/SD/WI)Dan Mooney10105 47th Ave. N, Plymouth, MN55442-2536(612) 242-3133 (C)[email protected]

Brian J. [email protected]

Ivan ButtsExecutive Vice [email protected]

Chuck MulidoreSecretary/[email protected]

The resident officers may be contacted at 1727King St., Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314-2753;(703) 836-9660; (703) 836-9665 (fax)

Resident Officers

Central Region (Areas 6, 7, 8 and 9)Craig O. Johnson9305 N. Highland Ct., Kansas City,MO 64155-3738; (816) 914-6061 (C)[email protected]

Southern Region (Areas 10, 11, 12 and 13)Tim Ford6214 Klondike Dr., Port Orange, FL 32127-6783; (386) 767-FORD (H)(386) 679-3774 (C) [email protected]

Western Region (Areas 14, 15 and 16)Marilyn WaltonPO Box 103, Vacaville, CA 95696-0103(707) 449-8223 (H)[email protected]

3—Mideast Area (DE/NJ/PA)Tony DallojaconoPO Box 750, Jackson, NJ 08527-0750(973) 986-6402 (C); (732) 363-1273 (O)[email protected]

4—Capitol-Atlantic Area (DC/MD/NC/SC/VA)Troy Griffin1122 Rosanda Ct., Middle River, MD21220-3025(443) 506-6999 (C)(410) 892-6491 (H)[email protected]

5—Pioneer Area (KY/OH/WV/Evansville, IN, Branch 55)Timothy NeedhamPO Box 21, Niles, OH 44446-0021(330) 550-9960 (C)[email protected]

NAPS Executive Board Directory

Northeast Region (Areas 1 and 2, including all NJ,except Branch 74)Thomas Roma385 Colon Ave., Staten Island, NY10308-1417; (718) 605-0357 (H)(917) 685-8282 (C)[email protected]

Eastern Region (Areas 3—DE, PA and NJ Branch 74—4and 5)Richard L. Green Jr.7734 Leyland Cypress Lane,Quinton, VA 23141-1377(804) 928-8261 (C)[email protected]

1—New England Area (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)Cy Dumas4 Adams St., Foxboro, MA 02035-2202(508) 816-7517 (C)[email protected]

2—New York Area (NY/PR/VI)James “Jimmy”Warden137 Evergreen Court, Freehold, NJ07728-4122(917) 226-8768 (C) [email protected]

Area Vice Presidents

Regional Vice Presidents


Bob LeviDirector of Legislative &Political Affairs

hree confusing observa-tions are percolating about the

U.S. Postal Service. First, the agencyhas retained its historic position asthe nation’s most valued federal

agency. Second, the organization hasfailed to meet its self-declared servicestandards for all but one of its prod-ucts and services. Third, the agencywill run out of funds in 2024 absent postal legislation.

Indeed, protecting the Postal Ser-vice’s cherished position of public affection and reinvigorating theagency will hinge on improving itsservice performance; generating therevenue to support a universal, acces-sible and viable communications andlogistics network; and being relievedof the onerous retiree health liabilityimposed on the agency through the2006 Postal Accountability and En-

hancement Act (PL 109-435). The lynchpin for ac-complishing these goals isenactment of meaningful,constructive and realisticpostal legislation.

In mid-May, the Gallup Organiza-tion released the results of an April2019 poll that evaluated the publicviews of eight “high-profile” federal

agencies. To the surprise of no onewho is involved with the Postal Ser-vice, the agency retained its top spot,with a 74 percent approval rating.The 2019 poll reflects the same USPSapproval rating as the poll conductedin December 2017.

The 2019 number-two spot wassecured by the Secret Service, whichtrailed the Postal Service by 5 percent.Furthermore, Gallup illustrated thatthe Postal Service commands biparti-san support: 69 percent approvalfrom registered Republicans and 76percent from registered Democrats.The paradox is how the agency canpreserve its broad public support inlight of its financial and operationalchallenges, which are formidable.

It is beyond question that frontlinemanagers and rank-and-file postal em-ployees are doing the best they canwith the dwindling resources providedby upper-management. However, theseams are showing.

On the same day Gallup unveiledits poll, the Postal Regulatory Commis-sion (PRC) issued its analysis of theUSPS Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Perfor-mance Report and Fiscal Year 2019 Per-formance Plan. The PRC reviewed theagency’s performance goals, evaluatedwhether the agency achieved those

goals and offered policy objectives.In part, the commission concluded

that the USPS failed to meet the “high-performance quality goal” for market-dominant products. Generally, thePRC evaluated on-time delivery ofFirst-Class and marketing mail and pe-riodicals. In addition, the PRC report-ed that the USPS met only one of ninetargets for “excellent customer experi-

ence.” This composite score in-cludes delivery, retail experi-ence, customer care centers,usps.com and business mailentry units. The only metricthat met or exceeded the target

was the business mail entry unit. In late April, before the Gallup

and PRC reports, the House Oversightand Reform Committee conducted ahearing on the financial status of thePostal Service. At the hearing, Post-master General Megan Brennan testi-fied that, without much-needed legis-lation, the Postal Service will run outof funds in 2024. In part, the five-yearwindow is attributable to the fact thePostal Service is paying for retireehealth benefits—both its annual pre-mium costs and its amortized futureretiree liability—from the Postal Re-tiree Health Benefit Trust Fund, notfrom the operational budget.

If the Postal Service would complywith current law and make its annualpayments into the Trust Fund, theagency would be insolvent next year.This stark warning should have beenthe unadulterated message of thehearing. However, a dispute betweenthe Postmaster General and Rep.Mark Meadows (R-NC) derailed thehearings and may have jeopardizedthe timing of postal legislation.

Meadows, the leading Republicanadvocate for bipartisan postal legisla-tion, complained that he was misledby the Postal Service about when theagency would share its 10-year busi-

Postal Legislation—Languishingin Legislative Limbo?

LegislativeUpdate

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Board of Governors Nominees

On May 15, the Senate Home-land Security and GovernmentalAffairs Committee approved thenominations of Ron Bloom andRamon Martinez IV to the PostalBoard of Governors. As this issuewent to press, the nominationshad not yet been scheduled for afinal confirmation vote by theSenate. If confirmed, the Board ofGovernors will have four presiden-tially nominated governors and aquorum.

ness plan with the committee.Meadows argued he was promised aJanuary 2019 delivery date and thatthere was a subsequent communica-tion breakdown with the Postal Ser-vice, including the inability of theagency to deliver on its promise of abusiness plan. Meadows cautionedthe Postal Service that the contro-versy endangered his past advocacyin support of the agency.

Furthermore, he got Brennan toconcede that the pending businessplan likely would include a reduc-tion in delivery frequency for lettermail. Full committee Chairman Eli-jah Cummings (D-MD) and Govern-ment Operations SubcommitteeChairman Gerry Connolly (D-VA)sought to calm the controversy byacknowledging the necessity ofMeadow’s constructive participationin postal legislation and directingthe Postal Service to deliver its busi-ness plan to the committee in earlyJuly.

It’s unlikely that legislation willbe introduced before the submissionof the business plan. Regrettably, asMeadows commented, time is fleet-ing this year. The delay has broadimplications for the success of a2019 postal bill.

Indeed, many in the postal com-munity had hoped for the expedi-tious introduction and prompt com-mittee approval of postal legislation.This would have enabled the othercommittees of likely jurisdiction to

SPAC Contributors ListingThe July issue of The Postal

Supervisor went to the printer onMay 28. Therefore, we were un-able to include the list of MaySPAC contributors. The May listand SPAC scoreboard will be inthe August issue.

Continued on page 20

Financial Report Chuck Mulidore

Article XIV of the NAPS Constitution requires the secretary/treasurer to “furnish financial reports quarterly and publish same in The Postal Supervisor.”

Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet)—Feb. 28, 2019

Assets:Cash and Investments $13,298,427 Dues Withholding Receivable 184,502 Prepaid Expenses and Other Assets. 400,529

Total Current Assets 13,883,458 Building and Equipment, Net of Accumulated Depreciation 2,966,296

Total Assets $16,849,754

Liabilities and Net Assets:Accounts Payable $ 124,627Accrued Expenses 265,615Deferred Revenues -Dues to be Remitted to Branches 386,681

Total Liabilities 776,924Unrestricted and Designated Net Assets 16,072,830

Total Liabilities and Net Assets $16,849,754

Statement of Activities (Revenues and Expenses)(For the period Dec. 1, 2018, through Feb. 28, 2019)

Revenues:Dues and Assessments $ 1,898,486Less: Dues Remitted to Branches 1,162,687

Net Dues and Assessment Revenue 735,799NAPS Property, Inc. Net Income Before Depreciation $ (32,876)

Less Depreciation (46,788)NAPS Property, Inc. Net Income (79,664)

Advertising Income From Postal Supervisor -Royalties 3,959Legislative Conference Income 120,549National Convention Income 219Training Fees 10,625Other 56Revenues Before Investment Income (Loss) 791,542Investment Income (Loss) 284,381

Total Revenues For the Period. 1,075,923

Expenses:National Headquarters 378,859Executive Board 130,426National Conference 1,500The Postal Supervisor 90,394Legal/Fact Finding/Pay Consultation 265,253Legislative Counsel 66,898Legislative Expenses 10,545Legislative Training Seminar 9Membership 16,453Education and Training 38,280Disciplinary Defense 96,950

Total Expenses 1,095,566

Expenses in Excess of Revenues (Change in Net Assets) $ (19,643)

NAPS Secretary/Treasurer’s

Substantially all disclosures required by GAAP are omitted.The financial statements do not include a statement of functional expenses and cash flows.The financial statements do not include the financial position and operations of the SPAC.

No assurance is provided on these financial statements.


By John Farrell

our local constitution and bylawsare the DNA of your branch.

These documents are an informa-tional blueprint of the branch struc-ture and its functions for membersand a source of authority and a cata-lyst of action for branch officers. Theconstitution and bylaws are the ac-cumulated wisdom and vision, willand intent, history and evolution ofall the past and present members ofyour branch.

The documents should be avail-able to all members. Also, theyshould be available at all branchmeetings and consulted frequently by

officers to ensure compliance with allrequired actions and procedures.

Amendments should be wellconsidered, carefully worded andvoted up or down with prior noticeto all branch members, as well asstrict attention to due process.Amendments to these fundamentaldocuments never should be takenlightly, but necessary modificationsshould not be delayed or overlooked.

Your state executive board mayinclude an appointed officer or stand-ing committee that acts as the care-taker for the state constitution andbylaws, reviews local branch constitu-tions and bylaws and assists localbranches with making desired

changes. For example, if membershipdeclines, a branch could consider anamendment to reduce the quorum re-quired for branch meetings.

Branch constitutions and bylawsshould be held by several, if not all,branch officers—certainly by the pres-ident—and passed on to their succes-sors at or before installation. Keepingcopies in a safety deposit box or witha standing constitution and bylawscommittee or both also are goodideas. As branch members, we shouldhave a copy of the constitution andbylaws, be aware of its contents andspeak up if we observe violations.

Active, attentive adherence toyour local constitution and bylaws isessential to a strong, transparent andinclusive branch.

[email protected]

The Associate Member

Y

Branch Constitution and Bylaws: Your Local Branch Blueprint

NAPS is pleased to announce we have a mailbox for members to submitphotos for our social media outlets. We want to hear from you! Memberscan send photos of NAPS activities directly to NAPS Headquarters at [email protected]. We will review the submissions before posting on our so-cial media outlets.

We encourage members to submit photos of branch meetings, socialoutings, meetings with postal leaders, meetings with congressional leadersin their districts, attendance at career awareness conferences and more.

When submitting a photo, please tell us about the event, the names ofthe members in the photo and when the event occurred. Also, please sendhi-resolution photos; we want everyone to look good.

We look forward to increasing our presence on social media with thisinitiative. Like, follow, share!

have had the opportunity to reviewthe measure before July and bringthe bill to the House floor before thesummer recess. Presently, meetingthis timeline would be heroic.

Nevertheless, postal advocatesmust not be dispirited by the trialsand tribulations of enacting compre-hensive postal legislation. We mustwork together to lift reform from leg-islative limbo. We also must urge ourmembers of Congress to join withtheir constituents to safeguard Amer-ica’s most cherished governmentservice, equip the agency with the re-sources to improve its performanceand divest the organization of apunitive and unfair liability.

[email protected]

Legislative UpdateContinued from page 19

To authorize your allotment online, you will need yourUSPS employee ID number and PIN; if you do not knowyour PIN, you will be able to obtain it at Step 3 below.

Go to https://liteblue.usps.gov to access PostalEASE.

Under Employee App-Quick Links, choose PostalEASE.

Click on “I agree.”

Enter your employee ID number and password.

Click on “Allotments/Payroll NTB.”

Click on “Continue.”

Click on “Allotments.”

Enter Bank Routing Number (from worksheet below),enter account number (see worksheet), enter accountfrom drop-down menu as “checking” and enter theamount of your contribution.

Click “Validate,” then “Submit.” Print a copy for yourrecords.

To authorize your allotment by phone, call PostalEASE,toll-free, at 1-877-477-3273 (1-877-4PS-EASE). You willneed your USPS employee ID number and PIN.

When prompted, select one for PostalEASE.

When prompted, enter your employee ID number.

When prompted, please enter your USPS PIN.

When prompted, press “2” for payroll options.

When prompted, press “1” for allotments.

When prompted, press “2” to continue.

Follow prompts to add a new allotment.

Use the worksheet to give the appropriate information to set up an allotment for SPAC.

Contributions via USPS Payroll Deduction

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

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Make Contributing to SPAC a Habit:

PostalEASE Allotments/Net to Bank Worksheet

On your next available allotment (you have three):

• Routing Number (nine digits): 121000248

• Financial Institution Name: Wells Fargo (this willappear after you enter the routing number).

• Account Number (this is a 17-digit number that starts with “772255555” and ends with your eight-digit employee ID number):

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

(Example: 77225555512345678).

• Type of Account (drop-down menu): Checking

• Amount per Pay Period (please use the 0.00 format; the “$” is already included): __________.

7 7 2 2 5 5 5 5 5


The NAPS Postmaster

By Aric Skjelstad

s postmasters and managers,it’s easy to make a mistake ordo something that does not

conform to proper procedure accord-ing to postal policy. Thereare so many manuals,publications and manage-ment instructions. Howcan anyone know everyrule and regulation andfollow them exactly?

At times, the OIG andInspection Service get in-volved in issues in particular offices.They arrive at an office and indicatethey need to get some answers to afew questions. As loyal postmasters

and managers, we say, “Sure, noproblem” and start to answer ques-tions without knowing about whatthe investigation may be. We are justtrying to be as helpful as we can.

The problem is you or your officemay be the center of theirinvestigation. Ultimately,you are responsible forwhat happens in your of-fice. The first questionsyou need to ask are, “Am Ior my office the center ofyour investigation?” “Do Ineed a representative?”

You must know your rights, exercisethem and have representation.

If you are interviewed by the OIGor Inspection Service, you must have

a representative with you. If you donot ask for a representative, they cancontinue to investigate and ask youquestions. This places you in a poorposition. These officers are highlytrained in questioning techniques,which could box you into a corner.

The USPS has so many rules andregulations, it may be easy to fail tomeet one at some time in your ca-reer. It may be unintentional, but itcan happen. Protect yourself by hav-ing a representative with you. Callyour NAPS leaders for advice andrepresentation. [email protected]

Aric Skjelstad is president of Portland,OR, Branch 66.

You Have a Right to Representation

A

SPACContribution

FormAggregate contributions made in acalendar year correspond with thesedonor levels:

$1,000—President’s Ultimate SPAC

$750—VP Elite

$500—Secretary’s Roundtable

$250—Chairman’s Club

$100—Supporter

Current as of February 2019

Federal regulations prohibit SPACcontributions by branch check orbranch credit card.

Mail to:SPAC1727 KING ST STE 400ALEXANDRIA VA 22314-2753

Contribution Amount $___________ Branch #___________

Name________________________________________________________

Home Address/PO Box ___________________________________________

City__________________________________________ State__________

ZIP+4__________________________________ Date _________________

Employee ID Number (EIN) or Civil Service Annuitant (CSA) Number ________________________________

Enclosed is my voluntary contribution to SPAC by one of the following methods:

❏ Check or money order made payable to SPAC; do not send cash

❏ Credit card (circle one): Visa American Express MasterCard Discover

Card number ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Security code (three- or four- digit number on back of card) _______________

Card expiration date: ______ /______

Signature (required for credit card charges) ____________________________________________

❏ In-Kind Donation (e.g., gift card, baseball tickets):

Describe gift _________________________________________ Value ______________

All contributions to the Supervisors’ Political Action Committee (SPAC) are voluntary, have no bear-ing on NAPS membership status and are unrelated to NAPS membership dues. There is no obliga-tion to contribute to SPAC and no penalty for choosing not to contribute. Only NAPS members andfamily members living in their households may contribute to SPAC. Contributions to SPAC are limit-ed to $5,000 per individual in a calendar year. Contributions to SPAC are not tax-deductible.

OPM Contributions to SPAC(for Retired Postal Supervisors)

Make Contributing to SPAC a Habit:

B elow are step-by-step instruc-tions for making an allot-

ment to SPAC through your OPMretirement allotment, using eitherOPM’s telephone-based accountmanagement system or the on-line “Services Online” portal.

Please note: The amount youkey in will be your monthly allot-ment to SPAC. The start of yourallotment will depend on thetime of the month it was re-quested. If you make your re-quest during the first two weeks

of the month, expect the with-holding to take place the first ofthe following month. If the al-lotment is requested after thefirst two weeks of the month,the change will take place thesecond month after the request.

By internet:

To sign up online, go to the OPM website at www.servicesonline.opm.gov, then:

• Enter your CSA number and PIN, and log in.

• Click on “Allotments to Organizations,” and then select“Start” to begin a new allotment.

• Click on “Choose an Organization.”

• Select “National Association of Postal Supervisors (SPAC).”

• Enter the amount of your monthly contribution and then click “Save.”

By telephone:

• Dial 1-888-767-6738, the toll-freenumber for the Office of PersonnelManagement (OPM)’s Interactive VoiceResponse (IVR) telephone system.

• Have your CSA number and PersonalIdentification Number (PIN) on handwhen you call. You may speak to anOPM customer service representative oryou may use the automated system.

• Simply follow the prompts provided inthe telephone system.

Supporter$100 level

President’s Ultimate SPAC$1,000 level includes LTS SPAC reception for donor plus one guest

VP Elite$750 level includes LTS SPAC reception for donor plus one guest

Secretary’s Roundtable$500 level includes LTS SPAC reception for donor plus one guest

Chairman’s Club$250 level

Support SPAC to support the lawmakers whofight for what matters most

to NAPS members.


Thoughtsfrom the NAPS Branches

By Reginald Gramblin

hese have been trying times forour NAPS family; morale in theUSPS is at an all-time low. Un-

fortunately, there appears to be nosunshine at the end of the tunnel.

Evaluating the situation, I can feelthe frustration and anxiety in our sta-tus as prominent players onthe so-called “team.” Despiteall efforts to rectify the prob-lem, postal managementcontends it will continue towork to perfect a broken sys-tem. The audacity to saythey are working on mean-ingful changes to pay poli-cies and programs for EAS employeesis absurd.

Perhaps the zero-tolerance policyshould be restructured to incorporatefailure of senior postal managementto use the terminology known as“common sense.” Obviously, basedon recommendations from the fact-finding panel on the EAS pay pack-age, the Postal Service devalues NAPS’input as partners in identifying waysto improve benefits and working con-ditions for our NAPS workforce.

Ultimately, the “final” pay pack-age issued by the Postal Service andNAPS took to fact-finding demon-strates the agency’s determined effortto ignore the generalconsensus of irregu-larities in the imple-mentation of certainpay and benefit poli-cies for EAS employ-ees. Imagine this: anorganization thatprides itself on “en-gagement” doing ab-

solutely nothing to promote a betterworking environment for frontlinepersonnel.

For the lack of better judgment,the fact-finding panel’s suggestionthat NAPS and the Postal Service haveworked “collaboratively and coopera-tively on issues of mutual interest”has been grossly misinterpreted by

the Postal Service.According to a recent

Gallup poll, the Postal Ser-vice is ranked as the number-one federal agency in pro-viding an “excellent” and“good” job in generating anenjoyable customer experi-ence. Our NAPS members

are customers, too, and deserve all theluxuries that have been provided tothe 74 percent of those polled who ex-perienced positive USPS experiences.

The Postal Service wants to im-prove core strategies. How about tak-ing a look in the mirror, postal lead-ers? I guarantee you will not like whatyou see when it comes to your ownEAS employees. If you fail to realizethe errors of your ways, then you arenot truly engaged.

[email protected]

Reginald Gramblin is executive vice pres-ident of Maryland-DC State Branch 923and Southern Maryland Branch 531.

To Tell the Truth

T

NAPS Training Calendar

Northwest Area TrainingJune 21-22, 2019In conjunction with the Northwest Area Convention

Conducted by: Northwest Area VP Cindy McCracken

Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 1840 Hwy.,U.S. 93 S, Kalispell, MT 59901; 406-756-4500; www.kalispell.hgi.com; use groupcode “NAPS19”

Room Rate: $120

Registration Fee: $110

Training Topics: TBD

Western Region TrainingSeminarAug. 1-4, 2019Conducted by: Western Region VP MarilynWalton, Northwest Area VP Cindy Mc-Cracken, Rocky Mountain Area VP MyrnaPashinski and Pacific Area VP Chuck Lum

Location: Sunset Station Hotel & Casino,1301 West Sunset Rd., Henderson, NV89014; 888-786-7389; use group code “SCINAPS”

Hotel Rate: $49 plus taxes/Thursday; $89plus taxes/Friday and Saturday. You muststay Friday and Saturday night to receivethis rate.

Registration Fee: $175; $220 if not stay-ing at the host hotel. After July 12, regis-tration is $220. Make checks payable toNAPS Headquarters and mail to MyrnaPashinski, 21593 E. Layton Dr., Aurora, CO80015-6781. Everyone eating lunch mustbe registered for the seminar or purchasea meal ticket: $45 per person per day.

Training Topics: representation training,panel discussion and Q&A sessions; othertopics TBD

Central Region TrainingOct. 4-5, 2019Conducted by: Central Region VP CraigJohnson

Location: Hyatt Regency Bloomington,3200 E. 81st St., Bloomington, MN 55425;(866) 238-4218. The Hyatt offers freeshuttle service to and from the airport, aswell as to the Mall of America. Light railservice to the mall and downtown is avail-able outside the airport.

Room Rate: TBD

Training Topics: TBD

NAPS 2019 State ConventionsDates State(s) LocationJune 20-22 Pennsylvania Best Western, Bethlehem

June 20-23 GA/FL Bi-State St. Augustine, FL

June 21-22 Northwest Area Kalispell, MT

June 23-25 New Jersey Resorts Hotel, Atlantic City

Aug. 1-4 Pioneer Area Holiday Inn, Youngstown, OH

Information and registration forms are available at www.naps.org.


eraclitus, a pre-Socrates philoso-pher, said, “Change is the onlyconstant in life.” This is why we

always should be ready for things tochange in all aspects of our lives. In De-cember, New Directions BehavioralHealth was awarded the contract to pro-vide Employee Assistance Program (EAP)services to USPS employees and their eli-gible family and household members.

New Directions, founded in 1995, assumed its newresponsibilities on April 1. We provide best-in-class be-havioral health and EAP services to over 16 million peo-ple nationwide and internationally.

All the services the EAP currently offers will remain.The website will continue to be available 24/7/365. Thewebsite has an updated look and feel and offers more op-tions for counseling, a live-chat feature and video coun-seling. We also will have an EAP mobile app for smart-phones and tablets.

Most of the USPS EAP consultants and clinicians inyour districts will continue in their current roles. Regret-tably, some have chosen not to move to New DirectionsBehavioral Health for a variety of reasons. They will bemissed. Please welcome our new employee assistant pro-fessionals and help them get up to speed.

The program remains voluntary and free. Solution-oriented counseling and coaching will continue to exist.Appropriate referrals to resources that would best fitneeds will be given.

The requirements for consultants and clinicians re-main the same: they must have a master’s degree and cur-rent state license in social sciences and have five years ofclinical experience after receiving their graduate degree.

Following is a list of the different types of counselingyou may access through the website or by calling:

Face-to-face counseling—Make an appointmentwith your district clinician to address any current con-cerns you may have. You also may want support throughcoaching on how to lose weight or develop an actionplan to enhance your communication skills.

Telephonic counseling—If youwould like to speak with a counselorover the phone to get the help youwould like, just make the call to 1-800-EAP-4You (1-800-327-4968 or TTY: 877-492-7341).

In-the-moment support—You maywant to speak with a consultant or clini-cian immediately. If you see them walk-ing around or available in their office,

you can request a few moments to get some time to dis-cuss your situation.

Video therapy—Many times, you don’t have thetime to travel to the clinician or consultant and maywant to use video therapy.

Text therapy—By using Talkspace, text therapy isavailable, anywhere at any time. Clinicians have a cer-tain amount of time to get back with you regarding yourconcern. This is a great benefit for those who are on thego or may have time to meet, but at different times, suchas break times, down time, at night or whatever time isconvenient for you.

Web-based therapy through myStrength—This re-source can help you find answers through onlineprocesses you follow to improve your life by completingmodules in a self-guided way. There are six, evidence-based, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) modules avail-able that can be accessed through myStrength atEAP4YOU.com:

Depression—Step-by-step, cognitive behavioral ther-apy helps with mood and depression management.

Stress—Positive psychology and mindfulness strate-gies for handling workplace or personal stress.

Chronic Pain—Peer-led and includes strategies forcoping with pain, managing opioid use and creating pos-itive interaction with care teams.

Anxiety—Explores in-the-moment coping skills to re-duce panic and prevent excessive, future worry usingmindfulness and CBT tools.

Substance use—Assesses readiness to change andbuilds awareness of usage patterns with in-depth, relapse

EAP Offers Exciting,New Services

EAP Offers Exciting,New Services

Submitted by New Directions Behavioral Health

HH


By Linda RendlemanIllini Area Vice President

llinois has a new auxiliary. Mylocal branch, Heart of Illinois

Branch 255, has nine auxiliary mem-bers. We each paid our an-nual dues to the state andnational auxiliaries. Afterdiscussions with NationalAuxiliary Secretary/Trea-surer Bonita Atkins andformer President Sue El-liott, it was decided toform a charter for our aux-iliary.

A charter needs five members, sobecause we have nine, it was decidedto form the charter. I asked theBranch 255 executive officers if theywould be willing to put our auxiliaryon support and pay our annual stateand national dues. The officers votedunanimously to form a charter. Iwant to thank Bonita and Sue for alltheir help in making this possible.

Our Illinois state convention was

in April. Auxiliary members attend-ing helped collect over $700 forSPAC. I hope all the state conven-tions have success collecting moneyfor SPAC.

At our convention, we held ourannual auxiliary auctionto raise money for thestate auxiliary. It was agreat success; we raised$1,000. These funds willhelp send our state auxil-iary members to the 2020NAPS National Conven-tion.

I hope everyone has a wonderfulsummer.

[email protected]

from the National Auxiliary

I

Notes

Celebrating a New Auxiliary

National AuxiliaryExecutive BoardNational Officers

Patricia Jackson-KelleyPresident(323) 752-6252; [email protected]

Laurie D. ButtsExecutive Vice President(484) 988-0933; [email protected]

Bonita R. Atkins Secretary/Treasurer(225) 933-9190; [email protected]

Regional Vice Presidents

Rick HallEastern Region (804) 621-3843; [email protected]

Elly SoukeyCentral Region(612) 715-3559; [email protected]

Beverly AustinSouthern Region(832) 326-1330; [email protected]

May NazarenoWestern Region(415) 312-5813; [email protected]

Area Vice Presidents

Elsie Vazquez New York Area(718) 727-8652; [email protected]

Cathy Towns Mideast Area(732) 247-8811

Skip CorleyCapitol-Atlantic Area(336) 908-1859; [email protected]

Linda RendlemanIllini Area(618) 893-4349; [email protected]

Mary CarusoMINK Area(402) 891-1310; [email protected]

Jane FinleySoutheast Area (404) 403-3969; [email protected]

Willie CarterCentral Gulf Area(205) 919-5645; [email protected]

Felecia HillTexas Area(281) 880-9856; [email protected]

Rebecca TurnerPacific Area(323) 997-5651; [email protected]

Region vacant: NortheastAreas vacant: New England, Pioneer, Michi-ana, North Central, Cotton Belt, Northwest,Rocky Mountain.

prevention for a powerful recoveryexperience.

Insomnia—Interactive tracking,individualized sleep plans, daily re-sources and a comprehensive sleeplibrary to ensure a solid night’s rest.

Looking forward to change is notalways easy, but can be rewardingand adventurous. The changes com-ing for the new EAP are innovativeand convenient. Access to help,guidance, coaching and counselingwill be available all the time on sev-eral different useful devices.

Remember to search, call, text,

video or chat about any concern youmay have to EAP4You.com and 1-800-EAP-4You (1-800-327-4968 orTTY: 877-492-7341). Stay safe, andremember the EAP always is therefor you!

It’s Time to PayAuxiliary Dues

Local and state branches,now is the time to pay yourNational Auxiliary dues. Pleasesubmit your payments toBonita R. Atkins, Secretary/Treasurer, PO Box 80181,Baton Rouge, LA 70898.

Make your check or moneyorder payable to NationalAuxiliary to NAPS. If youneed remittance forms, pleaseemail [email protected] orcall (225) 933-9190 and formswill be mailed to you.

Documents

‘They Are Who We Thought They Were’