Branch 43 News & Views

From thePresident’s Desk

November 2013

News & ViewsBranch 43 Proudly Serving

Amelia - Batavia - Bethel - Blanchester - Cincinnati - Cleves - Georgetown - GreenfieldHarrison- Hillsboro - Lebanon - Loveland - Mason - Middletown - Milford - Monroe - Morrow

New Richmond - Oxford - Ripley - South Lebanon - Springboro - Wilmington

Since July 25, 1890

Branch 43

David L KennedyPresident

2014 Calendar Issue

I recently attended twoNALC meetings, both of which hadpertinent information for allmembers. The first was theCommittee of Presidents. Thismeeting is an open forum whereBranch Presidents from across the

country submit agenda items and discuss how similarissues are handled in their branch. President Rolandowas there along with Director of City Delivery LewDrass. Drass is the national officer negotiating manyof the memorandums regarding our daily workmethods. He discussed the City Delivery Task Forceas outlined in the Das award which resulted in theovertime equitability test that just began in theCincinnati District. He discussed future tests includingself-management, the handling of multiple bundleswith carrier input, the joint administration of overtime,and the merging of the Letter Carrier paragraph andwork assignment rules. Remember, these are just testswith few details and sites have not yet been chosen.

President Rolando discussed the effects of thegovernment shutdown and current legislation affectingthe Postal Service. He continued with the recent newsof the USPS making an operational profit despite whatthe PMG is telling everyone. Rolando stressed theneed for new governance in the structure of USPSdue to the rapidly changing business mode. The vacantseats on the Board of Governors must be filled withforward thinking business minded people. Finally, thePostal Service will be testing a new scanner that willprovide our customers and mailers with more up todate information.

Rolando then fieldedquestions for over 4 hours. The majority of questionswere regarding CCAs and specifically theirconversion to full-time. It was reported fromMinneapolis, Rochester and Houston that CCAs werebeing promoted on November 2. Lew Drassconfirmed this date and estimated there could be closeto 2000 CCAs converted nationwide in different citieson that date. Although this is good news for CCAs inthose installations, the question is when are we goingto have CCAs converted in Cincinnati? The parties atthe national level recognize the need to fill vacantduty assignments, however here in Cincinnati we arenot yet at the point where CCAs will fill those residualvacancies.

The second meeting was the NALC HealthBenefits Seminar. With the start of the Health BenefitsOpen Season, it’s time for anyone not currentlyenrolled in the NALC plan to take a look at the onlyunion run plan in all of FEHB. The NALC plan is runby union members for union members. The plan is notin the business of making money. The plan’s objectiveis to provide the maximum coverage at the lowestcost possible. For retiree’s 65 or older and have alsoelected Medicare part B, the NALC plan will cover100% of what remains after Medicare has made theirpayment. For active career carriers, the plan coversmore preventive care than in the past. Please take thetime to compare the quality and affordability of ourplan.

For CCAs, the health insurance roll out hasnot yet been finalized by the Postal Service. Onceagain, the NALC has not been informed of detailsregarding the USPS mandated Health Plan. WhenArbitrator Das created the CCA position, he linkedtheir health benefits to the unveiling of the AffordableCare Act (ACA) in January 2014. What the ACA

Continued on page 5

EDITOR’S NOTES Branch 43 members are encouraged to

send articles to the News & Views. Items of interestabout your station, current events, etc. are welcome.The following guidelines apply:

(1) We may edit your article for grammar,punctuation, spelling, etc.

(2) If it should prove necessary to edit anarticle for space or coherence, every effort will bemade to preserve the substance and intent of thearticle.

(3) Unsigned articles will not be printed.Letters, criticism and suggestions for improving theNews & Views are also welcome. If your letter is notintended for publication, please state so. Lettersheld to 150 words are less likely to be edited.

(4) Articles must arrive at the Branch officeby the 15th in order to make the next month’sissue. Digital format is preferred. Send items to:Editor, News & Views.

November News & Views

NEWS & VIEWSVolume 124, Number 11Published Monthly by:

Queen City Letter CarriersNALC Branch 43

4100 Colerain AvenueCincinnati, Ohio 45223-2684

www.branch43.comemail: [email protected]

Phone: 513-542-6400Fax: 513-542-0043

Board of OfficersPresident / Editor: David L. Kennedy

Vice President: Douglas E. LapeSecretary: Burt Hughes

Recording Secretary: Jim MealeAsst. Secretary: Kevin Hensley

Treasurer: Connie GriffiethH.B.R./M.B.A.: Jim MetzSgt.-At-Arms: Mike Mize

Comp. Officer: Barb Martin Dir. of Retirees: Gerald Giesting

President Emeritus: Gary GabbardPresident Emeritus: Gerald Giesting

Trustees: Denny Doud, Dave Durbin,

Skip Grant, Don Mueller, Randy Utz

A.F.L. ~ C.I.O. Delegates:Executive Council -Ted Thompson

Brian Bailey, Sue Egbers,Diana Enwright, Kevin Grabel

Lamont Seaborough

Printed in House

THANKS TOM !

My name is Roy Krull and Iam a letter carrier at Murray Sta-tion. I have been carrying mail formany years, and have not had todeal with workers compensationuntil now. I fell on my route andmessed up my knee and neededsurgery. I had no idea how hard itwas to deal with OWCP. I askedmy union steward and he told meto contact Tom Roos before Istarted filling out paper work.Tom is a retired Letter Carrier thatvolunteers his time to help fel-low carriers get through theOWCP process. The paperworkand the sometimes over and overcalls to OWCP, just to get a checkcan be frustrating. I tried to do thison my own and found out how dif-ficult it was, but thanks to Tom thiscomplicated system seems a loteasier. I am very grateful to Tom,he made my process much easierso I could get back to work. Weare very lucky to have Tom.

THANKS AGAIN

Another in the series…you justcan’t take them seriously!

I walk back into the station theday after the Columbus Day holi-day. I had to case two routes thatday- of course I could not startearly (orders from Downtown). Idelivered my last business that dayat 5:15…some service!

The first thing I see when Iwalk through the door is the sta-tion manager sitting in thesupervisor’s chair with her feetpropped up on the filing cabinet,talking on the phone (probably apersonal call). A sight like that re-ally makes you want to give a littleextra. We were told this is the newPost Office, more work with feweremployees. It sure looks like thesame old Post Office to me. Andyou wonder why you just can’t takethem seriously!

Kevin HensleySteward, Sharonville

Health Benefits Open SeasonNovember 11th - December 9th

NovemberNews & Views

Doug LapeVice President

Sunday Parcel DeliveryLast month I wrote about the

Postal Service’s test of delivery ofAmazon parcels on Sundays and itlooks like they are planning to beginon November 10. As of right now,we do not have a full list of all ofthe delivery units that will beparticipating, but it is anticipated that900 zip codes across the countrywill take part in the test. We do

know that some of the stations in the city and some ofthe associate offices will act as hubs for other stations.What this means is that there will be times that carriersare delivering in areas that they do not normallydeliver.

Dave, NBA Dan Toth, and I attended a dryrun test of the Sunday delivery that took place onOctober 26th at the Anderson Branch, and I wanted toshare with everyone how the delivery is going to takeplace. Management will receive a projection fromAmazon on Saturday of the number of parcels thatare to arrive on Sunday morning, which should allowthem to schedule adequate CCAs to deliver them. Thesoftware that is being used will set up dynamic routenumbers based on the number of parcels, with themaximum being approximately 90 per dynamic route.The clerks will scan the parcels and scanning systemwill tell them the route number and the sequencenumber of the parcel. The clerk will write the numberon the parcel and throw it into the correct tub. Thecarrier will be given a manifest listing all of theparcels that they are to deliver and they will thenload the parcels in sequence order into the vehicleand deliver them in order based on the turn by turndirections that the system will generate.

We did learn a lot from the dry run test thatthe carriers who will be delivering need to knowabout. The route that was delivered during the dryrun had 58 parcels; however, when the carrier actuallywent out to deliver, three of the parcels were missing.It was unclear whether these parcels did not arrive atthe station or if they were thrown to the route thatnormally services that address. When we actuallybegin the Sunday delivery, this issue should not comeup as the clerks will not be throwing parcels to theregular carrier routes, only to the dynamic routes.Carriers should be able to tell when they are loadingthe parcels with the manifest if they have all of their

parcels. They will also know if they have a duplicatenumber that only one of the parcels is correct.

One of the other issues was with the turn byturn directions, which take the carrier from the firstdelivery to the next and eventually back to the station.The problem with the directions is that if the carrierhad followed them, he would have made 30 U-turns.Let me give you a piece of advice, do not make U-turns even if the directions tell you to do so. Youshould turn around in a cul-de-sac or in a parking lotor even go around the block if you must. I wouldalso recommend that you do not back into drivewaysto make this turnaround. If the directions that you aregiven include U-turns, you need to bring it tomanagement’s attention and ask for instructions if youare delivering in an area that with which you are notfamiliar. Also, do not read the directions while youare driving, if you are unsure of where to go, pullover and safely park the vehicle before reading thedirections. Lastly, there were issues with thedirections being wrong. The system does not alwaysknow when roads are closed or when roads do notactually continue even if the map shows that they do.If you run into these problems, you need to make anote of these issues and bring them to management’sattention when you return to the office.

I think that it is very important that this testgoes well and I believe that we as Letter Carrierswill do as we have always done and overcome anyshortfalls to make this a success. I believe that thefuture of the Postal Service is going to be in parceldelivery and the more that we can get from the bigshippers like Amazon will ensure that there will be afuture to our jobs. I feel that if this test is a success,we stand a better chance of getting business from othercompanies, which will ensure that the CCAs that areworking on Sundays will have the chance to becomecareer employees and eventually retire from this job.Veteran’s Day

Once again the branch will host the Bob KellerRetiree Veteran’s Day Breakfast on November 11th.I would like to take a minute to thank all of theVeterans who served this country either in peace timeor in times of war. Your sacrifice gave all of therights and freedoms that we enjoy. I would also liketo thank the retirees who fought to make this job oneworth having.

In solidarity,Doug


Gold Carriers

Meet for Lunch 1:00 pm1st Mon of the Month.

On holidays we meet the followingMonday. All are welcome! Weusually average 15 to 20 carrierseach month. For more informationcall Greg Stulz 859-380-9512 orEd Wesseling 513-300-6119 oremail [email protected].

Dec 2,Longhorn SteakhouseRookwood Pavillion2692 Madison Rd, Cinti, 45208513-351-4040Exit 6 off I-71

September YOPCAttendees

John (Corky) CorcoranJerry GiestingSkip GrantArt HoltDick KellerPhil MascarelliGerry MeesBob ShepherdEd WesselingPaul Wilbers

Please join your fellow re-tirees next month for sharingold times, playing cards andlunch.

Anthony BaumEdward BishopWm. BowmanRobert BriggsJoseph BryantClyde CooperEdward FaehrSandra Fatora

Omitted from theOctober IssueBirthdays

Wm. BohlanderCarl BrinkmanMike BrooksJohn BrothertonRussell BrownC.(Moe) BurkhartRobert ChambersRonald ChapmanDavid ClarkRobert DouglassJan EischenMichael HolzingerDavid HutchisonGrady Jobe, Jr.Dewey KelleyMichael KleintankBernard KluesenerCharles LeesmanLarry LueckeRobert MangoldAlfonso MarmoraPhilip MascarelliPaul MasonRonald NicholasJim O’HaraKenneth PflanzTimothy RidderJohn RyanGordon SchnurLarry SearleGeorge TaylorJames VeloskyPaul Wedding

Larry Wells

Dudley AndersonAaron BaldwinLouis BrannoGary CloreThomas FeistFrancis FullerRobert NeiheiselRobert NiklasThomas O’Brien

Kenneth Thiergartner

Novem

ber R

etiree Birth

days

Welcomes New MembersBranch 43

Keyinisha P. BarbourMark J. BedelCraig W. BlackAisha J. DavisJessica L. EmhoolahLovelle J. GrentryHamar I. HarrisKameelah N. HigginsTiron JonesLisa J. KennyClifford A. OliverRickey G. RoperJohn A. TurkJeremiah S. LinkJason E. Rosenberger


Greetings to all from the Ohio stateAssociation officers and Executive Board Members.The OSA appreciates all that branch activists havedone to deliver the NALC message to members ofcongress, and the general public. To better assistNALC activists the OSA has just begun a new trainingformat. The first will be conducted on November 10,2013 in Columbus. This session is by invitation only!Those invited this year are the 16 CDL’s, the StateLiaison, and up to one (1) activist from eachcongressional district. Current plans call for this tobe done twice next year. If you would like to attendthe next session, tentative February/March, pleasecontact me so your name can be placed on the list forconsideration. These sessions should not be like anycarriers have attended in the past. OSA Director ofPolitical & Legislative Affairs, Eric Yost, andExecutive Board Member Scott Howell, haveassembled what I believe will be an interesting andinformative class. So again, if you would like to beconsidered for the early 2014 class call me at 330-565-2665, or email me at [email protected].

Most of you are aware of the NALC supportedlegislation, but just to bring everyone up to date here iswhere the Ohio Congressional Delegation stands. Co-sponsors of H. Res. 30, Joyce Beatty, Marcy Kaptur,Marcia Fudge, Tim Ryan, David Joyce, Jim Renacci,H.R. 630, Joyce Beatty, Bill Johnson, Marcy Kaptur,Marcia Fudge, Tim Ryan, David Joyce, H.R. 961,Bill Johnson, Marcy Kaptur, Marcia Fudge, Tim Ryan,David Joyce, S.316, Sherrod Brown. If yourRepresentative has yet to co-sponsor these pieces oflegislation please call them and ask them to. Please checknalc.org for updates and changes.

For the latest political and legislative informationcheck www.nalc.org. For events and news from theOSA check us out on Facebook, Ohio StateAssociation-National Association of Letter Carriers, onTwitter at, Ohio-NALC, and on LinkedIn at Ohio StateAssociation of Letter Carriers. The website titled OhioState Association of Letter Carriers is not authorized ormanaged by the OSA. For current and accurateinformation please check us out on Facebook.

Besides the challenges facing letter carriers atthe national level, we also have many at the state level.Several years ago efforts to take away rights of workingmen and women in Ohio was soundly defeated. This

has not stopped those that want your rights taken awayand the power to shift back to the 1%. All available datafrom the so-called ‘right to work’ states shows this is abad deal for the middle class. The Ohio AFL-CIO isworking hard to get the truth out to union members, andthe general public. If your branch or group is interestedin getting the facts and joining with others to fight off thisattempt to take us back to the ‘company store’ daysplease contact me and I will assist in arranging a trainingsession. Every branch in Ohio can be a part of fightingthe good fight by affiliating with the Ohio AFL-CIO.They have, and will continue to join us as we fight ourfight. We are UNION, let’s show it by affiliating at thestate level.

John R. Dyce, President – Ohio State Association-

NALC

From the President’s desk continued

mandated was for the USPS to create a health planfor all non career employees including CCAs. ThePostal Service partnered with United Health Care tooffer these benefits, but again no details have beenmade available to date. The NALC has added twonew plans geared specifically for CCAs andinformation will be sent to them as well.

Based on the information we currently have,CCAs have three options when choosing a Healthcare plan. The first is the same choice that wasavailable for TEs, where the CCA must pay both theemployee and the employers’ share of a plan insidethe FEHBP, which is a costly option to say the least.The second option would be for CCAs who qualifyunder the ACA and desire self-only coverage. Theywould belong to the USPS/United Health Care planand receive the bi-weekly contribution of $125.00towards that premium. The third option would be forany CCA that does not qualify under the ACA, if theUSPS plan is not available, or desires more than aself-only plan. Those members will still receive the$125.00 bi-weekly USPS contribution, and would beeligible for the NALC Consumer Driven Health Plan(CDHP) or the NALC Value Option Plan. All thisinformation specifically for CCAs will be sent to allNALC members.

In Solidarity,Dave


“Indispensable Man”Saxon White Kissinger

SOMETIME WHEN YOU’RE FEELING IMPORTANT

SOMETIME WHEN YOUR EGO’S IN BLOOM.

SOMETIME WHEN YOU TAKE IT FOR GRANTED

YOU’RE THE BEST QUALIFIED IN THE ROOM;

SOMETIME WHEN YOU FEEL THAT YOUR GOING

WOULD LEAVE AN UNFILLABLE HOLE

JUST FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS

AND SEE HOW THEY HUMBLE YOUR SOUL.

TAKE A BUCKET AND FILL IT WITH WATER

PUT YOUR HAND IN IT UP TO THE WRIST,

PULL IT OUT, AND THE HOLE THAT’S REMAINING

IS THE MEASURE OF HOW YOU’LL BE MISSED.

YOU CAN SPLASH ALL YOU WANT WHEN YOU ENTER,

YOU MAY STIR UP THE WATER GALORE;

BUT STOP, AND YOU’LL FIND THAT IN NO TIME

IT LOOKS QUITE THE SAME AS BEFORE.

THE MORAL IN THIS QUAINT EXAMPLE

IS TO DO JUST THE BEST YOU CAN;

BE PROUD OF YOURSELF, BUT REMEMBER

THERE IS NO INDISPENSABLE MAN……

10 Not-So-Fun FactsAbout the Minimum Wage

$10.55 - How much the federal minimum wagewould be if it had kept up with inflation over thepast 40 years. Instead, it’s $7.25.

$15,080 - The annual income for a full-timeemployee working the entire year at the federalminimum wage.

0 - The number of states where a minimum wageworker can afford a two-bedroom apartmentworking a 40-hour week.

3 - The number of times Congress passedlegislation to increase the minimum wage in thepast 30 years.

19 - The number of states (including the Districtof Columbia) that have raised their minimumwage above the federal level of $7.25.

10 - The number of states that annually increasetheir state minimum to keep up with the rising costof living.

67 - The percentage of Americans who supportgradually raising the minimum wage from $7.25an hour to at least $10.00 an hour, according to anOctober 2010 poll.

64 in 100 vs. 4 in 100 - What are the chances anadult minimum wage worker is a woman vs. thechances a Fortune 500 CEO is a woman? 76 - The percentage of Missouri voters that votedto increase and index the Missouri minimum wagein the 2006 ballot initiative.

$2.13 - The federal minimum wage for tippedemployees, such as waiters and waitresses, nailsalon workers or parking attendants.

Injury Compensation Questions?You can call the Union Office on most Tuesdaysbetween Noon - 4PM. Former Compensation Of-ficer, Tom Roos will be available to answer yourquestions.

Submitted by: Mike Kamp (recently retired)


Arslan Uniforms1045 Dalton AvenueCincinnati,OH 45203

Phone (513) 621-2111/Fax (513) 961-9211

Union Made/American MadeBranch 43 Retired MemberEd Groen (513) 378-8905

Call him or stop by the storeMonday - Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Saturday 8:00 AM - Noon

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Human Resources Share Service Center

1-877-477-3273 Option 5, then Select 6TTY: 1-866-833-8777

MAILING ADDRESS:HRSSC FMLA EASTERN

PO Box 970905Greensboro NC 27497-0905

FAX: 651-456-6041

October Membership MeetingRaffle Winners

Split the Pot - Jerry MeesCOLCPE - Mike Blair, Lee Stidham

& Blake Flowers MDA - Judy K & Don Powell


Contact Information forU S Representatives/Senators

OHIOSteve Chabot – 1st District

http://chabot.house.gov202-225-2216513-684-2723

Brad Wenstrup – 2nd Districthttp://wenstrup.house.gov

202-225-3164513-474-7777

Sherrod Brown –Senatorwww.brown.senate.gov

202-224-2315513-684-1021

Rob Portman – Senatorwww.portman.senate.gov

202-224-3353513-684-3265

KENTUCKYThomas Massie – 4th District

http://massie.house.gov202-225-3465859-426-0080

Mitch McConnell – Senatorwww.mcconnell.senate.gov

202-224-2541859-578-0188

Rand Paul – Senatorwww.paul.senate.gov

202-224-4343859-426-0165

INDIANALuke Messer – 6th District

http://messer.house.gov202-224-3121765-962-2883

Daniel Coats – Senatorwww.coats.senate.gov

202-224-5623812-754-0520

Joe Donnelly – Senatorwww.donnelly.senate.gov

202-224-4814317-226-5555Award Wining BBQ

Paul [email protected]

812-621-0374

Retired CarrierPat Mulvaney

[email protected]

BBQ Catering & Pig Roast

Keep heading in theright direction...

1905 Dalton AvenueCincinnati, Ohio 45214

(513) 621-4787

Serving YOU Since 1958Just two blocks from the Main Post Office

Package Plans ~ Fast Delivery

Union Made with Pride

"Service is the Key to Our Success"

Our Hamilton County Respresentative isRetired Member of Branch 43

Pat MulvaneyCall Pat at 513-284-1504

andRichard Gargana

513-607-7738Retired Human Resource Specialist

Cincinnati DistrictNorthern Kentucky Representative

Terry MetzCall 289-9372

Store Hours:M-F 8:00 AM ~ 5:00 PM, Sat 8:30 AM ~ Noon

Closed on Saturday from July 4th through Labor Day

Roy Tailors Uniform Co.


Shared Branching (over 5000 branches),

Three No Surcharge ATM Networks

(ELAN/US Bank, PNC + UDF, Alliance One),

Share and Share Draft accounts,

IRA certificates and Share certificates,

Christmas & Vacation Clubs,

WEBPAL II (Internet Home Banking),

PAL (telephone Home Banking),

Bill Paying Service, LOANS: 1st mortgage

purchase and refinance, 2nd mortgages,

new & used vehicles (car, truck, motorcycle,

boat, travel trailer, motor home)

Enterprise & CU Easy Wheels car buying services,

Free Notary Services, Safe Deposit Boxes,

Insurance Services . . . to name a few

1243 West 8th StreetCincinnati, OH 45203-1004513-381-8600

803 East 5th StreetDayton, OH 45402-2299937-228-7691

Mail: P.O. Box 14403Cincinnati, OH 45250-0403

Toll Free 1-800-265-4527

November CalendarVeteran’s Day/Retiree Breakfast - November 11th

Officer Meeting - 6:00pm November 14thBranch Meeting - 7:30pm November 14th

Thanksgiving - November 28thY.O.P.C. - 9:00am December 4th

(513) 542-6400

NALC Health Benefit PlanCustomer Service

For eligibility, claim and benefit information

1-888-636-NALC (6252)

For additional imformation visit our website at:www.nalc.org/depart/hbp

Queen City Letter CarriersNALC Branch 434100 Colerain AvenueCincinnati, Ohio 45223

"ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED"

Non-Profit Org.U.S. POSTAGEPAIDCincinnati, OhioPERMIT No. 6919

Branch 43 News & Views

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