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Updated 5/17/12 (see nominations for national delegates below) Need something to do? Check out the Website savethepostoffice.com............................Be sure and check out county meeting dates listed on the Calendar of Events page!

LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL WORK? Hoffman Estates and Rosette are in need of leave replacement carriers - 630-893-7247 or 847-885-6512.

The State of Kansas hosted an outstanding Mid States Conference. Illinois was represented by 20 carriers. Much information was shared and will be brought to you through this site, the state newspaper and at your county meetings so be sure to attend! The annual banquet raised over $7,000 for PAC and the Spin Master entertained us all.\

ARBITRATION HAS ENDED! Parties completed their interest arbitration hearings before Jack Clarke, neutral arbitrator and panel chairman for the arbirtation committee. After presentations on compensation and health care proposals, the parties each addressed proposals on standards, mail count, EMA, and other proposals. The parties spent a total of 26 days in hearings.

After receipt of post-hearing briefs in early May, the arbitration panel will meet to determine the terms of a successor contract to the 2006-2010 National Agreement.

When the panel renders its award we will get it posted for you ASAP!

April 25, 2012 -- The United States Senate adopted a deeply flawed postal reform bill on Wednesday, voting for S. 1789, the 21st Century Postal Service Act, by a vote of 62 to 37.

The legislation embraces a downsizing strategy and fails to fully lift the burden to fund decades of future retiree health benefits decades in advance. If it were to become law, it would be almost impossible to save Saturday mail delivery for the American people and their businesses.

The bill gives the postmaster general the authority to propose a switch to five-day delivery in two years—at a cost of 80,000 jobs—if he believes such a change is necessary to preserve the “solvency” of the Postal Service, subject to review by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Although the bill reduced the level of required pre-funding, the cost of the mandate is still too heavy to allow the USPS to regain a sound financial footing.

Despite the truly regressive nature of the House Republican bill, H.R. 2309, the NRLCA continues watching as the bill is changed with hope. A majority of representatives support both H. Res. 137 (regarding six-day service) and H.R. 1351 (regarding pension equity). A final bill that passed both houses would not become law unless the President signed it. Therefore, we still could have a long way to go in this process. But the passage of the Senate Bill yesterday is a beginning. Continue watching for updates!

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MOU EXPIRES SATURDAY - NOTE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ON POSTINGS!
Things to remember:
1. only bid on routes you are willing to take, and bid in order of your preference.
2. once the bid comes down, you cannot change or refuse the assignment.
3. you do not have to bid on the route that is posted to be part of the bidding process.
4. print the confirmation page once you have completed the bid, in case a problem arises.
5. you'll need your Employee ID number & pin to enter the bidding site.
6. notify management immediately if you encounter problems on the bid site.
7. Just bidding on the posted route does NOT guarantee inclusion in the bidding process. You must bid all routes you are interested in. After the posting, they will NOT come around and ask you what route you want, you must bid for these routes through the automated system.

Please call your assigned steward if you have any questions.

Q&A

1. When the MOU expires, will the residual vacancy in my office be posted?

It depends. The MOU indicates in FSS offices, the residual vacancies will continue to be with held.

In non-FSS offices, the residual vacancies are to be posted within 30 days of the expiration of the MOU. There are 2000 routes across the country set for posting, so a schedule has been created. Routes in the Great Lakes Area are scheduled to be posted for bid the week of April 2 through April 7 2012. This is a target date; postings may be sooner or later than scheduled.

2. What happens to the with held routes in FSS offices?

The NRLCA and USPS are discussing a subsequent MOU which will address these routes regarding the eventual consolidation, adjustment or release of these routes.

3. I'm an RCA and a route was posted before the MOU expired, but will come down afterward. Should I bid?

Yes, if you want to be considered in the bidding process. Because the route posting comes down after the MOU expires, the residual route from the posting will not be with held.

4. We have an auxilary route in our office that is 40 hours; what will happen to it?
In offices that do not have FSS, all auxiliary routes that were 39 hours or more after the last mail count and remain at that evaluation, will be converted to regular status and posted for bid without the need of a mail count. These postings are to be accomplished by May 21, 2012.

In FSS offices, the routes will remain auxilary routes until the MOU is drafted that addresses situations in these offices.

5. What happens to the regular routes that were reduced to the evaluation of an auxilary route (26 hours or less)?

In offices not currently receiving FSS or not scheduled to receive FSS, these routes will be classified as auxiliry routes and the assignment filled by Article 30.2.G.

6. I am an RCA, temporarily off work due to an injury. I am assigned to a non-FSS office; can I bid when the route is posted?

Yes, MOU 7 addresses your concern. Substitues and RCAs that are temporarily unable to full preform the duties of the bid for position may bid for the assignment, provided the employee will be able to preform the duties of the position within 6 months from the time the bid is submitted.

As always; if you have any questions, please call your assigned steward.

Julia
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Welcome to the official website for the

Illinois Rural Letter Carriers’ Association.

The purpose of this Association shall be to improve the methods used by rural letter carriers, to benefit their conditions of labor with the United States Postal Service (USPS) and to promote fraternal spirit among its members. This Organization shall not affiliate or merge with any other organization or group without a majority vote of the delegates at a national or special convention or a majority mail referendum vote of all members voting.The following standards of conduct are prescribed for this Association:

• To maintain democratic procedures and practices, including provisions for periodic elections to be conducted subject to recognized safeguards and provisions defining and securing the right of individual members to participation in the affairs of the organization, to fair and equal treatment under the governing rules of the organization, and to fair processing any disciplinary proceedings;
• To prevent discrimination on the basis of race, color, age, gender, religion, creed, national origin, disability, or marital, economic, social or political status;
• To prohibit business or financial interests on the part of organization officers and agents which conflict with their duty to the organization and its members; and

  To maintain fiscal integrity in the conduct of the affairs of the organization.

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More Announcements! The NRLCA National Board has begun the transition to the National Steward Program which should begin in October or November, 2012. The current steward system will remain in effect until the transition occurs. The National Board has made the four Regional Representative appointments which will not begin until the transition occurs. The four Regional Representatives will be as follows:

Debbie Williams, Florida; Kurtis Buttars, Idaho; Terry Miner, New York and Bridge Boseak, Michigan

State Steward Julia Doggett has notified the Board that the following positions have been offered by the National Board and accepted as follows:

Central District:
Full Time DR (District Representative): Tracy Panepinto
Full Time Assistant DR for Central, Lakeland & Hawkeye: Karen Brown
Full Time Assistant DR for Central & Gateway: Aileen Aldred
Lakeland District:
Full Time DR (District Representative): Julia Doggett
Part Time Area Steward Position in Lakeland has been offered to April Sundberg
Gateway District:
Full Time Assistant DR for Gateway: Emmet Bennett, Jr.
Full Time Assistant DR for Gateway & Mid America: Janice Jeremiah

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RETIRING SOON??? Not long ago the OPM had over 60,000 retiremenets backlogged and that count has easily grown as many have decided to retire this year. Therefore, if you are thinking of retiring know you will need to have some savings to depend on as it may take six months or longer to get a corrected check. Please refer to the retirement article provided by your state secretary/treasurer in the February 2012 Illinois Rural Carrier for additional information and steps you need to take as you begin this process, including making your retirement counseling appointment.

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CHANGE OF ADDRESS: The ILRLCA uses the same address that you have on file with the United States Postal Service. If you need to change your address you have three options to do so - please make the change with one of these options so that you do not miss out on important mailings from the state and national offices!

1. Use PS Form 1216, Employee's Current Mailing Address. Send it to: HRSSC, Benefits/Compensation, PO Box 970400, Greensboro, NC 27497-0400.

2. Call the HRSSC at 877-477-3273, option 5. Validate your identity with your Employee ID number of USPS Pin, then option 9 to speak to a service representative who will assist you.

3. For carriers with PC access: Log on to LiteBlue using your EID and USPS Pin. Click on the Change of Address/Phone/Emergency Contact link under Employee Resources. Your current information will be displayed. To update your information, click the edit button, and you're on your way. Just follow the prompts to review, confirm and save your changes. You are then done!

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NATIONAL DELEGATE NOMINEES FOR 2012 NATIONAL CONVENTION IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK ARE STREAMING IN!

The nomination coupon has been in the National magazine during the next few months for persons wishing to serve as a national delegate. Please nominate someone you would like to see attend national convention as a representative, of our state, including yourself, to represent each of us at the annual meeting. Most nominations are self nominations and this is quite accessible.

The following are a few (written or unwritten) guidelines in case you’ve never attended as a delegate, or to use as a reminder to each of us:

1. Mandatory attendance for all business meetings and caucus night if you expect to receive your full pay allowance as a delegate: Mileage one way at IRS rate times 2, plus 4 days per diem of $100/day.
2. Recommend attendance for any 1st timers at the 1st timer seminar which is usually held on Monday afternoon.
3. During business sessions:
- No phone calls, texting or game playing
- Casual dress is appropriate
- Keep sidebars to a minimum as this can be disruptive to others sitting around you
- Shopping and checking out of vendors should be done before or after sessions and/or on breaks only.

As nominations are received for the 2012 National Delegate Ballot they will be listed here with the understanding that these have been confirmed as received by the Secretary/Treasurer and are in no specific order. A lottery will be held in May to determine the placement of each individual. A lottery will be held at the office of the Secretary/Treasurer on Saturday, May 19, 2012, 5:00 PM. The following is a listing of nominations received and confirmed by the Secretary/Treasurer as he sends a return receipt postcard to each person whose nomination he receives.

Lee Cutright, Loren Bowen, Lisa Grubar, Adam Harrington, Vicki Weis, Aileen Aldred, Barbara Howland, Pete Harrington, Patrick Bowen, April Sundberg, Emmet Bennett, Gail Rector, Betty Popelka, Donald Bunker, Ronnie Peterson, Melody Kalkwarf, Barb Bloomfield, Robert Picklesimer, Julia Doggett, Jim Eenigenburg, Edward Carter, Sue Carter, Karen Brown, Janice Jeremiah, Bill Baker, Connie Baker, Marvin Hartz, Terri Board, Debbie Mullvain, Joyce Wilson, Sherry Ludwig, Emily Anderson, Alice Mason, Deb Matthews, Carolyn Crews, Tracy Panepinto, Christine DeNino, LeAnne Meiners, Becky G. Payne, Christina A. Finley, Sharon (Sherrie) Cummings, John Shrode, Debbie Miller Jackson, Jan Miller, Bud Bruce, Sandra L. Bruce, Candice Hamilton, Larry Pratt, Patricia J. Dwyer, Rose Gangloff, Patricia (Patti) Hurley, Bob Lanier, Laurie Ellerman, Noreen Ribbs, Ken Wilkens, Gerald Fruit, Christina Fruit, Allen Ducat, Julie Williams, Valerie Russell, Tom Speciale, -----------------------MORE CONVENTION NEWS TO FOLLOW SO ON...............................
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2011 ILLINOIS NATIONAL DELEGATES