A MESSAGE FROM YOUR STATE STEWARD, TRACY PANEPINTO
OIG IS PLACING TARGET GIFT CARDS AS BAIT MAIL TO CATCH EMPLOYEES STEALING. THIS IS NOT A RUMOR. WE HAVE HAD A CARRIER PUT ON EMGERGENCY LEAVE FOR TAKING ONE! PLEASE GET THE WORD OUT. TRACY
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SAFETY - SAFETY - SAFETY - SAFETY - SAFETY - SAFETY - SAFETY
With school back in session and farmers on the byways of the state, please be especially alert for children, farm vehicles, and other equipment and people as you go about delivering your mail. Safety must be at the forefront of all we do. Please stay alert - be very careful at railroad crossings and intersections! You can never be too cautious - do not rush - take your time and be very aware of your surroundings at all times!
Plan to return home each evening -
Pay Attention - Keep Safe!
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NATIONAL BOARD FALL BOOSTER MEETING
ANNOUNCEMENT
At the recent Post-Convention Board Meeting, there
was a lengthy discussion about officer’s schedules for this fall and what
requirements there were going to be on their time. During the discussion,
it was realized that the upcoming negotiations and the possibility of
arbitration if negotiation talks are not successful will place great demands
on the Board’s time. In addition, as the Postal Service continues to push
for a change in the number of delivery days it becomes more apparent that
the National Board will be required to spend a great deal more time on
Capitol Hill educating Congressman and Senators about the rural craft
and the negative effects of five day delivery. The Board also discussed
the current financial condition of the Association and ways to cut costs.
Based upon these circumstances the Board has made the decision to forgo
attendance at any Fall Booster Meetings for 2010. We regret not being
able to attend these meetings but feel it will be in the best interest
of our craft to concentrate our efforts on the above mentioned issues
rather than travel to the Booster meetings.
(reprinted from What's New, www.NRLCA.org)
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8/24/2010 Past NRLCA National President William Brown Passes Away
Past National President William “Bill” Brown passed away at the University of Alabama Hospital on Monday, August 23, 2010. Bill Brown had a long and distinguished career with the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association. Bill had been a member of the NRLCA since 1966. His first position with the Alabama Rural Letter Carriers’ Association was that of State Chaplain, then State Vice President, and later State Steward. In 1987, Bill was elected to the National Board, where he served as an Executive Committeeman. From 1989 to 1991, Bill served as the National Vice President and later was elected as President of the NRLCA, a title he held from 1991 to 1994. Throughout his tenure with the NRLCA, Bill served on the National Joint Steering Committee of Quality of Work Life/Employee Involvement as Co-chair; he also served as Co-Chairman of the Southern Region Joint Steering Committee. He attended NRLCA National Conventions for many years, including most recently the 2009 National Convention in Grapevine, TX, where he entertained attendees with a number of humorous anecdotes Funeral services for Rev. William Robert Brown, Jr., 76, of Equality, Alabama will be held Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 3:00 pm at the Ray Baptist Church. Rev. Wayne Henderson, Rev. Donald DeLee, Randy Anderson and Bro. Russell DeLee will officiate. The burial will follow in the Rehobeth Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Radney Funeral Home.
DELEGATES RETURN FROM SPOKANE !
1. National Steward System Failed 709 to 432. It needed
a 2/3rds majority to pass.. If this had passed National dues would have
increased to $382.00. They are going to rework it and present it again
at next years convention.
2. A $26.00 raise in national dues passed due to a million dollar shortfall in reserves.. They will increase from $153.00 to $179.00. Relief raised $13 in national dues and retirees increased $12 per year in national dues. Effective date to be announced by the national office.
3. The Biennial Convention failed again this year.. It got 51%, but needed a 2/3rds majority to pass.
4. Following a head count on a motion to reconsider the National Steward System, it passed to vote on it again. It was defeated worse than the first time. This time the vote for the National Steward System was 621 FOR, 520 Against... 759 yes were needed to pass..
The following officers were elected:
Elections:
Cantriel (835)vs Picklesmeir(293) President
Dailing(712)vs Duschl(419) Sec/Treas
Stutts(922)vs McDonald(205) Dir. of Steward Operations
Joey Johnson won unopposed for Director of labor relations
Dwyer won unopposed for VP
Susan Knapp (597) vs David Heather(453) vs Bridget Boseak (82) Executive
Committeeman
Reno, Nevada won the 2015 bid for convention.
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MORE CONVENTION NEWS TO
FOLLOW SOON...............................
2010 ILLINOIS NATIONAL DELEGATES
(listed in order of largest # of votes beginning on the left, going down the left column and then down the right column )
* purple indicates "unable to attend" - Red indicates National Paid - Black Indicates State Paid - Blue indicates Alternate (based upon those who are not able to attend - 1st 4 Alernates are paid 1/2 delegate pay) (Sandy Smith is National Junior Sponsor and will be attending in that role)
Based on the Constitution, Becky G. Payne will be Delegate-at-Large, with the four others in red National Paid Delegates.
Pete
Harrington |
Larry Pratt |
Becky G. Payne |
Alice Mason |
Emmet L. Bennett,
Jr. |
Connie Baker |
Patricia
J. Dwyer |
Bud Bruce |
Patrick Bowen |
Barbara Howland |
Janice Jeremiah |
Sandi Bruce |
Lee J. Cutright |
James J. Eenigenburg |
Edward Carter |
Betty Popelka |
Sue Carter |
Jim Barger |
Emily Anderson |
* Marvin N. Hartz |
Loren Bowen |
* Valerie Russell |
Sabra K. Moore |
* Clarence Huber |
Christina Finley |
Barbara (Barb) Bloomfield |
Tracy Panepinto |
Teresa G. Mekeel |
Robert Pickelsimer |
Sherry (Sheril) Ludwig |
Sheila Anderson |
* Dirk Beetner |
Debbie Mullvain |
Melody Kalkwarf |
* Karen Brown |
Diane Newton |
Joyce Wilson |
Julie Williams |
Julie Doggett |
Mike Karcher |
Patricia (Patty) Hurley |
Thomas A. Speciale |
* Raymond Broadhacker |
Jan Miller |
* Evelyn Broadhacker |
John Retzer |
Ronnie Peterson |
Carolyn Crews |
* Sherry M. Hogue |
LeAnne Meiners |
Lisa A. Grubar |
Gail Rector |
* Gerald Burley |
Laurie Ellerman |
Bill Baker |
Rose Gangloff |
* Sandy Smith |
Earl Aden |
Donald F. Bunker |
Jane M. Ruholl |
Ken Wilkins |
April Sundberg |
Gerald Fruit |
Susan Aslett |
Debbie Matthews |
Terri L. Board |
Christina Fruit |
Shirley Nadolski |
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ILLINOIS RURAL LETTER CARRIERS’ ASSOCIATION
2010-2011 MEMBERSHIP DUES
Please Note: The following includes a dues increase passed at the August, 2010 National Convention in Spokane, Washington. $26 for regulars, PTF, Associates per year; $13 for relief per year and $12/year for retirees. An effective date will be announced by the National Office. The following reflects the increase.
| Carrier Status | National Dues | State Dues | Total Cash | Payroll Deduction |
| Regular/PTF/Associate | $179.00 | $380.48 | $559.48 | $21.52 |
| Relief | $63.00 | $174.60 | $237.50 | $9.13 |
| Retirees | $42.00 | $69.48 | $111.48 | $9.29/month |
If a rural carrier/retiree/associate wishes to pay cash dues, checks can be made out to the Illinois Rural Letter Carriers’ Association and must be paid before July 1 of the new membership year. Any cash member who has not paid his/her cash dues by or on July 1 of the new membership year will be considered a non-member.
Please note that the State Dues above include $4.00 for County Membership Dues.
The State Secretary/Treasurer sends a letter to all cash pay members in May and again in June to any who have not submitted their dues by then. Therefore, the County Secretary does not have to collect cash dues.
All County Dues are collected and sent to the State Association now as part of a member’s dues. The State Secretary returns the $4.00 to the County Association after receipt of the completed County LM Form.
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2009 Members of the Year
Bill and Connie Baker
Congratulations Bill and Connie!!!
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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:
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POSTAL SERVICE IS PLACING
VIDEO CAMERAS IN VEHICLES
rEFERENCE FROM THE NRLCA (posted here 4/25/10)
The Postal Service notified the NRLCA that it would be placing video cameras in some LLV’s and POV’s on rural routes in order to collect information/data for use in negotiations and possible interest arbitration. Over the last several days we have received numerous reports from rural carriers confirming that the Postal Service is now placing the video cameras on select routes. To date, the Postal Service has refused to advise the Union which standards are being studied. The Postal Service has indicated that rural carrier cooperation is mandatory and that it may discipline any carrier who refuses to permit a video camera to be placed in his or her vehicle.
The National Board believes that the Postal Service’s conduct violates Article 34 of the National Agreement and that the placement of video cameras in rural route vehicles constitutes a mandatory subject of bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act. A National Step 4 grievance has been filed.
The Postal Service claims that its current activities do not trigger a bargaining obligation. We have had one meeting with Postal Service officials and expect to have several more meetings in an effort to convince the USPS that it may not place video cameras in rural route vehicles without the Union’s consent during bargaining.
We recommend that you follow the direct orders of your superiors concerning the use of video cameras in rural route vehicles but please advise us where this activity is taking place so that we may address it with the Postal Service and utilize this information in any subsequent litigation.
http://www.nrlca.org/userfiles/File/whatsnew/Step-4-Cameras_in_vehicles.pdf
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Harry S. Truman once said,
"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit."...................................................................
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NRLCA Joins in Filing PRC
Request on CSRS Pension Obligation
National Rural Letter Carriers' Association: "The NRLCA joined
other Unions, Management Groups, and Mailers in filing a PRC request
for the following: (1) incorporate in this Postal Regulatory Commission
docket relevant comments submitted in Docket ACR2009 pertaining to
the issue of the appropriate allocation of CSRS pension obligations
between the Postal Service and the federal government, to be made
available to the Commission’s selected actuary in assessing the issues
in this review proceeding; (2) establish an opportunity for public
comment on the actuary’s report prior to consideration by the Commission;
and (3) establish a parallel consolidated proceeding pursuant to section
701(a) of the Postal Accountability And Enhancement Act (PAEA). The
filed request will be available online shortly on the national website.
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NATIONAL SENDS LETTER TO POSTMASTER GENERAL
IN OPPOSITION OF 5 DAY DELIVERY!!!!
Please write your Congressman in opposition of 5 Day Delivery if you have not done so already. The following letter was sent certified to the Postmaster General from NRLCA President Don Cantriel.
NATIONAL RURAL LE TTER CARRIERS' ASSOCIATION
1630 Duke Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3467 Phone: (703) 684-5545
Mr. John E. Potter
Postmaster General
United States Postal Service
475 Enfant Plaza West, S. W.
Washington, D. C. 20260-0010
April 1, 2010
Certified Mail - Return Receipt Requested
Return Receipt Number 7005 0390 0004 5990 6735
Dear Jack,
I write to make you aware of the serious concerns of the Associations
National Board concerning the Postal Service's recent publicity regarding
its five-day delivery proposal. We believe that such publicity has
had the unfortunate effect of misleading its employees and the American
public in several important respects.
Initially, we believe the Postal Service has unrealistically led the public and its workforce to believe that the inevitable date has already been set to implement five-day delivery. The Postal Service publicity blitz fails to acknowledge the huge practical reality that five-day delivery cannot happen without Congressional approval. We think it is extremely unrealistic to believe that such approval is likely to happen anytime soon.
Unfortunately, the Postal Service's recent publicity has created unwarranted confusion and misapprehension in the public, as well as low morale and anxiety in its workers, particularly for parttime employees.
Second, the Postal Service's five-day delivery plan mistakenly gives the impression that there are no other alternatives to this drastic proposal. As you are aware, we strongly believe that the reduction of service from six to five-day delivery will have the opposite effect from that which you intend: it will doom the Postal Service in fairly short order by allowing delivery companies to begin to compete head-to-head with the Postal Service. Instead of opening the Postal Service up to this unnecessary risk, we urge you to look for other methods to increase revenue and cut costs before pursuing five-day delivery. We ask that you first look internally for change. We continue to believe that the Postal Service is top heavy. There are too many managers who do nothing but manage other managers.
We think the Postal Service should consider the reduction of positions that have nothing to do with the collection, transportation, or delivery of mail, instead of eliminating the positions that actually carry out the core mission of the Postal Service, delivering the mail to the American public.
Third, service to the Postal Service's most vulnerable customers will
suffer. As the craft that provides service to the rural areas of our
country, we are very concerned for the well being of our rural customers
if five-day delivery is implemented. Not everyone lives within a short
distance of a post office, where they could go to pick up their mail
on days when there is no delivery. Many of our customers rely on their
rural carrier as their only lifeline, including the delivery of medical
supplies and other vital items, in remote areas.
Finally, as you know, the NRLCA remains fully engaged with our friends
on Capitol Hill. We will continue to seek Congress' help to maintain
the Postal Service as a viable enterprise, with six day delivery.
We are urging Congress to review the findings of
the Inspector General and to work with OPM to make any overpayments
available to the Postal Service during these tough times. We have
always been and will continue to be very supportive of the Postal
Service on Capitol Hill. But, we will continue to voice our strong
opposition to five-day delivery.
Sincerely yours,
(signed)
Don Cantriel
President
National Rural Letter Carriers' Association
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