Be mindful that drop and relay drivers are being duped and robbed while delivering mail. Here's an example of what is occurring. While you are unloading your truck, a person walks up to you and says, "Excuse me, did you drop this $5.00 bill?" While answering the question, someone else sneaks up behind you and steals from your truck. So be aware and alert. Try to prevent yourself from becoming another crime victim.

Occurrences relating to The Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace, signed by the Postal Service and the NALC, referred to as "The Joint Statement," are the basic theme of this writing. On numerous occasions both management and letter carriers are behaving in a manner that is out of compliance with the Joint Statement. Carriers must make every effort to prevent conflict in the workplace. The workplace must not be misused to do personal venting during job time.

You have a job you all know about, which is to process and deliver the mail correctly. Losing your job would be a horror story. Think of all the benefits you'd lose. You now have access to excellent benefits for yourself, your spouse, and your children, which you would forfeit sometime after becoming emergency placed. This kind of behavior is not condoned by anyone, and can cost you your job. If your job is terminated, you lose your medical benefits.

In various stations postal employees are becoming violent and they are threatening to cause bodily harm to others. The same is true of management.

You have a retirement plan and the opportunity to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan, a tax-deferred retirement savings plan available to all letter carriers, though under different rules for CSRS and FERS employees.

You also have benefits as a union member which were long fought for by the NALC. It would be a shame to give up these benefits because your expression of anger caused you to lose your job. Employees don't have to love each other, but they must strive to work together peaceably - don't cause disorder and hard feelings. If management intimidates you, don't get into a confrontation. Ask to step off so that you can compose yourself and then see your shop steward and apprise your shop steward of the incident. In this way, management cannot accuse you of any wrongdoing. Always try to work together in harmony. By doing so, you will keep the benefits you have earned.

Until next time, I will look forward to providing more information and keeping you informed about events that will take place in the future.

I wish you and your family a safe, blessed and happy holiday. Have a prosperous New Year.

The honorable theme of our rally is SAVE AMERICA'S POSTAL SERVICE NATIONWIDE RALLIES. Regarding the Bill Text (112th Congress 2011-2012) there is a herculean Congressional battle taking place involving enactment of H.R. 1351 authored by Stephen Lynch (D-MA), a bill favored by the multitude of Americans as well as the letter carriers throughout the U.S. of America, and the unbridled utilization of cut-throat tactics of H.R. 2309, an opposing bill, which is being co-sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the very wealthy powerful chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which denies collective bargaining rights to letter carriers and severely and/or totally limits their current job benefits.

I want to offer my sincere profuse thanks to Congressman Rangel for all the support that he gives letter carriers with any of our issues and help relating to the passage of the bill, H.R. 1351. At the rally he spoke to us about how important it is for us to do work for the Postal Service. Congressman Rangel worked for the Postal Service and said that as long as you work for the Postal Service you have a good job, a retiree plan, health coverage and a good pension. He promised us that he'll make sure H.R. 1351 gets passed. By doing so, I believe he will also help prevent a deep recession from becoming a never-ending dreaded reality.

I would personally like to thank all of those supporters who appeared at the rallies throughout the United States.

Changing times bring about ever-changing conditions. Regarding what we eat, we should beware of food packaging and check whether it has been tampered with. Many years ago you could leave your door open and no one would bother you or trespass. Today, never leave your door open and don't permit anyone to trespass.

Back to work topics: I receive a lot of phone calls from various stations where the carriers feel that they can call the Branch because they do not want their shop stewards to represent them. The shop stewards in the stations are elected by the majority of the station carriers, so, they are the only ones who can represent the carriers of that station. As I spoke to these carriers I also explained to them that they have the right to do their own Informal A, but the shop steward must be present when management renders a decision so as to protect the contract, so that it is not violated by management. Upon completion of the Informal, the case is given to the shop stewards to continue in the grievance procedure once it's denied at the Informal. Another issue is that if you are offered a discussion you cannot refuse it, nor can the grievant, nor can the shop steward. A discussion is just what it is. Nothing involving aforesaid discussion is placed on your record.

When you have problems and concerns in the stations, phone me and we'll discuss what's best to do about each problem. I'll quote information I wrote in the past that still applies: "In general, another problem relative to the workplace is that the carriers are assigned to do more work than is humanly possible within too short a time. We cannot do 10 hours work in 8 hours. Management's edict becomes preposterous because too much work is assigned to be done in too little time. Such assignments create and reinforce a burden which causes stress and mistakes. There are members of management who have exhibited long-term sustained destructive efforts to be ultra difficult and hateful toward carriers. They misuse the workplace to display maliciously ill-mannered attitudes and actions, and should have their employment with the U.S. Postal Service terminated. At this late juncture in time, it is anticlimactic to send them to school for additional training. We should get rid of the bad apples in management..."As usual, whenever you need a helping hand, contact me in the Grievance Division at Branch 36.
LET'S ALL ENJOY A HEALTHY, SAFE, GREAT SUMMER!

(a) All medical certificates must be current, and signed by the health care practitioner on official letterhead. The certificates should be submitted within seven (7) calendar days of being signed by the health care practitioner. Copies of medical certificates will not be accepted, only original medical certificates.

a) Prior to reporting for his/her scheduled tour of duty, the employee shall submit a written request for a temporary light duty assignment together with an appropriate medical certificate to his/her Manager, Customer Services/MDO/ MMO. The Manager, Customer Services/MDO/MMO shall then contact their respective light duty coordinator to determine the availability of light duty work.

b) If a temporary light duty assignment is available, the employee will be given a temporary light duty offer in writing. The employee will be required to sign the form and indicate whether he/she accepts or does not accept the offer. If the employee accepts the offer, he/she will be directed when and where to report to the assignment.

c) If a temporary light duty assignment is not available, management will notify the employee in writing. The employee will be permitted to request leave of his/her choice; either annual leave, sick leave or leave without pay (LWOP), when temporary work is unavailable.

Should you need further clarification in reference to the aforesaid information, feel free to give me a phone call at Branch 36. The number is: (212) 239-3901.

Your Rights

This article concerns the subject of post-Miranda questioning. By reading the Article, Coping With Post-Miranda Questioning, reprinted from Vol. 16, No. 2 of the Spring, 2003 issue of NALC Activist, I hope that you can get a better understanding of your rights and see the different circumstances in which you could become involved:

You've heard it a million times on television: "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney..." These words derived from the 1965 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miranda vs. Arizona are commonly known as "Miranda warnings" informing persons in custody of constitutional rights prior to an interrogation. But what happens when local management wishes to interview an employee after postal inspectors have already given the carrier the Miranda warning? Does the carrier, in effect, have to waive his constitutional rights? A recent regional arbitration case clarified this issue and provides helpful guidance to branch officers and stewards.

Case Nos. F98N-4FD 00251275 (C-22054), consolidated for arbitration, involved an allegation that a letter carrier had mishandled mail, an allegation that prompted local management to call in the Postal Inspection Service. The letter carrier was called into the office where two postal inspectors produced their badges and indicated they would like to ask the employee a few questions. The letter carrier, who was also the Branch President requested union representation at that point. Since
union representation was not available, the postal inspectors rescheduled the interrogation for several days later. At that meeting, the carrier was read her Miranda rights. After consultation with her attorney, the carrier refused to answer any questions, and the postal inspectors ended their interview.

The employee's postmaster then contacted the carrier and requested that she make herself available for an investigatory interview by local management. On advice from her attorney, the carrier declined until the Postal Service would provide her with assurances it would not seek criminal charges. The Postmaster wrote the employee that his investigation was administrative and not part of the Postal Inspection Service's case. Nonetheless, on advice of her attorney, the carrier continued to refuse to submit to any interview until the Inspection Service itself would definitely state it would not seek criminal charges.

Ultimately, the Postal Service issued a Notice of Removal to the employee. Among the charges was "Failure to Cooperate in an Official Investigation." The Postal Service asserted that although the employee was not required to speak to the Postal Inspectors after they "Mirandized" her, an interview by local supervisors was administrative and therefore outside the realm of its Inspection Service and the carrier's Miranda rights. Management further concluded that the employee's failure to cooperate in an official investigation was a serious breach of Part 666.6 of the Employee and Labor Relations Manual, "USPS Standards of Conduct, "In response, the union grieved the removal, arguing that the Postal Service had violated Article 5 of the National Agreement and the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The grievance was eventually arbitrated.

In this decision, Arbitrator Claude D. Ames ruled that given the employee's
reasonable belief that anything she said could be used against her in a criminal proceeding, the employee reasonably sought assurances from the Inspection Service that it would not seek criminal charges, assurances that the Postmasters letters did not provide. Absent such assurances, Arbitrator Ames ruled that the employee did not fail to cooperate in an investigation. In his award, the arbitrator stated that:

Failure to cooperate with a Postal Investigation, is unsustainable given the factual circumstances. Grievant was never informed by the postal inspectors or local Management that any subsequent statements in an administrative investigation would not or could not be used against her in any criminal proceeding after being Mirandized. Although grievant requested adequate assurances from the postmaster through her attorney that no criminal investigation was pending prior to proceeding with the administrative investigation, these assurances (letters) were knowingly equivocal and insufficient, not the assurances that Grievant and her attorney were seeking, given the Postal Inspector's earlier statement that he would seek a grand jury against the grievant. Under these factual circumstances, Grievant is held to have had a wellfounded belief of criminal prosecution and exercised her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination...It is also well settled that in order to remove an employee for failure to answer possible incriminating questions in an investigation, an agency must first advise the employee that (i) his refusal to answer may result in removal, and (ii) any statement(s) made during the interview will not be used against him/her in a criminal proceeding...A thorough review of the evidence record here, including Management's letter of assurance, does not indicate that Grievant was so advised...The Grievant's Fifth Amendment right to remain silent under these factual circumstances is constitutionally protected.

Happy New Year. We are starting a new year. Let's get off on the right foot by remembering our various responsibilities so that important matters run smoothly. With that in mind, I will remind you all of those responsibilities.

THOSE MEMBERS RECEIVING OWCP

If you are receiving OWCP (Workers' Compensation) you become directly responsible for paying your union dues. Please remit dues to Branch 36 upon receipt of a statement specifying the amount of dues owed.

We will bill you for the amount of dues owed during the time you receive Workers' Compensation because dues are deducted from your salary only when you are on-the-job

A lot of carriers are retiring who already have a date and they want to buy back military time and they can't because when you are ready to retire and have a date, all money for Buy-Back must have been paid. You can't Buy-Back once you retire. All information relating to Buy-Back must be completed before you retire and all payments must be in, so as to get credit for that time. You should call Shared Services and request the forms for whatever branch of service you were in. When you receive the form, you must correctly fill it out. You need Form RI 20-97. The name of the form is Estimate Earnings During Military Service. Fill out the form and in Box 19 make sure you put your name and address enabling the military to mail it back to you and keep a copy for yourself and send it to Shared Services. That office will return it to you and let you know the amount of money that you must pay to Buy-Back your military time. All monies must be paid in full prior to retirement.

The U.S. Postal Service has sent out a form to all carriers relative to eligibility to retire. The name of the aforementioned form is, National Retirement Council System Annuity Estimate as of pay period 05-01-2010. The number of the form is AAF241P1. I would like all parties who have received this report to examine it very carefully because as of 2005, all of the personnel records went to:

Be mindful that drop and relay drivers are being duped and robbed while delivering mail. Here's an example of what is occurring. While you are unloading your truck, a person walks up to you and says, "Excuse me, did you drop this $5.00 bill?" While answering the question, someone else sneaks up behind you and steals from your truck. So be aware and alert. Try to prevent yourself from becoming another crime victim.

Occurrences relating to The Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace, signed by the Postal Service and the NALC, referred to as "the Joint Statement," are the basic theme of this writing. On numerous occasions both management and letter carriers are behaving in a manner that is out of compliance with the Joint Statement. Carriers must make every effort to prevent conflict in the workplace. The workplace must not be misused to do personal venting during job time.

You have a job you all know about, which is to process the mail correctly. Losing your job would be a horror story. Think of all the benefits you'd lose. You now have access to excellent benefits for yourself, your spouse, and your children, which you could forfeit sometime after becoming emergency placed. This kind of behavior is not condoned by anyone, and can cost you your job. If your job is terminated, you lose your medical benefits.

In various stations postal employees are becoming violent and they are threatening to cause bodily harm to others. The same is true of management.

You have a retirement plan and the opportunity to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan, a tax-deferred retirement savings plan available to all letter carriers, though under different rules for CSRS and FERS employees.

You also have benefits as a union member which were long fought for by the NALC. It would be a shame to give up these benefits because your expression of anger caused you to lose your job. Employees don't have to love each other, but they must strive to work together peaceably - don't cause disorder and hard feelings. If management intimidates you, don't get into a confrontation. Ask to step off so that you can compose yourself and then see your shop steward and apprise your shop steward of the incident. In this way, management cannot accuse you of any wrongdoing. Always try to work together in harmony. By doing so, you will keep the benefits you have earned.

Until next time, I will look forward to providing more information and keeping you informed about events that will take place in the future.

I wish you and your family a safe, blessed and happy holiday. Have a prosperous New Year.

If you were able to see this camp, you would be convinced that this camp is a fine place for these children, and it is genuinely praiseworthy. The camp also gives their parents a little free time of their own, which we all need.

Please come aboard and join us by helping to send these children to summer camp, but the only way you can help is to get involved. These children need our help. I would like you to get involved in all the event fundraisers that we hold for M.D.A.

We will bill you for the amount of dues owed during the time you receive Workers' Compensation, because dues are deducted from your salary only when you are on-the-job.

If you have the NALC Health Plan, you must pay all dues owed because after one year in a non-pay status, you lose your health coverage and become ineligible to acquire it in the future. You would create a disaster for yourself by not retaining your health coverage.

Changing times bring about ever-changing conditions. Regarding what we eat, we should beware of food packaging and check whether it has been tampered with. Many years ago you could leave your door open and no one would bother you or trespass. Today, never leave your door open and don't permit anyone to trespass.

Back to work topics: I receive a lot of phone calls from various stations where the carriers feel that they can call the Branch because they do not want their shop stewards to represent them. The shop stewards in the stations are elected by the majority of the station carriers, so, they are the only ones who can represent the carriers of that station. As I spoke to these carriers I also explained to them that they have the right to do their own Informal A, but the shop steward must be present when management renders a decision so as to protect the contract, so that it is not violated by management. Upon completion of the Informal, the case is given to the shop stewards to continue in the grievance procedure once it's denied at the Informal. Another issue is, if you are offered an oral discussion you cannot refuse it, nor can the grievant, nor can the shop steward. A discussion is just what it is. Nothing involving aforesaid discussion is placed on your record.

When you have problems and concerns in the stations, phone me and we'll discuss what's best to do about each problem. I'll quote information I wrote in the past that still applies: "In general, another problem relative to the workplace is that the carriers are assigned to do more work than is humanly possible within too short a time. We cannot do 10 hours work in 8 hours. Management's edict becomes preposterous because too much work is assigned to be done in too little time. Such assignments create and reinforce a burden which causes stress and mistakes. There are members of management who have exhibited long-term sustained destructive efforts to be ultra difficult and hateful toward carriers. They misuse the workplace to display maliciously ill-mannered attitudes and actions, and should have their employment with the U.S. Postal Service terminated. At this late juncture in time, it is anti-climactic to send them to school for additional training. We should get rid of the bad apples in management..." As usual, whenever you need a helping hand, contact me in the Grievance Division at Branch 3ó.
LET'S ALL ENJOY A HEALTHY, SAFE, GREAT SUMMER!

I wrote an article pertaining to the reassessment process and I will be going to all stations with my team, Ron Ventre and Helen Amill to represent all limited duty carriers in the National Reassessment Process. When I arrive at certain stations, the carriers are unaware of the process. That tells me that they are not reading any of the articles or information placed on our web site, which is NYLCBR36.ORG. We try to keep you informed as much as possible, but if you want firsthand information, you should attend our monthly meetings in your union hall.

For an extended period of time members have been misinterpreting billing letters which we have mailed out for many years when the member is not on-the-job. The Branch 36 Bylaws stipulate that members will be billed by Branch 36 when they cannot report for work due to illness or other acceptable reason. It is at those times that we mail out billing for those pay periods involving non-payment of dues.

The form letters which are mailed to those members clearly state that, "…Up to the pay period of , you owe dues for the pay period(s) specified below", and thereafter, the pay periods are itemized and the total dues owed is specified. However, the members are confusing pay periods with when they receive their salaries. No one is billed by the month, only by pay periods.

We are asking all shop stewards to explain this to the unionized members at your stations.

We should pray for and acknowledge support of all men and women in the military serving our country for their continued brave and vigilant protection of our country and our freedom as a democratic nation.
HAPPY FLAG DAY, and
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

I am the administrative executive for the entire Grievance Division of Branch 36. I counsel the hearing officers as to their responsibility and I prepare the material relating to the grievants for the arbitration process. I am an arbitration advocate. I also appear with officers on behalf of Branch 36 at all orientation classes which introduce Branch 36 to those who are new to the letter carrier craft.

1. Purpose:
Under the provisions of Article 13 of the National Agreement and the LMOU, the USPS is obligated to show/provide the greatest consideration for full-time regular, parttime regular, and part-time flexible schedule employees requiring temporary light duty or other assignments, to give each request careful attention, and to reassign such employees to the extent possible in the employee's station/plant.

This policy pertains only to those employees who sustain an "off-the-job injury" or a "non-job related illness" which prevents them from performing their regular job duties and/or other Postal Service work.

Medical Documentation:
In addition to the employee's written request for temporary light duty assignment, the employee is obligated and must submit a medical certificate from a health care practitioner that reflects the following:

a) All medical certificates must be current, and signed by the health care practitioner on official letterhead. The certificates should be submitted within seven (7) calendar days of being signed by the health care practitioner. Copies of medical certificates will not be accepted, only original medical certificates.

Request for Light Duty Assignment
Employees who are unable to perform the full duties of their assigned position may request a temporary light duty assignment as follows:

a) Prior to reporting for his/her scheduled tour of duty, the employee shall submit a written request for a temporary light duty assignment together with an appropriate medical certificate to his/her Manager, Customer Services/MDO/MMO. The Manager, Customer Services/MDO/MMO shall then contact their respective light duty coordinator to determine the availability of light duty work.

b) If a temporary light duty assignment is available, the employee will be given a temporary light duty offer in writing. The employee will be required to sign the form and indicate whether he/she accepts or does not accept the offer. If the employee accepts the offer, he/she will be directed when and where to report to the assignment.

c) If a temporary light duty assignment is not available, management will notify the employee in writing. The employee will be permitted to request leave of his/her choice; either annual leave, sick leave or leave without pay (LWOP), when temporary work is unavailable.

Should you need further clarification in reference to the aforesaid information, feel free to give me a phone call at Branch 36. The number is: (212) 239-3901. To all my Brothers and Sisters, I wish you all a very happy and healthy Passover and Easter