Pascual was appointed Executive Vice President in October, 2017.
Pascual began his career with the Postal Service in the Summer of 1997 as a Part Time Flexible Carrier at Morrisania Station. He became a Full Time Regular in 1999. Pascual worked at Morrisania Station his entire career until he was appointed as a Full Time Officer. He became a foot carrier as soon as he became a Full Time Regular and remained until 2017. In 2017 he became a combination wagon carrier and was then appointed to the Branch full time.
Pascual was elected as a shop steward in Morrisania Station in 2003 and remained until he was appointed as a full-time officer in 2017. In 2004 he was appointed as a Formal A Designee, and Hearing Officer in the Bronx which expanded the amount of stations that Pascual was representing at the Formal Step A in the Bronx. He became shop steward of Morris Heights Station during this time as well. In 2006 Pascual was selected to attend the Leadership Academy in Washington D.C. He was then selected to attend arbitration advocacy training in 2008. Pascual began to represent carries at arbitration within Branch 36 and for other branches within the NALC, along with the Caribbean District. In 2007 he was appointed as Trustee for Branch 36 and held that position until he was appointed to Director of City Delivery in 2010. In 2015 he was appointed to Editor of the Outlook and became shop steward of Bronx GPO within that time as well. In 2017 our National Business Agent authorized Pascual to represent carriers in Puerto Rico as an NALC representative addition to his arbitration duties on the island. In the fall of 2018 he was appointed to Executive Vice President of Branch 36.

What’s Next?

The answer to that question lies in the specifics of who you are asking. Things are happening faster than we can track, especially, change. We have a new District Manager. We are going to arbitration over local memorandum items and our recently finalized contract is up for renewal. So, to answer the question, I need to know which one you may be asking about.
In recent days, President Charlie Heege and I met with the new District Manager, Mr. John Tortorice. The meeting was intended to establish contact, lay down foundation for a healthy relationship and to discuss each party’s specific concerns. In this meeting, I realized how fast certain things can change in the district simply by replacing one person. The new DM’s focus, mainly was office time and scanning, so do not be surprised to see or hear about a new approach to those topics if one arises in your station. The new DM has his own vision and specific ideas on how to achieve that vision. Reach out to the branch if something sounds or feels strange about any new approaches.
We are going to arbitration over LMOU items, unless the parties can come to an understanding before the arbitration date(s). The items scheduled for arbitration have to do with: wash–up time, holiday scheduling, overtime being distributed by sections, and miscellaneous methods of doing things with respect to PS Form 3971s, etc. (stemming from Items 21 & 22 of the LMOU). We have been preparing for arbitration since initially disagreeing at LMOU negotiations in case we ended up in arbitration. Here we are!
The upcoming contract is a big deal. As it should be anyway. It’s the blueprint for how we manage to live and survive, literally. It means everything and I do not blame anyone for feeling that way or being vocal about it. The good news is that National has been preparing for this since day one of the last contract concluding. This was evident to all branch leadership in the Fall as we met up in Cleveland at the National Rap Session, not only to discuss National’s intentions, but also to provide input from the boots on the ground and the work floor.
National has heard you when you said you wanted to be a part of the process. You wanted to be able to speak your concerns to leadership. And just like that with the snap of a finger, National President Renfroe and the Executive Council convened in Cleveland to listen to ideas brought forth by branch presidents and their leadership. As you may have noticed, they have taken suggestions from other groups as well, and continue to do so.
So, coming back to the title of this article – “What’s Next?” There are a few things coming up that will be next and brand new: the contract with upcoming negotiations, the Local Memorandum of Understanding with upcoming arbitration, and maybe your work floor with a new District Manager. All three can have an impact on our members, which is why we commit to remaining active and diligent as it relates to representing you on the work floor and within the grievance procedure. I do not tell you these things because you need to be overly concerned, but as members, you should at least have an idea of what we are going up against when it comes down to you and your rights.
Here at Branch 36, we are always exploring ways to defend and make progress on how we can impact representation at a local level. That means you do not have to be overly concerned with any changes because the Branch and National are always on the prowl ensuring no one treats our members like prey in the wild. Also, I would remind everyone that in my fifty-one years on this planet, one thing I have come to understand is that as much as things may change, they also stay the same.
I hope everyone had a great holiday season inclusive to every religion, culture and celebration that could or should have happened throughout the holiday season. Also, I would like to congratulate some of our hardest working union reps within the Installation. Congratulations to David Terry from West Farms Station on his appointment to Director of Education. Congratulations to Edwin Robertson, Jr. from Bronx GPO Station on his appointment to Editor of the Outlook, vacated by Yvette Kinard. He also deserves congratulations for completing and graduating from the Leadership Academy. Congratulations to Shakena Ford from Peter Stuyvesant Station on her appointment to Trustee. Congratulations to Ed Dyer, who was appointed to the Dispute Resolution Team, as well as being accepted into the Leadership Academy. One more congrats to him for successfully making it out of week one alive.
I truly believe this is the best branch because of the people who work for it, especially our boots on the ground in the stations and in the field. Thank you to you and here goes one final congratulations to the most important block of this union – our shop stewards. Congratulations to those of you who remained shop stewards and for those of you who are newly elected. Good luck to you all!