Volume 98

Part 1

Part 2 Click here

November 17, 2000

Contents:

Editorial: We need cooperation

1-League President Responds

2- NAPUS President Responds

3- Difalco Speaks to Dual membership

4- How about one organization for ALL postal workers

5- One Craft Union, One Management Union Needed

6- "United we stand, divided we fall".

7- Discussion is Good

8- Workgroup needed

9- All Together Now

10- Let's Organize

11- Postmaster Stew

12- Two Organizations, Two Agendas

13- Accomplishment through Unification

14- United Front Needed

15- Slogans are Damaging

16- Who was at the table?

EDITORIAL: We need cooperation

Overload.

Between sorting a hundred thousand catalogues, working 55 hour weeks, mandatory post office meetings, dozens of emails about the postmasters organizations, the pending rate hike and the drama of the election I have felt like moving to an island with no phone, no electricity, no television news, and NO MAIL!

Alas, I cannot and neither can you (even though we all get a pay hike December 30 details: http://www.postmasters.org/ln103001.asp) So we roll up our sleeves and lead and work hard and let the things we cannot change work themselves out.

Due to the huge amount of information, you will receive two Postmaster Online issues in your box. This issue is dedicated to the initiation by NAPUS president to move the two Postmaster organizations into a single group.

After writing both presidents and hearing many Postmasters across the nation I have a couple of opinions. First, due to the request of this newsletter and responding to other PMs concerns, NAPUS has dropped their offense "The Only Organization of, by, and for Postmasters" Motto - opting for the much more inclusive "Let us do together what we cannot do alone." This is a great first step. However, a tactile error may be much more difficult for President Moser to correct than a motto change. The recent survey postcard that went to every Postmaster in the nation was done so without any League input or knowledge. In the corporate world this is called a "hostile takeover" when shareholders are contacted directly about mergers. This was a terrible mistake that does little to promote unity. An apology in separate mailing makes sense and would do much to sway opinion.

However, no one can dispute the results. What the results of the survey do show is that an overwhelming number of Postmasters are tired of the wrangling. The present numbers are: 30.4% (8,274) Postmasters responded. 91% said yes to one organization, while 5.9% have said no. And no, there will be no manual recount. .Survival for postmasters in the future may mean pooling every resource just to maintain what we have. Younger postmasters will likely join neither organization as long as there are two. Both organizations have seen plummeting numbers in both membership and involvement. It may make just such a joint venture to strengthen the cause of Postmasters for today and the future.

The League must react to these staggering numbers. Previously, NAPUS officials have asked for joint merger workgroups that have gone nowhere. A group of concerned Postmasters needs to meet to begin the process of agreement. It can begin simply: "These are the things we agree on." And then it can go from there. It is way too early to move Joe Cinadr's Postmaster Pulse machine into NAPUS headquarters or to sell Charlie Moser's NAPUS bat-mobile. But it is not too early to TALK --- and talk we can.

We have reasonable, intelligent, and dedicated leadership. They can make something happen.

And we will support them

~~~

Postmasters Online exists because of your comments and input. Send them all to Rupzip@cs.com. New subscriptions and unsubscribes can be sent to the same address. Any financial contributions to help us expand can be sent to POB 3 Wilson WY 83014

1) League President Responds

Thank you for keeping me advised of your beliefs and for providing many employees and postmasters with a medium to express their issues and concerns. I believe we all need to be very aware of the fact that together we can accomplish more. I believe as president of the LEAGUE, I have the responsibility of improving the position of postmasters through regular communication with Postal Headquarters, the Board of Governors, the Congress and the Administration. I will continue my efforts to be a positive force for postmasters.

Joe

2) NAPUS President Responds

I accept your invitation to respond to the one Postmaster issue (PM Online Volume 97). I commend your efforts to provide Postmasters with a non-partisan forum to openly and objectively communicate with each other on the Internet. I read your publication to listen to the many concerns facing the nation's Postmasters, but generally refrain from expressing my personal opinions.

While I do believe that Postmasters would benefit from being represented by one unified organization, I don't think that it's an issue that a few people should decide. The individual leaders of both associations would have the most to lose by becoming one organization. I have heard no compelling argument which would convince me that two organizations with two voices would make us stronger. I would ask anyone to compare the successes of all of the other Postal organizations to the losses Postmasters have suffered during the past several years, and tell me that we have kept pace with them. Supervisors, letter carriers, rural carriers, clerks, and mailhandlers have all made gains in compensation and workplace issues, while Postmasters have watched salaries and job satisfaction erode to new lows. The aforementioned postal groups all have one thing in common, which Postmasters don't, they are each represented by a single organization. So much for the two voices argument!

Postmasters don't benefit from the related travel and overall expenses that two organizations create. One national office building, instead of the two which are currently a few miles from each other, would be more financially prudent for Postmasters. In addition to the utilities and maintenance expense of two national office buildings, other unnecessary costs can be found in vehicles, personal residences, conventions, meetings, publications, and many other categories related to two organizations. The common goal of both organizations include working to improve the overall welfare of all Postmasters. A united voice is one voice, and Postmasters have suffered because they haven't had one united association working on their behalf. They have also paid a heavy price for a system which currently has two organizations competing for their membership to support an inefficient and costly hierarchy.

We have an opportunity to fix the current problem before it's too late. We don't have to be concerned about who will be the winner, the League or NAPUS, because in the end Postmasters will suffer if a unified association isn't established. The recent survey which was sent to all active Postmasters, was planned and prepared as scientifically as possible. The survey asked Postmasters if they would be better served by one organization instead of two. A certified firm was contracted to provide the two organizations with an opportunity to hear the voice of each active Postmaster in the United States. At my request, both national presidents have been offered an opportunity by the contractor to conduct an onsite examination and verification of the results of the survey. By any and all standards, the response rate of the survey is overwhelming high as nearly 30% of the nation's Postmasters have responded within the first two weeks. Equally overwhelming are the tabulated results which indicate Postmasters favor one organization by a margin of 15-1. NAPUS members supported the question by 98% to 2%, League members supported the question by 75% to 25%. More than 8,000 active Postmasters have already participated in this unprecedented survey.

If necessary, retire the names of both NAPUS and the League, and give the new organization a new name and together we can begin a new era for Postmasters. The leaders of both organizations should consider the fact that two associations are inefficient and less effective for Postmasters. Additionally, I hear Postmasters voicing their support for one organization, which will ensure our role as a unified and stronger voice on behalf of all Postmasters in the future.

Thanks for your invitation to talk on this issue and please extend my invitation to all Postmasters to visit our 24 hour, 7 day live Postmaster Chat Room at www.napus.org! Keep up the good work and stay in touch.

Respectfully,

Charlie Moser

NAPUS National President

3) Difalco Speaks to Dual membership

Common Sense

The Case For Dual Membership

By John P. DiFalco

Consultant, League Adverse Action Counselors

IN RECENT MONTHS I HAVE NOTED a reoccurrence of the more negative aspects of the rivalry between management organizations that can only benefit those enemies of all managers who undoubtedly take solace in the fact that some Postmasters, rather than working together, spend an inordinate amount of time taking "potshots at each other."

Rather than have two STRONG voices for Postmasters who are competing in a friendly rivalry to provide the best services to all Postmasters, what one would have left if dual membership were eliminated would be two WEAKENED organizations squabbling over members while losing focus of their primary mission, which should be the betterment of ALL Postmasters.

Instead of condemning dual memberships, both Postmaster organizations should promote it. Just imagine the clout that the joint leadership would have of the two organizations working in concert on behalf of 25,000 members (in each organization), in dealing with the U.S. Postal Service on matters of pay, benefits, and dispute resolution. Rather than viewing dual membership as twice as expensive, why not consider that it can be twice as effective and doubly powerful in obtaining legislative relief and legal benefits for all Postmasters.

It could well be argued that but for the cooperative efforts of the League and NAPUS to obtain Postmaster appeal rights, they would probably not exist today. It could also be argued that had the League not established the first legal representation benefit, NAPUS would not have had to follow that lead by providing their own legal representation programs. There are many other examples of the benefits of duality. When one's profession is being threatened with extinction, isn't it better to fight with two hands, the League right and the NAPUS left, than to have only one hand to defend yourself with the other tied behind your back or even worse, punching yourself in the face with both hands in a futile, destructive effort to destroy your hands.

I am not a Postmaster and I am not eligible for membership in either organization. I am not a supervisor either, and I can't join NAPS, but I have been an observer for the last 32 years of the U.S. Postal Service and all of its unions and management organizations. To borrow a phrase from Benjamin Franklin, I can say without fear of contradiction, that "UNLESS POSTMASTERS HANG TOGETHER, MOST ASSUREDLY, THEY WILL HANG SEPARATELY."

This presumption that dual membership in both the League and NAPUS is somehow bad, is incomprehensible to me. Of course there is an expense, but how do we explain having two cars in the garage at our homes? How do we explain the car and the truck, or the car and the boat? Yes, there is an expense, but there is also a tremendous advantage to having dual capabilities. This is especially true when you are literally fighting for the future of the Postmaster profession.

At the consultative sessions, Postmasters can speak louder because they speak with two voices. In negotiations on pay and benefits, Postmasters have two spokespersons who must please the same constituency, and thus, are in a friendly competition to do the most for the greatest number of Postmasters. That's not bad, that's very good for Postmasters.

As for legal representation, isn't it far better to have two attorneys rather than none available to represent the Postmaster? Believe me, were there not two, there very likely would be none. Were there not two legislative initiatives, very likely Postmasters would have no appeal rights, and I guarantee you, if there are not two Postmaster organizations working together for legislation to provide for binding arbitration of pay and benefit disputes arising out of pay consultations, such legislation will not become law.

I am troubled by the resurgence of certain shortsighted, but extremely vocal individuals, who would rather destroy a quality Postmaster organization that they perceive as a rival to their own organization, than to serve all Postmasters in the most effective manner possible.

As an attorney, I am a member of the American Bar Association, but I am also a member of the Federal Bar Association, and several state and local bar associations. I am also a member of numerous other groups representing the interests of attorneys. Yes, I am a dual, triple and quadruple member of numerous organizations representing my profession. So are most Postmasters who gladly join the Elks, the Moose, the Knights of Columbus, the Masons, and various other social and professional organizations including both the League and NAPUS.

Isn't it interesting that Postmasters have a right to join two professional associations, which right is denied by law to all craft employees of the Postal Service. A craft employee is either a clerk or a carrier, perhaps a mail handler or rural carrier, but cannot be a member of more than one craft organization. That one organization is his sole representative in collective bargaining with the Postal Service. Postmasters alone have the right to belong to and be represented by TWO quality professional organizations. I might add that these two fine organizations have historically evolved into separate entities that are not likely to merge or disappear unless they both go down fighting each other, which would indeed, be a sad result.

In my judgment, those who agitate for the destruction of either organization or the elimination of dual membership, are not only wrong--they are giving aid and comfort to the REAL ENEMIES of all Postmasters. Perhaps it would have been nice if the historical development of management organizations in the Postal Service had resulted in only one Postmaster organization, but such result would not necessarily be better for individual Postmasters.

Perhaps it would be administratively convenient if there was only one Postmaster organization, but that is as likely to happen now as the United States and Canada merging into one nation. Notably, today those two nations are as close as any allies can be with a common 3,000 mile undefended border. They cooperate in all areas from trade to continental defense. They speak the same languages, and believe in the same traditions of democracy, and have fought together against common enemies for over a hundred years. Yes, even some citizens of the two nations maintain dual citizenship. Many of us pay taxes to both nations and many Canadians and Americans are members of the same professional organizations. If dual membership can work for nations, why not for Postmasters?

Think about it Postmasters--utilize your energies on signing up all non-members. Tell the troublemakers agitating against one organization or the other that we just don't have time for such counterproductive, self-destruction. Both Postmaster organizations need strength through increased membership. Both need full membership!

Let us all focus on the welfare of the individual Postmaster, be he or she from a metropolitan area or a rural community. It is their jobs that are in jeopardy. Let us focus on working together as two strong, full membership organizations representing their interests. Twenty-five thousand dual member Postmasters speaking with two voices is far stronger than even 50,000 speaking with one voice. Rather than destroy the inherent power of dual membership, let us foster it, and utilize it to make the voices of the nation's Postmasters stronger.

What is happening as opposed to what should be occurring is so obvious to any neutral observer, it is frankly shocking to those of us with "common sense" when some people just don't get it!

Why give aid and comfort to those who would divide and destroy all Postmasters by fighting among yourselves. They, those enemies of Postmasters, (you know who they are) love to "divide and conquer." The only real job security for Postmasters is the power that goes with strong, active membership. Two Postmaster organizations in which every single Postmaster maintains a dual membership, 50,000 voices, 25,000 League and 25,000 NAPUS, will be heard!

4) How about one organization for ALL postal workers

Not only is it time for just one postmaster organization, it may be time for one organization to represent all postal employees. After 28 years of postal experience it's my opinion that the USPS at National Headquarters has no respect for any of us and wants nothing better to privatize the Post Office.

City: Rochester

State: NY

One Craft Union, One Management Union Needed

Hi Ya David...as usual a GREAT newsletter! WOW..the link (www.postalemployeenetwork.com) works..thanks a million!

I am an outsider, but I agree with you on the two PM organizations. On the other side of that coin, and in favor of all the crafts, I have always believed that one union would work best as representatives for all crafts.

I also agree with the gentleman who says that he believes USPS could greatly benefit from the internet if focused in the right direction, instead of giving up and contracting this and that to other companies.

Thanks again! Rick

6) "United we stand, divided we fall".

7) Discussion is Good

As the Massachusett State President for NAPUS, I would like to see one organization representing all Postmasters. I think Charlie Moser is doing all Postmasters a service by sending out that last Gazette to all Postmasters with the reply survey postcard enclosed. Let's see what the vast majority wants. I think they will want one organization. Dave, keep up the good newsletter. Who knows, you might end up being the new Postmaster Organizations editor.....

City: Westport

State: MA

8) Workgroup needed

David:

I think a workgroup dedicated to bringing the sides together is an excellent idea.

I nominate you to serve on it

All Together Now

Rup - I want to give you a big thanks for starting a very informative and much needed avenue for all Postal employees to the information that they may or may not get in the normal Postal channels. I only discovered and signed up for your emails about a month ago. Heard about it from another Postmaster.

On the subject of NAPUS survey for one organization: I hear all that you are saying and what happened in the past. However, we are in different times and I strongly believe that the organizations are now working for the betterment of ALL Postmasters. I do belong to both organizations and support them both not only with my dues but my support when needed. I am of a firm belief that in this day and time, with all things being considered, that one Postmaster organization would be the best thing for all. Hey, my dues withholding would be cut in half also. In all seriousness, I do believe that we, as one organization would be much further ahead in being able to talk with the folks in the glass tower of LeEflant Plaza. Notice I did not say negotiate, only the crafts have that privelege. strength in numbers comes to mind for one reason, another is not being divided and fighting amongst ourselves. Which, I hate to say, as you know has happened. So I think that we should all pull together and let them folks in DC know that we will be united in getting what we the Postmasters have for so long been without.

Chuck

Let's Organize

One organization? Two organizations? I say lets research the law and see what it would take for us to become a Union. Postmaster's Union. That way we will be a dog with bark and teeth, instead of a puppy dog. What is stopping us from becoming a Union? Lets leave the organizations for the Knights of Columbus and the Boy Scouts!

11) Postmaster Stew

Hi Dave,

Iappreciate your article on unifying Postmasters, but I am also at odds onsome of the issues. I have been an involved League Postmaster all of my career, and have known it as a good organization. I am impressed by the integrity of it's current leadership; I don't think that one organization is inherently good, especially if I am asked to drop my membership in the League, just to make it happen. That would be akin tome asking everyone in NAPUS to drop out and join the League, thereby making one organization. So, I am a little uneasy with the survey that was in the NAPUS magazine. I hope that everyone who receives your newsletter understands how respected you are by the League as a national leader, and none the less for your editorial of which I comment. That's part of the integrity I speak of the League. I'm not sure someone at the national level would be tolerated in NAPUS if they were in favor of two organizations. I do recognize that NAPUS does some good things, and I have very good friends among their organization, and I applaud every good thing they do for Postmasters.

>I know that a study group was formed before about just these issues you bring up...maybe someone will comment on that. I don't have specifics. Somehow, I think the answers go back to my history class in high school...something that stuck with me was a new term for our country being "a melting pot", rather we are like a "stew" with meat, potatoes, celery, and carrots, all held together in a common broth I unofficially nominate you to head up any study group...

Jim "Sunny" Sundquist

Postmaster

Middleport OH 45760

Comments: Maybe this is an idea whose time has come. I think a committee to study uniting might be a good idea

~~~~

Two Organizations, Two Agendas

David,

About Charlie Moser offering an olive branch regarding unification, if he is so intent upon it, why didn't he talk to Joe Cinadr before sending out the survey? Unification can't happen while one organization has a different agenda than the other. Seems to me that Moser speaks with two purposes in mine. He says one thing, then does something to offend the other group. He has done this before. I give Joe Cinadr a lot of credit for not taking the low road and attacking such behavior. And as far as the survey goes, I believe that Charlie has created a lot of confusion among the Postmasters that do not belong to either organization. They don't understand the issues behind the two organizations as it is. For the most part, since they don't understand, all they seem to care about is paying dues to only one organization, if any at all. I suppose that this sounds like maybe sour grapes from an active League member, but I am aware of the issues and I was shocked as Joe was when this survey went out. If he wants unification, then he should start at the top where the issues are understood, not at the bottom where there is not true understanding. All that Charlie is creating is division among us.

alnrench@avci.net

United Front Needed

This organizational in-fighting is ludicrous. We need to unite as one body, be it the League or NAPUS or a new single united organization with new title, officers, etc.

We need to present a united front to upper management as well as to Washington. Judging from the miniscule budget that my office and others within my POOM area received this year, we are in for a lot of heat this FY.

I also suggest that we unite strongly with NAPS for "negotiation" purposes. Each year our salaries erode in comparison to the crafts. The EVA "bonus" we receive is a pittance, and in my estimation, is meant to pad the pockets of the PCES and keep us content with a piddly cash incentive.

Well I for one am not content when I see my city carriers become level 6s, all bargaining unit employees receiving contractual increases, step increases and COLAs(regardless of their performance), while we languish and appear content with our yearly increases that are tied to performance goals which this FY year are going to be tough, if not impossible, to attain.

NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST

Accomplishment through Unification

I agree we should have only one organization I think we could accomplish more

working together..

Slogans are Damaging

Just read your article on the two PM organizations becoming one. Thanks for your perspective--real food for thought. I'm a NAPUS state editor and have advocated merger for years but hadn't considered the damaging effects of our slogans, rhetoric, etc. To survive, we MUST join into one organization and speak with one, unified voice.

16) Who was at the table?

<< Recently, the League's John Difalco published an article calling for every Postmaster to be a dual member. His argument is that two representattives at the table are better than one. >>

What table is Mr. Difalco talking about? Please wake up, we dont have any powers as an orginization. The USPS can give us what they want, if anything at all. Who was at the table when we lost our convention leave? Who was at the table when we lost our hospitalization? Who was at the table when they thought up EVA and jammed it down our throats. Noone, thats who Mr. Difalco.

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