National Association of Letter Carriers

Like so many things in life, any given year must inevitably come to an end.

As 2022 comes to a close and we look back upon the past 12 months, we here at Branch 25 would like to take a moment to wish each of you a happy, healthy and fruitful 2023.

Lately, an outbreak of armed robberies on letter carriers has become news across our great nation. Now, the USPS Inspection Service has put forth reward money to help solve these troubling cases.

Several news items from the ‛Net have popped up. Please access these stories here & here.

And needless to say ... PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE !!!

... a tip of the hat and a sip of egg nog by the fireplace.

To all of you — the members of Branch 25 — a sincere thanks for yet another holiday season well done.

May you and your families enjoy a happy, merry & restful Christmas Day.

All of our hearts go out to the family of a Milwaukee, WI letter carrier, killed in the line of duty Friday evening.

The 44 year old carrier was a multi-decade veteran of the Postal Service and a father of four. The shooting remains under investigation at this time. To access the local story, please click here.

Remember, at all times, “job one” is getting home safely each & every night ...

Please be careful out there!

One month ago, we posted a disturbing story about a disturbing trend. Attacks on letter carriers where the primary target was their arrow key.

Nationwide, these attacks are still being reported, but the Postal Inspection Service has been working to address the problem.

Check out this story from FOX News 5 in Washington D.C. for more details.

First up, as the busy holiday season approaches, a customer may ask “When do I need to mail my cards and packages to get them there by Christmas?”. This story from CBS Miami gives you the official USPS answers to those very questions.

Secondly, we here at Branch 25 would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy & healthy Thanksgiving. Enjoy some quality time with your families and all that delicious turkey. And GO PATS in the night game !!!

The 2022 Mid-Terms are finally here  👍🏼😃

Your civic duty calls to you once again. This time around, it’s a pitched battle for the control of Congress and State Houses across the land.

“But I already voted by mail”, you might say. “I mean, why wouldn’t I?”

Unfortunately, “fake news” continues to muddy the waters around this issue. To view some of the crazed rhetoric behind vote-by-mail, please consider this sad story from the PolitiFact.com website.

Being attacked on the job ... a frightening proposition indeed.

Attacks on letter carriers, which are on the rise nation-wide, could be focused on parcels or even first class mail. But it might be all about your arrow key!

If a bad actor were to get hold of that one item, there’s no limit to the amount of havoc he or she could wreak.

For more, please check out this story from WFTV News 9 in Orlando, FL.

Please click right here for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO Scholarship website. Once there, you can get all the pertinent information for this year’s program. Registration deadline is Friday, December 16th, so don't procrastinate !!!

From the Lowell (MA) Sun, let’s consider the possibility of postal banking, shall we?

While it’s true that we can become quite attached to our local banks, who’s to say that their policies (and most importantly their fees) are always in our best interest? (pun not necessarily intended ...)

In any event, the Lowell Sun’s take on this issue is yours for the click.

For your information & convenience, the new Branch 25 By-Laws for 2022 have been posted to both the “Carrier Resources” & “Steward Resources” pages.

Our sympathies go out to the family of an Interlachen, FL letter carrier who was viciously attacked by a pack of five dogs this past Sunday. Pamela Rock had only been on the job since December and was dealing with a broken-down vehicle at the time of the attack. For further details, please click here.

This horrible incident is a reminder to all of us regarding the seriousness of dog bite attacks and what we as letter carriers need to be aware of at ALL TIMES while on our routes. Situational awareness, keeping dog spray at our disposal at all times and delivery scanner technology are all tools in our toolbox when it comes to the prevention of dog attacks.

And please don’t ever rely on the common sense of dog owners to keep their pets in check when you are in the area.

At all times ... be safe out there !!!

The New England Patriots 2022 regular season opener is right around the corner ... Sunday, September 11th in sunny Miami, FL.

To help you keep on top of the action, we’ve placed a PDF copy of the 2022 schedule—all downloadable & printable—on the “Carrier Resources” page ... GO PATS !!!

As the planet burns, you won’t be able to say that the United States Postal Service didn’t do its part for a greener, more renewable future  👍

Click right here for the CNN story on the agency’s latest plans to make AT LEAST 40% of its new vehicle purchases all-electric.

For another look at the proposed “next generation delivery vehicle”, consider this other story ... also from the good folks at CNN.

For your information, we’re adding a PDF copy of Dan Toth’s January 2021 & July 2022 Postal Record columns to the Carrier Resources & Retirement Info pages. These columns deal with Medicare Part B, Medicare/FEHB integration & the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022.

With the PSRA restructuring of our health plans, important changes will be here before we know it. And as always, knowledge is power ...

We here at nalcbranch25.com would like to offer our warmest greetings to the newest Branch 25 members from the cities of Lawrence and Methuen and the town of North Andover ...

Coming once again to your mailbox ...

COVIDtests.gov will once again deliver COVID test kits to your home ... free of charge! For more details, head on over to Yahoo! News.

The OPM “Services Online” website will be undergoing some upgrades, including a new login system.

From our home page, you can find a link to Dan Toth’s informative column from last November’s Postal Record with info retirees can use.

Services Online can always be found by hitting this link.

All 457 pages of it  😲

The 2022 Joint Contract Administration Manual—or JCAM to you fans of a good acronym—is now accessible on the NALC Website.

Please navigate to the “Steward Resources” page for the link.

“Once this purchase goes through, we’ll be stuck with more than 100,000 new gas-guzzling vehicles on neighborhood streets, serving homes across our state and across the country, for the next 30 years. There won’t be a reset button.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta

Sixteen states, the District of Columbia, New York City, San Francisco, several environmental groups and the United Auto Workers have all filed lawsuits, fighting the USPS’s decision to swap out one aging, gas-powered fleet with a shiny new gas-powered fleet. The decision openly defies the Biden Administration’s call for a move to an all-electric fleet by the year 2030.

You can head on over to CNBC for more details.

From the National Office ...

For your information, the 2022 “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive has been scheduled for Saturday, May 14th.

Once again, we will get a chance to do our part to help fill local food banks and fight the ongoing hunger crisis across America.

“The Postal Service is central to our economy and essential to rural America. They deliver 4 million prescriptions per day, along with letters, consumer goods and even live animals, often to parts of the country that private carriers can’t or won’t or aren’t required to reach. The Postal Service delivers democracy.”

President Joseph R. Biden

Yes.

On Wednesday, President Biden signed into law the “Postal Service Reform Act of 2022”. You can click right here to scan PBS coverage of the event.

“In flagrant contradiction to President Biden’s admirable and ambitious goal to electrify the federal fleet, USPS has tethered itself to a technology that is well on its way to obsolescence ... striking a devastating blow to our climate, to our effort to lead the world in green technology, and to our beloved Postal Service.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA)

On Monday March 14, House Democrats and other lawmakers requested that the USPS inspector general launch an investigation into the mailing agency’s decision to purchase a new carrier fleet, composed almost entirely of internal combustion engine vehicles (aka ICEV).

For more on the story, head over to the AP and the Government Executive websites.

From the NALC National website ...

Please click here to access the latest update on the Postal Service Reform Act (H.R. 3076) as it moves through the Senate consideration phase.

                  Let Us Pray ... 🙏

NALC Branch 25 Monthly Meeting
Mar. 1, 2022 ... 08:00 PM EST
Click Below To Join ZOOM Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89302558266

One Tap Mobile:
+13017158592,,89302558266# (Wash. DC)
+13126266799,,89302558266# (Chicago)

Meeting ID: 893 0255 8266

“The Postal Service’s current course represents a crucial lost opportunity to be a leader in reducing the carbon footprint of one of the largest government fleets in the world. Purchasing tens of thousands of gasoline-fueled delivery trucks locks USPS into further oil dependence, air pollution and climate impacts for decades to come, and harms the long-term prospects of our nation’s vital mail provider.”

Vicki Arroyo, Associate Administrator for Policy, EPA

Well, sadly, we’re gonna have to put one in the win column for good-old, gas-guzzling internal combustion technology.

Read the sad tale from the Government Executive.com website.

“The Postal Service’s proposal as currently crafted represents a crucial lost opportunity to more rapidly reduce the carbon footprint of one of the largest government fleets in the world.”

Vicki Arroyo, Associate Administrator for Policy, EPA

“Postmaster General DeJoy’s plan to spend billions on brand new gas-powered vehicles is in direct contradiction to the stated goals of Congress and the President to eliminate emissions from the federal fleet.”

Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA)

Looking forward to the prospect of a new delivery vehicle? Not so fast. You can read the latest from the Washington Post and CNN.com here.

NALC Branch 25 Monthly Meeting
Feb. 1, 2022 ... 08:00 PM EST
Click Below To Join ZOOM Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81479711036

Dial by your location:
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
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+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 814 7971 1036

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kek7qfhrGG

Coming soon to your mailbox ...

A new government website is now operational where you can sign up for 4 free COVID tests ... delivered free of charge by the United States Postal Service!

This link will get you to COVIDtests.gov.

(With all apologies to Kermit the Frog ...)

3.3 billion dollars? It’s a lot of money by anybody’s measure of the word.

E&E News brings us this story which deals with the costs of a new fleet of all-electric postal vehicles.

“The 650,000 women and men of the United States Postal Service are ready to deliver and proud to play a critical role in supporting the health needs of the American public”

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy

Peace of mind ... coming to a mailbox near you!

Within the next several weeks, the USPS will be tasked with the delivery of up to 500 million test kits to homes across the nation.

Linn’s Stamp News has the story for you right here.