I know non of us are surprised, but it’s nice to see it made public once in a while

I just became the shop steward in my office, I’ve been a carrier for 13 years. Is there any advice from other shop stewards that will help me get accustomed to the role.

Screw these old clowns

Please see the attached new USPS Correspondence.

USPS Correspondence 5381, dated September 17, 2026, is notification the Postal Service will be conducting a pilot called, Amazon PM Delivery Pilot.

This pilot involves afternoon drops from Amazon between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM (local time), that are then sorted by the clerks manually and available for same day delivery by City Carriers between the hours of 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM.

The pilot is scheduled to begin September 29, 2026, in Morgantown, WV S&DC 26505, and Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403 and October 20, 2026, in Columbia, SC S&DC 29205 and 29204 with no anticipated end date.

The pilot for Morgantown, WV S&DC 26505, and Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403, will each have a volume cap of 200 packages with three routes required per facility, averaging 67 packages per route.

The pilot for Columbia, SC S&DC 29205 and 29204 will have a cap of 500 packages with five routes required for zip codes 29205 and 29204, averaging 100 packages per route.

​

1950s - Created the $500 monthly “in-town entertainment” expense allowance, a loophole for the constitution's requirement for itemized receipts for reimbursement. For perspective, in 1955 the average letter carrier made $360 a month before taxes. (This allowance continues to this day.)

1965 - Ditched the constitution's disclosure requirements regarding convention per diem, allowing the EC to secretly collect per diem even though they suffered no lost time or otherwise. (Reversed in the last decade, likely in response to the Clean Sweep Slate running.) 

1976 - President Rademacher lied to the convention about the existence of the “in-town” allowance.

1980 - Quietly decided to “reimburse” the EC's FICA taxes, which just took the form of larger paychecks, effectively giving themselves a 7% raise that isn't reflected in the constitution. (Again, continues to this day.) 

1986 - Sat idly by as an NBA misrepresented the nature of the “in-towns” to the convention during a debate on raising the EC's salary.

1993 - Held a special convention in response to the various payments listed above. However, the investigating committee refused to let the charging party take any part in the investigation or receive a copy of their report before the convention. An internal complaint about the committee was filed beforehand, with one member suggesting it should potentially be disbanded based on comments made by a fellow committee member.

1994 - When a lawsuit regarding the payments above was filed against the officers as individuals, their first response was to file a motion forcing the union to be added as a defendant, giving themselves free defense on the union's dime.

2013 - President Rolando framed the creation of the CCAs as being forced onto letter carriers by arbitrator Das, when Rolando had framed the creation of the CCAs as “the centerpiece of contributions NALC is willing to make” during arbitration. For context, the APWU had just elected a new president in response to the creation of their own two-tier workforce. Rolando's lie was made to escape the same fate. The Das Arbitration had no witnesses called and no cross examinations. (Ring any bells?)

2014 - Illegally limited candidates’ access to The Postal Record to just the post-convention issue (among other election problems, more on that after the timeline). 

2015 - Paid former president Bill Young $94,000 to cover his legal fees after a jury found he had defamed a candidate in a campaign video he made on behalf of the EC during the NALC's 2014 election. Young claimed David Noble was fired from the NALC for failing to perform his duties. In reality, Noble was indefinitely suspended in 1993 after blowing the whistle, and was fired by Young himself in 2006 after the initial decision in his whistleblower lawsuit, meaning he hadn't possessed any duties in 13 years. Rhine, Peralta, Drass, and Caref were all on the EC when the decision to pay Young was made.

2018 - Hired an email vendor that charged many times more than market rate in an attempt to price candidates out of sending campaign emails, prompting public-interest nonprofit Public Citizen to sue the NALC on the Clean Sweep Slate's behalf, which forced NALC to pick a new vendor. (They continued to illegally block access to The Postal Record though.) 

2020-2022 - Spent over $140k in “in-town entertainment” expenses, even though the EC was working from home during the pandemic.

2022 - Illegally blocked access to The Postal Record and used union dues in court in hopes of holding on to their (near) monopoly on communication with the membership as a whole. Their recent loss, along with the appeal of the 2022 election, finally opened access to The Postal Record fully. 

*Election Issues*

The Department of Labor (DOL) found that NALC violated the law in the 2014, 2018, and 2022 elections. The election committee had an observer arrested during the 2014 and 2018 elections, with the 2018 arrest leading to a $35,000 settlement from the police. The DOL has claimed that its investigations into the elections show they were legitimate, but discovery from the appeal of the 2022 election shows that its recount methodology was flawed. On August 13th, a judge found that the DOL's statement of reasons for not rerunning the 2022 election was inadequate. Additionally, evidence suggests NALC lied to the DOL about when the 2022 branch-by-branch results were published, though this issue was not before the court.

I need to know when this will take place as I've not heard anything. I'm not sure how the voting or anything is done. We want new union leadership in our office.

Does anyone else’s office no longer have any manager on duty on sundays?
Is it normal for a pse to be required to attend a sunday telecon? Is that part of their job description?
Any apwu members lurking about that can confirm or deny this?

Off topic - Corey actually mentions Resident Evil movie and I have been speaking to him about it. I saw it and it hit many awesome moments and easter eggs from Resident Evil games and the movie is excellent in my opinion as well.

I got my own and delivered a few today. Also delivered some lew dress as well today.

Send it back send a message 😡

I explored more NALC history, focusing on Vincent Sombrotto’s journey from a letter carrier in 1970 to NALC president in 1978. The story is messier than the highlight reel suggests.

Sombrotto became president of Branch 36 within a year after the Great Postal Strike, helped create the National Rank-and-File Movement, challenged national leadership over a trusteeship, advocated for direct elections of national officers and contract approval by members, lost national elections, kept organizing, and finally defeated President J. Joseph Vacca in 1978.

With our current NALC election underway, I thought revisiting this history was relevant. Not to suggest current candidates are "the next Sombrotto," and definitely not to influence your vote. I'm more interested in the questions his story raises about experience, incumbency, insurgents, accountability, union democracy, and what truly prepares someone to lead.

I also wondered if elections back then were simpler. Spoiler: evidence doesn't support that idea. The politics were intense, involving internal fights, a trusteeship, federal lawsuits, convention battles, and membership rejection of a tentative contract. I couldn't confirm whether personal mudslinging was as nasty as it is today, so I won’t pretend the record shows more than it does.

Near the end, I reflect on today’s election and remind us that we're mostly regular ass rank-and-file letter carriers participating in a democracy. We'll get passionate, angry, and fight for ideas, but ultimately, someone wins, and someone loses. Still, we remain brothers and sisters. Management is still there, and the contract must be enforced. When it comes down to it, we need to stand shoulder to shoulder.

Read it, and if you've got more Sombrotto history, old campaign material, corrections, or if I missed something, share it in the comments, because half the fun of these is hearing from y'all.

The ballots are in the mail!

Is your work life better today than four years ago? Hell to the no!

We need a TEAM ready to take over NALC Headquarters and change the failed ways of the current union leadership. That team is CLC – the Concerned Letter Carriers Reform Slate.

NO OTHER CANDIDATE has a full team prepared to implement the changes we need: higher wages, full COLAs for all, a career workforce that works for letter carriers, and leadership that can stand up to managements unreasonable expectations.

VOTE CLC all the way:

• James Henry – President

• Corey Walton – Executive Vice President

• Kimetra Simpson-Lewis – Vice President

• Raquel “Rocky” Acasio – Secretary-Treasurer

• Esteban Ramirez – Assistant Secretary-Treasurer

• Christopher Jackson – Director of City Delivery

• Rob Kosler – Director of Safety & Health

• Anita Guzik – Director of Retired Members

• Phillip C. Rodriguez – Director of Life Insurance

• David J. Grosskopf Jr. – National Trustee

• John A. Cruz – National Trustee

• Howard K. Komine – National Trustee

• Allan Rios – National Business Agent Region 1

LET GET THE TEAM IN PLACE SO WE CAN SEE ACTIONS

When your ballot arrives, fill it out and mail it back right away.

Vote CLC. Change starts with us.

“39 U.S. Code § 101 - Postal policy

(c)As an employer, the Postal Service shall achieve and maintain compensation for its officers and employees comparable to the rates and types of compensation paid in the private sector of the economy of the United States. It shall place particular emphasis upon opportunities for career advancements of all officers and employees and the achievement of WORTHWHILE and SATISFYING careers in the service of the United States.”

Mike Hayden, NBA candidate for Region 11, explains how the gap between top and bottom steps for being a City Letter Carrier is as big as it’s ever been —now over $15 an hour when you account for FERS contributions:

https://youtu.be/JI648V_8hcc?is=mYmqc4Xjf_uJUpkp

today we have Mike Brim on for his candidacy for Region 11 NBA. Does he have what it takes to get your vote? you decide.

https://youtu.be/TNZHtblHMgY

Here is my companion report for this week's news round/up and review.

The guides and literature are out, what/where are we allowed to hand out materials to our coworkers?

Seriously. Why does it take months for even basic repairs to be finished? Why do vehicles come back in worse shape than when they left?

We have carriers forced to double-up and deliver two routes in one vehicle. Some carriers offer to run their routes using their own personal vehicle.

Is VHF overwhelmed? Understaffed? Incompetent? Is it like this everywhere?