Branch 203
Southwest Missouri National Association of Letter Carriers
Read articles written by branch members focusing on local branch matters and how they may effect you.
If you would like to write an article, please reach out to Alec by email: alechnalc@gmail.com
Read articles written by branch stewards about important grievances, protections, and resolutions in your area. Become educated about the workings of your local representatives and the process of grievance handling here.
Union Meeting
June 5th @ 6:30 pm
McAllister’s
1711 W Battlefield Rd, Suite M
Springfield, Mo, 65807
Come get some grub and get involved in your local union! We have the meeting room until 8:30
Retirees Meeting
Mr. John Fuge, our retirees’ director, has stepped down from his position to focus on his health and family. Thank you so much for your work over the years, Mr. Fuge, you are greatly appreciated by everyone in Branch 203.
Podcasts for Continuing Education
NALC, USPS, and City Letter Carrier Education
On The Workroom Floor is a podcast for stewards and those that want to learn more about grievances and rights on the workroom floor.
From A To Arbitration is a steward resource turned political activism and USPS and NALC current event podcast.
There is a ton of good information here with a lot of fire in the mix.
Next Generation Carriers is a podcast including news and continuing education for city letter carriers.
Fed Up With Ron Speakman is a podcast about current events, interviews, political movement in the NALC. Voices are given to the voiceless and stories of carriers are told.
You Are The Current Resident is the official NALC podcast.
Classes of Mail is a podcast about protocol, procedures, and the workings of the USPS.
There is a LOT to learn here!
United We Scan is a podcast for rural carries by rural carriers. Show our carrier brothers and sisters some love!
Education on the Labor Movement, Past and Present
America’s Work Force Union Podcast hosts interviews with a variety of labor activists and reports on union wins and challenges.
This is great listening to gain a scope on the kind of work the labor movement does.
Labor History Today contextualizes the need of the labor movement today by examining the past abuse of workers.
If you’re not familiar with the grisly history of the labor movement, start listening to this podcast now.
Working History emphasizes the importance of examining history and learning where we’ve come from in the labor movement to protect ourselves now and in the future.
“The labor movement is people. Our unions have brought millions of men and women together, made them members one of another, and given them common tools for common goals. Their goals are goals for all America – and their enemies are the enemies for progress. The two cannot be separated.”
-John F. Kennedy
Sign Issued Discipline!
Please sign and date any discipline you receive. Signing does not mean that you agree to the discipline, the bottom of your discipline will state that you have the right to grieve the discipline if you’d like. If you don’t sign and date your discipline you may have discipline fraudulently entered into your file! Also, it establishes a timeline for the Union to work with because sometimes management will create discipline, then sit on it a while before issuing it, meaning that you could lose several days for a grievance to be filed!
NALC Contract Talk
“Contract Talk” is an educational series by the NALC for carriers on the workroom floor about their rights, protections, and applicability of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Our National Agreement is made to be easy to read for the everyday worker, and the articles in Contract Talk can help our Union brothers and sisters to not be afraid of the document, processes, and use of the contract in our daily lives. Every carrier should take efforts to learn their rights and current events in the workplace as it is an ever-changing, political juggernaut, regardless of whether we want it to be or not. Don’t trust some hearsay on the workroom floor as gospel because misinformation gets spread quickly that way: the more educated the workforce the less that kind of misinformation can take hold.
Check out NALC Contract Talk articles here, as well as the incredible NALC Activist articles to learn your rights and applications at your own speed.
Empower yourself through education; an educated Union is a strong Union.
Seasonal Safety
Hazards
HEAT: Heat is an absolute killer. You have rights and contractual protections to take breaks AS NEEDED in the heat. Document when you are taking a heat break. If you start to show early signs of heat illness take them seriously and seek a cool environment to cool down. A 5 minute break is not enough time to cool your body from overheating. Take the time you need to abate the symptoms. If you are unsure of your need to seek medical assistance, request it anyway to be safe. The longer you go the more irrational your brain gets in a crisis mode and it can impair your judgement. Notify your supervisor ASAP if you experience any heat illness symptoms.
DOGS: When the weather is nice more dogs are out getting some exercise in the yard. Dogs represent a serious threat, so use your judgement and follow procedure when encountering a loose dog. If you have issues with a dog take care to notate it and protect your fellow carriers by creating a dog warning card, having management put an entry in your scanner for the dog, and write special instructions in your route book. It sounds like a hassle dealing with all that, but if you get attacked by a dog on your route the first thing management will do is discipline you. Ask me how I know; this is a Branch 203 steward writing this, and I’ve had to grieve this discipline a couple times now.
SUNBURN: Take care of your skin! It seems like cancer may never happen to you, but we’re outside doing this stuff every day, and it adds up. Take the time to put on sunscreen between loops; you have the right to the time and loved ones who want you around. Ask any senior carrier if they have had cancer or know a co-worker who has, it’s no joke.
HEAVY PARCELS: Watch out when you’re lifting parcels! Sometimes heavy ones aren’t labelled properly and you go to lift it only to find out some jerk is trying to mail condensed metal from a collapsed star (sometimes it feels like that at least). Even flat trays can get super heavy! Use proper lifting techniques, get a team lift going, and use available equipment to get the job done safely.
THIEVES: Carriers are being assaulted with an increasing frequency since COVID times due to our increased parcel volumes and arrow keys. Keep your head on a swivel, and report suspicious activity. Knock on doors and make the attempt to get it into a customer’s hands before you drop the parcel at the door; that’s right out of our M-41 handbook, so you can help reduce the ability of thieves to ruin people’s summer time gifts and essentials.