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
November 6th @ 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.
You could win $100 at our monthly drawing!
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.
Branch 203 Picnic
We had our first branch picnic in a long while and it was a great success, and makes us hopeful for things to come.
Thank you to everyone who came out and contributed food and fellowship! Thank you to Kraig Shafer for talking to us about the Letter Carrier Political Fund! And certainly a big Thank You goes to Carmen Summers who put on a great picnic.
We got rained out shortly after we began, but we took shelter inside and the food and fellowship continued in the Union Hall. We had a great crowd in there!
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
DARKNESS: While darkness in and of itself has been ruled to not be dangerous, when compounded with the elements of delivery on the route, new hazards can be created. Make sure to take your time if you are required to carry in the dark, have appropriate gear, and know when a delivery is not safe to make in the dark. If you have hazardous customers after dark, make sure you’re not putting yourself in a dangerous situation. Use a PS Form 1571 for any mail you bring back and why. Remember; darkness in and of itself is not a hazard, it is only a hazard when it is compounded with other factors.
COLD: It’s that time of year when we face colder weather and we need to be ready for it! Make sure you have warm, dry gear to get you through a cold and potentially wet season; gloves, boots, outer wear, face masks, whatever you need. Take time to get ready before you need it so you don’t get permanent damage with frostbite.
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 winter time gifts and essentials.