The Empire State Letter Carrier Spring, 2007

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the newly elected NBA for NALC Region 15.

I've been a postal employee since 1985, starting out as a letter carrier in Branch 42, Jersey City, NJ. I transferred to Lodi, NJ and became an assistant steward in Branch 38 in 1986 and later became a shop steward. The story of how I became the shop steward is a story in itself and perhaps material for a later column. I also served as Local Food Drive Coordinator, legislative volunteer, Route Inspection observer, and LISTEN program coordinator.

I was on the original Employee Involvement Team in Lodi, and in 1993 I became the E.I. Facilitator for the Northern New Jersey District. In 1996 I was selected as the NALC DRT member on one of the original test sites for the program. I held this position for five years, when NALC President Bill Young appointed me as the Regional Administrative Assistant for NALC Region 15.

It is with great honor and pride that I accepted this position as National Business Agent. When I first joined the NALC, this position was beyond my wildest dreams. The reason I became involved in the union was because of my great dislike for the way carriers were being treated. I wanted to improve things so I made myself available for each and any position within the union. I went to night school to expand my skills. Looking back, each position I held and each training session that I attended helped me grow as a union representative, but listening, observing, and talking to my fellow carriers and union leaders taught me so much more.

There are many colleagues out there I owe thanks; too many to list in this column, but I do remember them. I promise that I will continue with that work ethic to protect the members of our great union and do the best possible job that I can. I have a good working relationship with the top managers in our District and Area offices, which will be beneficial to working out our differences in the future. I do want to work together with management as much as possible, but when our interests differ, I will take any means necessary to represent the letter carriers of Region 15. There are many issues that I think are vitally important to the success of the NALC and I will address them in future columns. I look forward to working with each of our 57 branch presidents and will do my best to make Region 15 a model for the entire NALC. I will also be out in the field, visiting offices as much as possible.

There will be an increase in direct mailings of pertinent information to each of our more than 750 shop stewards, educating them and making them aware of new problems and issues. There will be increased training as well. I am also on the lookout for talent. I want to utilize the many resources of the region so we may have a better and even stronger union. I am confident that with our current staff of Bruce Didriksen and Tom Matthews, Regional Administrative Assistants, Frank Mongiello, Office Manager, along with our Local Business Agents and NALC Leadership Candidates, we will be successful in our efforts and will continue to provide the best possible representation to our members.

In closing, I want to remind everyone that I will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. The letter carriers of Region 15 do not work for me, I work for them.

The 2008 Presidential election is heating up as there are many announcements of candidacy in both parties. On the Republican side, John McCain, Rudy Guliani and Mitt Romney have declared.

On the Democratic side, there are more candidates announcing every day. To date, the following have announced: Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama, Tom Vilsack, Chris Dodd, Wesley Clark and Joe Biden. It promises to be a very interesting 18 months ahead.

In the meantime, the Bush Administration is increasing the number of troops in Iraq, which seems to be the opposite of what the majority of American citizens want. Iraq will certainly be an issue in 2008.

As letter carriers, union members and working men and women, it is imperative that we be part of the election process. It begins with being eligible to vote. If you arc not registered, do so immediately. If you are not an EActivist with the NALC, contact your Branch officers to sign up. If you are not a COLCPE contributor, you need to become one and the best and easiest way to do that is through automatic contribution.

If you do not step up to do your part, no one will do it for you and our collective future as letter carriers and union members could depend on your action or lack of action. Think about it!

NY State Association of Letter Carriers

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