Make yourself discipline proof! This podcast is dedicated to educating City Letter Carriers on all the things you forgot from Carrier Academy. We'll go over basic procedures and regulations, and dive deeper into how the mail system actually works. I do not speak for the USPS or NALC (or anybody else, for that matter!), this is not an official USPS or NALC podcast, and all opinions and advice are my own or my guests'. Submit feedback, questions, or topic suggestions to classesofmail@gmail.com .
Some of the best minds in the NALC are at the national convention, and I was lucky enough to have two of them on the podcast. In this episode, we will learn A TON about handling grievances, making good arguments, and making yourself discipline proof. This conversation was truly one of the highlights of the convention for me.
A very tired Michael Brasaemle and I sit down to decompress after the conclusion of the NALC convention in Boston. We'll give our general take-aways, we'll talk about what the experience was like for a first-timer (me) and a second-timer (Michael), and we discuss the social aspects of being here.
Tyler Vasseur and I got a chance to sit down on Thursday morning at the NALC convention. We talked about the driving issues of the Build a Fighting NALC (BFN) movement, chief of which is "Open Bargaining." On this episode, we'll learn how the movement started, what it's accomplished, and where it's going.
Fred is a branch president from Ohio, and he's the host of the Delivering Solidarity podcast. We'll talk about what it's like to be a union president, and we talk about the importance of communicating with your members. As a nice bonus, we talk a bit about podcasting itself.
Holy crap, I got to have Corey Walton on Classes of Mail! We talk about the value of educating our fellow carriers, and the need to have a union that's ready to fight management. And, starting at the 5:30 mark, Corey endorsed me for vice president of Branch 2502. Not too shabby!
The convention is awesome! I finally got to meet Marcie Miller, a master facilitator, Carrier Academy instructor, and an on-the-job instructor. We had a great discussion about the academy, our shared passion for teaching, and how to do right by our new employees.
I got to talk to David Grosskopf! He's a fantastic president who fights for his fellow carriers, and fights for his community. In this episode, we talk about his resistance to the plan to move mail processing from Buffalo to Rochester. He engaged his own members, the APWU, politicians, the media, and the public, AND HE WON! We finish by talking about the lessons the NALC can learn on a national level.
In this episode I'll go over the rules that will govern the proceedings at the NALC convention in Boston. I also discuss Robert's Rules of Order more generally, and talk about how these rules apply to branch meetings.
This episode is a heartfelt message about why I decided to run for vice president of Branch 2502. I'll talk about what motivates me, what's important to me, and what I plan to focus on when I get elected. I would encourage you to contact anyone you know at East Las Vegas and ask them about my love for City Letter Carriers. Ask them if I'm willing to fight for them. And please, share this episode with folks you know in Branch 2502.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
This is it! The end of the ELM! We did it! We read the entire ELM from cover to cover! This section covers our uniform policy, the EAP, and the withholding of our union dues.
On this episode, the Classes of Mail recording studio has its first guest, and my what a guest he is! Michael Brasaemle has announced his intention to run for president of NALC Branch 2502, unseating the guy who fired me from the Carrier Academy! And... he's chosen me to run as his vice president! Spread the word! Change is coming!
This episode will cover the remainder of the 800s, which tells us more about safety. Turns out we have to have fire drills at least once per year. Also, it's MANDATORY for new hires to undergo a medical evaluation. Is that happening?
No. The short answer is no. The long answer is nooooooooo. In this episode, I talk about the accusation that my local union president leveled against me, I get introspective a bit, and then I finish up by talking about what it really means to be anti-union.
The ELM is starting to feel a bit like a chore, but I promise to keep it lively and relevant. And I skip big chunks that aren't relevant to us. This section is about accident investigations and PS Form 1767. In fairness, this stuff does come up fairly regularly.
In this section we learn about health and safety programs. I'll point out a few defenses to discipline as we go along. Also, in this recording, I get to learn a little bit more about audio editing, because of a mistake I made with my new microphone. There are a couple of brief pauses, but I managed to take out the big chunk where my microphone was muted. Yay, me!
Today I'm going to talk about a new direction in the NALC, the Concerned Letter Carriers movement. I recently had a one-on-one conversation with James Henry, and he's earned my endorsement to be the next NALC president. I'll talk a bit about Henry's background, and this intended policies as the president.
This episode covers training. We'll learn who's responsible for training, and we'll learn about management's responsibility to make sure we're all trained up. Their failure to meet that responsibility is the reason this podcast exists. At the end of the episode, we'll learn about our HERO training records, which you should review. Finally, the podcast end with Annie in the background scratching and clawing as she successfully unmakes the guest bed so she can lay down for a nap.
This section of the ELM talks about ethical conduct, which applies to craft employees AND MANAGEMENT! It goes over laws that apply to the USPS, rules against discrimination, the actual attendance policy, and a handful of other general provisions.
In this episode, I'll talk about what I think makes an effective leader, and how I think our current leaders can improve. Mostly, it comes down to communication, and reaching our members where they are. Why don't our union leaders have podcasts? Why don't they host open Zoom meetings? What can be done to make our union members the most educated and empowered they can be?
This episode covers the employee social and recreational fund. (Wait, we have one of those!?) It also covers bulletin boards, manuals, lockers, and food services.
This episode covers the provisions for LWOP, the qualifications and definitions for FMLA, and includes a big section on administrative leave. We'll learn how court leave works, how the Post Office handles it if an "Act of God" prevents you from coming to work, and what you get paid if you die or get dismembered while you work at the Post Office.
This episode is a MUST LISTEN! It covers the rules surrounding the use of sick leave. When do you need documentation? What counts as documentation? For what purpose is sick leave issued? What happens if management just sits on my 3971 and doesn't sign off on it? For all these answers and more, give it a listen.
In today's episode, I wax philosophical about why this podcast exists. I talk about the benefit I get out of these episodes, and the benefits I hope YOU get out of these episodes. I also list a bunch of other NALC podcasts that I listen to and recommend.
In this episode, we'll learn about all the awards the Post Office DOESN'T GIVE OUT to carriers who do a great job. We also learn about back pay, travel pay, training pay, and garnishments. Be sure to point your supervisors to Section, so they can refresh their memory on all the awards they can give to us carriers.
This episode covers different types of premium pay, including: out of schedule, holiday, overtime, penalty, Sunday, and night. Make sure you're getting all the pay you're entitled to!
Today's episode covers items of great interest to carriers, such as the 7:01 rule, the five minute leeway rule, and the 12 hour limit. We also cover how LWOP can affect your step increases, and how you're supposed to be paid if you're temporarily on a higher level assignment (such as a carrier technician).
On today's episode, we're going to go back to the basics. If you were hired at the Post Office within the last decade or so, you had to sign off on a checklist of 102 skills that you are responsible for knowing as a new employee. I have that list (it's in the back of the On-the-Job training booklet), and we're going to go through it together to make sure we're all up to speed.
In this episode, we start digging into the ELM (Employee-Labor Relations Manual). We're going to look behind the curtain at how management operates. We'll see how managers and supervisors are selected, as well as other non-craft workers. We'll also learn about what happens if you quit, what happens if you get fired, and what happens if you quit because you were about to be fired. Finally, we'll learn what the process is when management wants to fire people during probation. It turns out, there s...
Turns out Section 2 of the M-39 is all about route inspections. We don't do this sort of route inspection very often because of TIAREAP, and there's talk that this entire method of route inspections will be phased out completely. Still, there is value in many of these provisions, so I'm going to read a selection of the provisions that I think is relevant.
