President’s Page

Quote of the Month

 Volume 21 Issue 4                          The Emerald Empire Branch 916 NALC                       APRIL 2016 

By Ricky Horton, President NALC Branch 916

I was one of the instructors at this year’s Steward College and I would like to express how proud I am of the Men and Women from Branch 916 who attended this year. Even though the training was new to 80% of them they did an outstanding job. They all participated in their group studies and shined on their own during their mock Formal A Grievance meeting. For those of you who do not know what Steward College is like, let me explain. It is training that is provided once a year by the Ore-gon State Association of Letter Carriers (OSALC) which is the state level of the Na-tional Association of Letter Carriers (NALC). The training is coordinated by the OSALC Di-rector of Education. He/She finds a location to conduct the week long training and the National Business Agent (NBA) provides an Instructor and the material needed for the training. The OSALC provides an Instructor and other things needed such as a PC, Printer, Scanner, Copier etc. The NALC branches around the state pro-vide the Students. Steward College is a four year course and a four year commitment for the Students

who attend. Granted not all participants come back every year and some never finish. The training starts out with year 1: How to prepare an Informal A Grievance file. Year 2: How to prepare a Formal A Grievance file and/or advance said file to the Dispute Resolutions Team (DRT). Year 3: Public Speaking. Year 4: Arbitration. After they complete Steward College they become a Certified NALC Region 2 Steward. After that if need be, the NBA could ask them to go somewhere in the Region to represent a Letter Carrier in a small office that doesn’t have anyone to represent them. The life of a Shop Steward can be hell and a living hell without knowledge. Knowledge is power! Understanding the contract is more knowl-edge than 60% of management has about it. It has been written in this newsletter more than once, that, most of us taking care business for the branch aren’t getting any younger. We welcome the chance to train members who are interested in our posi-tions. That is what we are obligated to do for the members of this branch. Pass the knowledge on, mentor the next leaders of Branch 916. I’ve pushed back for years as a Shop Stew-ard. I’ve always enjoy representing my Brothers and Sisters on the workroom floor. I’m approaching the end of my postal career, I will be eligible to re-tire in five years, and I will probably work ten more

“Live as if you were to die tomor-row. Learn as if you were to live for-

ever.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

EAP Suicide Awareness Campaign T he Portland District EAP District Advi-sory Committee (DAC) is launching a

suicide awareness and prevention campaign. This is part of a national EAP initiative spear-headed by the National Joint Committee con-sisting of Union, USPS, and EAP representa-tives. The goals are to promote awareness and education within our USPS work culture, model help seeking behavior (using our EAP more), provide information about how to talk with one another when concerns arise and en-courage self help for one’s own mental health.

T hank you for your support of this timely and important initiative.

Best regards, Brenda Hawes, LPC, CEAP, LMT, District Consultant, Portland, USPS EAP 503-227-3029 | Fax: 503-227-1336 | brhawes@magellanhealth.com www.EAP4YOU.com or call 800-EAP-4YOU

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PRESIDENT’S PAGE CON’T years unless I win the lottery. I think it is very important that I mentor an active Letter Carrier to replace me. What I am saying is, it is your Union and your Branch. You should get involved before you have to seek the knowledge elsewhere. Your Branch is different than other branches across this State and the Country. Branch 916 has years of knowledge and is well known Nationwide for our Unity and strength. The future is yours to decide:

do you want get involved, or just sit on the side-lines and watch. From what I have seen at this year’s Stew-ard College the Branch’s future is promising. Only time will tell which ones, if not all, of the nine we sent will step up and learn as much as they can be-fore us old timers are gone. The choice is yours!

REFLECT ON THE PAST, FOCUS ON THE FUTURE

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By Vicki Piotter, NALC HBR Rep “I’d love to get paid just to walk around.” I lost track of how many times this comment was sent my direction while shouldering a mail bag on the streets of Seattle and Eugene. True, walking is essential to the letter carrier craft; an often repeated mantra during my 36 year career was “Feet don’t fail me now.” Delivering the mail has never been what one could call an “easy” job. I was reminded of this fact when I answered the invitation to become a Holiday City Carrier Assistant to help deliver packages during the month of December, our so-called “time to shine.” It had been two years since my final clock-out. Somehow I managed to squeeze into my old uniform. When I first re-ported for work at 6:30 AM I was astounded. Where the heck did all these packages come from? There was no end. Every route was overflowing and it was just the first week of December. The rest of the month would tell the simple two-word answer, with complex implications, to that ques-tion – Amazon Prime. There were three Holiday CCAs assigned my station. We worked 12 hours the first day, a very dark and very rainy day. One quit the second day, one quit the second week. I toughed it out to the last day of the temporary assignment, having had advantages over the two who left. One- I was assigned to my old station so I knew the territory, and two, I had the luxury of the rear view mirror. The purpose of my December job was to allow me the extra cash to paint my house this summer, not to set the ground work, with a lot of uncertainty, for the possibility of a new career. Last month the publication Dead Tree Edition reported on the US Postal Service’s plans to hire 125,000 non-career employees in FY 2016 just to maintain levels because the quitting rate for non-career employees doubled last year, to nearly 40%. The USPS admits that recruiting for City

Carrier Assistants (CCAs) is a challenge in some regions due the physical nature of the position, extreme outdoor environments and the non-career pay. Would I have quit were I just starting out now? I can’t say, but I was reminded of how tough it is to be new to this letter carrier craft when, cleaning out my files from the last century, I found a story I had written about my still new pro-fession. Here are some excerpts from what I wrote in 1983, relevant today to the plight of the CCA, “I arrive at work at 6:30 AM prepared to do battle with the elements, dogs on the loose, a 33% in-crease in mail volume, and public opinion which considers me underworked and overpaid. And then there are those who, clinging to traditional notions of male/female occupations, see red when I wear blue.” “For at least a year, a new letter carrier does not have their own route. This time period is a true test of perseverance. As a rule, I was as-signed a different route every day and was ex-pected to complete it as quickly as the regular car-rier would- from sorting mail at the office to re-turning with an empty jeep a few hours later. My three days of on the job training consisted of these words of guidance- “Keep going, keep going, run, run, run. And I did. I learned that a letter carrier needs patience, ability to handle pressure, a good memory, a sense of direction, a strong back, a positive outlook, and at least a four-year degree in dog psychology.” “My first day of mail delivery forced me into a crash course of creative mailbox discovery. One must defy logic and go for the improbable- of course the mail box is not at the front door. It is in back of the house in the juniper bush, color-coordinated forest green. “As in any job, there are rewards and frus-trations. On cold, rainy days, work can be a four letter word. Despite the pressure to deliver more and more mail in the same amount of time, most carriers love working with the public. I am told that someday soon, home mail delivery will be a

(Continued on page 10)

FUTURE TENSE

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By Jim Wood Eugene Letter Carrier Just in time for April Fools’ Day, let’s glimpse into the crystal ball future of America’s letter carriers.

Through the light blue haze of technology, clear images may emerge of what our jobs may be like in the years to come. The new MDD (Mobile Delivery Device) scanners are no longer new, and RIMS (Regional Information Management System) is here to stay. Management can already see your location and your line of travel, each day, in real time. Every scannable item is tracked and scan failures as well. The empirical data is mounting against us. The damning evidence is just a printed report away. And the burden of proof of job performance is gradually going to weigh heavier and heavier upon the shoul-ders of “the mailman or woman.” Workdays will increasingly become sliced and diced and parsed into segments that are timed down to the minute. The num-bers will increasingly be used as bludgeons against us. I don’t know who this DOIS lady is, but she used to carry your route, and she set land speed records that we can never hope to meet or beat. DOIS times are frequently unrealistic and occasionally absurd, espe-cially after the recent route adjustments. It’s nice of our scanners to notify us that we have one of those new sampling re-quests coming up a quarter of a mile away. That’s a timely notification for a rural carrier. But for city carriers, the end result is that you now have to stop what you’re doing to escape out of a sampling request for an ad-dress that you won’t get to for another 3 hours. For walking or mounted routes, a city

carrier only needs a notification distance of maybe 100 feet. Resetting the GPS gate-triggering distance for city carriers will solve our premature notification problem. Also, real-time delivery notification means more customers will be waiting at their mailbox, increasing face-to-face customer conversations, which can often be a time-wasting activity, as we all know. The following paranoid predictions will never really come true. Or will they? A new fleet of postal vehicles is being gradually rolled out. Some new-gen vehi-cles even showed up in Eugene recently. Automotive “smart chip” technology already exists that records and transmits, in real time, certain driver performance behaviors in a vehicle. These can include speed, hard braking and seatbelt usage. Many vehicles now have live, 2-way communication (think On-Star.) Maybe next-gen postal vehicles will have a live microphone or camera. I suspect our new scanners already have a camera in them, and that every time you scan a bar code you are taking a picture of the item as well. I’ve seen photos of missing parcels. Where did the photo come from if the parcel was missing? The USPS and the NALC are just be-ginning to negotiate our next contract. Maybe its time for the NALC to require the USPS to fully divulge all of the ways it moni-tors letter carriers, by whom, and how often. Privacy laws vary from state to state. In some places, you don’t even have to be noti-fied when you are being watched or re-corded. Technology already exists that sprays magnetic ink onto mail pieces. In the future, new mailboxes could be outfitted with tiny RF (radio frequency) sensors. Those sensors are already being used in

FUTURE TENSE CONT.

The Relay Box APRIL 2016 Page 5

retail stores to prevent shoplifting. As the mail piece leaves the plant, a random num-ber generator could assign it a unique ID number. If the letter carrier fails to deliver that mail piece to the proper address later that day, the RF sensor in the mailbox could notify USPS management of the failed deliv-ery. Hey, this could work on coverage items too. Then, as we return from a hard day on the street, we can instantly be held ac-countable for every unsuccessful delivery of a mail piece. Get your reasons ready. As you sashay up to the time clock to clock off, it may become a perp walk. Body cameras already exist. They are part of many police uniforms. How long before letter carriers wear them? Sub-cutaneous chip implant technol-ogy already exists. Many of our pets have ID chips implanted under their skin. In humans, the technology is also used to administer medications and monitor bodily functions. Someday, the USPS could make transmitter chip implantation a condition of employment. Then management could know you need to take a potty break even before you do. There should be no expectation of “on-the-job privacy.” It is an oxymoron, like “military intelligence” or “government effi-ciency” or “polite politics.” The melting of our on-the-job privacy is revealing itself with all the speed of global warming. But the science is undeni-able now, and the thaw of scrutiny is speed-ing up. It remains to be seen how the NALC will protect us from it.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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One Trophy, Four Champions

On May 29th, 2016, one golf team will take the “974-Trophy” home.

As part of a bragging rights challenge, nine teams will be participating to find out which station or group can have bragging rights for the year. The 4-man team scramble will be held at Oakway Golf Course at 9:00 AM on May 29, 2016. The cost is $15 per person. But wait, there’s more. The top three finishers are competing for more than just bragging rights. Consider the fol-lowing prizes. 1st place – 7 days administrative leave (pending approval by PM) 2nd place – Brand new LLV for each team member (pending approval by PM) 3rd place – a new puppy (pending approval by PM) To participate, contact any of the team cap-tains:

1. River Road (Brian Bradley) 2. Cottage Grove (Deloris) 3. Main Office (Rod Jester) 4. West Side (Brian Oviat) 5. South Side (Larry Gonzalez) 6. Retirees ( Bruce Meier) 7. CCA’s (Cad Carter 541-514-2970) 8. Management (Gary Gracie) 9. Springfield (Tony Velazquez 541-513-4872)

The struggle is real my friends, as evi-denced by the following quotes:

“I don’t see any way the Main Office can lose, we own Oakway”, Bill Dolbin

“Retirees have more practice strokes under our

belt than there are cows in Texas”, Bruce Meier

“When I drive a golf ball with my Callaway Driver, it looks like it was shot out of a bazooka”, Cad Carter (CCA River Road)

“I can’t lose. I’m the Postmaster”, Reece Steelman

“I’m just here for the beer”, Brian Bradley

If you have any questions, call me at 541-606-0480. Terrence Graves

Work Party Anouncement APRIL 17th, 2016 Calling all branch 916 members active or retired. Time again for a work party at Jan Gates farm April 17th, 2016. We do this to honor Jan’s late husband Tom Gates, our previous branch president till his pass-ing in July 2013 No matter what you’re good at, we can find some-thing for you to do. Directions- Take marcola road to Connolly road (very, very end of road) address is 37272 Con-nolly Road Questions call 541-954-5676 April 17, 2016 (Sunday)

By Bruce Meier director of Retirees

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HEALTH BENEFITS

Q. Can I transfer my Traditional or Roth IRA from my financial institution to my Retirement Sav-ings Plan? This question was recently posed to me and my understanding is yes

you can. The account you transfer to must be the same. You can only transfer a Roth Account to a Roth Account and a Traditional Account to a Tra-ditional Account. You will need a transfer form to complete the transaction which is obtained through the MBA. Some institutions may require you to use their own form so you may want to check first to find out which one you will need. Many new CCAs may be wondering what the CCA Retirement Savings Plan (RSP) is all about so I would like to take a moment to revisit it. The Mutual Benefit Association (MBA) designed the RSP specifically for CCAs.. The plan is also referred to as the Maturity Income Plan and is only available to members of the NALC. The plan allows for an easy tax deferred way to save for your retirement. You can contribute as little as $15 a pay period into an interest-bearing account that guarantees above-market returns. The plan guarantees a minimum interest payment of 3.5%. The funds are invested in high quality government and corporate securities. You can choose how much and how often you wish to contribute. The easiest way is through automatic deductions from your pay-check. You also have the option of adjusting how much you want to contribute, stop and start mak-ing payments or pay in lump sums whenever you want. The MBA will handle the automatic deduc-tions or bill you monthly or annually. The choice of how to grow your money is up to you. Your contributions can be put into a Roth IRA which are not tax deductible but the earnings accumulate tax free. Those earnings are tax free at the time of withdrawal if the IRA has

been held at least 5 years and you are 59 ½ or older. The other option is a Traditional IRA which allows you to deduct the contributions from your federal taxes. The earnings will accumulate tax free until the time of withdrawal. Upon distri-bution at age 59 ½ or older, the earnings and prin-cipal are taxed as ordinary income. Both plans are subject to income limits and annual contributions. One of the best aspects of the RSP is that when you are converted to a career letter carrier you can easily transfer your funds into the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) if you choose. The Postal Service will automatically enroll you into the TSP and create an account. It will also begin making contributions equal to 1% of your salary. If you choose to transfer your funds to the TSP, the Sur-render Charge will be waived in this instance only. If you decide to stay in the RSP, you will have several options of how to receive your funds once you retire. Once you receive your policy you will have 30 days to examine it. If it does not meet your expectations, you may return it for a full re-fund. The MBA operates with low overhead, no fees and no salespeople on commission. Addi-tionally, the TSP has very low annual administra-tive costs. All this allows for more savings for us. Let me know if you are interested in more infor-mation, brochures, sign up forms or transfer forms. I can help walk you through transferring funds between the RSP and TSP if you take that route. Information is also available on the NALC website. Laurie Tucker, MBA Agent 541-521-6938

Stewards Corner

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Sheila Carnes-Westside and Main Office Management is threatening to discipline carriers for not keeping to their commit times and using unauthor ized overtime. I sat in on an official discussion today at Westside Station with super visor John Libby and 5 carri-ers over on the issue of them going over on the time they committed to in the morning. At main office they have left forms on carriers cases that state that they used unauthorized over-time and that it could lead to discipline. Here is my advice: 1. Commit times are just guesses and they usually ask you for it before you have all of your mail. If you give them a commit before you get all of your mail and haven’t had a chance to factor in account-ables, full coverage etc. change your commit time. You have the right to tell them before you leave why you need more time. 2. If you don’t get out at the time you commit to change your return time before you leave. If you realize when you are out on your route that you are not going to make your time call manage-ment early enough so they can provide help. If they can’t provide you help let them instruct you to de-liver the mail in overtime.

Management might be winning, for now… by Terrence Graves NALC Steward Letter carriers across America are still shell-shocked at the micro-management thrust over our heads as a result of the RIMS GPS data

collection. In my opinion, this has given manage-ment a tool of harassment comparable to a 10,000 volt Texas cattle prod. Management got the step on us on this one, but that’s changing. Stewards across the country are catching up and learning ways to deflect the

harassment. The immense data that is now at the fingertips of management is now also available to the NALC via massive information requests. We have a right to see all of the data they see when investigating possible grievances. Consider the following observations and tell me management isn’t using this RIMS data for har-assment purposes:

1. A 30 year female carrier (and grand-mother) confided to me that she pees in the back of the LLV into a coffee can for fear that management will track her time going to a restroom.

2. A 20 year carrier with an old back injury

used to exit his LLV to stretch his back for one minute every hour. He no longer does this and is suffering as a result.

3. A CCA carrier at River Road no longer

takes lunches or breaks out of fear that management will mis-interpret his lunch for a time wasting practice.

The work atmosphere at the US Postal Service is the worst I’ve seen 30 years. Management has a “gotcha” mentality that I can only compare to a North Korean Prison Camp. I google searched “life in a North Korean Prison Camp”, and dis-covered that prisoners are allowed to talk to each other, go to the bathroom without fear, and even eat a 30 minute lunch without fear of discipline. The NALC will soon get the edge on RIMS GPS. Until then, simply continue to do the fine profes-sional work that you currently do. Work profes-sionally, safely, take your breaks, lunch, as many reasonable comfort stops as you need, and you have absolutely nothing to fear. If a supervisor or manager informs you that they want to talk to you about your RIMS GPS data, ask for a steward. DO NOT go into the office or discuss work performance without the presence of a steward. Management has a long docu-mented history of being less than truthful when a steward is not present.

March Branch Meeting Minutes Branch Minutes

By Mary Hackbart, Branch 916 Secretary

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Called to Order: 7pm by Presi dent Ricky Horton Pledge of Allegiance: Led by Vicki Piotter Roll Call of Officers: Ricky Hor ton, Wayne Feddersen, Brian Brad ley, Mary Hackbart, John Bittner, Terrence Graves, Chris NesSmith, Stephanie Hoffman, David Harmonmiller, Vicki Piotter, Laurie Tucker and Bruce Meier. Absent: Steve Devereaux. Excused Members: Ken Newell, Amber Frie-drickson and Nathan Baker. Minutes of Previous Branch Meeting; MSA as Printed Executive Board Minutes: Some questions on a couple items were discussed regarding National and State Conventions and that there are now 9 members being sent to Stewards College. Correspondence: Ricky pointed out that we’ve won a few Step B decisions. MGT openly said they wanted to pay at the lower pay rate so inten-tionally violated the contract. APWU has worked side by side with mgt doing craft work. APWU/NALC locals have been a bit at odds who should be grieving. Safety Committee: Wednesday kicked off the first of eight week CCA safety training that the Postmaster attended. It will be done for eight weeks to get feedback to possibly take to District. Stewards will attend CCA make up job huddles. If any safety hazards came about with the route changes, be sure to address. As weather warms, do not leave deicer and dog spray in vehicles. Legislation Report: No report. Anybody running against DeFazio? Lane County Labor Council Report: No report Retirees Report: Turn out really good, and may have to locate different venue. Next breakfasts are March 16 and April 20, 2016 at 8:30 am at Brail’s Restaurant at 17th and Willamette. Health Benefits Report: Vicki Piotter is trying to get ahold of training materials regarding CCA health benefits options. USPS pays $125 a pay period. It seems to be getting lost in the shuffle. Grievance nationally that USPS payment will go

to NALC CCA plan as well. We gained 11 mem-ber overall to our plan! She also informed mem-bers that they will need a hippo form on file if you need her to contact the plan regarding anything specific to them personally. Laurie informed CCA’s she has brochure on MBA CCA retirement plan options. Target is the new CVS pharmacy locally you can get mail order discount there. State Association Report: We are sending 9 members to Steward College. Ricky and Debbie Dixson (RAA) will be instructors. Wayne needs form 3971 reflecting LWOP and copy of pay stub showing LWOP for delegates to be paid lost time. Entertainment Committee: No report Cans-4-Carriers: Spring drive ramping up. Looking for volunteers to help out. Let’s keep it going. Great reflection on the USPS and our Let-ter Carrier Craft. Unfinished Business: Ricky asked that the three members who pitched in money for Rural Carrier participation prize to please turn in money to David Harmonmiller. New Business: Negotiations have officially opened at National. Some discussion regarding the Uniform voucher system. Work party for Jan Gates, widow of past President Tom gate on April 17, 2016 at noon. Hoping for a good turnout. New Website: NALC916.org MDA: Deliver the cure has website had a couple Branch 916 pictures of our MDA activities State Convention MDA raffle tickets for MDA have arrived. Station Reports: No report COLCPE Report: No report Relay Box Report: Jeremy Stroup is the new Re-lay Box editor. Deadline remains the 15th of each month for articles. He wants to focus on family stuff. His email is on the back of latest Relay Box issue. Cost will be going up due to printer not charging enough for tabbing. Membership: No report

Financial Report: Budget printed. MSA to pay usual and customary bills

(Continued on next page)

Leftovers Page 10 APRIL 2016 The Relay Box

(Continued from Previous Page)

Good of the Association: $55 for MDA. Brian Bradley, Vicki Piotter, Ian Anderson, Terry Buck, Sheila Carnes, Josh Evans and Wayne Feddersen won the goodies

Adjourned: 8pm Attendance: 32

REFLECT ON THE PAST (Cont. from pg 3) thing of the past. Please don’t tell this to my for-mer neighbor, Mrs. Williams, a 104 year old woman who always delighted in seeing her mail carrier, Perk, who would hand deliver cards and letters from her great grandchildren. He was repri-manded for spending too much time with one cus-tomer, but for many who wear the postal uniform, pride in giving the best service possible would not allow anything less.” What is the difference between now and then? Less office time. More street time. More packages. The pivotal difference is career hire vs. non career appointment. Once I passed my 90 day

probationary period, I was a career employee, and thanks to union efforts, my pay was career employee pay. Granted, there is a path to career employment for CCAs, but it is not immediate and the pay is no incentive to stay on the path. The NALC has been fighting the Postal Service over the implementation of a flexible, lower paid, workforce since day one of our collective bar-gaining history. The creation of this CCA work-force was not negotiated by the union and man-agement. It was mandated through contract arbi-tration. The Postal Service needs to take a hard look at its agenda during this cycle of contract negotiations. If it is so hard to recruit CCAs, and most that are hired end up quitting, is the non-career strategy really viable in the long run? The answer is obvious. The union knows best on this one. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside CCAs this past December. I found many of them determined to become full time professional letter carriers. Hopefully when they look back thirty years as I have done in this article they will have a positive story to tell.

Elected officers of the Branch will be : President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Sergeant-at-Arms, Health Benefits Representative, Mutual Benefits Association Agent,

Director of Retirees, and five (5) Trustees President, Ricky Horton 541-654-2516 541-341-3697 (work) Vice President, Brian Bradley 541-221-0270 Secretary, Mary Hackbart 541-953-0581 Treasurer, Wayne Fedderson 541-868-5698 Sergeant-at-Arms, Chris NesSmith 541-968-0715 Health Benefits Representative, Vicki Piotter 541-556-1386 Mutual Benefits Association Agent, Laurie Tucker 541-521-6938 Director of Retirees, Bruce Meier 541-954-5676 Trustee Chair, Stephanie Hoffman 360-271-1628 Trustee, Steve Devereaux 541-968-7649 Trustee, David Harmonmiller 541-726-6233 Trustee, John Bittner 541-914-5707 Trustee, Terrence Graves 541-606-0480

Branch 916 Chief Steward Ricky Horton 541-654-2516 Eugene Main Office John Bittner 541-914-5707 Sheila Carnes 541-731-2315 Alternate Laura Horton 541-514-1456 Alternate Stephanie Hoffman 360-271-1628 River Road Terrence Graves 541-606-0480 Alternate Brian Bradley 541-953-0581 Southside Linda Zmuda 541-521-4263 Sheila Carnes 541-731-2315 Alternate Laura Horton 541-514-1456 Westside Sheila Carnes 541-731-2315 Alternate Nate Baker 541-968-0612 Springfield & DCU Bre Titone 541-335-1071 Alternate Brian Bradley 541-221-0270 Junction City Brian Bradley 541-221-0270 Cottage Grove Brian Bradley 503-221-0270 Sweet Home Ricky Horton 541-654-2516

LCPF Lucas Murphy 541-513-4476 Entertainment Dolores Howlan 503-720-4529 Legislation Steve Devereaux 541-968-7649 MDA Dolores Howlan 503-720-4529 Parliamentarian Bill Paslay 541-746-6098 Safety John Bittner 541-914-5707 Relay Box Editor Jeremy Stroup 410-897-2524 Webmaster Ricky Horton 541-654-2516

Branch 916 Officers National Officers

The Relay Box is a monthly newsletter. It is the official publication of the Emerald Empire Branch 916.

Editorials and signed articles are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily those of the Branch.

Articles to be considered for publication must be signed. Articles and photos must be received by the 15th of the month.

Address all articles to the Editor, 931 River Road, Eugene, OR 97404, or email to Jeremy Stroup, editor, at

JSSTROUP@MAIL.ROANOKE.EDU.

Stewards

Committees

Senator Ron Wyden 541-431-0229 405 East 8th #2020, Eugene, Or 97401 Senator Jeff Merkley 541-326-3386 121 SW Salmon Street, Portland, OR 97204 Representative Peter Defazio 541-465-6732 405 East 8th #2030, Eugene, OR 97401

United States Congress

The National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO, representing city letter carriers

employed by the Unites States Postal Service since 1889.

National Business Agent Paul Price, Region 2 NALC 11818 SE Mill Plain BLVD #303 Vancouver, WA 98684 360-892-6545

NALC Headquarters 100 Indiana Ave NW 202-393-4695 Washington DC 20001 www.nalc.org

President- Fredric V Rolando Executive Vice President- Timothy O’Malley Vice President- Lew Drass Secretary-Treasurer- Nicole Rhine Assistant Secretary-Treasurer- Judy Willoughby Director of City Delivery- Brian Renfroe Director of Safety and Health- Manuel Peralta Jr. Director of Retired Members- Ron Watson Director of Life Insurance- Myra Warren Director, Health Benefit Plan- Brian Hellman Supply Department (Publications and Merchandise) 202-393-4695 ext 874 Contract Administration Unit 202-393-4695 ext 867 Legislation and Political Action 202-393-4695 ext 833 Retirement 202-393-4695 ext 877 Public Relations (media contact) 202-662-2850 Membership and Dues 202-662-2836

Mutual Benefit Association 202-638-4318 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET 800-424-5184 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday and Thursday

Health Benefit Plan 888-636-6252 , 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. ET

800-622-6252 (recorded info; order forms)

Stay Connected

The Relay Box APRIL 2016 Page 11

Address Service Requested

The Relay Box National Association Of Letter Carriers Branch # 916 931 River Road Eugene, OR 97404

Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage

Paid Permit No. 211

Eugene, OR

Please submit Articles by the 15th of the month to: Editor, Branch 916, 931 River Road, Eugene, OR 97404.

You can also email your articles to JSSTROUP@MAIL.ROANOKE.EDU.

General Membership Meeting Thursday, April 7th @ 7pm

711 Shelley Street Springfield, Oregon 97477

* Retirees’ Breakfast

Wednesday, April 20th @ 8:30 am Brail’s Restaurant, 1689 Willamette

Eugene, Oregon 97401 *

OSALC State Convention April 29 - May 1, 2016

Klamath Falls, OR *

NALC Convention August 15 - 19, 2016

www.nalc916.com

April Birthdays HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Jerald Banta, Patricia Davis, Dean DeRieux, Stephen Deveraux, Gene Douma, Robert Dur-ham, Wayne Feddersen, Dane Glasser, Alan

Hein, Cheryl Holland, Janyce Honeycutt, Robert Johnson, John Karroll, Albert Kutz, Ralph Perry, Claude Redick, Eugene Reding, John Swenson, Tracy Tagwerker, Debbie Trist, Doug Turner,

Sam Watson, April Wilson