CLAN September-October 2020
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National Association of Letter Carriers Non-Profit Org. Joseph P. Considine Branch 34 NALC, AFL-CIO U.S. Postage 400 West Cummings Park, Suite 3950 PAID Woburn, MA 01801-6396 Boston, MA Permit No. 54631 Address Service Requested 208 BOSTON, MA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS The Award-Winning Newspaper of Joseph P. Considine Branch 34 NALC, AFL-CIO Volume XLIX, Number 4 September-October 2020 Please check out BRANCH 34’s CLAN the dates, times and locations for all CELEBRATING 130 YEARS OF UNION PARTICIPATION AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS H 1890-2020 upcoming Membership Meetings on the President’s Report BRANCH 34 WEBSITE at Not Out of the Woods Yet! nalcbranch34.com et’s start out with some good news! All corrective measures being taken after a Any mail sorted Lroute inspections have been cancelled positive in a particular station. after this time is for the month of September and there is a Management has the opportunity to the next days mail good possibility that the entire Fall schedule get a jump on this Crisis, but they are not and sell any late could follow. COVID-19 is not beneficial taking the appropriate actions. After five priority packages GERALD (Jerry) McCARTHY to route inspections. I’m really hoping that people are put out in a station as a result for overtime or a President Upcoming Meetings Upcoming we return to a sense of normalcy soon and of the Coronavirus it is too late for those CCA with a late one event to help put this back on track is employees, but you can prevent the future start of say 10 AM. Carriers working till Taking the “DeJoy” Out the Retiree Luncheon has been rescheduled contamination to the remaining employees 9 or 10 PM has to stop. This is not brain of the Postal Service for May 16th, 2021. working in that station. Where have stag- surgery so let’s not make it that way. How Page 2 As of the writing of this Article we have gered start times gone? Staggered start is working till 9 PM going to work in had 248 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in times, rotating week to week was a great January or February when it is 8 degrees Election Notice for the Boston District, and this is up from 187 idea, but this only can work if the latest start outside? Carriers are exhausted from these Delegates to the 2021 on June 9th, 2020. Management is currently time is 8 AM. Management has caved in due current working conditions and then after MSLCA Biennial State in a holding pattern with their dealings with to political pressure and changed start times a week or two they themselves have to this deadly disease. The major complaint again to coincide with the all up bell in each take a sick day to heal up and charge the Convention out of the offices that have had positive(s) individual station. Machines to sort the mail batteries. Your Branch officers will con- Page 3 is the cleaning of these sites or the lack have been dismantled or shut down. These tinue to field these issues and follow up thereof. When the Coronavirus first invaded same machines only a decade ago were with every Steward till this crisis passes. The American Dream the Boston District the first positive was in going to save the Postal Service allowing As I’m typing up this article I am watch- Page 4 Braintree. Braintree received a deep clean- for more efficiency and reduce the number ing the 9/11 ceremony on the news. It has ing under the supervision and active partici- of employees needed to move the mail. been 19 years since that faithful day and When the Postal Service pation of Postmaster Leroy Middleton. Let’s The Postal Service has shown all through everyone still remembers exactly what use JFK as an example: During the week of the Month of August that they have no is- they were doing and where they were. My Was the Bomb! August 24th, the JFK Station had three posi- sues with delaying the mail, so let’s have thoughts and prayers go out to all the Vic- Page 5 tives and an additional two employees were an all up bell every day at the same time. tims and their Families both then and now. quarantined. The remaining employees were Motorizing Kenmore? deeply concerned to say the least. There was Page 5 no additional deep cleaning done after this Branch 34 Rallies in outbreak. One of JFK’s employees decided to take Inside Branch 34’s CLAN 34’s Inside Branch Branch 34 some action to attempt to lower the stress, Malden and Cambridge to Salutes Its Retirees anxiety and fear of just coming in to do your Pages 6 - 8 job. Letter Carrier Phil Tammaro followed Save the U.S. Postal Service up with a company that totally disinfects Newton Centre Carrier buildings using the newer technology Passes Away During that is being used in schools and airplane His Own Route cleaning. This cleaning kills all pathogens Page 10 in less than one minute and in an updated article on Yahoo news, in some cases the area is still pathogen free a week later. The T/781-281-1133 cost of this technology is the same or less than what the Postal Service is doing if they F/781-281-1127 bring in a cleaning crew on a Sunday. After nalcbranch34.com this disinfectant cleaning is done, general maintenance will keep these pathogens at bay. The other benefit of this cleaning is the New 24/7 Branch 34 psychological side, employees will be more Emergency Number willing to return to work knowing that the USPS is doing all they can to safeguard their 781-420-0950 employees. Managements plan is to begin attendance reviews and deal with Non- COVID related absences with corrective Link to Branch 34 Website action. Discipline is not the vaccine we need. Management has definitely become laxed on their preventative measures to stop the spread of the Coronavirus. CCAs are still being sent from station to station when management deems it necessary to move the mail that they have been responsible for delaying in the first place. Information that was being sent to the unions is being delayed Branch 34 President Jerry McCarthy with Area Steward Laura Wood Fahey and Malden residents. See more rally photos by Management concerning positives and on page 9. Know Your Rights! et me start off by saying, I hope you are ment officers who carry firearms, make discarded deliver- Lall doing well and you continue to be arrests, execute federal search warrants, able mail. Gen- safe, considering the uncertain times still and serve subpoenas. Inspectors work erally, if you are in front of us. Please remember as easy with U.S. Attorneys’ Office, other law asked a question as it may be, DO NOT let your guards enforcement, and local prosecutors to concerning some- down, we still need to protect ourselves investigate cases and prepare them for thing you alleg- from COVID-19. Each day remember court. Inspectors throughout the country edly did wrong, BERNADETTE ROMANS to take all necessary steps to ensure your enforce roughly 200 federal laws related you should rea- Vice President BRANCH 34 safety by washing your hands as often as to crimes that adversely affect or entail sonably believe that discipline could STATION STEWARDS possible and keeping facial coverings on fraudulent use of the U.S. Mail, the postal result and you should request a steward. Allston ........................ Gerardo Rosario when unable to social distance. It is up system, postal employees, and custom- The steward cannot exercise Weingarten Arlington .......................Anthony Falco to you to put yourself first, because the ers. Office of Inspector General (OIG) Rights on the employee’s behalf. And Sean Mullett Postal Service will not. They DO NOT agents are utilized by the Postal Service unlike “Miranda Rights” which involve Auburndale ..........Thomas Keirstead care about you that’s why it’s important to investigate internal crimes and frauds criminal investigations, the employer is Back Bay .......................... Lucy Warren for YOU to keep yourself safe. Manage- against the Postal Service. These agents not required to inform the employee of the John DiBlasi ment will have you believing everything is conduct investigations in areas such as: • Weingarten right to representation. You Belmont .................. Salvatore Celeste back to business as usual---Just ask them. Contract Fraud • Financial Fraud • Health- must ask for representation. You can ask David D’Agostino Stay safe Sisters and Brothers. care Fraud • Internal Mail Theft • Official at any point during an interview, even if Braintree DMU ........... Richard Fraser Misconduct • Technical Investigations • you didn’t ask for it in the beginning. No Robert O’Donnell Special Inquiries • Whistleblower/Repri- matter how smart you think you are, no Brighton ...........................Roshon Butts Weingarten Rights sals OIG agents also investigate bribery, matter how innocent you are, you should Brookline .............Joseph DeMambro rior to employees being disciplined kickbacks, extortion, conflicts of interest, never under any circumstances participate Dean Gonatas Pby management, generally they will and allegations against Postal Service ex- in an investigative interview without a Cambridge – be given a pre-disciplinary interview ecutives. In addition, the Office of Inves- steward present. Employees also have Central Sq. ........... William Wilkins (PDI) or an investigatory interview (II) by tigations combats fraud and theft through the right under Weingarten to a pre- Robert Liberatore management. If you are given one of these the Countermeasures Directorate’s crime interview consultation with a steward or Cambridge – interviews, there is no doubt your supervi- prevention efforts.