Featured News

Friday Message – June 11, 2021

USPS Advocacy Program –

Join the USPS Social Media Advocacy Team

Are you #PostalProud and active on social media? Consider joining USPS Zone, our new social media employee advocacy program!

What is an employee advocacy program? Employee advocacy is when enthusiastic employees share pre-approved organization content (e.g. stamp FDOI) to their personal social media accounts on the organization’s behalf. Employee advocacy is well-practiced in many large organizations because it helps build social presence by working with, listening to, and including an organization’s most valuable asset: its employees!

What type of content will you see in USPS Zone? USPS Zone has several categories of content including: Stamps promotion, USPS in sustainability, Post Offices around the country, Postal trivia, Tips and How-to’s, Postal history, Interactive #PostalProud storytelling, and more! In addition to pieces you can find on our corporate social pages, participants will have access to platform-exclusive content that’s been curated to spark conversation, provide helpful information and encourage feedback.

What are the benefits of participating in USPS Zone?

• Gain access to an approved directory of creative, informative social media content to share to your personal social media quickly and easily.
• Become part of a network of thought leaders within the Postal Service on an easy-to-use app.
• Provide feedback to improve USPS’s social media content via two-way communication with USPS Zone community managers.
• Encourage your friends and family to use the Postal Service.That’s good for business and good for employees.

Important to note: Participation in USPS Zone is completely voluntary. In agreeance with the Office of Government Ethics, no social media accounts will be monitored by any Postal entity. Platform training is required and accessible in HERO. If interested, please email uspszone@usps.gov for immediate next steps. We hope to hear from you!  

Online Web based Training – Last night we had the first of our June training session - It Looks Like I Might be Getting Discipline - What Do I Do?   Thanks to Bill Judge from the National Adverse Action Committee for doing the training.    The second session will take place next Thursday, June 17^th, at 9:00 PM EDT.   The links to sign up for the training are on our website, unitedpma.org.   If you click on this link, it should take you to the page to sign up for this session.  Online Training Schedule (unitedpma.org).   We are offering these sessions to give you the opportunity to gain some information that you may not currently have.  This class is offered to prepare you in case you get that unexpected call from your manager that they want to see you in their office.  When you ask if it could lead to discipline and they say yes, this session will help you be prepared and know what to do.

National Convention – As an update since last week, our National Convention registration sits at just over 790 people.   As we move forward we continue to tweak the program and work to make it as meaningful as possible.    In addition to the officer training that will take place on Sunday, we will also have a first timers orientation session for all the new active member first timers that will take place on Sunday evening from 5-6 PM (this is right before the Welcome Dinner).   If you are going to be a first timer at the National Convention, please make plans to attend this session. If you know first timers, please share this meeting information with them.   The meeting room will be shared in the convention program that you will receive at registration.    Also, we have firmed up the training sessions that we will be offering on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.   Some of the sessions will be one time offerings and others will be offered on more than one occasion.    Some of the topics include: "Understanding Alzheimer's and Dementia"; "Healthy Living for your Brain and Body";  Nutrition 101 & Sugar Detox;  Stress Management 101 & Preventing Burnout;  Rural Route Management;  Understanding Your Federal Benefits;  Employee Engagement and Business Development; Membership – How Can I Help the Chapter;  Bargaining Unit Hiring;  Pay-For-Performance (PFP) and the National Performance Assessment (NPA);  Investing In Your Future (Provided by USPS Benefits & Wellness);  Labor Relations;  Other topics still being finalized include: Safety and a session featuring the Postal Inspection Service; Fused Glass Classes to be Offered at Kalahari .  There will be summaries of the various classes included in the next issue of the UPMA Leader magazine and on our website.   Also, for the first time this year we will be offering a one-day registration to the convention if you can only get away for the one day.

Legislative Summit – The Legislative Summit is coming up at the end of September.     We are very hopeful that we will be able to do face to face meetings with the Representatives and Senators, or members of their staffs, on Tuesday, September 28^th.    We will probably not know that for sure until we get much closer to the event.    The registration fee of $40.00 has been extended to September 1 to allow for more people to get their planning done and for people to sign up at National Convention, as well.  I would encourage you to make your hotel reservations at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington.   The contact information for the hotel is: Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Richmond Highway, Arlington VA  22202; 800-233-1234; Group Code PST1; Room rate $179.

Star Chapter Award – Again this year we are going to be recognizing the Chapters that earn the Star Chapter Award at the National Convention in Ohio.   Chapter officers are advised to make sure that you submit your application to the National Office by July 1, to be recognized.    The components of the award are available on our national website.  

As always, take care, stay safe, and follow the guidelines as presented by the CDC and the Postal Service.    

Have a good week!

Dan Heins,
UPMA National President