Featured News

Friday, November 19^th, 2021

UPMA National Membership Academy

The National Executive Board and the National Membership Committee want to deepen the understanding and equip our Chapters' Membership efforts to promote and increase UPMA Membership in 2022. We will start doing this in an all-day Chapter Membership Academy training session in St. Louis on January 15th, 2022, from 8:30 AM to approximately 5 PM.

The National Office will cover the cost of the sleeping rooms on Friday and Saturday evening(s) and three meals; breakfast both Saturday and Sunday and lunch on Saturday. The costs for the meeting space and the handout materials for the sessions are all covered. Saturday evening dinner will be the responsibility of the participants. Your Chapter will be provided up to two rooms per Chapter each night.

Please understand that Chapters can send more people to the training, but any additional rooms for your Chapter will need to be covered by the Chapter or the member. National will cover up to 2 rooms per Chapter on a master bill (the members will need to provide a credit card on check-in for incidental expenses); the additional rooms will need to be paid for individually when the person arrives. Please get in touch with Gerri Swarm for all room reservations.

Here is the link for registration https://www.unitedpma.org/events/events/events-details/2022/01/15/default-calendar/upma-membership-academy-2022. You can mail it or scan the sheet and email it to Gerri, or you can fax it:  703-683-0923. The registration deadline is December 20th, 2021.

Since promoting UPMA Membership is one of the most important things we can do, we must continue to have the best people trained. I realize that this requires an investment on the Chapter's part for the travel costs, but it is money well spent for our members in the long run. So, I would encourage you to reach out to those interested in promoting membership in this way and get them to this training session.

UPMA Super Bowl Watch Party and Legislative Summit 2022

On February 13th, 2022, Delegates will gather at the Hyatt Regency, Arlington, VA, to watch the big game. The next day we will spend at the hotel ( I promise we will not start before 10 AM!). A full slate of training and speakers will be provided, along with all the tools UPMA needs to take our message up on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, UPMA has secured the Eisenhower Room at the Capitol Hill Club for delegates to gather, refresh and e\ven hold meetings if necessary. Gray-Robinson will also provide a townhouse for meetings. The trick is to make as many in-person visits as possible. Although the event will be zoom capable, just like last September, the District of Columbia keeps lifting COVID restrictions, so in-person visits are priority number one.

Peak and beyond

I continue to hear about unreasonable expectations in post office operations all across the country. We have coined a new phrase here "Mandated Time Wasting Practices." Always remember that ultimately, you are the final arbiter running your office's operations. You should not refuse to follow a direct order. Still, if you feel that the order is improper, you can follow the appropriate appeal process to address the situation according to the ELM. The first step is to communicate with your boss; sometimes, they too are under pressure to "make numbers" against unreasonable metrics. Then, if that fails, Chapter Presidents should then reach out to the POOM/MPOO and District Manager. If we follow this process, we have had some success in affecting policy changes.

NPA 21

Still no firm final number, I continue in dialogue with Postal HQ; stay tuned. Remember, the pay bands go up the pay period before the NPA % takes effect. This is a hard-won concession from the service over the last few years in pay consultations. It benefits those at both the higher and lower end of the pay scale. NPA is not a perfect system by any means, but we are attempting to work within the system we have to better the situations of our members.

NPA 22

Although well-intended, I do not believe the Postal Service can get finalized NPA goals to the field promptly. I continue to poke and prod this situation along to little avail; again, stay tuned.

Have a great week. Happy Thanksgiving. "Together We Can."

Edmund