Featured News

Friday 1/21/2022

UPMA 2022 Superbowl Watch Party, Legislative Summit, and Celebration of President Mandy's Birthday:

236 UPMA members registered for the Summit; most are just coming for birthday cake!

National Executive Board will meet on February 12^th and 13^th

Sunday, February 13, 2022   --- UPMA Superbowl Watch/Mandy's Birthday Party   -- all delegates invited!

Monday, February 14, 2022, General Business Session (in the hotel) will not start until 10 AM! Will include an invite-only luncheon featuring U.S. representative Abigail Anne Spanberger (D-VA-7). Other invitees so far are the PMG, the Deputy PMG, the PRC Chair, USPS VP, Government Relations, and the USPS VP, Labor Relations. Monday evening will be free for Chapter Activities.

Tuesday, February 15, 2022   Visits with Representatives/Senators (in-person or virtually). UPMA has secured the Eisenhower Room at the Capitol Hill Club 300 First Street SE, Washington, DC, for a 'huddle room" it is very spacious, and members/staffers can meet there too if chapters want to. Also, the GrayRobinson townhouse at 439 New Jersey Ave SE, Washington DC, will be available all day for meetings. UPMA Government Relations staff briefed Chapter Legislative Chairs on setting up appointments at these locations. Many offices on Capitol Hill are also accessible; each Chapter should liaise with the Congressional Office to see what best suits.

Wednesday, February 16, 2022, has no events planned; travel home day. Hyatt Regency Crystal City 2799 Richmond Highway, Arlington, VA 22202

Membership Academy:

The Chapter Membership Academy was held in St. Louis, MO, on January 15, 2022, and was a great kickoff to our renewed focus on growing the organization. Think Big – Be Big!

White House, USPS begins shipping coronavirus test kits:

Forty-three sites began shipping up to 1 billion Covid test kits provided by the White House to the American people. The Postal Service will pack, label, induct into the mail-stream and deliver the on-demand kits. UPMA was briefed by USPS HQ recently. It is a huge undertaking and an essential one as we continue to battle the pandemic.

NPA 2022:

In a letter dated January 20, the Postal Service has declined to adjust the FY2021 rating of four for the NPA. The 2.5 percent merit increase for all field non-bargaining unit employees will remain unchanged. UPMA is exploring our options and developing a response.

Chapter Conventions and other Meetings:

The New Year has started, 33 Chapters have shared the details of their Annual Conventions with the National office. Gerri compiles these and posts to https://www.unitedpma.org/events/chapter-conventions-schedule. Chapters need to set up these necessary meetings early and publicize them. Gerri is also available for assistance with hotel and meeting space/food and beverage contracts. Further, Chapters should consider 3-Digit type meetings for communication and potential recruiting purposes. Many Chapters have found these as effective as anything they do to reach members and grow the organization.

Tentative Agreement between USPS and APWU:

The USPS and the APWU have a tentative contract agreement to run through September 20, 2024, including general annual wage Increases (1.3% for 2021, 22, and 23) and bi-annual COLAs based on CPI-W. PSEs receive the general wage increases and an additional 1% increase each year instead of COLA  and $0.50/hour additional increase for PSEs effective the first pay period of the second whole month after the union ratifies the agreement. Juneteenth will be added to the holidays for career employees for a total of 11 paid holidays per year. Part-Time Flexible (PTF) will be guaranteed 24 hours per pay period, increased from 2 hours a pay period, guaranteed at least four hours of work or pay when scheduled and have Forty (40) hours of annual leave advanced at the start of each leave year for immediate use. Also, PTFs will be guaranteed a minimum of one (1) non-scheduled day each service week except during the peak season exception period with notice Wednesday the week prior. Upon reaching 24-months of relative standing, the Service will convert  PSEs to PTFs in level 20s and Full-Time Flexibles in 21 and above offices. Automatic Conversion does not apply to PSEs assigned to Level 4 RMPOs.

Non-deliveries:

Sometimes delivery units have to delay mail, which is happening more and more in our current state. The Postal Service does not fire employees for delaying mail; the Postal Service does fire employees for not accurately reporting delayed mail. Be smart when you do it. Rotate routes that are not delivered. CSDRS will sunset soon; new reporting is route-specific.

Hiring:

UPMA recently met with Joseph Bruce, Manager, Corporate Personnel Management at Postal Headquarters, to initialize the "Hiring Team" process promised at our national convention. The meeting was well received and productive; we discussed the process parameters and scheduled another appointment next week.

Connect Local:

Connect Local, piloted in Texas, will roll out nationally in 3 waves; it is an exciting concept. Active Shippers will be able to drop off packages during a 5-7 AM timeframe to delivery units and get same-day service or schedule on-demand pick up for next day service. Marketing/Sales will begin selling the product as it rolls out. As always, UPMA members will be instrumental in the correct implementation. Please continue to flow feedback through UPMA HQ to USPS HQ to insert any tweaks that we need to.

USPSZone:

USPS Zone is a community where content has been specifically curated for USPS Ambassadors. With USPS Zone, you can catch up on the latest news and events from the USPS. And if you're a USPS advocate, USPS Zone makes it easy to share content you find interesting to all of your social networks easily. UPMA fully supports this grassroots employee-driven effort. More information is at uspszone.com.

Edmund A Carley
National President
United Postmasters and Managers of America
8 Herbert Street
Alexandria, VA 22305
703-683-9027
217-899-9256 cell