The Empire StateVIPs attending were Presi-dent Fredric V. Rolando, Vice President George Mignosi,...

T he 60th biennial

Convention of the

New York State

Associat ion of

Letter Carriers was held 8/4-

6 2013, at the Holiday Inn

Syracuse/Liverpool in Syra-

cuse, New York…. 217 dele-

gates representing 19 New

York Branches, 1 Branch of

Puerto Rico, and 13 elected

State Officers attended the

event..National Officers and

VIPs attending were Presi-

dent Fredric V. Rolando, Vice President George Mignosi, Di-

rector of Health Benefits Brian Hellman, NBA Region 11 Dan

Toth, NBA Region 15 Larry Cirelli , RFC Pete Tomao, RAAs

Ron Adams, Mark Camilli (Region 11), Tom Matthews, Or-

lando Gonzalez (Region 15), Retired NBA Region 11 Bill

Cooke, and retired RAA Region 11 John “PeeWee” Walsh…

Morning training classes were given by both NBAs for their

respective regions, and a CDL/Colcpe Coordinator program

was given by RFC Pete Tomao. All classes were extremely well

organized and attended. The Convention was greeted by host

Branch 134 President Jim Lostumbo, and NBA Region 11 Dan

Toth. We then were welcomed by CNY ALF President Ann

Marie Taliercio and AFL-CIO State Fed. Special Assistant to

the President on Political Affairs Suzy Ballantyne, who thanked

us for our support and major influence on the past election cy-

cle. After Committee Reports, three resolutions were passed,

while one was with-

drawn. An in-depth

presentation by Presi-

dent Rolando followed,

detailing NALC’s posi-

tions regarding CCAs,

contractual issues, the

current political climate

with the submission of

S.1486 prior to the Con-

gressional recess,

and ended with a question and answer session.

RFC Pete Tomao gave a short update on our legislative goals,

and NYSALC SSL/Director of Legislation Bill Cook gave us

an update on NYS legislation.

On Tuesday, we welcomed Representative Dan Maffei (NY

24), who thanked us for our help in his election campaign, and

listened to a letter from Representative Richard Hanna (NY 22)

in support of our positions, read by his CDL Billy Ganey. Jared

Jones from Senator Gillibrand’s local office relayed the Sena-

tor’s best wishes and support for our issues..

President Rolando then presided over the installation of offi-

cers

My special thanks to all NYSALC officers and Executive board

members, for their help in making our convention a success,

and especially to host Branch 134, for their extraordinary effort

and dedication. On a personal note, I’d like to thank former

Officers Art Muoio, Norm LeFrois, and Executive Board mem-

ber Bob McLennan for their leadership and friendship over the

years… They were acknowledged with plaques for their many

years of dedicated service to NYSALC prior to the adjourn-

ment.

Now that the Convention and Congressional Recess are over,

it’s time to get back to work…

Our Senators are supportive of our issues (both support 6 Day

Delivery and Door to Door Delivery-Gillibrand is cosponsor to

S.316) and must adamantly oppose S.1486.

Our Representatives (**24 of 27..only Hanna, Reed and Collins

are not on..) are cosponsors of HR 630, and therefore should

also oppose HR 2748.

We must not rest on our laurels and expect them to follow

through..

WE MUST KEEP THE HEAT ON…

Remember in your contacts with their offices…

***NO AMENDMENTS TO THESE BILLS ARE

ACCEPTABLE…THESE BILLS MUST BE VOTED

DOWN….

George Mangold

Fall 2013 George T. Mangold, President GM-29

The Official Publication of the New York State Association of Letter Carriers – N.A.L.C. The Empire State

Letter Carrier Representing Letter Carriers in New York State and Puerto Rico

CONVENTION 2013 IN THE BOOKS

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

NYSALC Executive Board 2

NBA Region 15 Larry Cirelli 3

NBA Region 11 Daniel Toth 4

Editor Robert Morro 5

Director of Retirees William J. Cooke 5

Director of Legislation William B. Cook 6

George T. Mangold – President

(Branch 357)

Kenneth Montgomery – Vice President

(Branch 210)

Kevin Van Kuren– Recording Secretary

(Branch 333)

Charles Heege – Treasurer

(Branch 36)

George Sarvis – Delegate at Large

(Branch 137)

Andrew Weiner – Alt. Delegate at Large

(Branch 562)

William B. Cook – Dir. of Legislation

(Branch 358)

Director of Education – Mark Sobel

(Branch 294)

William J. Cook e – Director of Retirees

(Branch 358)

Robert Morro– Editor

(Branch 41 )

Tinnelly District – Jay Jackson

(Branch 29)

Central District – James Lostumbo

(Branch 134)

Southern Tier District – Genesee Valley

Jeff Potter

(Branch 333)

Niagara Frontier District

Lawrence Kania

(Branch 3)

Hudson Valley District – John Springman

(Branch 36)

Long Island District – Walter Barton

(Branch 6000)

Caribbean District – John K. Rivera

(Branch 869)

NY State Association of Letter Carriers

The Empire State Letter Carrier Fall 2013

George Mangold Larry Cirelli Daniel E. Toth William Cook

President NYSALC NBA Region 15 NBA Region 11 Director of Legislation

Home # (570) 369-4276 347 W. 42st Street 5445 Beavercrest Dr. Suite #7 P. O. Box 358

Cell # (347) 813-9582 New York, NY 10036 Lorain, Ohio 44053 Schenectady, New York 12301

Fax (570) 369-4276 (212) 868-0284 (440) 282-4340 [518] 374-1046

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [518] 374-1047 (fax)

[email protected]

The NYSALC Officers Executive Board/ Districts

NALC President Fredric Rolando & Vice Pres. George Mignosi take time to pose with Region 15 NBA Larry Cirelli and Br. 36 Pres. Charles Heege ( far right) along with their officers and delegates at the NYS Convention

mailto:[email protected]

Larry Cirelli

National Business

Agent

Region 15



Ralph Nader Letter to Issa

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Rewritten letter from Ralph Nader to Rep. Darrel Issa about the Postal Service

Daniel Toth

National Business

Agent

Region 11



TWO GREAT CONVENTIONS

With the current workload and climate issues, these are

difficult times. CCA’s need to be educated on what their

contractual rights are (ie, opting, uniforms, pay, annual

leave…etc). CCA’s also needed to be aware that we are

actively filing grievances that will allow conversions from

CCA to career.

A good place to start is to make sure that we have some-

one in place giving NALC orientation to the CCA’s at

their two day classroom training. Next, you should make

sure that you have a branch liaison (or steward) to wel-

come the new CCA at their station. Branch Presidents

should also make every effort to introduce themselves and

invite them to the branch union meetings. Through com-

munication and education, we can make sure that the

CCA’s understand the importance of a strong NALC. No

other classification of USPS employees has more riding

on a successful outcome of Postal Reform legislation.

We must encourage CCA’s to get the facts and get in-

volved.

In other news for Region 11, we impassed 146 LMOU

disputes to headquarters for possible appeal to arbitration.

The majority of the impasses involve CCA’s and their

ability to take A/L during

the choice period. We are

also working on a project to

update residual vacancies.

I am asking all Region 11

branches to report and give

me an update on their resid-

ual vacancies. That way

we can verify what the

USPS is reporting.

If you are a CCA reading

this article, I am calling on

you to get active in your

branch! By being active,

that means help with orga-

nizing your fellow CCA’s

that may have been reluc-

tant to join. Find out what their issues are and become a

liaison between them and the branch. Go to your branch

meetings. Talk with your shop steward and discuss your

rights. Visit the NALC’s website at NALC.org and read

up on all the latest info. The future of the USPS, our craft

and our union will depend on you…

A ugust turned out to be a busy but productive

month for Region 11. We held both New

York and Ohio State Conventions at the be-

ginning of the month. New York’s conven-

tion was held in Syracuse, NY and Ohio’s was held in

Toledo, OH. Great job Br. 134 and Br. 100 for hosting

successful conventions! Training was held at both con-

ventions. The topics included legislation, retirement and

CCA’s rights and benefits.

The legislative training was

conducted by RFC’s Pete

Tamao (NY) and Meredith

Place (OH), the retirement

training was conducted by

NALC Director of Retirees

Ron Watson (OH). The CCA

Rights and Benefits classes

were conducted by RAA’s

Ron Adams, Mark Camilli

and I. We discussed the nu-

merous contractual gains that

CCA’s now have as compared

to TE’s and casuals. We also

focused on the importance of

CCA’s becoming active mem-

bers of the NALC. As you

know, the path to a career position as a letter carrier now

starts as a CCA. That means all of the current letter carri-

ers, NALC members and leaders will eventually be re-

placed by a CCA. Now is the time to welcome all

CCA’s into our units, stations and branches!

As leaders of this great union, we need to take it upon

ourselves to make sure we are introducing the CCA’s to

the benefits of being a member of the NALC.



T his is my first article as New

York State Director of Re-

tiree’s and I will begin it by

thanking my predecessor and

friend, Norm LeFrois for his years of

service to the New York State Associa-

tion of Letter Carriers and the NALC.

Norm is the most capable and classiest

representative of any union that I

have ever met and wish him well as he

recovers from a recent surgery.

I have recently been made aware that

one of the FEHB plans, Mohawk Valley

Physicians (MVP) has been telling re-

tired Federal workers who have their

plan that they should not sign up for

Medicare Part B because they do not

need it if they have MVP Health bene-

fits.

Everything that I know about Medicare

Part B tells me that it is advanta-

geous to have it. My instinct tells me

that MVP has an ulterior motive for

telling their enrollees not to pick up

Medicare Part B.

I don’t pretend to know what that mo-

tive is but MVP does have a Medicare

Advantage Program and maybe they want

people to join that.

At any rate, whether to sign up for

Medicare Part B is a personal decision

for each person and I would not advise

someone to sign up or not sign up but

I do want everyone to realize that

MVP’s motive for advising against

Medicare Part B may be a selfish one.

T hat’s right “Congress should stay in recess,” because

when it comes to the Postal Service it seems that the

Republican controlled House only has one agenda

and that’s to eliminate more jobs, destroy all labor

unions and keep the middle class struggling to keep their noses

over water. Wait here comes the tsunami.

Congress has accomplished one sure thing and that is to name

post offices. From the 108th through the 112th Congresses 20,

percent of all the bills passed has put names on post office

buildings, probably the same post offices the USPS now want

to close.

I guess Congress is trying to improve its stats so the American

people can not say that Congress does nothing. It has taken the

U.S. Senate four years to pass a budget while the Republican

controlled House and the Democrat controlled Senate seem to

be in a permanent gridlock over budget reform, tax reform,

bank reform, dept ceiling, the list is endless. Yet they can al-

ways name another post office and go back to their constituents'

bragging about all they have done.

Rep. Darrel Issa has no intention to save the postal service and

the introduction of H.R. 2748 confirms that. The bill calls for

slashing services and eliminate 100,000 jobs, create another

bureaucracy to over see the postal Service, directly attack col-

lective bargaining, falls to recognize the Postal service’s flawed

rate-setting model, fails to provide long term solutions to pre-

funding burden and finally jeopardizes the Postal services most

important asset, its brand for trusted universal service.

Although Rep. Issa’s bill effects the Postal Service in a harmful

way the Senate bill, S. 1486 is like a nuclear bomb ready to

inflict massive casualties. Please inform your members to con-

tact their representative and address the pit falls of both H.R.

2748 and S.1486 to their way of life and the future of the Postal

Service.

Washington may think that they are helping to solve the USPS

problems, but they live in a glass dome. That’s right just like

“Under the Dome.” Difficult to get out, impossible to get in.

Become an E-Activist and contact your representatives.

William J. Cooke

Director of Retirees

Open Season and Medicare Part B

Robert Morro

Editor

Congress Should Stay In Recess


William B. Cook

Director of Legislation,

Congress OMG!!! Oh My God


“ Less is more”. That is a phrase that I hear

each time I go to the doctor for my annual

physical. I am doing all the right things with

exercise but not so much with my diet. I would

be further ahead if I ate less. The same rule applies to

Congress. The Postal Service is exercising its way out

of the recession, so if you really want to help us Con-

gress, stop what your doing. Thanks, but you are not

helping; you are hurting.

The Legislative Department’s page on the NALC web-

site has new fact sheets up on the latest bad legislation

created by Congress. It used to be that the House of

Representatives was the “bad” chamber of the legisla-

ture. For those of us who are partisans we could wag

our fingers at the extreme crazy Republicans running

the House Committee. But now for the second Democ-

ratic chairman in a row, in the Senate Homeland Se-

curity and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator

Carper has actually brought out of committee a bill

that is worse than Congressman Issa! As a result the

NALC fact sheets have changed.

Representative Dan Maffei NY District—24 addresses the convention mem-bers of the importance of the Postal Service to the nation and door to door service.

Delegates of Branch 41 take a quick photo at the NYS Convention with one of their own, Executive Vice President George Mignosi

For years as you prepare to go to your member of

Congress, you could print up the fact sheets that, with

minor exceptions, are one page fact sheets. Not the

latest Senate bill, S.1486. Thanks to Senator Carper

that fact sheet is four pages long. Honestly that is just

the start. Carper does have to catch up with Issa in

that our fact sheet opposing H.R.2748 would have to

be bound in book form!

So our message to Congress? Stop. Just do nothing.

Stop trying to help us; your cures are killing us. With

no legislation the USPS will forgo payment to the

health benefit pre funding account, the USPS will pay

its operating bills and life will go on.


Ralph Nader Letter to Issa


New York State Association of Letter Carriers 347 West 41st Street 2nd floor New York, NY 10036

Representative Grace Meng NY 6th district (center) is photo-

graphed with Branch 294 President Tony Paollilo and officers along at a recent fundraiser

The Empire StateVIPs attending were Presi-dent Fredric V. Rolando, Vice President George Mignosi,...

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