SIX DAYS A WEEK. At least until September May/June 2013 Award-winning newspaper Vol. XLIII, No. 3

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1 May/June 2013 Award-winning newspaper Vol. XLIII, No. 3 SIX DAYS A WEEK At least until September 2013 March 24, 2013 was the NALC national day of action to mobilize public support for 6 day delivery. Demonstrations took place in cities across the country, in all states. In California rallies took place in San Diego, Los Angeles, Fresno, and San Francisco (at right). San Francisco drew 900 people at Washington Square Park in historic North Beach. There was cause for some celebration because Congress had passed a continuing resolution, good to September, which specified 6 day delivery. The postmaster eventually backed down from his current attempt to reduce delivery to 5 days in the face of questionable legality, and in defiance of the will of the Congress. See the full story on the rally on page 3. Photos by Ron Caluag The participants marched around Washington Square Park and shouted slogans in support of 6 day delivery. Congressman Jerry McNerney, Democrat (9th district), with bullhorn, supported the message of the rally. The NALC has worked on his election to Congress with precinct walks and other help for the past two elections. On right, John Beaumont, Branch 214 member and Pres i dent California State Association of Letter Carriers.

2 Page 2 THE VOICE May/June 2013 Branch Notes Where are they now report. Gary Ross, Station A, San Francisco, 30 years service, retired carrier, percussionist, and Grateful Dead fan, reports from Nevada and says hello to fellow letter carriers. Gary sent us a copy of a long article about him and his music that appeared in the Virginia City News, December 7, 2012, page 5 ( Continuing his musical passion, he is now playing in a 3-man band called The Fillmore Zone, and he sent along a CD Summersend, a tribute to the Dead and 60s music. In the article he recounts delivering mail along Fillmore Street and that rock musical venues Winterland and Fillmore East were located in the area. Both he and fellow Zoner, Jesse James attended concerts at Winterland in without running into each other. The founder of the band is Paul Smith. The article says that the band is on Facebook. If you want to get in touch with Gary Ross, please contact the editor through the union at (415) , and we will forward any messages. Branch Officers Lili Beaumont... President Karen Eshabarr....Executive Vice-President Bill Thornton...Vice-President Ron Caluag... Secretary-Treasurer Charles Gonzalez... Field Director Jun Buccat.... Assistant Secretary Treasurer Stanley Lew....Sergeant-at-Arms Franklin Woo.... NALC Health Benefits Norma Leonardo.... Safety and Health Sheila Gardner.... EEO Officer Mike Callahan.... MBA representative Kim Truong... Director of Organization Juan Dominguez....Trustee Karen Schuler....Trustee Cathy Simonson....Trustee Voice Staff Ivars Lauersons.... Editor Edwina Wu.... Associate Editor Gerry Lee.... Graphics Permission is given to trade union and labor publications to copy or reproduce any article contained in this publication, providing appropriate credit is given. Permission to others must be granted in writing by the Voice Editor or Branch President. Opinions expressed by contributors are their own, and not necessarily those of Branch 214. If possible, all articles and letters to the editor should be submitted on disk in a standard word processing program with a hard copy in cluded. Articles typewritten or written may also be submitted. GOLDEN GATE BRANCH 2310 Mason St., 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA Phone: (415) WEB site: Office hours: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday B R A N C H N O T E S WEB NEWS, See the updated version of our award-winning webpage, with an active front page, more features, easier navigation. A screen capture sample above.some areas are limited to shop stewards and union activists. * * * Go to NALC.org to sign up with the NALC e-activist Network to receive periodic action alerts and information on issues important to NALC members. Join together with thousands of your fellow active and retired letter carriers to make your voice heard! FOR NALC MEMBERS ONLY. NALC Branch 214 is on Twitter now! First you need a free Twitter account which you can create by going to twitter.com to sign up, if you don t already have one. You can get updates and information about what s important to letter carriers. Just follow us Of course don t forget about our NALC Branch 214 Facebook page at Or just type in NALC Branch 214 in the search box. It s awesome to see our members sharing photos, comments, events and links to websites that have current news about the state of the Post Office. * * * There is more and more on this award-winning web site.

3 May/June 2013 THE VOICE Page 3 Northern California Publicity for 6-day delivery By Lili Beaumont, President The nationwide rally to save 6-day mail delivery was a success in San Francisco on March 24th. Approximately 900 people attended. It was covered by two major Bay Area TV news stations, a Spanish radio station, and a Chinese newspaper. In number of attendees, the San Francisco rally location came in second to Los Angeles. The success of this rally would not have been possible if not for the help of many of the people in our branch and some of the officers from Branch 183 Santa Rosa; and Branch 1280 San Mateo. Whether or not it was due to this nationwide rally, the Continuing Resolution did pass through the House and Senate funding 6-day delivery until the end of the fiscal year, September 30, Nevertheless, the Postmaster General has announced via video stand-up talks in the field that he is still moving forward with his plan for 5-day delivery anticipating it will happen in the near future. In fact, there have been task forces established at the Area level in management to research and develop specific action plans on rolling out the Postmaster General s 5-day delivery plan. For example, the task force is implementing in certain post offices or post office stations a test process where the carriers case and pull down their routes, they leave their parcels behind and deliver their mail only. Upon their return from delivering their mail, they move back to the office to unload their outgoing mail and equipment then they move back to the street and take their parcels out to deliver them. They clear their accountable mail when they return from delivering their parcels. PLEASE IMMEDIATELY CONTACT THE UNION OFFICE IF YOU ARE BEING INSTRUCTED TO WORK IN THIS WAY. Our national office wants to know. This testing is being done to capture the parcel delivery time for when or if the Postal Service goes to 5-day delivery. In the meantime, all of us still need to stay informed and be alert regarding P R E S I D E N T what is happening in Congress with respect to postal reform. If reasonable postal reform isn t passed before September 30, 2013, the threat of losing one day of mail delivery will be upon us again and we will have to fight to prevent it again. Currently, there are several legislative bills in the House and the Senate pertaining to postal reform. They are listed below. As concerned letter carriers, you should be contacting your congressional representative to request that they co-sponsor these bills if they haven t already done so: S. 316 (Senate bill): a postal modernization measure that preserves Saturday mail delivery. So far, 24 senators have co-sponsored S Are your Senators (Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein) co-sponsors of this bill? H.R. 630 (House of Representatives bill): a postal modernization measure that preserves Saturday mail delivery. So far, 140 members in the House of Representatives have co-sponsored this bill. Is your congressional representative a co-sponsor of H.R. 630? H.R. 961 (House of Representatives bill): a measure that calls for a refund of the USPS surplus in FERS. So far, 99 members in the House of Representatives have cosponsored H.R Is your representative a co-sponsor? H. Res. 30 (House of Representatives bill): In the House, 180 members so far have co-sponsored H. Res. 30, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its 6-day mail delivery service. Has your congressional representative co-sponsored H. Res 30? To find out who is your congressional representative you can go to and the Home page has links that you can click and follow to find out who is your congressional representative. I thank those of you who attended the March 24th Rally, and those of you who have already made the effort to persuade your senator and congressional representative to co-sponsor the above legislation to protect 6-day mail delivery and preserve Photo: Ron Caluag (continued on page 4) Photo: Ron Caluag

4 Page 4 THE VOICE May/June 2013 Beaumont (continued from page 3) the Postal Service s existence. Please continue this fight with us. Together we are stronger, but you should do it for your family. Calling in sick rules changed All San Francisco District employees should have received a letter from District Manager Rosemarie Fernandez notifying them that beginning May 18, 2013 an Interactive Voice System (IVR) must be used for requesting unscheduled leave. Beginning on that date, the letter states, you must call the IVR System at , option 4 (TTY ) when requesting unscheduled leave. Enclosed is a handy tent card with all the information you need to use the IVR system (sic). The information requested will be the same as that used in filling out a paper leave request. You will need to have your Employee Identification Number (EIN) available when making the call. If you were issued a Family and Medical Leave Act number, you will need that too. You will be asked a series of questions such as, Is your absence the result of an on-the job condition? What is the reason for your absence? The choices given are illness or injury, personal emergency, or Community disaster. You will also be asked if this is an FMLA case, whether you want, sick, annual, or leave without pay, and the duration of the leave. (Editor s note: The letter does not specify if you can call in the night before your tour of duty. One of the questions not listed is Can you at least come in and case? ) The proximate cause of our concerns identified as Postmaster Donahoe. P R E S I D E N T This is who we re protecting with 6-day delivery. Organizing the rally essentials at Washington Square Park, March 24, Branch 214 Meetings Photo: Ron Caluag May 1, 2013 June 5, 2013 July 3, 2013 May 1, 2013 June 5, 2013 July 3, 2013 Branch meetings, 7:00 P.M. ILWU Hall, 400 North Point, SF ILWU Hall, 400 North Point, SF ILWU Hall, 400 North Point, SF Steward meetings, 4:30 P.M. ILWU Hall, 400 North Point, SF ILWU Hall, 400 North Point, SF ILWU Hall, 400 North Point, SF Retiree social meetings, 12:30 P.M. June 3, 2013 August 5, 2013 October 7, Del Monte Avenue, South SF 740 Del Monte Avenue, South SF 740 Del Monte Avenue, South SF Photo: Ron Caluag Photo: Ron Caluag

5 May/June 2013 THE VOICE Page 5 WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Cecilia Robles San Leandro PO (Signed up by Chief Steward Frances Lopez) Carlos Ruiz 180 Napoleon (Signed up by Steward GG Chang) Donneshia Anderson, Darryl Aragones, Latasha Beasley, Donna Borges, Philip Duty, Warren Gagui, Guruinder Grewal, Joseph Guerra, Nia Herald, Eric Holmes, Theodore Igafo, Jason Ikeda, Luis Hernandez, Amanda Karmelita, Asjonti Kirk, Chi Kong, George Langkafel, Chu Lau, Ei Lee, Donald Li, Reyes Lopez, Anh Nguyen, Victor Paras, Keisha Quezada, Maria Quiambao, Ricky Soriano, Nicholis Tejano, Dora Torres, Ke Ana Washington, Kyaw Win, John Wu, Latreesha Young, and David Zuniga (Signed up by President Lili Beaumont, EVP Karen Eshabarr and Field Director Charles Gonzalez during orientation) Marshall Allen, Joslyn Johnson-Brown and Edwin Shelton. (Signed up by NALC NBA RAA Brian Voigt during orientation) Brian Delon, Darwin Duran, Michael Marino, and Roberto Sanchez. (Signed up by NALC Branch 183 President Jerry Anderson during orientation) Maria Morgan and Moleli Tavai (Signed up by NALC Branch 1111 during orientation) Warren Lee 180 Napoleon (Signed up by Steward Alex Munguia) Danny Norway 151 Mendell (Signed up by Steward Marlon Vera) Tin Shee San Rafael PO (Signed up by Chief Steward Juan Dominguez) Sean Jones and Cheng Peng (Signed up by NALC Branch 1111 during their Bay Valley District orientation) Bylaws changes approved 3 year term for officers and stewards; one full-time officer eliminated At the May 1, 2013 branch meeting the proposed bylaws changes were discussed and voted on. All proposed changes passed. The full text of the old and new language was printed in the March/April 2013 issue of The Voice. Article IV, the proposal to extend the term of branch officers from the current two year term to a three year term passed with a vote of 46 to 3. The elections in the fall of 2013 will reflect the new 3 year term. Article V, the election of shop stewards, electing them also to a three year term, passed 50 to zero. Article VI, which proposed eliminating one full time office, Field Director, also passed with an amendment by a vote of 50 to zero. The amendment was added to clarify that the date the change would take effect would be The amendment said that the change was to take effect the beginning of the next term, calendar year The current Field Director will serve out the full two year term to which he was elected. Article VII, Fees, Dues, Fines and Assessments, Section 5, to clarify language to the benefit of carriers serving in the armed forces, passed by a vote of 49 to zero. Article VII, Fees, Dues, Fines, and Assessments, Section 7, dealing with delegates to state and national conventions, passed by a vote of 48 to zero. Finally, Article XII, Funds, modified the formula for funding delegates to state and national conventions to reflect a possible drop in membership in the future and passed 50 to zero. The vote on the bylaws was preceded by a power point presentation by Ron Caluag, Secretary Treasurer, in which he pointed out the declining membership of the union, with the post office not having hired any new carriers for the last six years, and the financial strain this created for Branch 214. Part of the bylaws changes were proposed to address the financial strains. Ivars Lauersons Thornton (continued from page 7) USPS Funding and Accounting Issues for Retiree Health Benefits, Congressional Research Service, October 12, 2011 US Postal Service Status, Financial Outlook, and Alternative Approaches to Fund Retiree Health Benefits, GAO, December 2012 The Truth About the Post Office s Financial Mess, C-Suite Insider, October 24, 2011 How the Postal Service began prefunding retiree health care and fell into a deep hole, Save the Post Office, January 2, 2013 Postal Service Announces New Delivery Schedule, February 6, 2013 Done Deal Postal Overhaul becomes Law, Postal Record, January 2007 USPS Announces New Delivery Schedule, United States Postal Service, 2/6/13 Applicability of 6-Day Delivery Rider, United States Postal Service, 2013 US Postal Service s Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress, January 27, 2012 The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act: Overview and Issues for Congress, December 14, 2009 U N I O N A C T I V I T I E S

6 Page 6 THE VOICE May/June 2013 Stumbling into postal deficits What happened? 6-day delivery and pre-funding seeds of the manufactured crisis Part two By Bill Thornton, Vice President (Part one of this article was in the March/April 2013 issue of The Voice. It dealt with the history of how the Postal Service got into such a financial crisis. Part two discusses current proposals by the Senate, the House, the Administration and the Office of Inspector General (OIG).) Current proposals: The House, Senate, and Administration and OIG proposals The House bill (Issa 2309) reduces the 2011 payment from $5.5 billion to $1 billion, but increases the 2015 and 2016 payments from around $5.7 to $8 billion. Overall, for the four-year period 2013 through 2016, the House bill is actually more demanding than the current situation. It would require over $27 billion in payments, as contrasted with $23 billion required by current law. Issa: So far, only the Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act has shown that it has the necessary support to advance. I believe there needs to be a negotiated bill that can pass both the House and Senate, but so far only the House bill has demonstrated an ability to serve as a viable beginning for discussion. Huh? Sounds contradictory. Actually, the Issa bill has few co-sponsors. The Administration bill eliminates the $5.5 billion payment for FY 2011, reduces the 2012 payment to $0.8 billion and the FY 2013 payment to $1.3 billion. But in 2014, the payments return to a level comparable to the one set under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), i.e., about $5.5 billion. For 2013 to 2016, the total payments would come to $18 billion, less than the current law s $23 billion, but still a significant burden. The Senate bill repeals the mandated payments for 2011 through 2016 and replaces them with a 40-year amortized payment schedule and reduces the pre-funding requirement to 80 percent of the projected liability, as opposed to current law and the House bill, which aim for 100 percent. Payments would come to about $4.4 billion a year, or about $18 billion for the period (roughly the same as the Administration s proposal). These three proposals thus require significant payments over the next few years and wouldn t do very much to relieve the Postal Service of the burden placed on it by PAEA. Two other proposals take a different approach, the Postal Service s and the OIG s. The Postal Service proposes taking over the fund itself and taking Postal Service employees out of FEHB. The GAO report on this proposal is forthcoming. The Postal Service characterizes this as Having an affordable arrangement, utilizing best practices found in the private sector... will serve Postal Service employees and retirees well. Translate that to mean that benefits would be cut for retirees and they would no longer have a Cadillac plan. This proposal appears to be an attack on health care for federal employees as we know it. Another proposal: OIG Seal and Grow Postal Service OIG Inspector General Plan: Seal and Grow. Kind of a pay as you go method that was in place before the PAEA created the retiree health care fund. The Postal Service would stop prefunding and instead pay its share of premium payments for retirees and beneficiaries as they become due. The existing fund would be left to grow with interest, with no other cash inflow or outflow, until the Postal Service s liability was fully funded. The OIG estimates that the fund would grow from $44 billion (its level as of September 2011) to $90 billion in 21 years (its estimated liability at this time). The OIG therefore argues that the $5.5 billion payments mandated by PAEA are completely unnecessary. The Postal Service could pay on average $4.0 billion less each year from FYs 2009 to 2016 to prefund its retiree health benefits and still achieve the same level of funding anticipated under OPM s assumptions. Rather than annual payments of $5.5 billion, the Postal Service could be paying about $1 billion a year for retiree health care. The OIG also believes that it should not be necessary for the fund to be fully funded, as required by PAEA. The OIG notes that many businesses that have healthcare obligations are targeted at much less than 100 percent. The OIG found that 38 percent of Fortune 1000 companies that offer retiree health care benefits prefund them at a median funding level of 37 percent. The Department of Defense prefunds its retiree health benefits and it has a 100 percent target funded percentage, but as of September 30, 2010, it was funded at 38 percent. The OIG regards 30% as a sufficient RHBF funding level. Pre-funding health care accounts for over 80 percent of the total deficit that s accumulated since 2006 ($33 billion out of $41 billion). The OIG says making prefunding payments at the current levels will simply bankrupt the Postal Service. V I C E - P R E S I D E N T (continued on page 7)

7 May/June 2013 THE VOICE Page 7 Thornton (continued from page 6) Recently, sister bills were introduced in the Senate by Bernie Sanders and in the House by Peter DeFazio: Proposed cuts to Saturday delivery would be prevented and rescind the pre- funding mandate of 2006 law, (among other reforms). The payments even when they aren t made are already having a terrible effect on postal operations. They make the monthly, annual, and cumulative losses look many times worse than they actually are. The staggering losses are cited constantly by Postal Service management to justify reductions in service. And they give fodder to Issa and his ilk that spread their propaganda to people into thinking the Postal Service is a defunct dinosaur heading off a fiscal cliff. The Wall Street firm, Lazard Freres, in a report to the NALC Convention in Minneapolis, said figures don t indicate that. Letter carrier victory March 20-26, 2013: Congress approved a continuing resolution that retained the language mandating six-day delivery. President Obama signed the measure into law on March 26. (Issa had recommended that the Postal Service not take the $100 million appropriation that allows the rider that continued 6 day delivery). April 10, 2013: Postal Board of Governors announced that the Postal Service would obey the law and comply with the continuing resolution that includes requirement of 6 day delivery. April 19, 2013: Postal Service: First quarter 2013 shows $100 million operating profit with projected operational losses for 2013 down by two thirds. NALC President Rolando: it is dramatically different from gloom and doom scenarios postal critics cite Postmaster visits San Francisco Prior to the April 10 announcement by the Postal Board of Governors, Postmaster General Donahoe visited the180 Napoleon postal facility. He fielded questions from carriers and the union, relating among other things, whether he was for privatization. To that he answered in a roundabout way, no. Donohoe was asked if, in view of Congressional action on continuing 6 day delivery if the Postal Service would discontinue plans for August implementation of a change to 5 day delivery. He typically replied that they would follow the law. (Issa had expressed an interpretation that delivery of parcels on Saturday constituted 6 day delivery even though the riders to 30 years of appropriations bills have indicated that service would continue at 1983 levels, which means door to door delivery). Steel industry parallel noted Donohoe continued to compare the plight of the Postal Service with that of the decline of the steel industry in Pennsylvania. Donohoe has repeatedly made references to the decline of the steel industry in Pennsylvania that was recounted in The Wolf Finally Came. (This was a book that had some distribution within the now defunct Postal Service/Letter Carrier Employee Involvement program that had ostensibly pushed cooperation between union and management until, with the onset of increasing automation, management unilaterally withdrew from participation thereby, ending E.I). The message of the book focused on the union (wages rising higher in percentage terms than productivity) and management being short sighted and stubborn in adapting new methods of steel production and of the union and management not adapting a more cooperative relationship. 100,000 jobs were lost, and the implication is that the Postal Service has the same fate in store if both management and the union do not come to terms with the reality of Postal Service financial viability. Somehow the implication in this case is that Postal Service management is adapting, but the union and workers are not, although carrier productivity and job losses indicate otherwise. Current Postal Service bills in Congress: S. 316 and H.R. 630: Bernie Sanders in Senate and Peter DeFazio in House. (These bills are supported by the NALC.) H.R. 2309: Issa and Dennis Ross: Establish a (5) member board empowered to override union collective bargaining agreements to lay off workers and reduce wages and benefits. Obama Budget: Obama administration proposed budget for Calls for eliminating Saturday delivery, increasing pension contributions of current postal employees, eliminating FERS Social Security Supplement for new employees and cutting CSRS, FERS and Social Security benefits by calculating cost of living adjustments using chained cpi. Ugh! Other dangers also lurk, for example, taking over the health plan, taking over the retirement plan (moving to defined contributions instead of defined benefits), and reopening contract negotiations. Some view these proposals as a sign that the Postal Service wishes to slash benefits. We ll keep you posted. Sources The US Postal Service s Financial Condition: Overview and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service, January 27, 2012 The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act: Overview and Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service, December 14, 2009 Pension Issues Cloud Postal Reform Debate, Congressional Research Service, 4/12/2004 (continued on page 5) V I C E - P R E S I D E N T

8 Page 8 THE VOICE May/June 2013 Last Punch Kam Chow at the classic last punch. Kam Chow and co-workers say goodbye at 180 Napoleon Street facility, San Francisco, April, Law Offices Of JOHN A. ZAMORA Dog Bites Personal Injury / Auto Accidents / Slips and Falls / Immigration Photos courtesy Branch 214 Archives Evening and Weekend Appts. No Recovery No Fee 1970 Broadways, Suite 750, Oakland, CA (510) U N I O N A C T I V I T I E S

9 THE VOICE Page 9 ur to n. c om May/June 2013 eb Branch 214 participants at March 24, 2013 rally for 6 day delivery in Washington Square Park, outside North Beach post office. en c Photo by Ron Caluag ht tp :// Sp Transfer your Balances (there s no fee) to our lower-rate VISA and Save on your Monthly Payments! No annual fee and No cash advance fee No-fee Balance Transfers Rates as low as 8.49% APR* We don t raise your rate if you are late with a payment No foreign transaction fees Apply today at Mortgage Line: *APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Rates are subject to change without notice. Actual rate offered is dependent on individual credit rating; your rate may be higher. Interest on cash advances begins accruing on the day the advance is made on your account. We conduct balance transfers by issuing a cash advance on your new Visa card. Call us for complete terms and conditions. U N I O N A C T I V I T I E S

10 Page 10 THE VOICE May/June 2013 Supporters at March rally in San Francisco From Oakland Photos by Ron Caluag From Branch 857 ht tp :// Sp en c eb ur to n. c om From SEIU U N I O N NARFE Retired letter carriers Lynda Beigel, Robert A. Smith (Smitty), and Martha Raup attended the 4th Biennial NARFE Convention in Sacramento on May 3 5, As retirees, they augment their NALC activism by membership in the National Active and Retired Federal Employees. Lynda is Vice President of NARFE Chapter 400 (Marin County), Smitty is President of Chapter 2139 (Davis and Woodland) and Martha is 1st VP of SF Chapter 65 (and co-webmaster of A C T I V I T I E S

11 May/June 2013 THE VOICE Page 11 NALC HBP is here for you Useful reminders and information for members By Franklin Woo, NALC Health Benefit Plan Representative During the 2012 Open Season, the NALC Health Benefit Plan (NALC HBP) picked up approximately 3,331 new members for Congrats to the Plan and to those who have joined their Union Owned / Union Operated health benefit plan! Branch 214 picked up about 20 new members for Also, a lot of thanks should go to those members who have remained with the NALC Health Benefit Plan. Please note that Branch 214 still has many members that have remained with the Plan since 1960! Thank you very much for your continuing loyalty and support for the NALC! Identification cards for new enrollees The NALC Health Benefit Plan will send you an identification (ID) card when you enroll. You should carry your ID card with you at all times. You must show it whenever you receive services from a Plan provider or fill a prescription at an NALC CareSelect retail pharmacy. By now, all new enrollees for 2013 should have received their ID cards. If you haven t received your ID cards for whatever reasons or if you need replacement cards, please call the NALC HBP (toll-free) at NALC (6252) and ask to speak with a Customer Service Representative (CSR) during business hours (8:00 A.M. 3:30 P.M., EST). Our health plan once again picked up new members for The effective date of coverage for all Active employees is 01/12/2013. The effective date of coverage for all Retirees / Annuitants is 01/01/2013. Please note that all ID cards for the members and their eligible dependents will only show the names of the members and not that of any dependents. Also, take a few moments to look over both sides of your ID card. It gives you important information. For example, on the back side of the ID card, it tells your medical provider where to submit your medical claims. Next, it reminds providers that they must call ( ) to precertify any outpatient high tech radiology before scheduling procedure. Precertification of radiology/imaging services The following outpatient radiology/imaging services need to be precertified: CT/CAT - Computerized Axial Tomography; MRI - Magetic Resonance Imaging; MRA - Magnetic Resonance Angiography; NC - Nuclear Cardiac Imaging Studies; and PET - Positron Emission Tomography. Exceptions You do not need precertification in these cases: You have another health insurance that is the primary pay-or including Medicare Part A & B or Part B only. The procedure is performed outside the United States; You are admitted to a hospital; or The procedure is performed as an emergency. Warning The NALC HBP may deny benefits if your provider fails to precertify these radiology procedures. Physician care If the NALC HBP is primary and if you are calling a doctor s office for the first time for a possible appointment, ask the receptionist if the doctor belongs to the CIGNA PPO network. To double check this, you could also call the Provider Locator at (this information is on the back of your ID card). Your copayment per visit with a doctor belonging to the CIGNA PPO network is $20. For any possible health plan changes or related questions outside of the annual Open Season For active employees, you can contact the Human Resource Service Center (HRSC) at and listen to the available options. For Retirees/Annuitants, you can contact the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) at and listen to the available options. Further assistance To further your better understanding of what the NALC Health Benefit Plan can do for you and your family members, please review your 2013 NALC HBP brochure and its attachment. Please contact the home office toll-free ( ) or leave me a message at for any assistance. Thank you for belonging to your own plan, the NALC Health Benefit Plan for H E A L T H B E N E F I T P L A N

12 Page 12 THE VOICE May/June 2013 Photo: Branch 214 archives Food drive Food Drive Contestants The participants were 1st place winner Cynthia Lee who received a $150 gift card, Reena Hapa who got 2nd place and a $100 gift card and 3rd place winner Fiona Mak who received a $75 gift card. The other participants were Dana Tam, Shirley Lee, Nicole Tam, Joshua Chang, Mathew Quesada, Ashley Tang and Peter Lee. They all received $10 for participating and we thank them all for their creative and hard work. Photo: Branch 214 archives Carrier Angie Chen, San Francisco city coordinator for the food drive pushing a hamper of food alongside President Lili Beaumont, on right, pushing a full cart as well. Carrier Curtis Cheung pushing a fully loaded hamper of food. Mill Valley steward Val Palattao, on left, with alter nate steward, Joel Bantly and a volunteer in the pickup truck loading food in Mill Valley for 2013 food drive. U N I O N A C T I V I T I E S Photo courtesy Val Palattao Carriers, clerks and food drive volunteers working the food drive at 180 Napoleon. Executive Vice-President Karen Eshabarr, fourth from left, John Beaumont, President, California State Association of Letter Carriers, second from right with Lili Beaumont, Branch 214 President, on right in photo with the volunteers. Photo: Branch 214 archives

13 May/June 2013 THE VOICE Page 13 Something for nothing Mystery of not supporting your friends By Ivars Lauersons, Editor Call me bamboozled. Mr. President, if advocating a policy costs you nothing politically, if it does not add to the national debt, if it is supported by the majority of Congress, if it is the main request of one of your main supporters, the NALC, if it avoids the loss of 25,000 jobs, including many veterans, why have you acted against this three different times, including the 2014 budget. That is the mystery. No cost politically Let s take the points one by one. There is no organized movement to eliminate the current 6 days a week mail delivery requirement. The suggestion to do so, strangely, comes from the Postmaster, Patrick Donahoe, supposedly to save money. Another effort is by Representative Darrell Issa of California who tried in the last session of Congress to pass a bill that would largely dismantle the post office and change the rights of the unions. This bill had so little support in the House, even among the majority party fellow Republicans that it never came out of committee. Congressional Democrats mostly support 6 day delivery, and some who favor 5 day delivery in the future have brought it up in the context of a general postal reform bill. Postal red ink not part of national debt The large budget deficits that are reported routinely, $10 billion in 2013 for example, are not adding to the national debt, and there is no need for a public bailout. It s now been estimated that 80% of this red ink, comes not from operational losses, but from the mandated $5.5 It costs nothing politically for the President to support 6 day delivery. billion a year pre-payment towards future retiree health costs. It has been noted by many, that this uniquely prohibitive pre-payment, which no other federal agency or private business is required to make, should be rescinded by Congress. (See Bill Thornton s article in the last issue O P I N I O N and this issue of The Voice on the details of how this requirement originated.) The national office of the NALC has been very effective in getting this message out to the public. Ironically, the post office made a $100 million operational profit in the first quarter of the fiscal year on an income of $17.7 billion. (Source: NALC web page.) Congress in Continuing Resolution asks for 6 day delivery On March 26, 2013, the President signed into law the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public Law 113-6). This is the continuing resolution in which both the House and Senate wrote specific language to continue 6 day delivery. After some delay, and despite urging by Congressman Issa to ignore this The mystery is why there is no support for this essential NALC policy. directive, the postmaster cancelled his announced plans to cut Saturday delivery beginning in August National Association of Letter Carriers asks for support The NALC called for a nationwide demonstration on March 24, 2013 to urge public support for 6 day delivery. (See article by Lili Beaumont on page 3 in this issue on the San Francisco rally.) This is one of many efforts to get the facts about the post office before the public. The two bills of postal reform that support 6 day delivery are S. 316 in the Senate and H.R. 630 in the House. In addition there is a We the People petition to the White House, an innovation by the President who said that if 100,000 signatures are collected online for a petition by May 24, they would give it strong consideration. My signature is number 4,069. You can add your signature to support S.316 and H.R. 630 by clicking on www. nalc.org and following the link. This petition was started by Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon. A conspiracy look at the mystery of Presidential action My conspiracy believing friend thinks that presidential actions that argue for 5 day delivery are actually a clever ploy of support for 6 day delivery. In the 2014 budget there are various proposals that appear as possible bargaining chips to be used in negotiations with Republicans. Look at the changes to COLA and reforms in Medicare that anger the President s supporters. In fact, the Republicans are against anything the President is for, so if he supports 5 day delivery, they will support 6 day delivery just to oppose him. Makes as much sense as anything else. So, Mr. President, give us a high six! Change your 2014 budget to support 6 days a week delivery.

14 Page 14 THE VOICE May/June 2013 Approved Budget April 1, 2013 September 30, 2013 Spent Projected 10/01/12 4/01/13 3/31/13 9/30/13 Spent Projected 10/01/12 4/01/13 3/31/13 9/30/13 Expense 1. Salaries, FT, PT, Stewards, Assignment Time: President s Salary (FERS) 33,179 33,200 Executive Vice President s Salary (FERS) 32,314 32,350 Vice President s Salary (CSRS) 33,639 33,650 Secretary-Treasurer s Salary (FERS) 32,314 32,350 Field Director Salary (FERS) 32,314 32,350 Asst. Secretary-Treasurer s Salary (FERS) 32,314 32,350 Health Benefits Representative Salary (CSRS) 1,304 1,320 Sgt/Arms, MBA, EEO, S&H, Trustees, Dir of Org (8) 5,869 5,870 Shop Steward Salary 39,159 39,000 Assignment Time/Paid Time and Services (excl. Voice, Ed) 6,704 9,000 TOTAL 249, , Officer, Steward Expenses President s Expenses 2,688 3,000 Executive Vice President s Expenses 1,205 2,000 Vice President s Expenses 1,583 2,500 Secretary-Treasurer s Expenses 3,228 3,500 Field Director Expenses 2,002 2,500 Asst. S/T Expenses 1,703 2,500 Misc. Expenses (Other Officers & Stewards) 988 1,000 Leave Reimbursement (SF Sick Leave & Leave Replacement) 3, TOTAL 16,930 17, Taxes & Officer s Benefits Officer s Benefits 44,225 45,000 Payroll Taxes 24,992 25,000 Property Taxes TOTAL 69,502 70, Building/Office Expense Building Maintenance & Repair 1,003 1,000 Hall Rental Longshoremen s for , Loan Payment/Mortgage (Addtional 1 month payment) 15,921 15,925 Janitorial Service Office 2,360 1,950 Office Utilities (Phone/Water) 4,312 4,500 Printing 2,119 2,500 Insurance (Disability/Business Liability/Bonding/Representational) 5,207 5,500 Maintenance (Security/Service Contracts/Serv-Maint) 3,637 3,700 Computer Expenses 1,675 4,000 Office Supplies/Equipment/ Office Expense 5,103 5,000 Postage 5,475 6,000 Payroll Services 1,079 1,500 TOTAL 51,191 51, Building Corporation BC Insurance/Property Tax 15,169 4,000 BC Miscellaneous BC Professional Fees BC Serv Maintenance (Janitorial/Elevator) 3,131 3,500 BC Utilities (PG&E/Water/ Elevator Phone/Garbage) 3,024 4,000 TOTAL 21,764 12,000 B U D G E T 6. Fees & Dues Professional Fees 3,443 7,000 Affiliate Dues 5,838 5,500 TOTAL 9,281 12, Convention & Conferences Convention Fund 12,600 12,600 Conferences ,000 TOTAL 13,237 27, Education Training 6,564 6,500 Issue Education/Labor Legislation Other: Books, Materials, NALC Supplies TOTAL 7,159 7, Communications Voice: Lost Time 3,043 3,300 Expenses 11,502 10,500 Website TOTAL 14,791 14, Entertainment Good of the Order/Other Refreshments 3,026 3,000 Retiree Luncheon 2,465 Christmas Party 1,500 TOTAL 5,491 4, Representational Expenses Representational Expenses Contract / Picket Action / Legislative Action 3,393 7,500 TOTAL 3,393 7, Other Retirement and Other Gifts 870 3,400 New Member Services / Recruitment Branch Elections wages Food Drive , % Union Celebration ($4/person) 250 Branch Items Miscellaneous TOTAL 1,520 14,650 TOTALS 463, ,115 Projected Income Projected) Income) 4/01/13 9/30/13) Active Members (1,475 members) 470,000) Retired Members 1,000) Interest Income 100) Miscellaneous Income 20,000) PROJECTED INCOME TOTAL: 491,100) Total Projected Expenses (491,115) Projected Surplus/(Deficit) (15)

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16 GOLDEN GATE BRANCH NO. 214 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS, AFL-CIO 2310 MASON ST., THIRD FLOOR SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA Address service requested FOOD DRIVE T-SHIRT WINNERS First place winner Cynthia Lee, age 12, holding winning entry as it appears on the Branch 214 T-shirts, received the award and prizes from Branch President Lili Beaumont, left. Father Gene Lee of Exelsior Station, San Francisco and brother Peter, age 6, look on. ALSO INSIDE: Rally details... page 3 Major bylaws changes... page 5 Phony postal crisis, part two... page 6 NALC health plan... page 11 Food drive photos... page 12 No support from White House... page 13 6 month budget page 14 Photos by Ivars Lauersons Second place winner Reena Hapa, age 12 with father Enreco Hapa of Mendell Station, San Francisco, pose prior to the meeting. Fiona Mak, age 8, receives her third place prize and a big handshake from President Lili Beaumont, with father John Mak of Napoleon Street, San Francisco looking on. The award were given at the May 1, 2013 branch meeting. (See more on the food drive on page 12.)