MOUNDcitycarrierOfficial Publication of Branch 343St. Louis, MOChartered 1892

November 2012Volume 63, No. 11

MOUNDCITYCARRIEROfficial Publication of Branch 343

2012 First Place General ExcellenceAward Winning Publication

St. Louis, MissouriChartered 1892

Branch 343 Shop StewardS

honored!

2 November 2012/MCC

MOUND CITY CARRIER

MOUND CITY CARRIERPublished monthly by:

Branch 343, NALC1600 South Broadway

St. Louis, MO 63104-3806

Every October since 1975, Branch 343 has taken the time to honor its shop stew-ards, both past and present. This year was no exception, as we held our 38th annual banquet to recognize past winners and especially those stewards who

over the past year have selflessly represented the membership at a continuous high level. National Officer Ernie Kirkland was here to present the awards to this year’s winners and to offer a few words of advice and encouragement to all in attendance. Brother Kirkland then stayed the night and participated in our annual MDA Golf Tournament the following day. Many thanks to Brother Kirkland for his kind words at our banquet and his tolerance of my golf game for 18 holes.

The banquet was well attended with many new stewards mingling with quite a few of our past stew-ards and winners of this award. Our present chaplain and Branch 343’s very first winner of the Charles J. Coyle Steward of the Year Award, Gus Frank, was in attendance as was his wife, Janet, our office sec-retary for many years. Past officers included John Haake, Clif Nelson, Walter Besch, Ray Breakfield, Dir. of Retirees Jim McNeil and our former Chairman of Political Action Tom Harman. There were also three retired NBAs in attendance, Joe Miller, Art Buck and Mike Weir as well as our current NBA Dan Pittman. Thanks to our guests, our current officers, our stewards and especially all their spouses and or significant others. As for the winners, this year’s were all stewards who stepped up to the plate over the past couple of years, sacrificing a large amount of their personal time to represent the members on the workroom floor. Congratulations to Marvin Rains from Fenton, Melvin Martin of Wheeler, Joe Regan of Gravois and Brian Litteken from Gaffney. A deserving foursome of awardees who all excelled this year. For outstand-ing representation at the Step A level this year, Brad Layton was recognized for handling over 100 issues at that level in addition to his efforts as steward. There were many deserving stewards this year, however, these five went over and above the call of duty during one of the most difficult times we have had to contend with in quite a few years. For those who didn’t win, keep up the good work and hang in there, as next year’s winners are yet to be determined. Also recognized were Paul Pitts and Terrence Pastchal, for their outstanding efforts on behalf of MDA. A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dennis Wisnewski for his continued service to Branch 343 as an officer, a steward, an UMP and finally as our only DRT rep. since the year 2000. Thank you and enjoy retirement.

P T F CON V ERSION a N d T E M E MOOn October 9 the national parties entered into an agreement that most likely will result in the conver-

sion to regular status of many of our PTFs here and around the country. We have been pursuing this issue for over three years and have been successful on converting all the PTFs in the St. Louis installation and associate offices that have had vacant no-bid residual Grade 2 or T6 positions. There are currently no PTFs in St. Louis and only 19 left in our associate offices where only a few have no-bid residual Grade 1 positions that are currently in the grievance procedure. This memo provides a pecking order that will most likely convert the majority, but not all, of our remaining PTFs.

That pecking order begins with the automatic conversion to vacant Grade 2 positions and then allows for the conversion of 1,400 more PTFs to vacant Grade 1 positions within the same installation that are not under official withholding notices. In return for these conversions, the USPS will be given the right to hire an additional 3,400 TE’s, however, they also must then convert that same amount of PTF’s to regular status, first in installations with no-bid Grade 1 positions and after the assignment of all unassigned regular and full-time flex letter carriers, up to the 3,400 total positions. Since the majority of our unas-

signed regulars have already lost their positions due to permanent medical restric-tions, the USPS will not be able to assign them to full-time positions although they may try. We will simply have to wait and see how this all plays out as the national parties are meeting to convert within the next 90 days (1-09-13) and determine where

President’s Article … By Bill lister

November 2012/MCC 3

MOUND CITY CARRIER

and who will be converted. Any PTF’s that remain after the hiring of all new TE’s will have to transfer to installations that still have vacant no-bid assignments in order to be converted, or they will remain PTF’s. As for our TE’s, the good news is that the 3,400 new hire TE’s will be given a new occupational code. In other words, all current TE’s will remain coded as 834 which will keep them separate, in anticipation of new contractual language that may give them seniority and a pathway to career. The path for TE’s is clearer with this memo, now all we need is a new contract.* See memo on page 20.

PaL daY I N dISPU T EWhile writing this article, the mail arrived and lo and behold there was a letter from the PM of St.

Louis informing me that they would not be agreeing to continue with the PAL Day in 2013. Her reasoning is that since our LMOU already allows for incidental leave requests up to 14.5 percent, there is no need for the PAL Day. I will be contacting the PM on this immediately, however, unless the issue is resolved by agreement or adjudication before second phase selections begin just after the Thanksgiving holiday, we will not have it for second phase bidding. This agreement has been signed off on yearly for over 20 years and the branch will continue to argue for its continuation. More! Later!

CALE

NDAR

Nov. 8 Regular Branch Meeting

Nov. 11 Veterans Day

Nov. 12 Veterans Day Observed

Dec. 2 25th Annual MDA Nine-Ball Tournament (see ad)

Dec. 5 Retirees’ Meeting

Dec. 6 Shop Stewards’ Meeting

Dec. 13 Regular Branch Meeting

Jan. 19 18th Annual Trivia Night for MDA Letter Carriers Hall (see ad)

Happy Thanksgivingfrom the staff of theMound City Carrier

BRANCH LEGAL PLANAdvice and Consultation on

General Practice and Civil Actions.BARTLEY, GOFFSTEIN, BOLLATO

& LANGE LAW FIRM531-1054

4 November 2012/MCC

MOUND CITY CARRIER

executive vice President’s Article… By Barry linan

November greetings to all of the brothers and sisters of NALC Branch 343. It’s election time and I hope everyone voted. The job you save

may be your own. I would expect postal reform to be a big topic once again, after our elected representatives are installed in January. If you are not already contrib-uting to COLCPE and signed up as an e-Activist, do so now. We will need to be vigilant and united when new postal reform bills are discussed by Congress.

25T h a N N U aL M da GOL F TOU R Na M EN T

Our 25th annual tournament was played on Sunday, October 7. We had a full field of 36 teams, however, one team had to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances. It was a sunny but chilly day, with early morning temps in the 40s. Thanks to my rise and shine Golf Committee staff of Mike Weir, Tom Schulte, Ray & Charlotte Breakfield, Gus & Janet Frank, Wally Rutherford, Dan Brauchle, Clif Nelson, Stuart East, Gail Panus, Tiffany Hager, and MDA’s Kelly Long, everything was set up and ready when the golfers arrived. Walter & Heidi Besch also helped out and special thanks to Vince Hellmann and Mike Scott who barbecued for hours on a big grill kindly loaned by Southwest Auto Parts.

Every golfer got a goody bag with an MDA cap and a sleeve of balls. Every golfer also got an attendance prize at the end of the day, thanks to our many do-nors. We had a team buy-in for “Skins” and a fantastic four prize raffle of a custom IOT Prophet driver, Cleveland golf bag, Cleveland travel bag, and Mardi Gras 2013 main tent passes. The tournament kicked off with a “shotgun start” at 8 a.m. and the Normandie Golf Course was in excellent playing shape. Cold beverages and greenie bets were at holes 3, 5, 12, and 16. There was a competition for “Closest to the Pin” on hole 5 and for “Longest Drive” on hole 17. Golfers stopped in at the pavilion for fine BBQ and Charlotte’s chili as they played thru. RAA Mark Sims had himself a hole-in-one on hole 18 and won a “skin” as a result. Nice shot and congratulations, Mark!

All of the winners are pictured and listed

elsewhere in this issue, along with a list of our donors, spon-sors, and volunteers. If anyone’s name got left off, I sincerely apologize and I really do appreciate everyone who helped us help MDA. Also, thanks to all of the golfers, without whom this tournament could not be a success. We had a total of 62 hole sponsors at $100 each for MDA. South County carriers led the way with four holes. I would like to see us get even more hole sponsors next year. We also need more volunteers to work the greenie bets next year, as this year we were a little short on people. All in all, it was another successful tournament raising over $10,000 for MDA. We plan on presenting a check to MDA at the November branch meeting. Thanks again to everyone who volunteered, played, or donated to this year’s tour-nament for MDA!

ECR LOT, ECRWSh OR ECRWSS, BR E a k T h E COdE

Management at some of our 631xx offices has been improperly instructing carriers to take Local Values flats that are not walk-sequenced (ECRWSS}, directly to the street as a third bundle. We have won DRT decisions on this issue before, but apparently management doesn’t want to abide by them. Per Step 4 M-01663 “carriers on park & loop or foot … carry as a third bundle, within weight restrictions, enhanced carriers route (ECR) and periodicals walk sequenced letter or flat mailings (WSS) that have either 90 per-cent or more coverage of the total active residential addresses, or 75 percent or more coverage of the total number of active deliveries on a route.” Mailers are required to label ECR flats with a code. Per the Do-mestic Mail Manual section 345.6.1 standards these codes are “ECRLOT” for basic price, “ECRWSH” for high density price, and “ECRWSS” for saturation price. Only flats with the ECRWSS code that meet the 90 percent or 75 percent coverage requirement would then qualify to be taken directly to the street as a third bundle. If management instructs you otherwise, request to see your steward.

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vice President FinAnciAl secretAry’s Article

… By roBert rapisardo

COLCPEAt the October stewards’ meeting, another two

drawings were held and the $20 winners were Marvin Rains of Fenton and Michael Mohr of Coyle. The other good news is that Stacie Scoff and Jessica Ortega from Affton signed up another 20 carriers. Where is your station and those who need to get signed up? Since the beginning of August, we have signed up about 60 new contributors. Hopefully, more names will come trickling in.

ELECT IONSElection day is most likely passed. Hopefully,

all of us voted for the candidates who have voted for our interests. If the wrong politicians get in office, then we might as well kiss our good-paying jobs goodbye. You can only ask yourself if you did enough to preserve your own job and the USPS.

M a NaGE M EN TOnce, I wrote about Maryville Gardens being

number one in grievances. Sadly, Kirkwood has taken over as the number one hell-hole. I have handled a few Step A’s from there and my feelings are that it is a station that is run by intimidation and bullying. It would be nice to see a few more carriers stick up for their own rights and those of their fellow brothers and sisters. I am going to quote what one supervisor wrote in his statement about a grievant who had just lost a loved one in a tragic accident and then they sought discipline for her time of grieving. “It is not management’s responsibility to bear the burden of an individual’s issues.” This speaks for the type of individuals we deal with. Some day, this supervisor will have to answer to a higher power. Hang in there everyone.

ST EWa R dS’ Ba NQU ET

On Saturday evening, October 6, we honored our stewards and alternates for the work they do throughout the year. There were about 105

people in attendance and the food from Adamos Catering was exceptional. This is the least that we can do for those who serve the membership. We are very fortunate that many new stewards and alternates have been stepping up to the plate. Congratulations to all the award winners noted elsewhere in this publication. A special thanks to Richard Thurman, Maria Brown, Monica Jeanis and Diane Carter who helped decorate the hall; if I missed anyone, I apologize. The only reason it looked good is because I listened to the women; there is no debate that they know what they are doing when it comes to decorating. Another spe-cial thanks to Mike Chenot for bartending and Anne O’Neill who graciously took her time to help raise over $400 for MDA by collecting donations from each table.

V ET ER a NS daYHopefully, this publication will be delivered

before this day occurs. Just wanted to say thanks to all those who have served our country over the years. Sometimes, we are not as grateful for all that they have accomplished and putting their life on the line for our freedom. Once again, thanks; and we should enjoy the day, thanks to them. The USPS has many employees who are veterans and another great reason why we have great employees.

T h a N kSGI V I NGThe one holiday that all faiths and religions

have in common. Regardless of what church you attend or who you worship, this day is for every-one. I hope that every one of us is grateful that day for what we have.

6 November 2012/MCC

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recording secretAry’s rePort … By Charles sexton

W h Y NON- OdL Ca R R IERS a R E ST ILL BEI NG dR a F T Ed

Management implemented a so called “Win-dow of Operation” (WOO) or later named “Dispatch of Value” (DOV) rule back in June

of 2010. Because of this rule, which they believe to be legitimate, the non-ODL started being drafted on a regular basis. The union contends manage-ment is violating the rights of both the ODL and non-ODL carriers. We have been filing grievances continually over the past 2½ years. So, why is it still going on?

For the first six months, management agreed they were violating the contract. The settlements were paying the ODL for lost OT and non-ODL an extra 50 percent for the time wrongfully drafted. In that six months, the union was able to get 148 of these grievances settled. Then, we had a change in the Gateway District’s leadership which included labor relations. Management was under a new directive and the non-ODL were no longer to be compensated for the time they had been wrong-fully drafted. Management’s new position was the non-ODL has been paid at the overtime rate for the time they worked and were wrongfully drafted, therefore they deserve nothing more. The non-ODL’s personal time away from work meant nothing to management. Big surprise, right? Not! The settlements stopped immediately.

With the new leadership also came an increase in discipline. Removals skyrocketed and were not being settled. As a result both the WOO/DOV grievances and the removals started going to arbitration at the same time. This is the root of the problem, as I will explain.

First, the Gateway district is down to one arbi-trator to hear cases that go to arbitration. This not only includes our grievances, but all other branch’s grievances that go to arbitration as well. At the beginning of the contract in 2006 we had two arbitrators on the panel. However, because of some unfortunate circumstances one stepped down. Second, any time a carrier is removed, the contract calls for it to be moved to the front of the line at arbitration. Remember, these carriers/members

are sitting at home and not get-ting paid for several months. Not many of us can afford going without a paycheck for months or even a year in some cases. Contrac-tual cases are then heard in the order they were sent up to arbitration.

With the amount of removals being issued, the regular violations of the contract, and the lack of arbitration dates, we have now been waiting for over a year and a half to get a WOO/DOV griev-ance at arbitration. We were able to get the griev-ance on DOIS from early 2010 through arbitration and received a favorable decision. We hope to get one of the WOO/DOV grievances heard at arbitra-tion sometime coming up in February and receive a decision back before the end of March. That should get the ball rolling on settling many, if not all, of the WOO/DOV issues. This is a frustrat-ing situation for all of us, but we have to operate within the system, and the branch will continue to do everything we can to get this resolved.

T h E ELECT IONAs I write this article, the election is only three

weeks away. By now, I am sure we know the results. I hope every member got out and voted for pro-working-class candidates. If so, hopefully we can get Congress and the Senate to fix the pre-funding issue and return the money we have over paid into CSRS and FERS pension funds so the Postal Service will be on the road to recovery. If not, the bad situation the Postal Service and our jobs are already in, is only going to become worse.

On a personal note, I want to wish everybody a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope everyone is able to enjoy time with family and/or friends. Gobble Gobble.

Until next time; attend our union meetings, be-come informed, make yourself and those around smarter and stronger and be professional and consistent in your carrier duties at all times. Hope to see you at the next meeting.

November 2012/MCC 7

MOUND CITY CARRIER

HeAltH BeneFits rePort … By Chet drain

Greetings brothers and sisters. Hopefully you were in tune with all the political finagling that’s been going on during Campaign 2012

and were well apprised of the candidates sup-ported by our union and the AFL-CIO. The battle to protect the rights of citizens against oppressive or dictatorial government policies never ends, but our efforts are always easier when we have labor-friendly government officials. The results of the 2012 election will now determine our next strategy.

As we enter the month of November, you should all be mindful that the Open Season for choosing a health plan has been officially set for November 12 thru December 10, 2012. As health benefits rep. for our Local 343, as well as a member of the NALC Health Plan, I personally urge you to give some serious consideration to our health plan when you make you choice of insurance.

The NALC Health Plan is one of the best plans going. If you don’t think so, just ask any of the retirees who are members in the NALC HBP. The retirees with our branch equal 705 members and another 225 which are lifetime or Gold Card members, a total of 930 retirees. Of those 930 annuitants, 462 are members of the NALC Health Plan. That is right at about half or 49 percent of the retirees.

For active members, Br. 343 has 1,547, of which only 251 active members are a part of the NALC HBP. That’s a mere 16 percent. We really need more of you as active members to make a comparison this year with your current insurance to see if it would be feasible to switch to the NALC. There’s a reason why such a large percentage of retirees select the NALC Health Plan. For me, that was the deciding factor.

The NALC HBP is a union-operated, union-owned, as well as a not-for profit plan. That means the insurance plan is run by the union, maintained by the union, and all the monies collected are put back into the plan and not siphoned off for profit like other private sector owned plans. The NALC HBP truly has the best interest of the membership at heart. One example is that the premiums for the NALC Health Plan have lowered for 2013 while many other plans have again increased.

So, please. This year during Open Season (Nov. 12 - Dec. 10) give the NALC Health Plan a look. To do insurance plan comparisons go to Office of Personnel Manage-ment website (OPM) at www.opm.gov/insure.

In honor of Branch 343 receiving an award for the most new enrollees for a large branch for 2012, Brian Hellman, director of health benefits from national headquarters, will be in attendance at this month’s regular union meeting on Nov. 8 to kick off Open Season. We are honored by this special visit from Director Hellman. Please plan to be in attendance to get some firsthand insights about the plan.

GOD BLESS ALL AND PEACE!

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8 November 2012/MCC

MOUND CITY CARRIER

I haven’t entirely decided that this is my last year as the volunteer coordinator for the MDA Golf Tournament, but if it is, I have a lot

to be grateful for.As most of you may know, the golf tournament

is the one event every year that generates the most money for MDA from Branch 343 and consequent-ly its success depends heavily on the coordinated efforts of a great number of volunteers.

This was the first year that the tournament was led by Br. 343 Exec. Vice President/Treasurer Barry Linan and he did a fine job. Assisting Barry through the transition was retired NBA Mike Weir who more than adequately solicited team partici-pation and performed a yeoman’s job of securing hole sponsors.

As usual, retiree Ray Breakfield and his lovely wife, Charlotte, provided the expertise to coordi-nate the prizes for the golfers and helped instruct the prize volunteers on the proper way to handle this task in the future as they have already an-nounced that they are officially retiring after this year’s event. Also being missed will be Charlotte’s famous homemade chili which is always a hit, especially on those cold fall days.

As usual, Gus Frank is always there to lend a hand with the raffles and anything else that needs to be done. I would also like to extend thanks to dependable regular Clif Nelson who is always one of the first volunteers to show up and one of the last to leave. Volunteers, Walter Besch, Wally Rutherford, Vince Helmann and Mike Scott are always there to help prepare the excellent Bar-B-Que and side dishes.

Dependable cart jockeys Ray Breakfield, Derrick Williams and Melvin Booker made sure that the beverage coolers were well stocked, the hole spon-sor signs got on the course and the volunteers got to and from their respective holes and back to the club house.

Greenie bet, closest to the pin and longest drive volunteers included Tony Jasper, Pam Stepney and her grandson Christopher, Earl Bentley, Richard

GR aT EF U L FOR aLL T h E h ELP

Thurman, Marvin Martin, Dennis and Cory Flannigan, Craig Burrell, Jackie Rains, Darlene Tate and Sylvia Carrino.

Last, but not least were perennial early morning volunteers, Heidi Besch; John, Sharon and Laura Haake; Linda Schulte; and newbies Gail Panus, Tif-fany Hager and MDA representative Kelly Long.

Within the pages of this publication you will find numerous names of those who solicited prizes and those who provided refreshments and prizes to make this event our top fund-raiser for Muscu-lar Dystrophy. While the final totals are yet to be announced, I’m positive we will exceed the five figure mark.

The feedback from the golfers was positive. Everyone including all the volunteers seemed to have a good time and the fickle October weather, though chilly, was beautiful. Please take note of the various restaurants and businesses that provided prizes for the tournament and show your gratitude in the future by patronizing their establishments.

To all those who donated, assisted, cooked, cleaned and bottle washed, thank you very much. We couldn’t do it without you.

notes From tHe mAnAging editor… By tom sChulte

November 2012/MCC 9

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nAtionAl Business Agent’s rePort… By dan pittman

dispute resolution process began. We wish Dennis congratulations on his retirement.

At a recent Branch 343, St. Louis, Missouri, MDA golf tournament we had a first. RAA Mark Sims hit a hole-in-one. Yes, it was witnessed and yes, he made one hell of a shot. A par (3) with an amazing distance of 234 yards, yes you heard it right, 234 monstrous yards. Call it luck or whatever, but it was a once in a lifetime shot and hole-in-one. Congratulations, Mark.

FaCT ChECkIn 1959 the tax on anyone making over $400,000

was 91 percent. It has steadily decreased to today’s rate of 35 percent on earned income over $388,000. Is there class warfare in this country? You bet, and you are losing. In 1959 those making millions would reinvest in their companies, start new businesses or give wage increases to their employees. Added to today’s diabolical tax structure is that most wealthy Americans pay a lower tax rate (15 percent) as their income is from investments of over one year. Please look it up yourself.

hOUSEkEEPINGIf you have yet to return the branch information

request we recently sent out, please do so immedi-ately. If your branch has elections this fall and there is a change in leadership, make sure you contact our Region 5 secretary, Cheryl Stout, (314-872-0227) with the names of the new officers as well as all relevant contact information, including email addresses.

Letter carriers have had a tumultuous year. Unap-preciated by a management team with their blinders on and focused solely on chasing arbitrary numbers which in many instances have nothing to do with the bottom line. While the year started with the end to a mild winter, the summer brought an incredible heat wave where one of our own passed, once again, with too many managers focused on their “DOIS” numbers. We’re near the end of a brutal, partisan election cycle and in the middle of interest arbitration. Almost every installation is understaffed with carriers working daily overtime and six days a week. With all of this going on, this is also the time of the year to give thanks. Thankful for a job that pays well, in a time of declining middle class wages; thankful for our friends who care; thank-ful for our families that love us. Most of all, I hope you can be thankful for elastic waistbands after Thanksgiv-ing dinner. Happy Thanksgiving!

A s I write this in October I worry about whom the next president will be and what the makeup of our Congress will be. The Congress and presi-

dent we have elected will ultimately end up making a decision on what will happen to our jobs and the Postal Service as we know it. I hope everyone exer-cised their right to vote and voted for the candidate that supported the working families. Too many times we get caught up in whether we are voting for a Democrat or Republican versus looking at the voting record of the candidates who are running for office. Those candidates who have now been elected will be making the ultimate decision on the future of the United States Postal Service which will affect our jobs, families and our lifestyle. We cannot sit idle and depend upon others to get involved and protect what we have, now is the time for you to understand and participate in COLCPE and e-Activist. Your future depends upon it.

President Rolando has tasked the NBAs with contacting branches in our regions with 50 or less members to see if they are getting adequate repre-sentation. We are asking these branches if they have a steward, do they have monthly or regular meetings and if they have residual or withheld routes? With our membership decreasing, we must make sure that all branches are fairly and dutifully represented. What we are finding out is a majority of these offices do not have regular meetings or in some instances do not even have a steward. As a union we are obligated to represent all letter carriers regardless of the size of the office. We are only as strong as our membership. If you do not have union representation in your office, check and see if there are any larger offices that are nearby that you can join. There is power and unity in numbers.

I want to congratulate the Iowa City, Iowa, Branch 483 for merging with the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Branch 373. This is a relatively large merger that will provide more than adequate representation for these branch-es. Now the Cedar Rapids Branch will be able to add a steward to supplement the stewards they presently have. Congratulations to Barb Sisley of Iowa City and Brian Rubner of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The job of a dispute resolution team member is a thankless job with little or no recognition. I want to thank Dennis Wisnewski of the Gateway District here in St. Louis, Missouri, on his recent retirement. Dennis has been in that position since 2001 when the

10 November 2012/MCC

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retiree rePort … By ray Breakfield

Meeting called to order at 12:45 p.m. by Chairman Jim McNeil. Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance led by Chaplain Gus Frank. Jim thanked Charlotte Breakfield for supply-ing the slaw and potato salad to go with the Hodak’s chicken. Robby Robinson will

do his brisket next month. Jim spoke about a letter he received from Senator Blunt. It was actually positive about the Postal Service.

New Member: Dennis WisnewskiTreasurer’s Report: Jim Kluempers reported a balance of $388.10Branch 343 Report: Bill Lister noted that State President Kevin Boyer and Kevin Holmes from Ballwin

were in attendance. Bill spoke about the prefunding issue and Representative Issa and his crazy ideas. President Obama wants to retain 6-day delivery. National Officer Ernie Kirkland attended the Steward Banquet and the annual MDA Golf Tournament.

Chairman’s Report: A picture I.D. is not mandatory to vote in Missouri. A Pennsylvania law requiring a picture I.D. was recently struck down. Washington University is looking for people 50 to 75 years old to participate in a study. The golf tournament is nearly full. Next month a representative of legal services of Missouri will attend the meeting to talk about wills, power of attorney and other services they supply for free.

Kevin Boyer spoke about voting in the upcoming election. He mentioned that many carriers south of Interstate 44 are Republicans and he didn’t feel welcome. He told us that “you can’t sit this one out. You must write, call, and especially vote.”

Kevin Holmes then spoke about the upcoming election. He said Blain Luetkemeyer, a Republican, sup-ports the NALC. Cleaver, Graves, and Joann Emerson are also supporters of ours. There will be a rally at the IBEW Hall on October 16. Candidates for office will be there. There will be a mass walk on October 20 to knock on doors.

Art Buck spoke about upcoming changes in health insurance. NALC is going down $1.56. Blue Cross-Blue Shield is going up $79 for some plans. Medicare Part B costs $99.90. The COLA increase will be 1.7 percent. You don’t need Part D Medicare is you have NALC HBP.

Chairman McNeil spoke about the treasury being depleted. A motion was made to increase the cost of food, 50/50, etc. to $5 from $4. The motion was seconded. A vote of those present passed the motion.

Tom Schulte invited everyone to volunteer at the annual MDA Golf Tournament.

50/50 was won by Bob Ruester. Final prayer by brother Frank. Meeting adjourned at 1:39 p.m.

M I N U T ES OF T h E OCTOBER 3 , 2012 , M EET I NG

November 2012/MCC 11

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When I was a PTF many moons ago, many of the older guys didn’t retire when they were eligible. They loved their jobs and looked forward to coming to work every day. There was a relaxed atmosphere and a sense of pride and camarade-

rie. Carriers knew their customers and were nearly treated like family members by all the people they served on their routes. What a shame that those running the Postal Service want to destroy an institution that has been an important part of the United States for over 200 years. It sure isn’t the will of the American people that is causing its demise. The Postal Service is NOT tax supported. It is the most respected government agency. Why would anyone want to destroy a company that does such a great service for America? What other government agency does its work and doesn’t cost anything? Sorry. I’m going to say it again. The Postal Service is totally self-supporting. It gets its money from selling goods and services. It’s the only government agency that is in the black even in these horrible economic times if it weren’t for the ridiculous $5 billion payment owed every year for employees that aren’t even born yet! My CPA brother-in-law says, “If you’re trying to figure out what’s going on, FOLLOW THE MONEY. He’s right. What’s happening to the Postal Service today has nothing to do with anything but who stands to make a lot of money if the Postal Service is broken up and parceled out to wealthy cronies of politicians. They don’t care that half of Americans in rural areas will have to drive to a town near them to get their mail. They don’t care if half a million letter carriers and their families are left destitute because they can’t live on the minimum wage that the new private companies pay their workers to deliver the mail.ed

ito

r’s

notes … By ray Breakfield

The worst part of this catastrophe is that 90 percent of letter carriers are going to act shocked when they are swept out the door. They will roll on the ground in the parking lot and scream WHAT WILL I DO? WHERE WILL I GET FOOD FOR MY KIDS? THIS IS SUCH A SHOCK. If you’re going to say those things, don’t say them to me. You were warned this was going to happen, yet you did nothing. You didn’t care enough to put up a lousy $5 a month to support COLCPE. You didn’t call your congress person. You prob-ably didn’t vote. Shame. Maybe a miracle will happen. If it does, it won’t be because of anything you did.

or Call TOLL FREE Roy Tailors1-800-543-0379

ROY TAILORS

Call one of our Area RepresentativesRETIRED LETTER CARRIERS OF BRANCH 343

SUPPORT YOUR UNION BROTHERSWalter Besch37 Raintree Ct. Fenton, MO 63026636-343-3775

UNIONM A D EIT DOES MATTER

USA

WHEN QUALITY & SERVICE COUNTUnion Made Uniforms for the Postal Service

Endorsed by U.N.I.T.E. AFL-CIO

George Cooper10443 Halls Ferry Rd.St. Louis, MO 63136314-541-1503

HARRIS FEDERAL LAW FIRM

OPM - DisabilityLetter Carrier/Postal Worker Injuries

mail@harrisfederal.com

www.harrisfederal.com

382 So. Broadway/Lexington, KY 40508

The address for the Charles J. Coyle Scholarship has changed. See page 21 for the application with the new address.

12 November 2012/MCC

MOUND CITY CARRIER

2012 BrAncH 343 sHoP steWArd oF tHe yeAr AWArdsOCTOBER 6 , 2012

Branch 343 President Bill Lister with guest NALC Director of Retired Members Ernie Kirkland and Region 5 NBA Dan Pittman present the Shop Stewards and Special Achievement Awards

Brian Litteken, Gaffney Station Marvin Rains, Fenton Post Office

Brad Layton, Step “A” Representative of the Year

Melvin Martin, Wheeler Station Joseph Regan, Gravois Station

November 2012/MCC 13

MOUND CITY CARRIER

2012 sHoP steWArd oF tHe yeAr AWArdssPeciAl AcHievement And recognitionceleBrAtion WitH FAmily And Friends

Paul Pitts, Jennings was presented the MDA Award for organizing the MDA Basketball Tournament.

Terrence Pastchal, Jennings (unable to attend the Shop Stew-ards’ Banquet) was recognized for co-organizing the MDA Basketball Tournament.

A Special Achievement Award was presented to Dennis Wisnewski for his 12 years of service as the DRT Step “B” representative.

14 November 2012/MCC

MOUND CITY CARRIER

25tH AnnuAl mdA golF tournAmentnormAndie golF cluB

OCTOBER 7, 2012

First Place Winning Team captained by Ken Meyer with Tournament Dir. Barry Linan

Second Place Winning Team captained by John Warner with Tournament Dir. Barry Linan

Region 5 RAA Mark Sims celebrates a rare hole-in-one on the Par 3 18th Hole

Closest to the Pin: Steve Berry with Tournament Dir. Barry Linan

Longest Drive Winner Jack Yale with Tournament Dir. Barry Linan

Offering congratulations to all the tournament winners is Branch 343 Executive Vice President/Golf Tournament Director Barry Linan.

November 2012/MCC 15

MOUND CITY CARRIER

JOANIE’S PIZZERIATHE SPORTS PUBKENDRICK’S MEATSBARRY & JUDY LINANKEN & JUDY MEYERMIKE WEIRTONY REHAGENBIG DADDY’STUCKER’S PLACEMAJOR BRANDSRAY SCHMITTGENSAMERICAN FAMILY INC.J PRICE INSURANCEHODAK’SJ B SMITH FUNERALROYAL BANKGOLF DISCOUNTWATSON AUTO REPAIRCOSTCOROBERT’S APPARELJOHN HAAKE

FELIX’S IN DOGTOWNTED DREWESSEAMUS McDANIELMDADAN BRAUCHLEART BUCKTOM HARMANTRUEMAN’S PLACETRACY ARNOLDGOLFSMITH INT.MO. STATE ASSOC.CREATIVE LITHO INC.GUS’S PRETZEL’SKUTIS FUNERALDRIVE INN DONUTSGENE SLAY BOYS CLUBROY TAILOR UNIFORMGREAT CLIPSWILDBIRD’S ULTD.OFFICE DEPOT

2012 BR a NCh 3 4 3’S 25T h a N N U aL M da GOL F TOU R Na M EN TaT T EN da NCE PR I ZE CON T R I BU TORS

STELLINA PASTANICK’S PUBNICKI PRADOTOM & LINDA SCHULTEJIM McNEILMARILYN KRIEGERDIANE CARTERBLUES CITY DELIRAY & CHAR BREAKFIELDBRANCH 30 KANSAS CITY, MO.SUWALLERSMARTIAL ARTS TRAINING ACY.BIGGIE’S RESTAURANTZIEGENHEINKRISPY KREME DONUTSON POINTE DANCERON KEARBYHILLCO AUTO REPAIRMASSAGE ENVYST. LOUIS SPORTSWEAR

Workers

VOLUNTEER COORDINATORTOM SCHULTE

SUPPLIES DISTRIBUTEDGUS FRANK

HOLE SPONSOR SIGNSRAY BREAKFIELD

MIKE WEIR, GUS FRANK

POST SIGNS ON COURSERAY BREAKFIELD, MIKE WEIR

TOM SCHULTE, DAN BRAUCHLELINDA SCHUTE

CHARLOTTE BREAKFIELD

GOLF CART JOCKEYSDERRICK WILLIAMS

MARVIN BOOKER

RAFFLE GOLF CLUB/BAGGUS FRANK

GREENIE BETS-CLOSEST TO PINLONGEST DRIVE

CHRISTOPHER & PAM STEPNEYTONY JASPER CRAIG BURRELLDENNIS AND CORY FLANIGAN

RICHARD THURMAN MELVIN MARTINEARL BENTLEY JACKIE RAINS

SYLVIA CARRINO DARLENE TATEROBERT RAPISARDO

REGISTRATION PRIZESCHARLOTTE BREAKFIELD

JANET FRANK, LINDA SCHULTESHARON HAAKE, LAURA HAAKE

HEIDI BESCH, KELLY LONGTIFFANY HAGER, GAIL PANUS

MARILYN KRIEGERSTUART EAST

PHOTOSTOM SCHULTE

FOOD AND SUPPLIESGUS FRANK, WALLY RUTHERFORD

HOMEMADE CHILI & SLAWCHARLOTTE BREAKFIELD

BBQ

WALTER BESCHWALLY RUTHERFORD

VINCE HELLMANN, MIKE SCOTT

SKINSCLIF NELSON

BEVERAGESMIKE WEIR, BOB PURK

Barry Linan, Tournament DirectorGus Frank, Staff Mike Weir, Staff Ray Breakfield, Staff

16 November 2012/MCC

MOUND CITY CARRIER

$100 hole sponsors

SPONSORED 4 HOLESSOUTH COUNTY CARRIERS

CHOUTEAU CARRIERSJENNINGS CARRIERSWEST COUNTY CARRIERSGILES/WEATHERS STEWARDSGAFFNEY CARRIERSSAPPINGTON CARRIERSARNOLD CARRIERSCLAYTON STEWARDSMACKENZIE POINTE STEWARDSBRANCH 343 TRUSTEESTONY REHAGEN and PAM STEPNEYTOM & LINDA SCHULTEBR. 343 RETIRED LETTER CARRIERSNICKI PRADO - RETIRED DIRECTORKEN & JUDY MEYEROVERLAND-ST. ANN VFW POST 3944DAN BRAUCHLE and LAURA MAXRAAS REGION 5 - BIRKETT and SIMS

DUCHESNE BAR & GRILLBR. 984 ST. CHARLESTIM LONGKEN MEYERAL’S PX LIQUORMARION HARDEN

DAN BRAUCHLEBARRY LINANTUBBY’S PLAZA LANESMIKE WEIRFINAL DESTINATION

ART BUCKSTUART EASTBOB PURKTOM SCHULTECLIF NELSON

M da GOL F BEV ER aGES 2011

GREY EAGLE DISTRIBUTING OVERLAND/ST. ANN VFW POST 3944

SPONSORED 3 HOLESKIRKWOOD CARRIERS

SPONSORED 2 HOLESTOWN & COUNTRY CARRIERS, CREVE COEUR CARRIERS,

FRED SCHAEFER

GUS & JANET FRANKJUDITH McNAMARA/STATE FARMGENO/GLENDA/COURTNEY IBERGST. LOUIS SPORTSWEARBRANCH 30 KANSAS CITYMO. STATE ASSOCIATION OF LETTER

CARRIERS BRANCH 343 OFFICERS - LISTER/

LINAN/RAPISARDOCOYLE CARRIERSMARYVILLE GARDENS CARRIERSWHEELER STEWARDSGRAVOIS STEWARDSNORMANDY CARRIERSST. CLAIR CARRIERSFENTON and HIGH RIDGE CARRIERSDES PERES CARRIERSST. LOUIS LETTER CARRIERS BAND

WENTZVILLE CARRIERS/CLERKS/RURAL

RETIRED NBAS JOE MILLER/ART BUCKCREATIVE LITHO INC.MOUND CITY CARRIER STAFFMIKE & JEANETTE WEIRJOHN HAAKE and BILL LISTERDAN PITTMANJIM & CAROL McNEILMIKE McCLIMANSROY TAILORS/WALTER BESCHJ PRICE INSURANCE AGENCYMARTIAL ARTS TRAINING

ACADEMYSUWALLERS BAR & GRILLWAYNE & ANGELA CHARTERSSOUTHWEST STATION

Gus Frank, Raffle Club Cooks Prize Volunteers

November 2012/MCC 17

MOUND CITY CARRIER

mAc Pointes … By John mClaughlin

Greetings from the Pointe. Just when you think they can’t screw things up any-

more, the PM decides to require all the mail be delivered on the day after a holiday. Brilliant! Our station is still reeling from COR adjustments that gener-ated splits where one side of the street is delivered on one split while the other side goes on another split. Some of the carri-ers have grown tired of trying to remedy what COR has done and are carrying the route exactly as set up by COR. It is an ongoing struggle for carriers to provide good service with this insanity.

We received a visit from the PM the day after the holiday and they required everyone on the OTDL to take two splits along with cleaning up. She thought we were joking when we told her, “see you at 9:00.” Who are these people and why do they want to destroy the Postal Service? It is bad enough that the politicians in power want us gone, but coming from the inside is becoming unbear-able. Ironically, if you ask them, they believe it is carriers and the union dooming the service.

Opening statements on a new contract at interest arbitration were recently given. The insults from the USPS continue. They

are asking that labor costs be restructured (lowered) due to what they term, “the dimin-ished revenue contribution of employed letter carriers.” Excuse me. Letter carriers have saved the Postal Service $1.3 billion due to route adjustments, and Customer Connect (thanks Pam) has generated more than $1.5 bil-lion in new revenue since 2003. I suggest arbitrator Das visit some stations personally to get the real picture. The continuous flow of inane ideas from the top and continuous deliberate viola-tions of the contract is what is compounding the problems we already face trying to convince Congress to end prefunding.

To demonstrate the mental-ity of USPS management to arbitrator Das, he could have sat in on my last arbitration. In management’s position to the B-team, they cited seven pieces of discipline all issued within the last year that were all found to be without merit and thrown out for a carrier with 18 years of service. In spite of this, management stated, “This does not change the fact that the grievant was fully aware of the possible consequences should he continue this behavior.” The carrier was fired. The carrier was returned to work with full

back pay. The cost to the Postal Service for this mistake in part: stewards pay for defending the grievant, time management spent putting the case together, paying the carrier for months he did not work, OT incurred while carrier is out, and paying an arbitrator to fly in to hear the case. This is where money is wasted by management. Where is the accountability? If only there was a magical MSP scan that would make them answer for their mistakes.

As this is November, I hope that everyone voted in the best interest of their jobs. Start get-ting your teams together for Trivia Nite on Saturday, January 19, 2013. Tables of up to eight at $20 a head. Until next month, do your job safely and accurately. We don’t write the rules; we just play the game. Sláinte

18 November 2012/MCC

MOUND CITY CARRIER

customer connect … By pam stepney

Greetings sisters and brothers of Branch 343. How’s everyone doing out there? Fine, I hope. Thank you to all letter carriers who took the time

out of your busy day to talk to your customers about doing business with the Postal Service. Your participa-tion in Customer Connect sent a strong message to the UPS, FedEx, and DHL. There are still a lot of com-panies out there using those other guys to ship their packages. Offer the Postal Service to them again, and let them know that our prices beat our competitors prices. We do not charge surcharges like those other guys. Let them know that we offer tracking, delivery, and pick up service Monday through Saturday. If UPS or FedEx were to deliver packages on Saturday you best believe the customer would pay extra. But with the Postal Service there are NO extras because we are going there anyway. So, as you travel along your appointed route keep your eyes open for the competi-tion to see if there is any business we can steal away. It’s the holiday season and customers are ordering and companies are shipping. This is our time to save our jobs and help generate revenue for the Postal Service. Remember to fill out the Customer Connect lead cards when talking to your customers, bring them back,

give them to your supervisors and ask for a copy after it has been submitted. Sit back and wait for that revenue to come in, it’s that easy. Continue to submit those Every Door Direct Mail leads because they help put a stop to route inspections and put piece counts back on your appointed routes.

Retired letter carriers are being asked to work as postmaster reliefs, aka PMRs, at a rate of $11.76 per hour. They are also counting mail during route count for rural carriers. So, I say to you, take time to talk to your family, friends, churches, schools, anybody and everybody to see if there’s anything the Postal Service can do for them. Remember these are our jobs. I met a 100 percent union company who only ships with USPS and UPS but not FedEx because they are not union. There are a lot of companies out there shipping each and every day with UPS and FedEx, let’s track them down.

Moving on, John Haake/ Charles Coyle Scholarship applications are in this Mound City Carrier so sit down, fill it out today, put a stamp on it and mail it.

Remember to do your best, leave the rest, don’t stress, GOD BLESS, and thank you for coming.

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving.

2012MDA 9-BALL

SINGLES TOURNAMENTDATE: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2012PLACE: PINK GALLEON OLIVE & FEE FEETIME: SIGN UP 1 P.M. PLAY STARTS AT 1:30 P.M.COST: $15 PER PERSONFor additional information, contact Nick Grillo at

(636) 338-4149

November 2012/MCC 19

MOUND CITY CARRIER

25tH AnnuAl mdA Pool tournAment… By niCk grillo

October 2, 2012, marked the anniversary of the MDA golf tournament. The idea

of a golf tournament to raise money for MDA was initiated and acted upon by Ed Perry from Kirkwood Post Office. Ed ran the tournament in the early years and eventually handed it off to the branch to run.

At that time, I was working part time at the Subway Bar in Ferguson. I had been the Mound City scribe for Ferguson Station the past couple of years with the head-ing “Here at Fergie Mo.” Noticing the fun and money raised by Ed’s golf tournament, I decided to have a billiard tournament for an MDA event. So, Ferguson sponsored the first tourney in November of

1988 and a second one in June of 1989. We raised a total of $218 from both events. More could have been raised, but I awarded cash payouts along with trophies. Eventually, I eliminated the cash awards and went with just the plaques. Creve Coeur station began sponsoring the event in 1990. I scribed as C.C. Writer, then in 1992 as N.C. Writer and finally from 1996 thru 2008 from Des Peres. The event was sponsored by each station I worked.

Over the years, the event moved from the Subway Bar, to the Greeks, to Action Billiards and then the last 8 years at the Pink Galleon. Though it was never a big money maker, it was fun and it began to give the

branch membership more ideas for raising money for MDA. A whole lot of events began then: bowling, trivia night, poker, bass, raffles, darts, bike-a-thon, basket-ball, and the washer tournament. These events brought our collec-tion totals from under $10,000 to over $40,000 in recent years.

I ask that you continue to sup-port as many MDA fund-raisers as possible. This year’s pool tournament will be held Sunday, December 2. This will be the 25th annual. There will be silver anniversary T-shirts available for $15 with proceeds going to MDA. Call me at 636-338-4149 if you want me to order you a shirt or see me at the November union meeting. Yours in unionism.

20 November 2012/MCC

MOUND CITY CARRIER

Fredric V. RolandoPresidentNational Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO

Doug A. TulinoVice PresidentLabor RelationsU.S. Postal Service

Date: 10-9-12

M-01797memorAndum oF understAnding

BetWeen tHe united stAtes PostAl service

And tHe nAtionAl AssociAtion oF letter cArriers

Re: Transitional Employees/Part-time Flexible ConversionsThe parties mutually agree that Article 12 of the National Agreement creates a requirement to withhold sufficient residual vacancies in order to minimize dislocation and inconvenience of excess employees. However, that obligation is limited to the number of residual vacancies neces-sary to accommodate any planned excessing events.The parties recognize that certain locations may be withholding residual vacancies for excessing events that have been completed, and that other residual positions that are not being withheld remain vacant. Additionally, Postal Service systems may list residual vacancies that are no longer vacant or do not exist.The parties also understand that with the changing mail mix, an opportunity for growth ties in time sensitive, cost competitive product mar-kets that include e-commerce transactions which could require flexible delivery windows.Accordingly, we agree to the following:

The Postal Service will fill the approximately 1.265 residual vacant carrier technician (CC-02) positions provided such positions still exist 1. and remain vacant. Positions will be filled through either a) assignment of unassigned full-time regular or full-time flexible city letter carriers in the installation pursuant to Article 41.1.A.7 of the National Agreement; or b) conversion and assignment of part-time flexible city letter carriers in the installation. In the event there is an insufficient number of unassigned regular, full-time flexible, or part-time flexible city letter carriers to fill the positions, and there are no qualified transfer requests to the installation, transitional employees may be assigned to fill the positions until career employees become available.The Postal Service agrees to fill 1,400 residual vacant full-time city letter carrier (CC-01) positions by conversion and assignment of part-2. time flexible city letter carriers within their installation.The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) agrees that the Postal Service may employ up to 3,400 transitional employees in addi-3. tion to those authorized under Article 7.1 of the National Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding, Re: Transitional Employees (Flat Sequencing System). Management will determine when and where to employ these additional transitional employees and will share that information with NALC consistent with paragraph 6 below. Transitional employees hired under this memorandum will be so desig-nated by assignment of a unique occupational code. All transitional employee provisions will apply to transitional employees hired under this agreement, including the requirement that the Postal Service provide the NALC with a report every other pay period that indicates the number of transitional employees on the rolls.For every transitional employee hired pursuant to paragraph 3 above, the Postal Service will convert a part-time flexible city letter carrier 4. to full-time regular status within their installation. These conversions (a maximum of 3,400) are in addition to those required by para-graphs 1 and 2 above. While the Postal Service will determine where these additional conversions will be made, residual vacant full-time city letter carrier (CC-01) positions that remain after conversions pursuant to paragraph 2 above, will be filled as part of the conver-sions under this paragraph, provided there is a part-time flexible city carrier available in the installation. The Postal Service will share information regarding conversions with the NALC consistent with paragraph 6 below. Reemploying a transitional employee after a break in service or hiring a transitional employee to replace a transitional employee does not require an additional conversion of a part-time flexible city letter carrier to full-time status.The parties will establish a joint work group at the national level to discuss and attempt to resolve issues concerning vacant residual 5. positions, the continued need to withhold positions, and the process for recording residual vacancies in Postal Service systems. The joint work group will meet within 30 days of the date of this agreement and will function for a 12-month period, unless extended by mutual agreement of the parties.Conversions to full-time regular and filling residual vacancies pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 2 above will be made as soon as practicable 6. and will be completed within 90 days of this agreement. Conversions to full-time regular pursuant to paragraph 4 will be completed within two pay periods of the transitional employee’s hire date. Prior to converting part-time flexible employees to full-time regular, filling residual vacancies, and employing additional transitional employees, the Postal Service will meet and discuss with the NALC at the national level the placement of the additional transitional employees and the locations of part-time flexible conversions and residual vacancies filled.

This agreement is effective from the date of signature. The Postal Service may maintain the additional transitional employees authorized under paragraph 3 above for a period of one year from the date of appointment, unless extended by mutual agreement of the parties, or this agreement is modified by the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement.This agreement is reached without prejudice to either party’s position in this or any other matter and, other than for the purpose of enforcing its terms, may not be cited in any other proceeding or forum, including interest arbitration.This agreement is not intended to settle pending grievances on the conversion and placement of part-time flexible employees in city letter car-rier (CC-01) residual vacancies. Any pending grievances regarding the conversion to CC-02 positions in paragraph 1 of this MOU are consid-ered closed.

November 2012/MCC 21

MOUND CITY CARRIER

Fi l l ou t and ma i l to : John H. Haake , Branch 343 Scho la rsh ip Commi t tee 1600 S . Broadway S t . Lou is , MO 63104

_____________________________________Signature o f NALC parent

member (or spouse i f deceased)

___________________________ ________ NALC Parent ’s SS number Date

____________________________________Signature of

Branch Off icer

____________________________________Title Date

(For Office Use Only) This form must be postmarked by Dec. 31, 2012.

Notice for the 2013Missouri State Association of Letter Carriers

Charles J. Coyle Scholarship AwardDATE _________________________________________________ I am the son/daughter of active/retired/deceased letter carrier ____________________________________________of Branch # _____________ , state of Missouri. I am a high school senior in this 2012-2013 school year. Please send instructions as to how I can compete for a scholarship award.

NAME OF APPLICANT _____________________________________________________________________________________

HOME ADDRESS ___________________________________________________________________________________________

CITY _________________________________________________ STATE ____________________ZIP _____________________

PHONE NUMBER ( _______________) _________________________________________________________________________

SIGNATURE OF NALC PARENT ___________________________________________________________________________

SS# OF NALC PARENT ____________________________________________________________________________________ MAIL COMPLETED FORM TO:

MISSOURI STATE ASSOCIATION of LETTER CARRIERSCHARLES J. COYLE SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE

c/o Kevin Todd Boyer, President4004 Treetop Ln.

Columbia, MO 65202

Date _______________________________ (Please print clearly)

P lease send ins t ruc t ions as to how I can compete fo r a scho la rsh ip award . I w i l l be a sen io r in the 2012-2013 schoo l year.

Application for the John H. Haake Scholarship Award

( r e t i r ed )I am the ( son ) o f ( ac t i ve ) l e t t e r ca r r i e r __________________________________ (daugh te r ) ( deceased ) (Name)

My name i s _________________________ Home phone _________________________

My home add ress i s _______________________________________________________

C i t y _______________________________ S ta te _________________ Z ip ____________

NOTICE: MUST BE POSTMARKED BY DECEMBER 31, 2012.

22 November 2012/MCC

MOUND CITY CARRIER

BRANCH MEETINGBranch 343, St. LouiS, MiSSouri

octoBer 11, 2012Summary of

Branch Action

Highligh

ts

MSC To pay the branch bills

New Members

Deceased Member

Brian K. Gray ................................Weathers ...............................10-11-12Sandra D. Ivory.............................Weathers ...............................10-11-12

Riley M. Sheffield .........................Clayton ................................. 09-30-12Dennis R. Wisnewski ...................Des Peres .............................. 10-02-12

Harvey McKinney........................Retired .................................. 09-13-12Melvin O. Seiler ............................60-Year Member .................. 10-03-12

Recently Retired MembersNBA Dan Pitt-man reported

the office has been tasked by

national to gather information on residual

and withheld vacant routes within the region. The national parties have just recently signed off on two new MOUs related to this data. The first MOU (M-01796) clarifies the contractual provisions under which a route may be reverted. Hopefully, this will stop management from attempting to revert a route just because it becomes vacant. The second MOU (M-01797) allows management to hire 3,400 new TEs to help with staffing issues. However, management must also convert 3,400 PTFs to full time regulars in order to do so.

Exec. V.P. Barry Linan reported Branch 343’s MDA Golf Tournament was a success and he thanked the volunteers who helped. He does not have a total yet but believe we raised more than $10,000 for MDA.

V.P. Robert Rapisardo reported the stewards’ banquet went well and we had 105 to 110 stewards/guests in attendance. He congratulated the winners and thanked several individuals for helping decorate the hall. Bob reminded the members that the breakfast for the station winning the COLCPE contest would be awarded sometime in December. Affton has signed up 27 members and is in the lead with Coyle follow-ing close behind with 25 members signed. Bob complimented Kirkwood’s steward Kelly Steinbecker for her hard work and mentoring the new alternate stewards.

President William Lister congratulated the award winners from the stewards’ banquet. Dennis Wis-newski won the Special Achievements Award for his 12 years as our DRT Step-B representative. Marvin Rains from Fenton, Melvin Martin from Wheeler, Joe Regan from Gravois, and Brian Litteken from Gaffney won the Stewards of the Year. Brad Layton from Mackenzie Pointe won the Step-A Representa-tive of the Year and Paul Pitts and Terence Pastchal of Jennings won the MDA Award for their efforts in establishing the MDA Basketball Tournament. Also, Director of Health Benefits Plan Brian Hellman contacted President Lister to ask if he could come to next month’s meeting. Branch 343 had the most new members sign up for our Health Benefits Plan in the last two years and Brian Heilman would like to kick off open season for health benefits for our members.

Respectfully Submitted Charles L. Sexton Recording Secretary

The above honor roll gives special recognition to those members who give $50 or more. Each star represents $100

IS YOUR NAME LISTED? WHY NOT?SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS PAYABLE TO BRANCH 343, P.A.C.

MIKE WEIR612 CHARLESTON OAKS DR.

BALLWIN, MO 63021-7387(Donations are not tax deductible)

JOHN CHUDYHH

DENNIS TYNERHH

HENRY DEIBELHH

TOM HARMANH

JOE POLITTEH

KEN MEYERH

GUS FRANKH

ART BUCKH

JOHN HAAKEH

JAMES TATEH

JOE CANMANH

CHET DRAINH

TONY JASPERHH

BARRY LINANHH

TOM SCHULTEH

JIM McNEILH

NICKI PRADOH

CHARLIE SEXTONH

JIM BRUGGEMANH

BOB STEELH

DARLENE TATEH

BILL LISTERH

DICK LEONGH

DAVE HOELTINGH

BOB FLAHERTYHH

RICHARD BOIENHH

DAN PITTMANH

EUGENE HILKEH

MIKE WEIRH

MARK SIMSH

EVERETT LUDWIGH

JOE FITZJARELLH

WALTER BESCHH

TOM DEGEAREH

THOMAS HOWERYH

MIKE BIRKETTH

FRANCIS RYANHH

MIKE CHENOTHH

GENO IBERGH

CHARLES SCANLONH

THERESA ROBERTSH

THOMAS FITZSIMONSH

LAWRENCE McHAYNESH

JOHN LEWANDOWSKIHFRED SCHAEFERH

BEVERLYANN CREELYH

DAN BRAUCHLEH

Dennis WisnewskiKen JohnsonBill HoffmanJ.G. LaytonTony RehagenRichard TurnerJim KluempersWilliam RomeIn Memory of Carol McNeil

Victor KeitelTom SchulteBill JimasDonald BassMike ChenotMarvin RainsJacqueline RainsClif Nelson

John KarayWilliam JohnsonWilliam JonesAngelo OttoliniTom SchreiberRoy HatchardVictor KettererKenneth Loehr

John MulderigRobert RapisardoMichael JenningsDean WernerRichard BoienMike BirkettBrian LittekenDan Pittman

Mike Chenot Janet Frank Chet Drain

Branch Meeting Attendance Prize WinnersOctOber 11, 2012

1) RAMS VS. PACKERS — SUNDAY 10/21 at NOON CHET DRAIN - JENNINGS

2) RAMS VS. PACKERS — SUNDAY 10/21 at NOON DAN PITTMAN - NBA

3) BOTTLE OF WINE — ROY TAILOR UNIFORMS/WALTER BESCH TINA HUNT - SOUTH COUNTY

4) BOTTLE OF WINE — ROY TAYLOR UNIFORMS/WALTER BESCH MIKE “THUMPER” THARP - COYLE

POLITICAL ACTION H HONOR ROLL

November 2012/MCC 23

MOUND CITY CARRIER

Deadline for articles for the DECEMBER issue is

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

H H H

REGULAR BRANCH MEETINGTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012

7:30 pm

H H H

SHOP STEWARDS MEETINGTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012

The Letter Carriers Building1600 S Broadway

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Dan J. GouldBRaNCh 343—OFFICERS—

Bill Lister ................................. PresidentBarry Linan .....Executive Vice President/

TreasurerRobert Rapisardo ............ Vice President/

Financial SecretaryCharles Sexton ......... Recording SecretaryDerrick Williams .......... Sergeant-at-ArmsSaronda Sutherland ..........Collector, MBAChet Drain ... Health Benefit Representative

BOARD OF TRUSTEESJohn McLaughlin Tony JasperMike “Thumper” Tharp Tina Hunt

Stuart East

CORRESPONDENT POSTaL RECORd

Tom Schulte

MEMBER-AT-LARGENEGOTIATING COMMITTEE

Mike Chenot Pam StepneyMel McNair Brad Layton

DELEGATES TO THE ST. LOUIS LABOR COUNCIL

Bill Lister Keith GentryGus Frank Barry LinanMike Chenot Tony Jasper

Pam Stepney

MOUNd CITY CaRRIERPublished monthly by Branch 343

National Association of Letter CarriersContents may be reproduced by NALC

publications — Just mention Branch 343.

STAFFTom Schulte .................. Managing EditorHarry Blecha ............... Business ManagerRay Breakfield .............................. EditorClif Nelson ............................ Asst. EditorJohn McLaughlin ................... Asst. Editor

ADVISORY BOARD

Bill ListerBarry Linan

All correspondence and all articles intended for publication in this paper

should be addressed to:Ray Breakfield, Editor

1600 S BroadwaySt. Louis, MO 63104-3806

Phone: (314) 241-4297

All copy should be TYPED in upper and lower case, double spaced and written on one side only. Articles are to be limited

to 250 words and must be signed.

For ad rates call:HARRY BLECHA

Phone: (314) 645-1192

Opinions expressed intend no malice toward anyone — neither do they necessarily express the views of the editor nor that of Branch 343 N.A.L.C.

Articles may be edited for brevity and potential libelous statements.

LETTER CARRIERS BUILDINGBRANCH OFFICE1600 S Broadway

St. Louis, MO 63104-3806

(314) 241-4297

Hours: 8 am - 4:30 pm (M-F) 8 am - Noon (Sat)

Fax: (314) 241-2738

Branch 343 Websitewww.branch343.org

RETIRED MEMBERS MEETINGLETTER CARRIERS BUILDING

1600 S Broadway1st Wednesday of the month.

Lunch at noon, meeting at 12:45 pm

Jim McNeil, Chairman ..................(314) 845-2371 Ray Breakfield, Secretary .............(573) 358-5266

Jim Kluempers, Treasurer ............(636) 274-0996

FEMALE LETTER CARRIERS REPRESENTATIVE

Robinette Hensley, Creve Coeur(314) 432--8211

EEO REPRESENTATIVESHarold Robinson — (314) 569-2653

Robinette Hensley — (314) 432--8211

HEALTH BENEFITS HOT LINEChet Drain — Hall: (314) 241-4223

Tuesday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

COMPENSATION HOT LINEMike David — Hall: (314) 241-4223

Thursday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm

SAFETY & HEALTHMel McNair, South County

(314) 846-4152

VETERANS CONSULTANTMike David — (314) 241-4297

FOR LOW COST NALC INSURANCESaronda Sutherland, MBA

(314) 535-2850

NBA OFFICEDan Pittman — (314) 872-0227