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NAPS Continues to Make an Impact with Its Legislative Footprint

NAPS delegates made their annual trek to the nation’s capital for the Legislative Training Seminar in early March.

Nearly 500 delegates, including 60 first-timers, took time to learn about NAPS’ legislative agenda and take their message to Capitol Hill.

Executive Vice President Chuck Mulidore welcomed members Monday morning, March 4. “We appreciate you being here,” he said. “We’re going to fill you with a lot of information and knowledge to start true and lasting engagement with Congress.”

Mulidore explained the theme of this year’s LTS has more of a political spin as 2024 is an important election year. “We don’t take it lightly,” he declared. “If we learned anything over the past eight to 10 years is that your vote matters. And your political action matters; we can’t afford to be nonpolitical anymore.”

He affirmed that everyone has to take part in and be part of the political process—it’s everyone’s civic duty. Also, it’s NAPS’ members duty to take the organization’s message to Capitol Hill and to members of Congress in their home districts, as well.

Mulidore informed delegates they will be walking into a divisive environment on the Hill. “We’re going to provide you the tools to stay on message,” he pledged. “And our message reflects the message of the American people, as well.”

Mulidore referenced the death on Saturday, March 2, of Jonte Davis, a mail carrier in Warren, OH, who was fatally shot in his mail van. Tim Kopcash, Youngstown Branch 133 president and postmaster of the Warren Post Office, had planned on being at LTS, but had to stay and work to pull his office together.

“These types of tragedies and incidents affect all of us,” Mulidore stressed. He asked for a moment of silence for Davis, his family and the Warren Post Office employees.

President Ivan D. Butts addressed LTS delegates, referring to Martin Luther King Jr.’s last sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct,” delivered two months before his death. He explained that King related greatness and service and what they mean by saying everyone can be great; everybody can serve. You need only a heart full of grace and soul generated by love. “That’s how I look at service and leadership as I stand before you as president,” Butts said.

He told delegates he appreciated their presence at LTS and working together to move NAPS’ legislative agenda. “The work you will do here in preparation for hitting the Hill is critical to the sustainability of America’s Postal Service,” he stressed. “We have seen the legislative footprint of our association become increasingly impactful in the Postal Service landscape.” Butts affirmed NAPS’ legislative outreach is across both sides of the aisle.

He told delegates the “Delivering for America” plan is in full swing and, as NAPS predicted, has launched a year of unprecedented organizational change. NAPS leadership has managed 25 RIF actions affecting EAS employees; more are expected this year.

“We hear complaints about the deterioration of mail service and lack of transparency from USPS Headquarters,” he offered. “Today, we will hear from the PMG. With his updates, combined with the educational and legislative plan put together by Chuck and Director of Legislative & Political Affairs Bob Levi, you will be ready to educate our legislators not only on the ‘Delivering for America’ plan, but also the value of our postal police officers and the agency’s ill-advised decision not to use these officers to protect our employees and resources.”

Butts informed delegates they also need to educate legislators on reforming Title 39, EAS employees’ only avenue to address an unfair and unequitable pay system. “All we want is a fair and equitable pay system that puts money in the pockets of all EAS employees,” he declared.

“Again, thank you for being here. This is the time to be a beacon of light to shine on not just for the legislative needs of America, but also the EAS employees running the day-today operations of the Postal Service.”

Bob Levi next presented his legislative and political overview. He welcomed delegates to LTS and emphasized the event is about training, not being lectured on different aspects of USPS operations. “We are here to train you how to be a more effective legislative advocate whether here or back home where you live and work,” he explained.

Levi described effective advocacy as the synthesis of three dynamics: policy, people and politics. “Policy is the legislation we promote in DC, politics is how we advocate for the importance of legislation we are promoting to our legislative officials and the people are you,” he said. “We need all three to effectively and successfully promote our agenda.”

Levi told delegates it’s important for them to be on a first-name basis with members of Congress and their staffs. He referred to New York Reps. Tom Suozzi (D) and Andrew Garbarino (R). “They both know NAPS members on a first-name basis,” he pointed out. “They know them and can spot them in a room; that’s what we want to happen in every congressional district!”

He conveyed the importance of assuring Congress is educated on provisions of the Postal Service Reform Act, including the agency’s obligation to publicize its ability to meet performance standards on its website. “This is what Congress wanted us, their constituents—and them—to see,” he said.

Levi described the 118th Congress as the least productive, with the fewest number of bills signed into law since the 101st Congress about 20 years ago. “That demonstrates the heavy lift we have promoting legislation as the result of issues that confront Congress and its partisan extremism,” he offered.

“Nevertheless, we’re fortunate to be in DC at this time; NAPS needs to ‘be in the room.’” Levi referred to when Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison initiated the Compromise of 1790 whereupon the national government would take over and pay state debts from the Revolutionary War and the District of Columbia would become the nation’s capital. Aaron Burr wanted a part in the discussions, but literally could not get into the room. Burr’s complaint was depicted in the Broadway musical, “Hamilton,” which Levi displayed on a slide as part of his presentation.

“Only if you are in the room can you influence public policy,” Levi affirmed. “NAPS needs to be in the room where it happens. It is not only the resident officers’ and my goal to be in the room, but to get you in the room, as well.”

Levi reviewed the talking points for the mobile-enabled slides delegates would use during their visits to Capitol Hill and discussed NAPS’ legislative issues.

H.R. 3005, the Postal Police Reform Act, would undo the reckless decision by the USPS in 2020 to pull postal police officers off the streets. Increasing mail theft is a crucial issue. “We’ve lost the importance the Postal Service used to associate with letter mail. Protecting postal employees, assets and the mail is critical,” Levi highlighted.

H.R. 594, the Postal Supervisors and Managers Fairness Act, promotes fairness in the consultative process between the USPS and EAS employees. “We are a management organization that wants some modicum of fairness in our pay, schedules and benefits,” he explained.

H.R. 595, the Postal Employee Appeal Rights Amendment Act, would provide postal managers due-process rights. “We have been fighting for this legislation since at least 2013,” Levi said. “The bill would provide opportunities for supervisors in USPS Headquarters positions who do not supervise other employees the right to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board—simple fairness.”

NAPS also is prioritizing meaningful congressional oversight. “That’s the role of Congress,” Levi declared. “The Postal Service is established in the U.S. Constitution as a congressional responsibility. The agency serves the American public by binding the nation together through communications and more. It is an irreplaceable part of the American fabric.”

Also of concern is the prompt and speedy confirmation of the Postal Service Board of Governors’ two vacancies. President Biden recently nominated Marty Walsh, former mayor of Boston and U.S. Secretary of Labor. “We hope the Senate promptly confirms his nomination,” Levi offered.

And, finally, Levi demonstrated how NAPS members can use the Postal Performance Portal, part of the Postal Service Reform Act. Congress was concerned about postal transparency and wanted to know how each district is performing. Constituents’ concerns were the reason for the disclosure of the USPS data. He showed how to navigate the USPS Performance Portal that illustrates on-time delivery data during different time periods, at different geographic locations and between geographic locations.

Levi proceeded to talk about the importance of SPAC, explaining that, when NAPS members contribute to the political action committee, it provides an opportunity to focus House and Senate attention on NAPS’ legislative issues and amplifies its impact on Capitol Hill. “SPAC holds accountable those who have the authority to vote and make the decisions,” he said. When deciding what legislators and candidates to support, NAPS looks at candidate viability and NAPS’ members recommendations.

The 2023 SPAC total was $275,537. State aggregate top five:

California—$40,467.00
New York—$23,497.60
Florida—$21,654.01
Texas—$16,971.50
Virginia—$12,876.00
State per capita top five:
Maine—$50.02
Idaho—$22.93
Maryland—$19.80
North Dakota—$18.55
Virginia—$16.54

“Thank you for your advocacy,” Levi declared. “Let’s make some news across the Potomac!”

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a strong NAPS advocate, recorded a greeting that was played for delegates:

“Thank you for all you do to support our nation’s postal workers and the incredible good they do for our communities. You are critical for our nation. I’m committed to advancing policies to support the Postal Service and its workforce.

“I sit on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that has jurisdiction over the Postal Service. I proudly worked across the aisle to pass postal reform. It’s the least we can do for this invaluable institution.

“I’ll keep working to support the safety and security of our Postal Service.”

Frank Albergo, president of the Postal Police Officers Association, talked about the need for the Postal Police Reform Act, an important part of NAPS’ legislative agenda.

Albergo thanked Mulidore and Levi for taking him under their wing and explaining how the Postal Service and Congress work, as well as for their support. Two bills have been introduced, H.R. 3005 and S. 3356, that would restore postal police arrest authority and again allow postal police officers to respond to incidents off site to protect all postal employees.

Albergo gave an overview of postal police history. The force was created in 1970 in response to a spike in crime targeting the USPS. Previously, the agency gave guns to mail handlers, with no training; crime continued to increase.

The Postal Inspection Service recommended creating a security force, named the Postal Police Force, with the intent of preventing crime. The officers’ expressed purpose was to assist supervisors. For the most part, they were in postal facilities, but when there was a spike in crime, postal police would be deployed to help stop crime from escalating.

“Uniformed police officers deter crime,” Albergo stressed. “Postal police deter postal crime. We were out on the street, making a difference. There’s no doubt that, for 50 years, the Postal Police Force has been the most effective tool in fighting mail theft and protecting letter carriers. Despite all the training, equipment and success, the USPS stripped the postal police of their powers.”

Albergo explained the two proposed bills would restore the postal police officers’ arrest abilities. “These bills really would make a difference,” he declared. “Postal police officers again would be used to stop the threat of mail theft and attacks on letter carriers.”

Butts introduced UPMA National President Edmund Carley. He told delegates NAPS and UPMA try and work together because they have a joint interest in representing postmasters, despite some bumps in the road.

Carley told delegates he is proud of the relationship he has with Ivan. “I am even more proud of the working relationship we have back in the field,” he offered. “Local NAPS and UPMA presidents work together all the time.

“I appreciate the relationship—we agree on 99%, but focus on the 1%. Have a great LTS; go get ’em on the Hill tomorrow. Thank you for the continued relationship and special thanks to Ivan and Laurie as they have been friends to me.”

DeJoy said the agency is a long-lived institution and every organization is a product of its experiences, operations, strategies and decision-making. He referred to the advent of today’s digital revolution, resulting in a decrease in mail and growth in packages. Institutional memory makes it difficult to change the simplest things.

“We moved on to more meaningful things to ensure the viability of the Postal Service,” he conveyed. “This management team and leadership team now are on the right mission. It is a rocky mission—unwinding everything we’ve done wrong on the logistics side and trying to compete.”

DeJoy related that the “Delivering for America” plan was put together in three months and his leadership team was reorganized. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency demonstrated its role as part of the critical infrastructure. “We have to be self-sustaining and believe that we are a growing concern and will be here in the long term,” he offered. “You have to believe that to face the headwinds.

“We put a plan together that will improve all aspects to grow our business. But we have to make the tough changes to evolve and break the long-term memory that’s no longer applicable and move on into the competitive environment. It’s the only way to support the delivery of mail.”

DeJoy stressed the importance of evolving—operations, service, products and moving mail and packages together. “It’s doable and that’s why I’m here; I believe we’re on our way,” he affirmed. “ I’m unbelievably impressed by the struggle and effort by our employees to make it happen.”

He said it’s important that someone who works for the USPS has the promise of a career. There’s also emphasis on getting rid of the waste—empty trucks, unmanned conveyors, using air transportation and not meeting production schedules or being organized for success.

“That’s what we are changing,” he declared. “We have to abrogate and move mail and packages together. We’re the only one growing in the package market by hauling packages with everything else. It took two years to make that change.”

DeJoy touted the purchase of 106,000 new vehicles, of which 66,000 are electric. “The nation is celebrating us,” he said. “Our intentions are good. I build my organization with supervisors and transactional workers. They multiply our talent and make things happen.”

DeJoy said he is excited about recent initiatives, including 40 S&DCs up and running—more coming, six RP&DCs and a significant investment in local processing centers. “We have to get rid of the waste and incompetency while we improve and take care of our supervisors and people, make it a welcoming place,” he stressed. “I have a lot of ideas and we’re working on a lot of ideas. We’ve had a lot of successes; we’re moving on.

“We have our sustainability plan that’s been celebrated by the White House—40% reduction in emissions by 2031. We have ambitious costs and it’s tied to our cost goals. Going forward, we’re going to address the things we need to address such as reducing regional and local transportation and generating new revenue in packages.

“We’re trying to create a new institutional memory—high operating precision, evolving products, keeping costs appropriately aligned and evolving our products so people use us, keeping us part of the critical infrastructure. I believe we can be competitive and have happy and productive employees.

“We have an important place in our society and can do much more if we align around basic goals. We will continue to improve our service and grow our revenue so we have a sustainable Postal Service.”

Steve Shawn, president of Dottie Wileman Branch 923, MD-DC, introduced the next speaker, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a great friend of NAPS.

Raskin told NAPS members it was a pleasure being with them. He said he is thrilled to get his health back after battling cancer last year and hopes to be chair next year of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

“Know you have a friend there,” he offered. “I’m devoted to the legislative agenda you have come to fight for here.”

Raskin highlighted the legislation he supports and co-sponsors, including the Social Security Fairness Act, the Postal Police Reform Act, the Postal Employee Appeal Rights Amendment Act and legislation to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset. “We are very attentive to what’s going on in your association and the Postal Service,” he affirmed. “I led 80 of my colleagues to urge President Biden to fill the two open vacancies on the USPS Board of Governors who are committed to the workforce, lowering costs and efficiencies.” Raskin acknowledged that Biden recently nominated Marty Walsh for one of the vacancies.

He talked about an initiative with Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) addressing whether enough is being done to project postal employees affected by extreme heat as a result of climate change; a letter was sent to House Speak-er Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Rep. James Comer (R-KY) addressing this issue. “We have to make sure to properly equip and take care of our workforce,” he urged.

“I want to thank you for coming to lobby Congress on all these important measures; a proactive and forward-thinking agenda. Thanks for what you do every day to keep the Postal Service running—an entity constitutionally mandated in the U.S. Constitution. Our founders understood the central role a post office would play in linking communities together with the news in the country. Enemies of progress and the nation always have opposed the Postal Service.

“We must have a muscular defense of the agency, making it work and conditions satisfactory. We need the USPS every single day. Thank you for the defense of our basic constitutional principles and the interests that unify us as a nation.”

Raskin had the honor of presenting the Gold Standard Legislative Leadership Award to this year’s recipient—Steve Shawn. “I get to present my friend, Steve Shawn, this award for his many years of legislative advocacy on behalf of NAPS and its members,” Raskin said. “He started as a letter carrier and ended his career as Mr. Fix-It. We’re very proud of you, Steve!”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, recorded a message for LTS delegates. She said the Postal Service is an invaluable part of American society and its economy and thanked NAPS members for their leadership.

“When this vital service was in jeopardy 27 years ago, yours was the first employee organization to step forward; the insight and information you provided was invaluable. We’ve worked together many times since then.

“During the pandemic, postal workers were part of our infrastructure. I worked with Sen. Dianne Feinstein to provide relief for the Postal Service.

“We have seen an unacceptable rate of postal crime and, due to current restrictions, postal police are unable to carry out public safety duties. By allowing these officers to work beyond USPS property, the Postal Police Reform Act—bipartisan legislation—recognizes the urgent need to protect our mail carriers and better secure our entire postal system.

“I’m also concerned about changes in processing mail and possible operational changes in my state of Maine. I know I can depend on the expertise of your members on how those changes will affect Maine.

“I continue to stand with you to eliminate the GPO and WEP provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for public employees. We should not be penalizing people who have devoted their lives to public service by reducing the pensions they have earned. This is a matter of fundamental fairness.

“This conference is a vital part of the process and your chance to share your expertise and knowledge and bring it to bear on issues of importance to the Postal Service and our communities. Thank you for your involvement. I look forward to our continued work together.”