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Welcome 2021, Finally!

Welcome 2021, Finally!
By Chuck Mulidore
NAPS Secretary/Treasurer

Happy New Year—2021 finally is upon us! There is no need to recite here all the various disasters that befell our world in 2020, but, hopefully, your holiday season is safe and blessed. Now, we look forward to a better 2021, a brighter future for all.

We still face an unrelenting pandemic. While buoyed by the promise of vaccines, we still have a long winter ahead with a multitude of new challenges. Even though winter is in full force in some parts of the country, I know many of you are thankful that peak season soon will be over. I am certain you are giving all your effort, as you always do, for your customers on behalf of the U.S. Postal Service.

Hopefully, you received a warm thank-you from your boss or district leadership and maybe even USPS executive leadership recognizing your service and sacrifices to keep the Postal Service strong and viable during the challenges of a pandemic, election season and fall mailing and peak seasons. And while we all certainly appreciate some recognition, I follow the old adage that nothing says thank you like a pay raise each year. We are thankful NAPS was able to work with Postal Service leadership this year to accomplish something that has not been accomplished in quite some time: a pay raise for nearly all our members!

However, in this first Postal Supervisor column of 2021, I want to focus on membership. NAPS only can stay strong if we continue to promote membership. Stay strong to fight the still unfair EAS compensation system, continue representing members at all levels from arbitrary and capricious corrective actions and represent all EAS employees in legislative actions that will affect the future of the Postal Service.

The “Business Dictionary” terms membership as “the state of belonging to or being a part of a group or an organization, often a nonprofit or voluntary organization, whose members have a common cause for which they seek to influence public policy, without seeking control. Special privileges or benefits are entitled to members.” I think this defines NAPS perfectly—an organization that seeks to influence public policy both on Capitol Hill and at USPS Headquarters. An organization that regards its members as family and joins them together in common cause.

I can report to you that, as of the October 2020 DCO, membership increased to over 27,500. Most impressively, over 95% of those are actively working EAS supervisors, managers, postmasters, SDOs, MDOs, MMOs, plant managers, HR personnel, OPS support and district, area and Headquarters personnel—too many to mention all. We represent them all, continuing to make us the best, largest and most effective management organization representing EAS employees in the Postal Service.

We do not inflate those numbers by signing craft employees whom we cannot represent. Because of the growth in membership, NAPS Headquarters is able to return nearly $400,000 to our local branches each month in the form of electronic transfer of funds. This allows our branches to provide excellent service to our members in terms of education, training and local representation.

However, the most pressing reason to grow our membership may be because we have many new EAS employees who may not even realize they need to be part of NAPS. There are currently over 10,000 EAS employees who are not a part of NAPS. Why? Many only have been in the Postal Service for a short time. Thus, we need to mentor them in their EAS roles, as well as NAPS members. Explain the value of NAPS membership to them, invite them to branch meetings and fellowship with them. They need us and we need them to continue to grow the mission of this great organization.

As winter slowly moves toward spring, please talk to the nonmembers in your branch. Sign them as members and receive a $25 check from NAPS Headquarters for doing so! It is a duty and responsibility we have to the future of our grand association to keep NAPS strong, viable and growing for decades to come. Have a safe, happy and productive 2021!