On today's episode, we'll talk about the union's obligation to defend ALL carriers. When we defend carriers, we're also defending the contract.

We cover a lot of ground this episode. We start with the procedures for removing or disciplining a national officer. Next, we cover the union's various committees, our collective bargaining rights (including the possibility of striking), and we talk about branch by-laws. We finish up the episode with an article that describes what happens when your branch is so out of line that a trustee has to be appointed to take over. Good times.

In this episode, recorded at the NALC Convention, I sat down with Eric Ellis. He's an Academy Instructor, and the CSALC District 4 Officer, but that's only the beginning. In this episode, we'll learn about the many active roles that are open to carriers within our union, and Eric will tell us about his experiences with the Post Office and the NALC.

In this episode, we'll learn all the different national level positions, what their responsibilities are, and how much they get paid. (It's a lot!) We'll also go over how the NALC raises money, how it distributes that money, and who is responsible for it.

(In this episode, I ask a question about Brian Renfroe getting a raise. It turns out I had heard misinformation. The NALC's LM filings showed Renfros getting a pay jump, but it is because he made the jump from Vice President to President between the filings.)

In this episode, I sit down with one of my co-workers at the East Las Vegas Post Office. We'll discuss issues within the branch, the region, and the NALC in general. We talk about some contractual rules, and implementation of Article 15. David was actually one of the first people I ever interviewed for Classes of Mail, but my episode schedule has been so busy, that it's only just now being published. Enjoy!

I got a letter! It was sent to me at my station, anonymously. It was an attempt, by this anonymous person, to discourage Michael, Jonathan, and me from running for office in our upcoming branch election. The letter asked a series of questions (mostly about knowing people's names, which is odd) that the author thought should be considered before we would take office. So that's what Michael and I did. Last night, in the cab of Michael's pickup truck, we went through the entire letter, answering each of the writer's questions. Sorry about the sound quality. It was recorded in the cab of a pickup truck! Although, it probably came out better than recordings in the echo-chamber that is my living room. In any case, it wound up being pretty fun, and it enabled some much needed conversation about how the branch is being run currently.

We'll read Articles 5 and 6 of the NALC Constitution, which cover election rules, and some stuff about the convention. In this episode, since we're covering some convention rules. I'll also tell the story about my branch president getting me kicked out of our branch seating area at the convention.

On this episode, recorded in my hotel room at the convention in Boston, I got to talk to John Murphy. He's something of a legend in these parts, because as a CCA, he and a handful of others WALKED OUT on an Amazon Sunday and didn't get fired. You'll hear his story, hear about his union roots, and about the labor movement more broadly.

To read the story of John's walkout, follow the link below:

https://labornotes.org/2022/09/florida-letter-carriers-won-back-our-sunday-breaks-direct-action

In this episode, the candidates for president, executive vice president, and vice president (THAT'S ME!), get together to go over our platform for the upcoming Branch 2502 election. If you're a carrier in our branch, I would urge you to listen to the ways we want to transform the branch, bringing transparency and accountability back to the hall. If you're outside of the branch, I'm sure you'll still find the topics and issues from Branch 2502 relevant and interesting to your own branch.

We're back to normal episodes. This week will kick off Season 4's objective of making sure we treat each other well. The NALC Constitution governs the way our union will run, from the national level down to the branch level. In this episode, we'll read through the first four articles, which cover the basic setup of the union, and the rules surrounding the biennial convention.