:mike's

Executive Vice President’s Report

Who Do You Trust ... The Survey Says ... It seems that every time you turn around somebody has to do a survey or a poll. Millions of dollars are being spent on surveys and the surveyors say that they are an accurate reflection of what people think. There is a company that asks the Public to rate governmental agencies in the areas of trust and privacy. For the fifth year in a row the Postal Service has been recognized as the most trusted government agency. It is not just that we are the best, but our scores are improving every year. This achievement is almost totally attributed to letter carriers. Why, because we are the face of the Postal Service. It’s your face that people recognize. This is who they are putting their trust in. As President Rolando said, it’s not just because we deliver the mail that people trust us. The reason carriers are trusted by so many people is because of all the other stuff letter carriers do in and around the community. The last few weeks here at Branch 9 has been a prime example. On a Sunday afternoon in April over 100 letter carriers and family members got together to raise over 7,000 dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the 2nd Annual Ron St. Clair Bowl-a-Thon. The NALC was the first corporate/organization sponsor for MDA back in the 50’s we’re still here working to help find a cure. Then there is the Food Drive. On Saturday, May 8th carriers participated in the largest one day food Mike Zagaros Executive Vice President drive in the nation. Early conversations with carriers picking up food say that this should be a banner year. Which is a good things seeing that the need is so great this year. These are just two examples of the services letter carriers provide to the community. It’s not because it our job, but it’s because of who we are. When you add in the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI), and the things that carriers do everyday on their routes (many that save lives), it’s easy to see why the American Public trusts the face of the Postal Service the letter carriers. In fact we are not only the most trusted government agency, but another survey found that we are in the top 10 (number 6) of most trusted companies for privacy in the world. (Don’t look for UPS or any other government agencies because they aren’t there FedEx is number 18.) It is with the trust of the American Public that we are going to have to fight our own Postal Service to make sure we remain vital and viable. While the rhetoric about 5 day delivery may have toned down it is not forgotten. Not by a long stretch. They are merely taking a breather. We need to make sure that our message about the pre-funding for future retiree health benefits and the 75 billion dollar overpayment stay on the front burner with members of Congress and the Public. We have to be truth tellers. They need to know that, but for the pre-funding requirement, there would be no financial crisis in Postal Service. The Postal Service would have been in the black overall. They need to know that no one else has to make these payments at the rate the Postal Service is. Imagine if the Government decided to repay the Postal Service the 75 billion dollars that we overpaid to the Civil Service Retirement Fund. That would take care of our indebteness as well as any pre-funding requirements for future retirees health benefits. These facts probably didn’t make it on the survey that the Postal Service says the Public wants to eliminate a day of delivery. It would be interesting to see if the Public truly wants to get rid of 6 day delivery if they had all the facts. I wonder if the same people who formulated the Voice of the Employee (VOE) survey were the same ones who said that Americans would rather give up Saturday Delivery? Surveys can serve as a valuable tool if you want to know what people think. But is does matter who is asking the question, and whether you want to know the answer. The results of the first Union Members Survey are found on pages 6-8. Your steward should have the individual unit totals. Thank you to all you who participated and let us know what you think.