To Hill and Back
One of the many things I love about the NALC is the how versatile this Union is, and how many different hats I have learned to wear in the service of my Brothers and Sisters. Late last month, it was time to put on my Political Hat and head down to Washington DC to fulfill my duties as Branch 6000’s Congressional District Liaison (CDL) for New York’s first congressional district.
The Political Activist trips to Washington DC are staged by the NALC’s State Associations (NYSA) and the CDL’s goal is to advance our legislative and political agenda in each state. The New York State Association and the CDLs have developed excellent working relationships with their members of Congress, increasing Letter Carrier Political Fund (LCPF) participation, recruiting new activists in each state and using events such as branch meetings and state conventions to educate and mobilize members to Support Pro-NALC/USPS legislation.
The Branch CDL’s; Myself, Tom Siesto (in lieu of Richy McLehose), Charlie Smith and Bill Rotunda; left New York Wednesday morning April 30th for the long drive down to DC, arriving by late afternoon. The trip was organized by the NYSA President George T. Mangold and VP Kenneth Montgomery with the guidance of NALC Headquarters Kori Political Chief of Staff Blalock Keller.
We got into DC just in time to get freshened up and head down to that evening’s event; the Congressional “Meet & Greet” held at a local restaurant that was within walking distance of the Capital Building. The purpose of the event was to give US Legislators the opportunity to speak to the NALC NYSA as a group and then speak to their NALC CDLs as well as other NALC Members in a more relaxed, social setting in the hopes that they will be more receptive the following day on Capitol Hill, when the real Lobbying on legislation would take place.
I was very grateful that my Legislator, U.S. Representative Nick LaLota (NY-01), was one of the Congress Persons that attended the event. Nick is originally from Bay Shore, NY, graduated from St. Anthony’s High School and, in 2000, from the United States Naval Academy. He served in the U.S. Navy for eight years. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Hofstra University. LaLota served as chief of staff to Suffolk County presiding officer Kevin McCaffrey. He also served on the Suffolk Board of Elections. LaLota ran for the United States House of Representatives in the first congressional district of New York to succeed Lee Zeldin. He won the general election on November 8 by defeating the Democratic nominee, Bridget Fleming.
So far, my rapport with Nick has been fruitful, especially considering that he is a Republican. Last year, during the 118 th Congress, he co-sponsored all but the two of the Pro-NALC/USPS Bills; H.R.3721 - USPS Shipping Equity Act and H.R.618 - Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act. This year, the 119 th Congress, Nick was the first Legislator to co-sponsor H.Res.70 - to ensure that the United States Postal Service remains an independent establishment of the Federal Government and is not subject to privatization. He has taken a very public opposition to the President’s obvious desire to privatize the USPS. I am hopeful that Nick will not waiver on his position, as I have observed that he is willing to stand against his party leadership, as he did on H.R.22 - SAVE Act, decisive legislation that deals with adding new requirements to register to vote.
As we pulled out of Washington DC for the 119th Congress Lobbying trip, Nick LaLota was a co-sponsor on the H.R. 70 as well as H.R.1065 - Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025, two very important pieces of legislation for our Members. However, he has yet to co-sponsor the following important pieces of legislation: H.R.3011 - United States Postal Service Shipping Equity Act, which would allow the USPS to Ship tobacco and Alcohol, H.R.1522 - Federal Retirement Fairness Act which would allow non-career employees to buy back their no-career time and H.R.20 - Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025 to help protect our Union against the all out attack on Federal Unions. We have asked Nick to vote NO on the following unfair and damaging piece of legislation: H.R.491 - Equal COLA Act. Legislators should oppose this bill that would raise the annuity calculation from a high 3 average to a high 5 average, and raise the FERS contribution for current employees to 4.4%, change the FERS contribution to 9.4% and allow a new reduced FERS annuity for new hires in 2029 or allow the employees to agree to avoid paying into FERS, becoming at-will workers instead.
I strongly encourage you to contact your US Representatives and asked them co-sponsor and vote in H.R. 70, 1065, 3011, 1522 and 20 as well as Vote No on H.R.491.
Nick LaLota’s contact info is:
122 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-3826
and
Hauppauge District Office
515 Hauppauge Road, Suite 3B
Hauppauge, NY 11788
(631) 289-1097
Or call NALC headquarters Government Affairs Department at 202-662-2833.
If you want to have a greater influence on politics that impacts our livelihoods, then I refer you to VP Charlie Smith’s article.
God bless all of you that work so hard to serve your local communities.
