Thank you!
In January of 1986 I was fortunate enough to Start as a PTF Letter Carrier in the Port Washington NY Post Office. I was also very fortunate to have Shop Steward Larry Carter (and past branch officer) welcome me to the office as well as the union and Tudor me in the professionalism of being a letter carrier and the importance being a member of the NALC and unionism and the benefits it brought.
Most importantly I learned from Larry and my co-letter carriers in the Port Washington Post Office that the Union was just not one person but was each and every member brother and sister that belonged in the Association working together to bring better working conditions and benefits so that all of us could benefit by improving wages and contractual rights so that each of us could provide for safe working conditions and better living conditions for ourselves as well as our families. The process was never easy and lots of struggles with management endured both in the local office itself, locally at the Branch level and at the national level as well.
In 1987 after Larry was detailed to a union position outside the Port Washington Post Office and later as a fulltime officer in Branch 6000 I took over and was eventually elected Shop Steward in the Port Washington Post Office until I left to work as a Union DRT Representative in 2005 and later as a full Time Officer for Branch 6000 in 2009 till the present.
After 35 years as a NALC Member and Union Rep I have decided to retire and want to thank and express what an honor I considered it to be, to have had the opportunity to represent the Brother and Sister Letter Carriers that are the National Association of Letter Carriers.
First and foremost, as mentioned above I want to thank the Port Washington Letter Carriers for all their support from where it all started 35 years ago. I would also like to thank all the Branch 6000 Brothers and Sisters throughout both the Triboro and Long Island Districts Post Offices for there support and cooperation as well. Most the many Brother and Sister members in the Post offices I had the honor of representing over the years.
I would be remiss if I did not express a special thanks and appreciation for all the hard work that my Shop Stewards in those offices that I represented over the years that they performed. I would like to particularly thank Patricia McDermott (Long Beach) and Mike Donohue (Hewlett) for all their hard work over the years and express how proud I am of them not only as shop steward over the years but also as valuable members of the Ex Board of Branch 6000 as well. In addition Bill Rotunda (Merrick) and Sean Killeen (Islip) will be installed as members of the Ex Board this December (2020) and also note that I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to have had them serve as Shop Stewards in offices I was a Full Time Officer as well. Congratulations to both Bill and Sean on their Election to Trustee and the Branch Executive Board. All Four (Patricia, Mike, Bill and Sean) will continue to be valuable members on the Ex Board of Branch 6000 well into the future.
I would also like to express my appreciation to many of the National Officers (Too many to Mention) and members from other NALC Branches as well who I had the pleasure on many occasions not only to meet but to help and support me as well. This was true whether it was training sessions and educational ventures I was lucky enough to have been invited to or attended such as a National/State Convention or Rap Session.
I would also like to thank all the Past Branch Officers of the Ex Board of Branch 6000 that have served in their positions as well. Their support and knowledge throughout the years has been immensely helpful. I would like to further express to President Barton, the current Full Time Officers, and all the current members of the Ex Board of 6000 my great appreciation for their support over the years not only in the capacity as my responsibilities in the union but their support and friendship outside the job over the years as well.
No thanks could not be complete without mentioning the support and love of my two sons TJ and Matthew who never complained and were always understanding when I could not be at ballgames, school activities, parties or dinner due to union activities that took me away from evenings with the family or out of town for such events as meetings, conventions training etc. Special thanks to my beloved late wife Terry who without her the past 35 years never would have been possible because of her extraordinary understanding and sacrifices that the Job sometimes bought.
To the membership I would like to take this final point of privilege to stress how important it is for each of you to become involved and not take for granted that your jobs and benefits including your hard earned pensions will always be there. I would also like to express how important it is that despite some differences at times as a union, we all must come together and stop the petty bickering that divides us. Instead it should be noted that our energy should be more focused on insisting that management in the USPS do not violate your rights under the collective bargaining agreement and that each member not ignore the gains that the union has made over the years by giving those gains back to management such as but not limited to working off the clock. In addition be assured that the USPS and your jobs are also under attack by political forces that have no concern for the jobs, your family, the collective bargaining process or the Service you and the Postal Service do for the American Public. Please become educated and aware about those adversaries who have no concern for you as workers. Please get involved with the Letter Carrier Political Fund. The job and future you save may be yours!
To underscore my point how important it is that each Brother and Sister become involved in the importance of their future by getting involved with the NALC and the letter Carrier Political Fund, I am reminded of a quote from a speech that Martin Luther King JR, gave to the state convention of the Illinois, AFL-CIO in October of 1965. where he stated the following:
The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress. Out of its bold struggles, economic and social reform gave birth to unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, government relief for the destitute and, above all, new wage levels that meant not mere survival but a tolerable life. The captains of industry did not lead this transformation; they resisted it until they were overcome. When in the thirties the wave of union organization crested over the nation, it carried to secure shores not only itself but the whole society.
Over half a century later Martin Luther King, JR quote from his speech stated above holds as much relevance now if not more now than it did back in 1965.
Thanks Again so much! God Bless each and every one!
