President's Message

August 18, 2006
Charles Mapa, President

Greetings Fellow Postmasters and LEAGUE Members

Hitting the Ground Running

National Convention has come and gone, and a new League year has begun. After the Convention, my wife, Gwenda, and I rushed home, packed feverish for 10 days straight, I transitioned Shelley Willsmore into my Post Office as OIC, and finally hit the road on my way to Washington, DC. As your new National President, my work actually began at the National Convention. I was laying the groundwork for the appointment of a new National Editor, receiving advice and recommendations on the appointment of Standing Committee members and chairs, meeting with involved leaders on the PRO process, huddling with the Membership Committee to discuss membership strategies for the League, and getting together with the new National Board to begin planning the future of our organization. It would be accurate to say that we have hit the ground running!

I have planned trips to both the NAPUS and NARFE conventions. We, (Gwenda and I) will arrive in Washington, DC Saturday morning after traveling on the redeye from the West coast. Past President Steve, who has been holding down the fort in my absence, (after all, who would know better how to hold down the fort!) will meet us at the airport. Next week, Steve and I will meet with key Postal Headquarters leaders and the leaders of some of the postal unions and management associations. We will meet with Postmaster General Jack Potter on Thursday. We know how important it is to continue to nurture the great working relationships that we have developed over the years. The Postal union contracts are all up this month, and they will soon start negotiating new contracts. The management associations will follow soon thereafter with our own pay consultations. I feel confident that we will be united in our efforts, and come through with a good pay package for postal managers. The Work Service Credit saga continues; we have offered Postal Headquarters what we feel is a fair and workable counter to the proposal last offered us by Headquarters. It is our hope that we will soon be able to settle on an agreement that is a good thing for all Postmasters.

Another very important issue that we are working diligently on is the Post Office Resource Optimization (PRO) process that has been vigorously pushed out in the Appalachian District. The process, (supposedly a pilot program) as presented by the Eastern Area, and the actual implementation are apparently two different animals. Some managers appear to have turned it into a no-holds-barred, free-for-all that rides rough-shod over Postal policy and maybe even federal law. (For more information on the process, read Cathy Sharkady’s fine article in the July/August Advocate).

--Charles Mapa, LEAGUE President