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First Timers Stories and What does inaction cause? · United We Scan

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Welcome to the United We Scan Podcast, the podcast by rural
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Thank you. Now here are the hosts of the
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United We Scan podcast. And welcome back everybody,
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Episode 89. Well, we're going to cover a few
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things tonight. First of all, we have do have
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some first timer stories. I got 3 emails in and I know
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Toasty's back with us so he can give us his first timers
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experience as well the National Convention.
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And then we've got a pretty interesting topic after that,
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what does inaction cause we're kind of going to talk about what
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happens when you're just in place it.
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So on that note, how was your week Toasty?
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Well I guess I'll start off right after convention.
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I had a first world problem of getting stuck in Vegas for 24
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hours because of a misconnected flight so I had to walk around
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find a hotel to stay in there for the night.
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Unfortunately, due to it not being the airline's fault that
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we were late, it was a medical emergency upfront.
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They wouldn't do a hotel so but went ahead 24 hours in Vegas and
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then flew out the next day. They rebooked me for free, came
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into obviously the Monday holiday, spent some time with
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the kids make up day to go ahead and make sure that we can get
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everything in, celebrate everything that we need to
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celebrate. Finished up count or mini mail
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survey. Sorry, just so used to calling
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it count and everything looked fine to me.
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Everything was about average, nothing out of the ordinary,
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nothing too crazy even afterwards.
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I know a lot of people said that have experienced in their own
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right that they had a big influx after a mini mail survey was
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completed. Ours has been steady all the way
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through. I think they understand that
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it's not even the mini mill survey that really catches a lot
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of this. It's going to be automated for
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the most part. So still waiting.
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I got two more weeks until we find out what all of our routes
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are. Hopefully we get back up to 15 K
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routes in my office so we can post those two PTF positions for
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the RC AS. Other than that, James, how was
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your week? Well, lots of political Flyers.
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Our state is a swing state according to the national news
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networks, and so I was delivering 234 ads per candidate
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this past week. Every single day.
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A minimum was 2 per candidate, and Friday was a bear.
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Friday felt like a day after a holiday in terms of volume for
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my route and it was long, arduous.
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It was hot. We're stuck in a heat shield
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right now of high pressure not allowing any rain or storms in.
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So it was sunny and hot. Been trying to see the auroras
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all week. They've been off and on in the
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area and of course every time they're on I'm sleeping.
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I guess I shouldn't sleep then. I'd probably be able to see
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them. But other than that, just pretty
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much getting ready for another week at work.
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Our mini mail survey numbers from the week came back and
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there were a couple of days I was in the high triple digits
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for the mini mail survey with the sub running the route.
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Found out that our DPS came in, messed up one day, didn't come
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in another day so they had to count the smaller tray for
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another day. So it was going to be a good
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help on my 6%. If that means I go up an hour or
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two I'd love it. But trending wise I'd probably
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go down to AJ route at this point.
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Hopefully I'm carrying fingers crossed.
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My package numbers have been higher every week.
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I've been keeping track of that myself so hopefully they'll go
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up when we find out in two weeks.
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But how about you, Bill? Well, thank God for political
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mail or, you know, probably a third of my customers wouldn't
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get any mail. It's ridiculous the amount of
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political mail we're getting into EPS with those oversized
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postcards filling the, the trays with.
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And I just love the way they stick together.
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It's just they're, they're magnetically attracted to each
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other. It's, you know, but other than
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that, I mean, the, the mail flow itself is, is average.
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The parcels are up and down day-to-day.
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One day, you know, it's I, I got 120 the next day I've got 220.
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It, it doesn't make any sense. But with the mini mail survey
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all said and done, it's funny that our district manager
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instructed by district headquarters to re measure a
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walking distance to our parcels. Yeah, our first hamper and the
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bullpen because they don't believe the distances that we're
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traveling inside the building, though they were remeasuring
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them and they got caught by a couple carriers.
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Is that well supposed to be doing this with you?
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And I said, well, we're just verifying the numbers.
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It's because they can't believe that we actually travel over
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1000 feet. It hit two hampers inside the
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building. Well, the building's a couple
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freaking football fields, folks. I mean, give me a break.
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And on Saturday, yeah, I I was off, it's my drop day.
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And they announced that the second trip for hampers is not
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being allowed. So if you needed a second hamper
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that they handle your workload, you were not getting credit for
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that distance district decide. I think it's, it's item 10 on
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the mini mail survey that they weren't going to allow that
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anymore. Of course, that'll be grieved
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automatically tomorrow. Other than that, I mean, you
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know, we, we really, we're everybody's stuck at A45K and
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above in my office. That's without the footage being
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added to our routes. So I expect almost every route
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in our office to be overburdened after this mini mail survey.
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That's how much footage we we walk every day.
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Like I said, I do 3 1/2 miles every day in that office.
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That's how big it is. Should I give you my bombshell
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now? Go for it.
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As of September 27th, 2024, William Bill may no longer be
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working at the United States Postal Service.
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Happy retirement. Congratulations.
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I decided that, you know, after this last convention, I was
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questioning whether to do it or not.
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We made some changes on the national board.
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I don't think it's the message, I think it's the messenger.
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And I feel that it would be only appropriate to remove myself
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from consideration because of the fact that too many people
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have blinders on. And and frankly, you know, like
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I said, I could have retired four years ago.
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And I just don't see the effort it whatsoever to to go any
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further in the career because I'm so sick out of the union.
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I'm so sick and tired of management.
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I'm just, you know, tired, tired of fighting the fight and that
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it wouldn't be so bad if we could fight the fight and have a
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chance to win. But when your own union doesn't
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support you and that's with, you know, the past, you know, people
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on the board and the district level people who are trying to
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screw you over for a buck here and there, I'm done.
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I, you know, I, I've been doing this for 26 years and it's time
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for somebody else to pick up the, the gauntlet and put forth
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a better face. So like I said, this past this
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past convention, it like it wasn't the message.
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I believe it's the messenger and I'm I'm too controversial
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individual to promote, you know, our agenda.
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I mean, I'll be here to support you.
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I'll, I'll still be involved with my local and everything,
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but I've got my letter to give my supervisor tomorrow.
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And yeah, she's, she's going to fit.
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But guess what? You know, I'm, I'm done.
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I'm, I'm stepping aside to let other people, you know, step up.
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Hopefully I'll continue to, to, you know, encourage people to
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step up locally on the state level and the national level.
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I, I do not, you know, plan to abandon anybody.
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I'm still here for them. I just won't be going to work.
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You'll be doing it from home instead of at the office.
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Right, 100%. Congratulations Bill, Well
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deserved. You worked your butt off for
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that and you deserve every little bit of it.
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And you can still be a delegate. Yes, I can.
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I I I want to be able to go to the convention so I can see my
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friends once a year on the on the union dime.
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Well, we'll be happy to see you in the year ourselves.
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Matter of fact, I might actually bring my wife this year so we
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can go to Epcot Center and hit the French bakery there because
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they have a Napoleon that is to kill for.
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I'm bringing the whole family to Orlando next year.
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So there you go, I've got Ruby and Little Man will be
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celebrating his 1st birthday on Wednesday of the convention
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banquet birthday party. I don't know, we'll see.
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And Sophia says she's wants to come with us, and Eric said he
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wants to go as well. And more breaking news, the
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podcast has created another local steward.
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Yay. AM good for us.
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Well, Bill, we wish you well in retirement.
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We really. Do I, you know, I, I, I, I first
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saw that coming, just not exactly when.
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But no, we we do wish you well in retirement.
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I mean, you have to realize that the situation we're in, in this
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new SDNC and frankly, I'm concerned about every carrier
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out of Westchester traveling a major highway during the winter.
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It's just we're nine trucks down.
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We have 18 rural routes and we're nine trucks down.
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Every day we're we're juggling, you know, vehicles.
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And it's just, it's ridiculous. And then, you know, they have
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the district management come in here and, oh, you can't be
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walking that much distance. But you don't mean trust your
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own management on the distances that we've walked with them
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right over our shoulder. Are you that that's fucking
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greedy that you're trying to bleed us?
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Yeah. Well, the answer is yes, it is.
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Yeah, the the same way, you know, like I said that with the
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second hamper situation, I don't, I don't use a second
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hamper. I I use one to out the load, get
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back and then reload it and go back out.
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But other people don't, you know, because they don't have
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the area right, you know, accessible to them to be able to
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work, you know, so they they need to be able to have a second
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hamper. And this is just, jeez, you
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know, I, I, I talked to the gentleman last night, Kristen
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from North Carolina, and he turned around and he did a
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Google Earth of the facility that I'm at.
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Yeah. And and he only said 2 words.
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Gosh, yeah. Sounds about right.
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And and he, he's going into an SDC, I said, well, that is yours
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biggest ours. And he goes, oh, no, hell no.
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He says, like we're we're like a pup to a Dalmatian.
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You know that that's how big ours is and you know it.
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It's to me, the the grind. It is a bit much on, you know,
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everybody. I mean, I've got people looking
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get out of the union if the contract turns out to be a a
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shitstorm. I've got people looking to get
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out of the post office because where we're at and read it.
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I mean, you know, they have no respect what's whatsoever for
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for their employees. And, and it's, you know, it's
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disheartening and I've been fighting it for years and years
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and years. And then, you know, to get moved
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up to this new SDC now, now you have a, a whole brand new group
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of ignoramuses that you got to fight.
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And it's like, OK, you know, I don't need this.
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But like I said, I'll still be here to support, you know, the
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podcast, my local and my state and everything, you know, and
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you know, five years from now, you won't see me at a National
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Convention. Like I said, it's time for other
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people to step up. And that's what I'm going to do.
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I'm going to work to encourage people to get involved, step up,
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stay in the union and and fight it from the inside because it's
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the only place you can fight it. That's very true, very, very
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true. And we respect that decision
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totally. All right, so, so my, so my week
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now that we got that bombshell from Bill, my week was well, I
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worked Monday through Friday and it wasn't too bad.
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It was heavy all week. Like James said, we are in a
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swing state. So lots of political, lots and
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lots of political. If I didn't have political I
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don't think I'd have even 1/4 of the DPS that I had this week.
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So Thursday all of our DPS came in non linear so I ended up with
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15 inches of mail that had to be cased.
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That was fun with a box holder on top of it.
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So Thursday was my day of never ending ick for the most part.
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I only had 80 packages but mail was horrible so.
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But other than that my week wasn't too bad.
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Ruby went back to work Saturday so I I got to to babysit the
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grand baby for a few hours Saturday and for a couple hours
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today. He went on a road trip with me
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to take Sophia back to her dad. So Yep, been spending time with
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the baby when I haven't been working and getting stuff done.
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And next Sunday might be a little interesting because I
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finally was able to get the upgraded computer components
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that I wanted ordered and they will be in this week and we'll
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be rocking and rolling next Sunday on all new equipment.
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So including sound effects and whatever have you that I feel
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like playing with. It'll be fun.
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But other than that, not a whole lot going on on my end.
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Just, you know, getting those baby snuggles and where I can.
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So we are going to start off with I got 3 emails from three
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of our listeners on their first time experience at National
16:51
Convention. I'm going to read them in the
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order we receive them. I'm not going to edit them other
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than leaving out names and locations.
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That's it. So if they're slinging mud, it's
17:03
somebody they're slinging mud. If they're say happy and joy
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joy, it's happy, joy joy unedited except for names and
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locations. So for our first one, my first
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National Convention, I understand if this is not used
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as I'll say what I saw and heard.
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It's not all positive for the podcast crew.
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Hopefully it'll help in the future.
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We respect that. 100% said hey all.
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First off, I've been to at least 15 state conventions, multiple
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boosters in most district meetings.
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My state convention is well represented, yet currently no
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voting. Needed to be a state delegate.
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Self nomination gets you in. The National Convention is very
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well organized. I was notified late as a paid
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alternate delegate. Deadline for the hotel's group
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rate had passed and we ended up at an Airbnb.
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A 9 minute walk to the pepper mill for 80 bucks a night.
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Hey, that's not a bad deal. We did not know our way around
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the hotel and the hotel staff gave misleading directions to.
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We ended up going to the back door of the registration room.
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We were told to go around the front, which was closer to the
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stairs, escalators that we were directed away from by hotel
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staff, a long hallway down and back, and we found it.
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During convention, you have to check in with your state morning
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after lunch and at caucus. If you're not there, you're not
18:24
getting paid. Everything was very similar to
18:28
state with the exceptions of hearing Dejoy speak.
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Nothing real informative with his speech either.
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I wonder why we endure that year after year.
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Likely for political reasons. He's our employer and we are in
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negotiations. Caucus night was new for me and
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not done in state. We oh they don't do it at their
18:49
state. We had a room to ourselves and
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some states shared a room. I think there were 11 rooms
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total and each candidate would visit and talk for 15 minutes.
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We had 15 or 16 candidates so that's about four plus hours
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added to our day. Every candidate talked about
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harassment issues, hiring and retention.
19:08
Bill May was asked if he had the support of his state board and
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his response was sure, which translate to maybe one or two
19:14
members may have supported him. The person asking seemed to
19:18
already know the answer, it's why they asked.
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I wish she had reminded the group what Don Manson had said
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after the first mini mail survey.
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Quotations carriers have had it too good for too long.
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To me that was Don's worst statement to make.
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Kristen was asked about decertification from her steward
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role in the podcast. She did OK with owning up to the
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podcast. Would have liked to hear more of
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why she went the direction she did.
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I know it was to help more people, especially with
19:48
navigating wrecks. Jake was asked about his
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involvement with the podcast and he acted like he wasn't involved
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and wasn't ready for the subsequent questioning regarding
19:56
it. I'm sure he was trying to
19:58
protect himself while awaiting steward certification.
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James was the only candidate that didn't talk with the group.
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He read for the 15 minutes he needed to maybe have bullet
20:08
points or engage more with the people there.
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He read word for word what he had prepared.
20:15
Overall, the podcast members, though very knowledgeable, lack
20:17
the experience maturity that is needed.
20:20
They all get there in time. They'll they'll get there in
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time. There are many members to the
20:25
podcast and Facebook group. However, just because we're
20:28
members doesn't mean we wouldn't vote for the best candidate.
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Getting through the almost 400 resolutions seem like a daunting
20:35
task, but we got through it well, mainly because we
20:38
continued working while votes for candidates were being
20:41
counted. Each round of voting took about
20:43
50 minutes, with eight people going for one position and the
20:47
bottom 2 dropping out after each round.
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This took time. That time was widely used to
20:52
continue with the resolutions. If you decide to go to state or
20:56
National Convention, realize that there is a lot of work
20:58
involved in some very long hours.
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Plan a day or two after convention to actually relax and
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enjoy what the area has to offer.
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All right, that was #1 and now on to #2.
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Hey guys, First I want to say that it was awesome hanging out
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with all you guys. You all are the best.
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I missed you guys already, especially my roomies.
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We had so much fun and I can't wait till we can hang out again
21:28
for the experience. Overall I had a lot of fun
21:31
meeting people from all over the country and making some new
21:33
friends. Since I was an alternate
21:36
delegate I thought the first couple days I would have more
21:39
free time to take in the area, maybe do some gambling.
21:42
That was not the case. I felt like it was a non-stop
21:45
things to do all week so Needless to say I was exhausted
21:48
by the end of the week. The night I got home I slept 14
21:52
hours straight and I never sleep that long.
21:55
I've been to my states convention, so I had an idea on
21:57
procedures. So the actual process of the
22:00
convention once business started wasn't too big of a surprise.
22:04
It was definitely a much bigger scale.
22:07
There were definitely more. There was definitely some
22:10
shenanigans going on leading up to nominations, which I thought
22:14
was caddy and unnecessary. But the people that I talked to
22:17
that have been going to National for a long time seemed like they
22:21
heard all the bad about the nominees from the podcast and
22:24
had their minds made-up after caucus night.
22:27
Those same people seem to have different opinion, but they were
22:30
nervous that they didn't have the experience of having state
22:33
board positions and such, but they were understanding about
22:36
the need for change. My state was very welcomed,
22:39
welcoming to me personally and appreciate the fact I paid my
22:42
own way to go all the way out there.
22:45
I had the opportunity to actually have a sit down
22:47
conversation with my ADR and learned so much.
22:51
I don't think I would really have that opportunity back at
22:54
home with all the craziness that goes along with being a local
22:57
steward and just life in general.
23:00
I also got to have conversations with my recently retired ADR and
23:04
some of my state board members. I went out there with the
23:07
intention of networking with people that could help me move
23:10
up in the union on the steward side of things and I feel like I
23:12
accomplished that. I got some very sound and clear
23:16
advice on the steps I need to take to get where I want to go.
23:20
I was surprised at the end of everything.
23:22
My state president made it a point to come up to me and tell
23:25
me he appreciated me coming and how he he is excited about new
23:29
people getting involved because in his words, we're not going to
23:33
be around forever. That told me that he is not
23:37
afraid for the new generation to take over.
23:40
So that made me very proud of my state, especially considering
23:43
what I heard about things other people were being told from
23:45
their states. All that being said, I could
23:48
tell that there was a good old boys club.
23:51
But the way I look at it is that they had to start somewhere.
23:54
Whenever they were coming up, they were the change to and the
23:58
people before them didn't want to vote them in.
24:01
The more I process all of it, it does make sense to me.
24:04
The old timers don't want to vote people in that they don't
24:07
know and it takes time to build that trust.
24:10
So yes, technically you don't have to work up the ranks, but I
24:13
understand that's how you build the trust of the body.
24:16
I respect the hell all the people that ran for any position
24:19
because I don't think I could put myself out there like that.
24:22
I just hope that the body holds the board more accountable since
24:25
from what I was hearing, they liked a lot of the ideas that
24:28
the candidates from the liked a lot of the ideas that the
24:32
candidates from the podcast had. They just didn't like the fact
24:37
that non deuce paying members had access to certain
24:40
information. So buckle up everybody, this is
24:42
just the beginning. I can't wait until next year.
24:45
Much love to you guys and keep on keeping on.
24:49
PS Let's not forget that A9 non binding resolution was passed
24:53
saying the union should have a podcast.
24:55
I still think that's hilarious. And I got and I got one more.
25:08
The biggest irony was the union president calling people scabs
25:11
one day and the next day telling us not to call each other names.
25:18
The first timer meeting was really good and I appreciated
25:20
getting the CHEAT SHEET for Robert's Rules of Order.
25:23
I enjoyed getting to hang out with all my United We Scan
25:27
podcast listeners. I know that I'm going to the
25:29
next convention in that during my state convention, I'll pay
25:32
more attention to resolutions at PASSA at state.
25:35
This year was also my first time at state and take notes so that
25:39
if when at national people have questions about a resolution and
25:43
the maker is not there, I can speak on it in their behalf.
25:46
I would also like to say that the members of my state
25:49
delegation were extremely helpful in answering any and all
25:52
questions I had during the proceedings, even going as far
25:55
as to offer to suspend the rules so that I could speak some I as
26:00
I was a non delegate. As of right now I have 10
26:03
resolutions I'm working on for next year.
26:05
Continue to work and be the change you want to see.
26:09
Thank you guys. We appreciate it all.
26:11
And hey, you know, I take all criticism constructively.
26:14
So like I said, we wanted to hear the good, the bad, the
26:18
ugly, the funny, everything. And we appreciate the three of
26:21
you that submitted those in. Jake, do you want to give us a
26:26
little highlight of what it was like for you as a first timer?
26:31
Sure, absolutely. So it was set up very much like
26:34
state convention. So if you go to state
26:36
convention, it's going to be the same type of format.
26:38
You know, first day they're going to have all the pump and
26:42
circumstance, the introductions, you know, the laying out of the
26:44
rules, the the sponsors. So like the insurance companies,
26:52
CBS, you know, all those, you know, type of deals to go ahead
26:56
and like, hey, here's for retirement, here's for OWCP,
26:58
here's all these things. And then the next day is when
27:01
you start getting into, you know, the nominations, you start
27:04
getting into the constitution changes.
27:08
You know, they try to get you as much information as possible
27:10
before, you know, having to vote on those things.
27:14
So they usually give you the printouts the day before.
27:16
So that way, you know, we have meetings set up with everyone.
27:20
I was, you know, hanging out with Kristen and then another,
27:23
you know, little group that we were going over those
27:26
resolutions we were looking at, you know, every single one
27:28
saying, hey, you know, I'll let the gavel hit on this one.
27:30
This one. Oh, I definitely disagree with
27:32
this one. We need to object this one, you
27:34
know, going through that whole list, it's a lot of work.
27:37
It is a ton of work. It's not just, you know, oh,
27:40
we're going to go hang out and, you know, playing the casino or,
27:44
you know, next year is in Florida, you know, oh, go, you
27:47
know, half day Disney World and then half day there.
27:49
No, you're working from, you know, 9830 in the morning when
27:54
the gavel hits to until we're done with business at five,
27:58
6:00. And then you got banquet, you've
28:01
got the seminars. If you want to try to make
28:03
those, especially for those getting close to retirement and
28:08
especially now that we're going about to have those changes
28:10
going from federal employee benefit plan to postal employee
28:14
benefit plan, it's going to be a little bit of a change.
28:17
So you want more information, You can go to those things.
28:20
They have those, you know, set up for convention.
28:23
So that way you can get that information.
28:25
We also participated in the rally on what was a Monday night
28:30
or Tuesday night, Monday night, Monday night, OK, on Monday
28:34
night for the Protector Letter Carriers Act.
28:39
I've tried getting a hold of my representative and I have not
28:42
received anything back unfortunately.
28:45
So I haven't got any e-mail. I've called, they said that OK,
28:48
we'll go ahead and get your information and we'll he'll send
28:50
you a letter back or you know, some information back and
28:53
nothing yet. So not sure what's going on
28:56
there, but you know, just trying to get that information out
29:00
there and having that news crew that was there, everyone coming
29:05
out together, not only rule letter carriers, but also the
29:08
local mail handlers, clerks and city carriers that were there
29:13
too and support as well. They were actually able to, you
29:17
know, change the vote of one of the Nevada representatives.
29:21
So it was nice to see that. Nice to see that, you know, you,
29:25
we can get changed, but we got to get loud, we got to be proud
29:28
and we got to go ahead and start making some moves.
29:32
But other than that, as far as convention goes, I'm I was very
29:37
pleased with it, you know, meeting a lot of new people
29:39
going through that caucus night. I do apologize to the one state
29:44
that I went ahead and denied after that.
29:45
I was like, you know, it's not going to be worth it to keep
29:47
denying or what not. I just owned it up and from
29:51
there on out and is basically about my experience, which I've,
29:54
I've been sharing on here when it comes to RRO, when it comes
29:57
to the mini mill survey, when it comes to whatever is going on in
29:59
my district, the new flavor of the week that they're wanting to
30:02
enforce. So I went ahead and just, you
30:06
know, owned it on from there on out, but got a lot of great
30:09
feedback from, you know, everyone saying like, hey, you
30:12
know, we do like you, you know, we like your ideas, but we that
30:15
experience is definitely something that, you know,
30:18
everyone wants to see. Everyone wants to see that
30:19
you've had experience administratively handling the
30:23
paperwork, handling grievances takes years and years to build
30:26
up a repertoire of, you know, cases that you've been able to
30:30
fight. So that way you when somebody's
30:32
job is on the line, you have all that information in your back
30:35
pocket already because you've been doing it for years.
30:37
So I understand that completely. And I'll be, I'll be back.
30:41
I want to try to go ahead and get all that experience that
30:44
they're wanting to see. And that is something that is
30:45
important. Absolutely, But one of the
30:48
things that we can also rely on is, you know, the help of our
30:51
fellow NR OS, those that are been been there for years and
30:54
been doing it for a while, you know, leaning on them, getting
30:57
the information from them and being able to adapt it into your
31:01
sort of style as well. So I know for sure I'll be back
31:05
next year. I'm going to try to bring the
31:06
whole family as well to Orlando if we can.
31:10
Unfortunately, in Texas we do start school kind of early,
31:13
usually the first week of August.
31:14
So see how it works out with school.
31:18
If there's a way we can go ahead and, you know, do a week of, you
31:21
know, having them there and having them to do the junior's
31:23
thing. If not, maybe grandma and
31:25
grandpa will help us out. But other than that, I had a
31:30
great time. Good to hear.
31:33
And Sosi's right in regards to the building your repertoire,
31:37
state associations and everything.
31:41
Unfortunately, I built my repertoire outside the post
31:43
office and I guess that doesn't count for much.
31:47
But the problem, problem with, you know, the, the people who
31:50
have worked their way up is they've worked their way up
31:53
through political connections and not through meaningful
31:56
actions on their own parts. And that's, that's, I think
31:59
that's our biggest gripe is the fact that you've gone through
32:03
all this, you've worked your way up the ladder.
32:05
You're, you're at the top of the, your, your career, your
32:08
pinnacle. What have you accomplished for
32:12
us What what what have you markedly been able to point out
32:18
as you're, you know, the epitome of your service to the craft.
32:22
And that's the problem. You know, you work your way
32:24
through the the whole system. We still got nothing for all
32:28
that experience And and that's the you know, that's run of it
32:33
is that you've got this experience.
32:35
You've done nothing for us and you know, in in case current
32:39
president, you know, we, we've, we turned around and we've been
32:43
on a route 320 miles away so we can bump our high threes in the
32:47
post office. We've taken our family to
32:49
vacation in the wall on miles paid by the union.
32:53
And the, you know, the individual purchases at these
32:56
homes that we've seen over the years is just it's egregious
33:01
that you're not doing this for the craft, you're not doing this
33:03
for the carriers. This is all self entitlement,
33:07
and that's the problem with working your way up there is
33:09
that you get so comfortable that you forget why you're there.
33:14
You know, you, you talk about people needing experience,
33:18
needing these skills, needing this, needing that.
33:22
The thing about it is the skills that are needed for those
33:26
positions can be trained in other businesses.
33:31
It doesn't have to come to the post office, just like they're
33:34
hiring supervisors off the street that have no clue what's
33:37
going on in the Postal Service and are just willing to follow
33:40
the direction of the manager that's above them.
33:43
You know, the thing about it is not everybody can deliver mail.
33:48
We see it every day on the street.
33:50
Subs come in, can't handle it, quit or some of them get fired.
33:55
You know, the stress of this job is a lot higher than any other
33:59
job out there in society. Not only do we have the risk of
34:05
management coming down on us for small, insignificant things that
34:09
was talked about earlier in this episode, we have people on the
34:12
street literally pointing guns at us just to steal a key that
34:17
we carry with us. In some instances, some people
34:20
don't carry them, but they're robbing us in broad daylight on
34:26
the street. Now I, I understand that you
34:30
have to be able to negotiate, you have to be able to
34:33
communicate, you have to be able to do specific things.
34:37
But I would love, love to see anybody up there on the national
34:42
board that has been in that office for multiple years come
34:48
down here and do our job for a week.
34:51
I'd love to see them come do it my last week that I just had
34:54
with all the political Flyers. See how they handle it, because
34:58
yes, they are rural carriers, but I guarantee you Mr. Mastin
35:04
has not touched mail in over a decade, doesn't know how to use
35:08
a scanner like a carrier does on the street.
35:11
He'll be fumbling through all the little menus and things like
35:14
that to find the thing he's looking for.
35:16
The thing about it is, if you do it the same way every time and
35:21
expect different results, what is that?
35:25
Insanity. All right, James.
35:29
Yes, yes, we got it. All right, so we're going to
35:32
move on to the second portion of tonight's episode.
35:37
What does inaction cause? Go ahead, James.
35:42
I'll let you take. The let me preface this first.
35:48
So there are multiple different ways you can have inaction.
35:53
You can have inaction on carriers working for the union,
35:59
getting the union participation and stuff like that.
36:02
You can have inaction with the national leadership.
36:06
You can have inaction by getting rid of the union, which is the
36:12
worst thing you could ever do, or just straight on in that
36:17
term. Complacency.
36:20
Oh, we're complacent with what's going on because we're afraid
36:24
that if we do something different, it'll be
36:27
catastrophic. We're afraid to make that
36:29
change. We're afraid to make a decision
36:34
at the risk of making things better because we're afraid that
36:38
it may make things worse. So we're going to start this off
36:43
complacency of national leadership.
36:48
We're going to start off with a bang on this one, and I'm going
36:51
to start with you, Bill. I want you to tell me the
36:55
dangers of complacency of our national leadership.
37:02
Oh, God, you know, then this goes back to working your way up
37:10
to the system, the good old boys club and everything else.
37:14
It, it's, it's funny because when I brought up the fact that
37:17
Don's route is, you know, 320 miles away, somebody came back
37:22
and said to me, so well, he felt sorry for his, you know, near
37:26
his home because, you know, he was keeping them from becoming a
37:29
career carrier. So that's why he been on a route
37:32
320 miles away. And I said, well, that's
37:35
unanimous of them. I said, but if you believe that
37:37
bullshit, I got some oceanfront property in Kansas for you.
37:42
He did it for the high threes as well as several DRS that I know
37:46
of did bid on routes that were overburdened because they didn't
37:52
anticipate going back to them. And Don also said that it wasn't
37:58
fair, you know, that he would be on the national board for years
38:01
to come. Well, how do you know that?
38:04
How do you, how do you forecast that you're going to be on the
38:06
national board for years unless there is a cyst in place to just
38:11
walk you up the chairs until you get to the highest position?
38:16
And the complacency in, in this situation is that this is, this
38:21
is how you pay your dues. No, you pay your dues by working
38:26
your ass off for the crap and the complacency of you know,
38:31
whether it's our NSS, our state officers, the retirees, whoever
38:35
and and and whatever you know, your title is, this is the way
38:41
it works. That complacency thing is what's
38:43
holding us back. There are a ton of people out
38:47
there with great ideas. There's there are people out
38:49
there. The shit load of experience
38:52
outside the post office as well as inside the post office
38:55
deserve the opportunity. But the complacency of those
39:00
individuals is that why, why fight the tide?
39:04
You can't win. And, you know, this election,
39:07
you know, we did have changes still shows that it's in place.
39:11
You you can't fight the good old boys club.
39:15
And the complacency gives makes people just, you know, wave
39:19
their hands and surrender and say we'll just go with the flow.
39:23
We're we're sheep. Just tell us where to go.
39:26
And, and that, that type of complacency is abound in, in the
39:31
past 15 years of our, our union at the national level, because
39:36
it has been you, you've watched everybody from Jeanette, Ronnie
39:40
and Don just, you know, move up a seat, move up a seat, move up
39:44
a seat every 3-4 years. Why?
39:46
Because that's what's expected. That's what they anticipate.
39:51
And it's hard for me to fathom that, you know, we get up there,
39:55
it was like the one individual said, I don't see how you stand
39:58
up in front of a, you know, 1200 people.
40:00
Oh. Who care enough about the craft.
40:03
It's easy to get up there and, and, and speak your mind and
40:06
speak your heart. The problem of it is, is that
40:09
there's much more place in individuals through the
40:14
delegates, you know, at the National Convention.
40:17
It just, you know, they, they, they don't, they don't want to,
40:19
you know, rock the boat. They, they don't want to, you
40:21
know, built the cart, whatever you want to call it.
40:25
And they're just happy to go along with status quo.
40:29
Status quo doesn't help the craft and it would never will.
40:34
No, I'm not coming back next year.
40:38
As far as the National Board, the, the, the complacency is,
40:42
you know, basically on the delegates.
40:46
And, you know, like I said, the, the National Board expects to be
40:49
able to promote themselves right up the ladder.
40:54
That's got to change. And I think we've made a change
40:56
this year. Kristen, your thoughts?
41:02
I have thoughts, I do. Bill took a lot of them.
41:08
Yes, he, he, he did. And no, I, I, I think it, it's
41:14
not necessarily inaction, but it's perceived as inaction when
41:20
we don't see the action. We we read the words, we hear
41:26
the words, but we're not seeing the action.
41:31
And I think that also has a part of some leaning towards the
41:39
inaction of things as well, because, you know, we don't see
41:43
the action, we don't hear about the actual action.
41:47
We hear everything around it but the actual action.
41:55
But yeah, that's really all I have off the top of my head
41:59
without really thinking, thinking.
42:01
And Bill covered quite a bit of it.
42:03
Yeah, anything, Dad, Go ahead. Let.
42:08
Me just throw it in like like like Kristen said there, you
42:12
know, it's the in action because we don't see anything.
42:15
We don't hear anything. We're not giving any information
42:18
about the contract. We're not giving, you know, come
42:21
on folks, it it's been, you know, 12 years since the
42:26
inception of Rex and we still don't have transparency.
42:30
That's the inaction. We're not.
42:31
We're not seeing anything on our behalf.
42:36
We still have, we still have offices where carriers haven't
42:41
mapped since the first initial mapping and they just get one
42:44
excuse after another and and grievances aren't going anywhere
42:49
when they are filed. That's the inaction we're
42:53
talking about. All right, all.
42:57
Right. Also the, the lack of
42:59
communication like I've been on here, you know, letting you all
43:01
know, hey, during the optimization, it doesn't
43:04
recognize vacant addresses. You know, we, we should be, you
43:08
know, our, our board should be raising the bell saying, hey,
43:11
just so you know, whenever you go through optimization, here's
43:14
what to look for. Make sure that your bacon boxes
43:16
are in the correct order. Make sure you know this and
43:19
that, that your CB us haven't been ungrouped.
43:22
They should be the ones shouting from the rooftops like, hey,
43:25
here's what we're seeing. You know, even though the post
43:28
office says it's just a pilot program, this is what's
43:30
happening to a few individuals. We're working, you know, talking
43:33
with them about, you know, fixing this.
43:35
But for right now, make sure you look for this.
43:37
We need that communication because it's going to affect
43:40
you. It's going to affect the Rcas
43:42
who try to move into these new routes who may not know how to
43:45
do their edit book, you know, So here you look at your edit book.
43:49
Here's how to do this. Here's, you know, some basic
43:51
training on your edit book. Here's some basic training on
43:53
what to look for when it comes to your 4241 M and your A there
43:57
they have the CHEAT SHEET, but they don't go into detail about
44:01
it. A lot of people don't understand
44:03
this 99 page guide, you know, as well as somebody who's been in
44:07
programming for somebody who's done, you know, some other type
44:10
of administrative or programming type of deal to say, hey, here's
44:14
why. You know, it may look like it's
44:17
only half a second for a stop sign, but it's actually 3
44:19
seconds per stop sign. You know, here's why.
44:22
But there's that, that communication.
44:24
We need that, we need that transparency.
44:26
We need to be educated, to be empowered.
44:28
We need crystal clear communication to restore the
44:32
hope that, you know, has caused a lot of people to leave the
44:35
union or to pull their dues or to retire early.
44:38
You know, we we need to recruit those thousand members that we
44:42
lost back. Very, very good points guys.
44:45
I I agree with each and every one of them.
44:48
And you're right, it's the biggest problem we have is
44:54
actually true complacency. From what we've seen from the
44:59
national board and as was said in the 1st timer e-mail,
45:03
statements like rural carriers have had it too good for too
45:07
long. Accepting 240 people pulling
45:12
their dues from a four state area and calling them scabs is
45:19
complacency. You're complacent with people
45:22
pulling their dues from the union.
45:26
This is all straight, just the president, just the president
45:31
complacent with the things as they are going instead of
45:35
stepping up, finding out why they're leaving the union,
45:39
asking the tough questions, figuring out how we can make it
45:43
better to keep more people in dues paying status.
45:47
They're turning around and calling them names.
45:50
And like the e-mail said, then later on at National telling
45:54
people not to call people names after they did it themselves,
45:58
sort of a do as I say, not as I do type of thing.
46:02
I think that right now we are on a precipice with the complacency
46:08
that we had on the National board with two people in the top
46:15
positions of the steward system in the director of Labor
46:18
relations and director of steward operations, who are men
46:22
of action, men who reply at any time, carriers contact them, men
46:30
who actually care about this craft.
46:35
And we have two new NR OS who from the people I've spoken to
46:41
about them and worked with them have said they are also people
46:46
of action. So I'm hoping with four people
46:50
of action now on the national Board, as well as several others
46:55
still on there that are men of action but were silenced by the
47:01
number of people that were in action, that we actually have a
47:05
chance for this board to actually start doing things for
47:09
this craft. Now, if you want to talk about
47:13
action, you have to talk about the biggest voice out there, the
47:20
voice that gets action to happen.
47:23
So the next question to each member of this panel is what
47:29
happens when there is complacency amongst the Craft
47:34
membership, whether it be the dues paying ones, the non dues
47:41
paying ones or the people who are pulling their dues because
47:45
they feel the complacency in an action from the national board
47:49
is not worth the money that they pay into it.
47:52
Do you think there is a correlation to complacency of
47:55
the Craft to people pulling their dues or people not willing
48:00
to pay their dues? We'll start with you, Kristen.
48:04
I, I think there is, I think that can stem down, not
48:08
necessarily from inaction of national board, but that could
48:12
be experiences that these craft members have had with NSS or
48:21
even their local, you know, to, you know, if you file grievances
48:26
and they're settled for language and it doesn't fix it and you
48:31
file another, another grievance and it doesn't fix it, at that
48:36
point you've lost faith in the union and, and it does happen,
48:40
unfortunately, it, you know, there are some really, really
48:45
good people in RNSS. There are and there is some
48:49
exceptional local stewards, but there's always some in the bunch
48:56
that are not the greatest. And unfortunately, I think when
49:02
a lot of that comes down and it comes down on the workroom floor
49:05
too, as even those that are complacent in the office and
49:10
don't want to ruffle any feathers because they don't want
49:13
retaliation, because they don't want to file a grievance, even
49:17
though they have a clear grievance that is extremely
49:19
winnable and could make change even in the office, they don't
49:24
want to ruffle any feathers and they don't want any retaliation.
49:27
So they're going to be complacent and not do anything.
49:31
I've seen that from my own Co workers.
49:35
I've heard about it from many places.
49:38
You know, I, it's, it's sad and disheartening.
49:42
It really is. And it's, you know, the
49:47
membership has the voice, every single member has a voice within
49:54
the union. We are the voice of the union.
49:57
And if we are being complacent, then nothing's ever going to get
50:03
better. And that includes right down to
50:06
in your own office, if you're not filing a grievance or, you
50:10
know, at least having that step one conversation with, with
50:14
management to hash it out prior to filing a grievance.
50:18
If you're not willing to step up for yourself, then you know,
50:24
that's in action. I mean, I understand a lot of
50:27
people can't financially go to National Convention, can't
50:32
financially. I, I understand that.
50:33
I mean, it is a it is financially difficult.
50:38
I've paid my own way, you know, three out of the five times I
50:43
was a non paid alternate delegate, you know, but and I
50:47
have to pay everything upfront anyways, even as a paid
50:50
alternate. So yeah, it is financially tough
50:53
to do. And I understand that.
50:55
And I understand when you have kids in school and, and all that
50:59
stuff. And if you're a single parent,
51:00
it's even more difficult. I get that.
51:03
But that's not the only way to be active.
51:06
I mean, there are local meetings my, and what I try to tell
51:10
people when it comes to every, you know, every member has a
51:14
voice. Even if you are unable to go to
51:18
a local meeting or submit a resolution or go to a state
51:22
meeting, or I understand there are circumstances of why
51:26
somebody would not be able to make it.
51:28
I, I totally get that. But then the smallest thing that
51:33
you can do to be active and to have a voice is vote on your
51:39
delegate ballot for national and vote on a ratification ballot,
51:44
the two simplest things. Ghosty.
51:47
I'm going to kind of switch this up to go towards the state as
51:53
far as like not necessarily state convention, but it is a
51:57
lot easier right now to look up exactly what our national
52:01
board's responsibility, duties and responsibilities are.
52:05
You can go to the website, go to the Constitution, and it listed
52:09
out right there for me. It was a lot harder to find that
52:13
for my state because we just started getting a website going
52:17
and it's still a little bit difficult to navigate.
52:20
Not anyone's fault, you know, that we're trying to play catch
52:23
up, but that's not something that, you know, they're getting
52:26
a lot of support from when it comes, you know, from national,
52:29
like national could sponsor, you know, state, you know, websites
52:32
if they wanted to. But obviously they would have to
52:36
work that out and that would have to be another constitution
52:38
change. But there there's not a lot of
52:40
information on what your state does when it I mean, some, some
52:45
states do have a lot of information out there.
52:46
I'll give them that. There's a lot of, you know,
52:48
other websites that are very well organized, very well put
52:51
together, But there's not a lot of people that understand, you
52:54
know, when you walk in the door at the post office and get
52:57
recruited that you know, like, hey, you know, here's you start
53:01
at your local meeting from there, you get whenever there's
53:05
state convention, you get nominated to be a delegate to
53:07
state convention. If you want to put in
53:09
resolutions, if you want to, you know, make changes here.
53:12
You know, we also have a state president, vice president,
53:14
trustees. Some do have executive committee
53:16
men type of deal. There's not a lot of information
53:20
and that's something that we really need to start educating
53:22
the entire craft about. But that way they can know like,
53:25
hey, you know, this is where the changes are made.
53:28
Like my former local president didn't know or didn't seem like
53:34
she knew how to change the board.
53:37
Like if you're upset with the board, you don't like what's
53:39
going on, you don't like that, you know, the contract that's
53:41
coming out, all of these things. You, you need to be a delegate
53:46
to be able to, you know, do all of this or you need to vote on
53:50
the delegates that will vote for the change that you want.
53:54
So we need to educate everyone, letting them know, hey, you
53:57
know, as soon as that ballot comes out, make sure that you're
54:01
researching who, who you want to represent.
54:04
You don't just vote for the names that you recognize.
54:07
Vote for the people that are open, that are communicate with
54:10
you, that are open and honest. And you know, hey, maybe you
54:13
even if you disagree on certain points, at least they'll listen
54:16
to you. So that is definitely something
54:19
that we need to do is make sure that we get involvement in the
54:22
state, involvement in your local and hopefully your local
54:25
meetings aren't like mine where they just, you know, dissolve
54:28
into a a cry fest about, you know, this, that about this
54:32
person, that person. This is going on.
54:34
And you know, we can't can barely get the information out
54:37
of our Dr. and our trustee about what's coming down the pipe.
54:40
So I think we need more organization.
54:43
I think we definitely need to, you know, educate and let people
54:47
know like, hey, you know, this is the way it's it needs to be.
54:50
This is the way to get involved, so that way we can get rid of
54:54
that complacency. Really.
54:56
Your turn. Well, complacencies really
55:02
starts with the people who aren't in the union because
55:06
they've given up for one reason or the other.
55:08
They don't see value in in dues and they they get the same type
55:12
of representation from the steward they should that the a
55:17
dues paying member gets. A lot of dues paying members are
55:22
complacent because if seen where you're fighting local
55:26
management, district management and it's an uphill battle.
55:31
We're going through that right now with our mini mail survey,
55:34
trying to verify distances traveled in this SD and C.
55:39
And it it's, it's a constant battle.
55:42
Like somebody said, you know, yeah, you've gone into a new
55:45
place and now you have a new set of opponents to to battle.
55:48
And, you know, you've already been battling for 26 years and
55:51
that now they, they just throw, you know, more enemies at you
55:55
per SE, a fresh, a fresh set of troops to fight you.
56:01
And you know, it, it, it does get disheartening.
56:04
And like I said, you know, I could have retired four years
56:07
ago, but this podcast and, and other circumstances that, you
56:12
know, reinvigorated me and you know, I can, I'm genuinely
56:17
concerned about my, my fellow carriers in my office, even the
56:21
ones I don't like, because I see where this is going.
56:24
And if somebody doesn't step up for them, even though they're
56:28
dudes paying members, they're complacent because of the fact
56:31
that they don't see the, the, the value of challenging or
56:35
fighting or what they're entitled to.
56:39
You got to remember that the, the Rex program, it re basically
56:45
removed the ECS from our system in regards to compensation.
56:49
And we were finally going to get paid for what we do, everything
56:53
that we do. Yet in the, in the past two
56:56
years, they've nickeled and dimed US and made changes to
57:00
that compensation. You know, whether it's something
57:03
as simple as the second hamper, whether it's, you know, the pars
57:05
labels that you only get during the mini mail survey now, you
57:09
know, whether it's the WSH versus the WSS.
57:13
They've been constantly just picking us apart over monetary,
57:18
you know, issues And why, why fight it?
57:22
I can't win if they do what they want to do.
57:24
And and that's the problem is that people, they, they, they
57:29
just see the hopelessness trying to fight the system.
57:32
But when you stop fighting the system, that's when the system
57:36
wins. And that's why you need, you
57:39
know, the United we scan. This is why you need rural info
57:41
net because of the fact that you have a voice, you can fight, you
57:46
can go through your local area, your state, your, your national,
57:49
you can go through your, you know, NSS system.
57:53
And yes, we, we have plenty of good stewards, local stewards
57:58
out there, AD Rs and D Rs. But on the other hand, just like
58:01
management, we have Ed representation.
58:05
We have people who are AKA in bed with management as stewards
58:12
and they agree with management, you know, 99% of the time.
58:15
Oh yeah, they can do that because it's easier for them to
58:17
get along, to get to get along, to go along to get along than it
58:22
is for them to sit there and fight.
58:23
And then they turn around and get preferential treatment.
58:27
That doesn't happen. Well, you know, you're just
58:28
fooling yourself. The problem of it is, is that I
58:33
think that we've been beaten down as a craft so much that
58:38
people, they've, they've gotten hopeless in regards to seeing
58:42
any change. But as soon as you accept that,
58:45
you know, reality, you've lost. So don't ever accept it.
58:50
Fight back every damn step of the way.
58:54
Stand up for yourself, stand up for others, get involved.
58:58
Don't take this lane down and and especially when you're
59:02
paying your dues. You have that voice to exercise
59:05
that right? Exactly.
59:08
The biggest complacency issue that we have across the board in
59:13
the craft alone is accepting what management says as the
59:20
truth. And management is less trained
59:25
than you are, less knowledgeable in the stuff then you are.
59:32
They're just reading emails sent to them by their district
59:35
manager. The district managers just
59:37
reading emails sent to them by the regional manager, the
59:41
regional managers reading emails sent to him by national.
59:45
It's the old Telegraph game. Management has been ahead at the
59:50
national level of our union for years.
59:54
Everything that has been passed down in MO, US has been
59:59
something management got something for.
1:00:04
Management would not sign an MOU unless there was a benefit to
1:00:08
them signing it. Even the joint statements, the
1:00:12
benefit to management signing those joint statements was
1:00:16
getting Congress to back off of them all the way back then.
1:00:22
You have to think about everything that comes down in an
1:00:26
agreement with management is going to be something that
1:00:29
management has a benefit from, and the complacency at our level
1:00:35
is believing in management. Now I understand I have a
1:00:40
Unicorn in my office with the postmaster, but even I don't
1:00:44
believe the things that are said if it comes from her manager.
1:00:49
Management would rather climb a tree to lie than stand on the
1:00:53
ground to tell the truth because if it protects their position,
1:00:59
they're going to do it. So if their district managers
1:01:04
telling them that they have to remeasure the distances because
1:01:08
they're too high of numbers, they're going to go and measure
1:01:11
those distances so they don't get yelled at by their district
1:01:14
manager. If it's something that needs to
1:01:17
be done in that office to keep them off a list from their
1:01:20
district manager, they're going to do that.
1:01:24
And if you are complacent with what they're doing and you don't
1:01:28
understand that it's against the contract, it's against the
1:01:33
postal manuals, it's against the Elm or it's against the M38,
1:01:38
which is management of rural carriers, then you're going to
1:01:43
be doing things that are wrong. You got to make sure to not be
1:01:49
complacent with the way things are.
1:01:52
Always look to improve yourself. And if you are not a dues paying
1:01:58
member in this union, you should be 1.
1:02:02
And I'm not saying that just to boost the numbers of the union.
1:02:06
I'm saying that because that is the ultimate information system.
1:02:13
Getting it up from the union website, which is where
1:02:18
everybody on this podcast gets their information about the
1:02:21
union as well as other sources, is the first line of defense
1:02:28
from being complacent. Knowing the 99 page guide,
1:02:34
knowing the national agreement, knowing the PO6O3, the M38,
1:02:41
everything keeps you from being complacent.
1:02:45
You don't have to learn it all in one day.
1:02:47
It took me weeks to read each one of those because I wanted to
1:02:51
read as much as I could and try to retain as much as I could.
1:02:55
I only have about an 80% retention rate on what I read.
1:03:00
So I sometimes get things wrong, but people correct me on that
1:03:04
and when I am corrected or I look it up, then I have the
1:03:08
actual answer. But you have to not be
1:03:12
complacent. The things are just going to
1:03:14
continue to go the way they are, just hunky Dory, just fun.
1:03:18
You've got to be always learning.
1:03:23
All right. The last challenge I have for
1:03:27
anybody listening to this that is a non deuce paying member.
1:03:30
If you feel that we can make a difference together learning
1:03:36
this stuff, understanding this stuff, working with us, helping
1:03:40
everybody in the craft and you want to become a Deuce bank
1:03:44
member, feel free to let them know one of us sent you.
1:03:48
Feel free to let any of the anybody that's your friend that
1:03:51
talked to you about this be the one that told you tell the
1:03:56
union. Hey, this person told me to join
1:03:58
the union because they need to know that whoever is in the
1:04:05
union is bringing people in. Don't just let it be whoever
1:04:10
they choose. Choose the person yourself.
1:04:14
And as somebody just said in the chat, know the rules of the game
1:04:17
if you are going to play. Would you play a game where the
1:04:20
stakes are your livelihood without knowing the rules you
1:04:23
are if you don't learn this stuff.
1:04:25
Very good statement. Very good statement.
1:04:28
And we will be for future episodes going back to the
1:04:32
basics and to the roots of what this podcast initially was
1:04:37
supposed to be. Starting two years ago.
1:04:40
We are going to start going over some of the important stuff.
1:04:43
I mean, there's highlights from the PO6O3 which is quite
1:04:47
outdated anymore, but there there's things that we will be
1:04:51
highlighting and going over again.
1:04:53
Rex, I know is another thing that will definitely update the
1:04:58
scans and how they apply to daily use on the route and
1:05:03
whatnot. We're going to get, we're going
1:05:05
to take it back to the roots and start doing a lot more
1:05:09
educational stuff, aren't we guys?
1:05:13
There is a lot of stuff to go over, a lot of stuff that people
1:05:16
need to know. We're still going to be taking
1:05:19
your questions. We're I'm still going to be out
1:05:22
there helping carriers available to carriers because that is the
1:05:28
ultimate thing that any member of this craft can do is help
1:05:34
pull up another craft member. Yeah, we'll start going over
1:05:39
stuff again, even if it's something we've covered in a
1:05:41
previous episode. We'll, we'll, we'll update and
1:05:44
go over it again and it's not going to hurt, especially the
1:05:47
fact that I'll have new toys to play with starting next week, so
1:05:52
it'll be better. Whatever Mama Bear says, you
1:05:55
know, Mama Bear says we follow. Damn right.
1:06:00
No. All right, guys, are we going to
1:06:06
wind this down now for tonight? Sounds like a plan to me.
1:06:12
All right, Toasty your your final thoughts for this evening.
1:06:19
My final thoughts and I'll go ahead and announce it to
1:06:22
everyone. That'll be in final episode.
1:06:27
This is going to be a sign off episode for me.
1:06:28
I personally want to go in a different direction.
1:06:33
For me, one of the big things that I was campaigning on when
1:06:37
it came to the caucuses and running for executive committee
1:06:42
men was trying to reach out to this younger generation,
1:06:45
especially this generation that's on TikTok, YouTube
1:06:48
Shorts, Instagram Reels and doing that video format, you
1:06:55
know, trying to get that educational, get people
1:06:59
involved, try to bring in that excitement that we're seeing
1:07:02
around, you know, all these other unions that are getting
1:07:06
all these big, what should we call it, these big contracts and
1:07:10
everything like that. And we're seeing a lot of hype
1:07:13
around it. And I don't, I don't feel that
1:07:15
we're, we're getting that hype from any other source.
1:07:20
So I'm one of those that was raised on if you want something
1:07:24
done right, you do it yourself, you know, step up, be the change
1:07:27
that you want to see, look in the mirror and be that change.
1:07:31
So I will be stepping away from the pocket.
1:07:34
I'll still be in the Discord. I'll still be chatting it up,
1:07:37
you know, Bill in 100% support. But I do want to focus a lot
1:07:41
more of my energy and my time into doing that video format,
1:07:46
educational type of stuff and informational shorts basically.
1:07:52
So I love you all. Thank you all for the support.
1:07:57
Also. Be hanging around and stay safe
1:08:01
out there, guys. James.
1:08:04
Well Toasty will miss your voice on here.
1:08:07
Good luck in in your attempts to educate the masses in different
1:08:12
media formats. We will appreciate the extra
1:08:17
media output to help the craft overall.
1:08:24
We talked about the first timers going to the union convention,
1:08:29
but I think the even more important people that go to
1:08:34
these events are the second timers.
1:08:38
People who went the first time and did not get discouraged and
1:08:42
came back a second time. They are the most important
1:08:45
people to me and I understand your first time participating is
1:08:50
the most important time overall because you're starting your
1:08:53
journey with it. But coming back and continuing
1:08:57
it is even more important. And I know I talked to a couple
1:09:02
first timers who said they won't be back because of what happened
1:09:07
on the floor. And I hate to see that, but that
1:09:12
is complacency on the convention floor, complacent with the way
1:09:17
things are, not bringing in new people and scaring them away
1:09:21
with the way you act. We cannot afford to be
1:09:25
complacent anymore. We cannot afford to let things
1:09:31
lie. Now I'm challenging every single
1:09:35
steward, ADRDR, regional Rep, our new director of steward
1:09:41
operations, our new director of Labor relations, and the NR OS
1:09:47
Complacency is over. Your inaction will be
1:09:52
documented. We will know.
1:09:56
It's time to step up and fight for this craft because you have
1:10:01
new leadership over you. Take their lead.
1:10:05
They are people of action. You should be people of action.
1:10:09
Step up, take care of this craft, and let's show management
1:10:14
that we are no longer complacent to being the doormats they walk
1:10:18
on. And for the carriers on the
1:10:21
floor, it's time to step up fears of violation.
1:10:25
You need to grieve it. You need to drown management and
1:10:29
paperwork. If they're violating anything
1:10:35
like the national agreement, the contract or any of that, grieve
1:10:39
it. Bury them in paperwork because
1:10:42
that is the only way to affect change.
1:10:45
If you're not a dues paying member, become one.
1:10:48
We're coming up on a contract ratification.
1:10:51
When they come up with a tentative agreement you want to
1:10:55
be in to be able to vote on that to decide the future of this
1:10:58
craft for the next 4 years. Get involved.
1:11:04
Go to your local meetings. Do not settle for complacency.
1:11:10
It's time to stand up and show everybody we're all in this
1:11:14
together, Bill. Well said there, James.
1:11:19
I guess the one significant point I can illustrate in
1:11:24
regards to complacency is that if we were as complacent a as a
1:11:30
craft as we are at a local level, we would not have had
1:11:37
such a dramatic change on the national board for the director
1:11:41
of Labor relations and the director of Stewart Operations.
1:11:45
The fact of the matter is that John Adams massacred Bridget
1:11:51
during the election. He got a positive message.
1:11:55
He's relatable. He calls you back on Sundays.
1:11:59
He's got plausibility. He's a nice person.
1:12:04
And the thing of it is, is that, you know, people who were at the
1:12:08
National Convention, we're not complacent to the rhetoric from
1:12:14
the two previous board members. And they voted them out because
1:12:19
they saw the need for change out.
1:12:23
OK, we didn't win our positions, but guess what?
1:12:26
We did help affect that change. You have two new NR OS also.
1:12:32
That's what complacency doesn't take into consideration can make
1:12:37
the change, but you have to be involved.
1:12:40
You have to get involved at the local level.
1:12:43
You have to stand up for yourself.
1:12:45
You have to stand up for others. Get involved with your local
1:12:48
chapters, your state, your, your boosters, whatever.
1:12:53
But if you're not involved, you have no voice.
1:12:58
Even if you're a dues paying member, if you don't exercise
1:13:01
that right, nobody hears you. So get out there, you know, be
1:13:06
the spokesperson, basically become a target or your local
1:13:13
office for the carrier working next to you or the people in,
1:13:18
you know, in your local, I mean, folks, if you don't stand up for
1:13:22
yourselves, they're just going to walk all over you.
1:13:25
And they, they're counting on that.
1:13:27
They're the counting on you just, you know, kowtowing to
1:13:30
their whims and their bullshit. But the fact of the matter is a
1:13:36
united voice, a united membership is so strong to
1:13:41
replace four members on the national board next year.
1:13:45
Let's replace a couple more, at least three.
1:13:48
So if you want to get effect change, guess what?
1:13:52
You have to be involved. So signing, signing off for
1:13:57
tonight. I, I almost regret being the
1:13:59
nice bill this year. And you know, I, I tried to put
1:14:04
out a positive message in regards to concern for the
1:14:07
carriers. Like I said it, it may not be
1:14:10
the message, may be the messenger and that's why I'm
1:14:12
stepping away. And now I'll be retiring
1:14:14
September 27th, but I'll still be involved with the podcast.
1:14:19
And actually, I'll probably be more involved with our local and
1:14:23
everything because I'll have more time.
1:14:25
But I look forward to being, you know, part of this podcast, the
1:14:29
education of our craft and the promotion of our, our union.
1:14:34
Not here to, you know, we, we were accused of being union
1:14:36
Busters. Far from it.
1:14:38
We, we believe a strong union is the only way to move forward.
1:14:43
And to be strong, we need you to be involved.
1:14:46
Everybody, we got a new week coming up.
1:14:49
Safe, work effectively, professionally, diligently, and
1:14:54
make sure that you are the last delivery of the day because
1:14:58
you're the most important delivery of the day.
1:15:01
Bless you all. Thank you, guys.
1:15:04
I know Toasty, we will miss you on the air, but I know you and I
1:15:08
have talked, we talked a little bit at National about the future
1:15:11
anyways, so we're good there. I'll miss you on the mic, but
1:15:15
it's OK. And Bill, happy retirement.
1:15:22
We'll look forward to the retirement stories coming up in
1:15:25
the future. And guys, you know, it's going
1:15:30
to be a warm one again this week for many and myself included.
1:15:34
So remember to stay hydrated, stay safe out there folks, and
1:15:41
we'll be back next week. Take care.
1:15:57
Well, I I got a bombshell I'm going to drop on you all
1:16:00
tonight, but you know, we'll wait till the show starts.