Danielle was elected 2nd Vice President in 2019. She has held this position for 3 years and was re-elected in 2022. Danielle’s postal carrier began in 1996 the same year she joined Branch 36. From the beginning it was obvious to her the positive influence the Officers and Stewards of Branch 36 had on the livelihood and overall working conditions of its members. In 2011 Danielle was elected Shop Steward at Williamsbridge station. Danielle did not stop there she volunteered to help her fellow carriers anyway she could. In 2013, Danielle was selected to be the district Customer Connect Coordinator. In 2014, Danielle was elected trustee for branch 36. Due to her passion of helping others and giving back she was appointed as a Food Drive coordinator in 2015. Branch 36 loves training and Danielle took advantage of everything that was offered. 2016 Formal Step A training, 2018 Arbitration training and in 2019 Branch Officer training was added to her list of accomplishments. In 2022 Danielle was re-elected to the Position of 2nd Vice President, the skills and knowledge learned while being a part of Branch 36 has increased her ability to represent the Letter carriers continuously.

Vincent R. Sombrotto Branch 36 (NALC) is a union that represents its members in negotiations with management over all issues of pay, benefits and working conditions. The labor union representatives negotiate with employers in a process known as collective bargaining. All letter carriers have one thing in common, to achieve the goal to protect and enforce the rights that were fought for and won. In addition to, maintaining and strengthening what has been achieved with great effort in the past. One important question is how do we maintain those rights? It would require activism and solidarity from all of the brothers and sisters that form this union.
Unfortunately, there are a few that have other goals in mind. They have forgotten why we are here and what it is that we do at Branch 36. When it comes to unfair working conditions, which include wages and benefits, there should only be one team that we challenge. That would be the ones who are responsible for attempting to annul any of the hard-earned rights of letter carriers and would include those from the management team that cannot seem to understand the terms of the agreement nor form a clear interpretation of what the language actually means. It remains about us (carriers) and is never about them (insubordinate management team members) as it pertains to enforcing letter carrier rights.
Here at Branch 36, our goal is to give the shop stewards all of the training and tools that they need to properly enforce the benefits that are the results of victories won by our union. I find it appalling to watch the bitters come to a meeting for the sole purpose of challenging the officers of Branch 36, but do not show up for training for the benefit of the members. Putting your personal feelings before the membership is not “Union”. Attending a meeting and causing commotion takes away from the membership that actually come to meeting to obtain vital information. Hopefully, Branch 36 can continue to have informative meetings without any deflections of the main purpose we come together once a month. One band, one sound is the assurance of the most powerful union.
I want to remind everyone to keep an eye open for information on our contract that we are all anxiously awaiting. If it comes down to a tentative agreement, we must wait vigilantly for our mail, in order to voice our position on the proposal of a contract. In other words, the members vote by mail to actually ratify the tentative agreement. If and when that happens you will receive the ballot in the mail. Be sure to read the directions clearly to make sure your vote is counted properly. Remember negotiations are still pending while arbitration is moving forward. One or the other will determine our future benefits. Your voice counts and is heard when you vote.

Appreciation Family Day

On to another topic, please don’t forget to save the date for the picnic. Bring your family out for a day to play ball, swim, grab a rib from the grill, have a burger and enjoy our appreciation for you and all that you do. All you have to do is bring yourself, your family and a chair/picnic blanket. The date is July 21st at a state park. The flyers will be posted in your station with all pertinent information on how to ensure your spot. If interested, please see your steward.

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