Melinda was elected Recording Secretary for Branch 36 in 2022. Melinda began her Membership with Branch 36 the same year she began her Postal career in 2003. Since the beginning, Melinda has always looked out for all carriers, and pushed herself to learn and do more within Branch 36. Melinda was elected to Shop Steward by her peers in 2015. Not long after, she became an On-the -job instructor and food drive coordinator. 2017 was a busy year for Melinda, she was selected to become a Customer Connect Coordinator and Carrier Academy Facilitator. Her abilities really shined when she was elected as the Director of City Delivery in 2017. In 2018, Melinda trained and became a Formal A Designee for Branch 36. Political Liaison became her next steppingstone in 2021 and her skills were noticed by National. She was tasked with covering the National Administrative Assistant position and handled that job with the same tenacity as her other post. In 2022, Melinda was elected to serve her fellow carriers in the position of Recording Secretary for Branch 36, where she continues to go above and beyond.

Is It a Favor?

We recently lost two great people from Branch 36: Pat McNally, former Second Vice President/Financial Secretary and David Velazquez Sr., our Safety and Health part-time officer. They were much more than their titles. You knew when you brought them an issue, it would be handled. I never had opportunity to sit down in arbitration with Pat, but I heard the stories at the meetings of how he saved many. David saved all of us, at one time or another, whether it was extreme heat and no air conditioning or route adjustments. He was always there when you needed him and always had a smile to go with it. I will definitely miss his “Heyyyy, how you doing?” with his big smile and joyful demeanor. Two greats in their own right. They will be missed, but their work has left a great mark on Branch 36.
Spring is here people, and with that spring vacation batches will start. Before you know it, the summer will be here and your coworkers will not. With that said, we all know that pivoting will be in full swing; if it is not already. We all know we must follow instructions. The obvious rule is to follow instructions and grieve it later. There are those who are not on the Overtime Desire List (ODL) and “help” out when it’s good for them. They go above and beyond to get the work done. When it’s not however it’s, “I did them a favor”. What you must understand is that there are no “favors” in the postal service. Perhaps you are able to say yes today because you feel good, its nice out, or you just may want to be that person today. But, when you say no because you’re tired, been pivoting all week, or just don’t feel like it. That is when management will most likely follow up with an instruction that you must fol¬low even when you know the ODL, PTF and CCA’s have not been maxed out. Now, it’s either you follow the instruction or be prepared for a PDI.
Then there are coworkers who may be on limitations; limitations that manage¬ment are well aware of and just need a little help today. They say things like what can you do for me today, can you do anything? Let’s be clear: your limits are just that Limits. Your doctor gave them to you for a reason. Under no circumstances should you put your health in danger. It may also give them a reason to request new medical documentation. Management only cares about getting the mail out of the building. Your health or other issues are not going to be on their radar at all. When you say, “I will do you this favor.” What exactly are you giving up to stop them from coming back later and saying, “Well you did it before?” We are not paid to do favors; we are paid to work. We are paid to follow instructions.
Remember Article 8.2 D states: Fulltime employees who are not on an Overtime Desired list or on the Work Assignment list, shall not be required to work beyond eleven and a half (11.5) hours of work in a day or sixty (60) hours of work in a service week, and shall not be subject to disciplinary action for terminating their tour of duty when these limits on hours of work are reached.
Keep this in mind when they are instructing you to pivot. You have a limit and it may not be what you want at the time; but when you reach it there is nothing else to say but, thank you and good night.
Remember to give yourself enough time to process your beats when you return and fill out your 157, informing management where all the undeliverable mail is whether it’s in your pushcart, or in relays on the street because you were unable to carry it back safely. Never give management the upper hand by failing to follow instructions because you don’t want to do a favor. They don’t see it as a favor when they have no other choice; it will always be you or them when it comes down to receiving discipline. Always remember, to contact your steward or the Branch when you need help or need clarity on a situation.