Well, we got through the mark-up on H.R. 5746 unscathed; it passed through with relative ease. We also already have 6 co-sponsors, including Missouri's own Lacey Clay. I spent some time today on the phone talking to Legislative aides in each of the House members' offices, and they all seemed very receptive. One of our great friends from Sam Graves office, Marco Calceri, says they are all over this bill and are very excited. Possibly a roll-in with their own "universal 6-day delivery" bill? I would like that!
So- now comes the fun part of hitting each of the members up at home if they don't co-sponsor before recess next Thursday night. I predict we will have 6 or 7 by then. And not to name names, but 7 is all I can EVER count on to support us. Because it is an election cycle, I don't think they will bring us to Washington in September. Unless we have a really good turnout of co-sponsors. Then, we should just fast-break this sucker all the way and get this whole mess behind us.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
People who are helping us
Committee Chairman Lynch (Massachusetts) comes from a family of Postal employees, so it is no small coincidence that he would take an interest in what we do and what should happen to us. Thankfully, it is usually good.
Tomorrow at 1:30 pm, he will bring forth H.R. 5746 for mark-up. Lynch introduced the bill last Thursday evening (July 15th). He, and we, are hoping the mark-up process will go smoothly and that no "bad" amendments are offered to it.
Long story short, the bill provides for two things: One, that we get back our $55 to $90 Billion dollars that we have overpaid into the CSRS accounts. Two, that the formula for calculating the money going into retirement and healthcare accounts be fixed. There is also a bunch of legalese and political mumbo-jumbo written in, but you get the gist of it.
August vacation starts next Thursday evening for Congress- we are actually hoping to hit hard and fast on trying to get co-sponsors. I am sure they will be bringing all the State Presidents to Washington after the Labor Day recess to get enough co-sponsors to vote on this before the end of the fiscal year (September 30). There will be a big push, and I am sure this will be a topic of great discussion at the National Convention.
Tomorrow at 1:30 pm, he will bring forth H.R. 5746 for mark-up. Lynch introduced the bill last Thursday evening (July 15th). He, and we, are hoping the mark-up process will go smoothly and that no "bad" amendments are offered to it.
Long story short, the bill provides for two things: One, that we get back our $55 to $90 Billion dollars that we have overpaid into the CSRS accounts. Two, that the formula for calculating the money going into retirement and healthcare accounts be fixed. There is also a bunch of legalese and political mumbo-jumbo written in, but you get the gist of it.
August vacation starts next Thursday evening for Congress- we are actually hoping to hit hard and fast on trying to get co-sponsors. I am sure they will be bringing all the State Presidents to Washington after the Labor Day recess to get enough co-sponsors to vote on this before the end of the fiscal year (September 30). There will be a big push, and I am sure this will be a topic of great discussion at the National Convention.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Up and Running
It seems that the busier we get, the busier we make ourselves. All the technology available in the world certainly makes it easy for you to choose just how much information you can handle in a day. The internet has been a boon to me; once I was just satisfied with reading the 2 Columbia papers, the St Louis Post-Dispatch, the Kansas City Star, and on occasion, the USA Today. I have the ability to read the best newspapers the world-over now, and I take advantage to read the Washington Post and New York Times as often as possible. In truth, nothing beats actually holding the paper in my hands and reading, but the internet does save some time. And at $2 a copy (locally) for the New York Times, some money.
The blog aspect of this may take some time for me to get wholly used to; contrary to popular belief, I do still carry a route and my free time is probably no better than the time you may have. I am completely sure that I won't have anything of substance to say on every day. It involves me waiting until I am done for the day and at home- sometimes something I may have thought of talking about during the day becomes something I have talked myself out of by the time I sit down to type. So, it is a learning process. I am just glad we have decided to get involved. Stay tuned.
The blog aspect of this may take some time for me to get wholly used to; contrary to popular belief, I do still carry a route and my free time is probably no better than the time you may have. I am completely sure that I won't have anything of substance to say on every day. It involves me waiting until I am done for the day and at home- sometimes something I may have thought of talking about during the day becomes something I have talked myself out of by the time I sit down to type. So, it is a learning process. I am just glad we have decided to get involved. Stay tuned.
Monday, July 5, 2010
MDA Ride at Tan Tar A
NALC National Convention
The 67th Biennial Convention of the National Association of Letter Carriers is August 9-13 in Anaheim, California. More information can be found here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)