A Note from the Branch President

Dear Brothers and Sisters:
The NALC has recently become aware of a salary and benefit survey that is being sent to selected members. This survey will arrive at your residence and will ask specific questions concerning our benefit package. In addition, there will be specific questions asking if you are satisfied with your current salary structure. The NALC's position on this survey is clear, TRASH IT! With upcoming contact negotiations the Postal Service would certainty like to get their hands on closed ended questions like these. In contrast, the NALC has not put a prohibition on the Voice of the Employee Survey (VOE). This survey is handed out to members on the workroom floor and is to be completed on the clock. It should reflect how the member feels about the Postal Service as a whole and more importantly how you feel about your management team and work environment. Furthermore, this survey is entirely optional and is used as an internal measuring device. If at any point the NALC feels that this survey will be used against us, we will immediately notify all members.
Steve Lipski

Next Meeting - February 15

The next regular monthly meeting of the Branch will be held on Wednesday, February 15, 8 p.m., at the American Legion Hall, 502 Colonial Ave., North Woodbury. The regular monthly meetings of the Branch are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 8 p.m., except during the months of July and August.

Branch Officer & Shop Stewards Meetings Wednesday, February 8

The Branch Board of Officers and Executive Board meetings are held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month. The Board of Officers at 7:30 p.m., and the Executive Board at 8 p.m. The next meeting of the Board of Officers and Executive Board will be on Wednesday, February 8, 7:30 and 8 p.m. respectively.

Attendance Prize Now At $50

Had he been in attendance at the regular monthly meeting of the Branch on Wednesday, January 18, Bob Zurlo, a retired member of the Branch out of the Somerdale office, would have been the recipient of the $25 attendance prize. The prize now increases to $50 and will increase $25 per meeting, up to a maximum of $250, until a member in attendance has their name drawn.

Membership Pins Issued

Branch Health Benefits Officer and Shop Steward Fred Mendel was presented with a 25-year lapel pin at the January Branch meeting. Also honored was long time shop steward Paul Sheets who received a 40-year lapel pin. The Branch appreciates the many years of service Fred and Paul have given.
The NALC Constitution provide that: "When receiving proper notification by the Branch Secretary that a member has completed twenty-five (25) years, or thirty (30) years, or thirty-five (35) years, or forty (40) years, and forty-five (45) years of membership, the National Association of Letter Carriers shall provide a suitable lapel pin for such member".
If you believe that you have attained the requisite amount of year's membership for the receipt of a suitable lapel pin, contact Branch membership chairman Paul Poniatowski at Paul@nalcbranch908.com.

Proposed By - Law Changes

The following two proposed changes to the Branch By - Laws were submitted and read at the January Branch meeting in accordance with Branch By - Laws. They will be read, debated and voted upon at the regular monthly meeting of the Branch on February 15.
Proposed changes to read as follows:
Article 5: Elections
Section 12:
A member elected to represent the Branch as a Branch compensated Delegate to a National or State Convention must have attended at least twenty (20) regular monthly or Executive Board meetings of the Branch beginning with the October Branch nomination meeting and going back two years. The months of July and August, although no meetings are held, will be counted toward the attendance requirement. Only one monthly Branch meeting, the regular monthly meeting or the Executive Board meeting will be counted toward attaining the twenty (20) meeting requirement to be a compensated Delegate. Members will only be entitled to three (3) excused absences during the time period as stated in this section. Members shall be required to contact the Sergeant at Arms in order to be excused.
Submitted by: Paul Poniatowski
Article 5: Elections
Section 14:
All sitting Branch Officers as of January of the convention year, are by virtue of their position, automatically elected as compensated Convention Delegates. Where more than three (3) percent of the Branch membership are nominated for National Convention Delegate, all the names of those nominated shall be placed on the secret mail ballot for the election of Branch Officers, Shop Stewards and Convention Delegates. The nominees receiving the highest number of votes shall be compensated for their attendance at the National Convention. The total number of delegates, Branch Officers and other elected delegates, shall not exceed three (3) percent of the Branch membership.
Submitted by: Paul Poniatowski

In Memoriam

Peter Feyt - son of Jennie Feyt, a member working out of the Atco office.
Richard Serock - brother of Jim Serock, former Branch Officer and retiree out of the Woodbury office.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jennie, Jim and their families in this difficult time.

Branch Officers Installed

NALC Region 12 National Business Agent Bill Lucini and his two Regional Area Assistants Shelly Williams and Dave Napadano graced the membership with their appearance at the regular monthly meeting of the Branch on January 18, to install the recently elected officers of the Branch and to impart some words of wisdom with regard to what's happening with regards to the Union, Postal and legislatively regarding our employment with the US Postal Service. Thanks, Bill, Shelly and Dave, for taking the time out of your busy schedules to come, install our officers and socialize with us.

Roy Tailors Uniform Company

Cape Atlantic NALC Branch 903 President and good friend to Branch 908, Nelson Gaskill was present as an invited guest at the regular monthly meeting of the Branch on January 18. Nelson recently retired from the Postal Service and is now a Local Sales Representative for Roy Tailors Uniform Company. Roy Tailors has been servicing Postal employees for over 48 years and all of their uniforms are union made in the USA. Anyone looking for a good uniform company should give Nelson a call at 609-625-2377.

Shop Stewards For 2006 - 2007

Atco George Greenwood
Bellmawr Mike DiGiacomo
Blackwood Gary DiGiacomo
Bridgeton Don Connelly
Clayton Norm Spence
Gibbstown Paul Sheets
Glassboro Bill Dougherty
Glendora Gary DiGiacomo
Gloucester Steve Lipski
Haddon Hts. Rob Foltz
Hammonton Frank Ingemi
Lawnside Jack Bittner
Magnolia Al DiSipio
Mantua Bill Gore
Maple Shade Joe Laluk
Marlton Mike Boston
Marlton April Gibbons
Mt. Ephraim Robert Behm
National Park Jim Comuso
Paulsboro Cleveland Belin
Penns Grove Norm Spence
Pennsville Clinton Proffitt
Pitman Steve Rutkowski
Riverton Fred Jurimas
Runnemede Paul Poniatowski
Salem Norm Spence
Sewell Tom Robinson
Somerdale Fred Simpkins
Stratford Jim Barlow
Swedesboro Shannon Falls
Voorhees Mike Porter
Wenonah Karl Schluth
West Berlin Tom Carey
Westville Ted Allen
Williamstown Frank Matkowsky
Woodbury Joe Walder
Woodbury Chris Price
Woodstown Norm Spence

Branch Retirees & Awards Breakfast Buffet
Sunday, April 23

The Branch Annual Retirees and Awards Breakfast Buffet will be held on Sunday, April 23rd, commencing at 11 a.m., at the Best Western West Deptford Inn, 101 Grove Road, Thorofare, just off of exit 20 of I-295. Anyone wishing to nominate a member for a Branch award please contact the Recording Secretary, Norm Spence ASAP. The following members of the Branch who have retired since our last Breakfast will be honored and presented with tokens of appreciation. If you have retired since the last Breakfast or you will retire before April 23 and your name is not on this list, contact the Branch Recording Secretary, Norm Spence at webmaster@nalcbranch908.com:

R. A. DiClaudio (Paulsboro)  F. E. Mendel (Runnemede)
S. W. Hatcher (Salem) J. Strong (Marlton)
J. F. Jengehino (Bridgeton) B. W. Watson (Marlton)
B. Kowalski (Woodbury) C. M. Wylie (Lawnside)
G. Mackey (Stratford) W. J. Young (Maple Shade)
P. F. McLaughlin (Westville) J. A. Lodge (Glendora)

J. E. Bates Jr. (Swedesboro)

Those being honored, their spouses and current Branch retirees will not be charged for their attendance. All other Branch members, family, friends and acquaintances may attend at a cost of $10 pp, $5 for children under the age of 10. For reservations, complete the following and submit it with payment for those attending at cost. No other notices will be sent. Honorees, retirees, members and others planning to attend must complete and submit the following reservation form by April 10, 2006:

Name:____________________________
                          Please Print
Check one: Honoree (  ) Branch Retiree (  ) others (  )
Attending with honoree free of charge: spouse (  ) other (  )
Number attending with you at cost: Adults_____ Children_____
Total attendees including yourself:________
Amount of remittance enclosed: Adults ______Children______

Send to PO Box 45, Pennsville, 08070 by April 10

Non-Member Listing As Of 1/10/06

D. R. Sanders (Glassboro) J. A. Scheurich (Glendora)
D. E. King (Hammonton) W. J. Lyons (Hammonton)
D. G. Earling (Voorhees) R. E. Cummings (Stratford)
M. Jacobs (Marlton) F. Doncheva (National Park)
B. J. Samuels (Pennsville) W. T. McAllister (Pennsville)
T. S. Ohara (Pitman) W. A. Breitenstine (Runnemede)
E. Meyer (Lawnside) T. P. Butler-Gaines (Stratford)

We are currently 97.4% organized. That's pretty good, but we can do better. If you are friends with any of the non-members listed above, try to explain to them the importance of belonging to the Union. This is a contract year; remind them that the Postal Service does not voluntarily give us raises or COLAs, or any of the other benefits that the NALC negotiates for all letter carriers. Everything we get as a result of a new contract is due to the hard work of the National Union with the support of all the membership.

Have You Seen Us?

The Branch has had several newsletters returned as undeliverable or we just don't have good addresses for the following members:
S. J. Bradley (Woodbury)
S. M. Dunn (Woodbury)
J. J. Kennedy (Retiree)
T. C. Kopakowski (Retiree)
P. Makarenko (Marlton)
Edward Dominisac (Mt. Ephraim)
James Warren (Retiree - Gloucester)
A. R. Williams (Somerdale)

If you know any of these members, or have a current address for them, please help us update our records and forward current contact information to the Branch at NALC Branch 908, PO Box 45, Pennsville, NJ 08070 or e-mail it to editor@nalcbranch908.com.

Dates To Remember

Region 12 Rap Session February 26 - 28
Congressional Breakfast March 14 - 16
Retiree & Awards Brunch April 23
March Of Dimes WalkAmerica April 30
NALC Food Drive May 13
NJ State Rap Session June 11 - 13
National Convention August 14 - 18

Retiree Direct Dues Payments

For those retirees that pay their dues directly to the Branch, the dues for 2006 are now due. Retirement dues remain at $12 per year. Please make checks payable to NALC Branch 908, and send them to PO Box 45, Pennsville, NJ 08070. Thank You!

Shop Steward E-mail Addresses Needed

There are times during the month in between meetings when it is necessary for President Lipski or another Branch Officer needs to get information out to all of our Stewards. The quickest way to accomplish this is for him to attach the information to an e-mail and send it out to all of the Stewards at once. For this reason, we are asking all of our Officers and Stewards to make sure the Branch has a good e-mail address for you. To ensure that we have your address, please send an e-mail from your address to info@nalcbranch908.com. This will only be used for official Branch communications.

a Happy Valentines Day a