{"id":2781,"date":"2011-09-12T22:35:24","date_gmt":"2011-09-13T03:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/?p=2781"},"modified":"2011-09-12T22:35:24","modified_gmt":"2011-09-13T03:35:24","slug":"we-must-keep-postmasters-in-charge-of-post-offices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/2011\/09\/12\/we-must-keep-postmasters-in-charge-of-post-offices\/","title":{"rendered":"We Must Keep Postmasters in Charge of Post Offices"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As of Monday morning in San Juan, 568 Postmasters were registered for NAPUS\u2019 107th National Convention; total registration stood at 1,116. President Bob Rapoza welcomed everyone back to San Juan: 28 years ago, NAPUS held its first convention here. He thanked Convention Chair Reinaldo Ruiz and the Postmasters of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for their hard work in organizing the convention.<\/p>\n

Rapoza repeated his advice not to sweat the small stuff. He acknowledged these are tough times, but contended they would be even tougher without the good relationship NAPUS has with the League and NAPS. This working relationship continues to benefit Supervisors and Postmasters.<\/p>\n

He thanked PM Retired President Paul Edd Butler for his organization\u2019s continued support. Members of the Post Office Preservation Committee have been working hard to help save post offices.<\/p>\n

Rapoza said NAPUS\u2019 accomplishments should not be overshadowed in light of the Postal Service\u2019s poor financial condition. NAPUS is seeking results\u2014not recognition, he stressed. And he told convention attendees to continue to press Congress to resolve the Postal Service\u2019s issues. \u201cThe negligence of Congress is making rural Americans second-class citizens,\u201d he exclaimed.<\/p>\n

He welcomed Postmaster General Pat Donahoe, who was addressing the convention via web cam from Washington, DC. The PMG had planned to be at the convention, but canceled at the last minute due to a meeting scheduled this afternoon at the White House.<\/p>\n

Donahoe told Postmasters to worry about the things in their control and try to influence those things not in their control. He said the agency will be insolvent on Sept. 30. He is somewhat heartened by the administration\u2019s 90-day reprieve, which, hopefully, will allow legislative changes to be put in place.<\/p>\n

In addition to dealing with the retiree health prefunding requirement, there is going from six- to five-day delivery and getting back the $6.9 billion overpaid to FERS. A big announcement will be made this Thursday in regard to the agency\u2019s processing network.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want a stable Postal Service going forward,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need five-day delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n

He contends taking over the agency\u2019s health insurance program will save money. \u201cWe know how to work with contractors,\u201d he vowed. So working with a health insurance contractor would not be any different.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will do whatever I can to get the Postal Service back on firm financial footing,\u201d he vowed. Admittedly, it is going to continue to require tough decisions.<\/p>\n

The PMG had time to answer a few questions from the audience. In response to a question about finding landing spots for displaced Postmasters, Donahoe said he cannot make any guarantees on jobs; he said he would do his best.<\/p>\n

Rep. Donna Christenson (D-VI) welcomed Postmasters to the convention. \u201cWe are a postal-dependent community,\u201d she said. \u201cThank you for treating us equitably and fairly.\u201d She said she will work to ensure the Postal Service remains viable. \u201cThere is much on your shoulders as you navigate these tough waters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus Galvez, district manager of the Caribbean District, said the 2,800 employees of the Caribbean District welcome NAPUS to San Juan. He talked about some of the ways this district is unique. \u201cBut,\u201d he affirmed, \u201cno matter the setting of your office, you all carry the title of Postmaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kenneth McClintock-Hern\u00e1ndez, Puerto Rico secretary of state, welcomed everyone to the \u201cislands of enchantment.\u201d \u201cWe are bi-cultural,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cThis is where the U.S. becomes the Caribbean.\u201d He said he appreciates that the Postal Service treats Puerto Rico as a partner; it serves everyone on the islands. \u201cThe nation still needs the Postal Service as a function of the U.S. government,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n

Mayor Jorge Santini Padilla also gave convention attendees a warm welcome. \u201cWe are excited to have you with us,\u201d he said. \u201cYour fellow Americans welcome you.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his remarks, he participated in a pictorial cancellation ceremony. President Bob Rapoza, League President Mark Strong and NAPS President Louis Atkins joined him on stage for the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Strong was the morning\u2019s final speaker. \u201cWhat a year we have had,\u201d he commented. He, too, stressed the good working relationship the three management associations share. \u201cWe three figured out what was being done had to be done together.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the organizations are going to have to adapt\u2014whether they like it or not\u2014and look toward the future. \u201cWe will continue to put Postmasters first,\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n

Strong also promised not to stand back and do nothing for rural America. Full-service post offices are more important to rural America than anywhere else. \u201cThey deserve a maximum degree of service and nothing else,\u201d he insisted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As of Monday morning in San Juan, 568 Postmasters were registered for NAPUS\u2019 107th National Convention; total registration stood at 1,116. President Bob Rapoza welcomed everyone back to San Juan: 28 years ago, NAPUS held its first convention here. He thanked Convention Chair Reinaldo Ruiz and the Postmasters of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-usps-news","last_archivepost"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2781"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2783,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2781\/revisions\/2783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}