2023 National Convention Updates

I am summarizing information here.  I am not including any of the technical details, awards or introductions, etc. If you want to see that, please go to the NRLCA website and see their daily convention newsletters.

Bookmark this as I will try to update daily with any new information.

Dr. Ken Mericle, the lead engineer on RRECS gave a presentation on the difficulty of the task that was mandated by arbitrator Clark in 2012 to adopt a new compensation system for rural carriers.

He talked about problems that surfaced after RRECS implementation. He said there were many things that could not be checked until the system was live.

He said that he has tools to reverse engineer the final numbers that came out. This can help the national officers pinpoint the specific issues that must be addressed with the USPS.

President Stutts says they are very close to putting out a statement on what counts as an unscannable parcel

He also stated that they have asked the Postal Service to update the scanners to help alleviate scanning mistakes.

Vice President Don Maston announced  an updated academy course that will include RRECS scan training

Dejoy talked about the 10 year Delivering for America Plan

He said before he came to USPS that they were stuck in a "creative destruction", unable to evolve or see opportunity.

The USPS was suffering financial losses, deteriorating facilities, an aging vehicle fleet, instability in the workforce and no plan for the future.

Dejoy said “We are committed to returning the Postal Service to a vibrant, contributing, necessity for the country” There will be mistakes because there are a lot of changes but we are determined to move forward

He says there were areas that have already seen positive changes: improved cash position, legislation, new strategies and better employee engagement

He also talked about a simplified ground network. This network will go from over 600 processing facilities to 120 regional centers

Becoming a green organization continues to be a goal. 10,000 electric vehicles are scheduled to be deployed by the end of the year. 16,000 more will be deployed over the next 5 years

He also wants to improve employee transitions, stabilize the pre-career workforce and enhance career growth.

Dejoy said there is still a lot of work to be done and we have to compete for our survival

There were 22 amendments to be presented to the delegation, five from the Finance Committee and 17 from the states. 

5 Amendments passed while 12 amendments failed

Amendments #1-4, which concerned government per diem rates paid to National Delegates, were grouped together. A motion to amend failed. Amendments #1- 4, as a group, passed. 

Amendment #5, concerning ratification meetings using Zoom, failed.

Amendment #6, concerning a hold on dues rates increases until RRECS is completely implemented, failed.

Amendment #7, dealt with changing the way leave replacement dues are calculated, failed.

Amendment #8 would change the way we conduct national officer elections. A motion was made to postpone the amendment until Biennial Convention amendments were voted on. Motion to postpone passed. 

Amendment #9 concerned a government per diem increase. A motion passed to combine with Amendment #15 as they were similar. Combined Amendments #9 and #15 failed.

Amendment #10 added wording to pay accrued sick leave to “an officer’s estate”, passed.

Amendment #11 would change National Convention from annual to biennial. This failed after much discussion.

Amendment #8 was revisited and after much discussion, failed.

Amendments #12 and #13, concerning compensation for National Paid Delegates, failed.

Amendments #14, would allow Area Stewards and part-time ADRs to have the option to have the Association hold lost annual and sick leave for future use, failed.

Amendment #16, allowing NSS fulltime employees to be in a paid status when attending their state convention, failed.

Amendment #17, concerning Appeals Committee procedures, failed.

The remainder of the amendments concerned biennial convention and would only have been addressed if Amendment #11 had passed.

Binding Resolutions began the first order of business. Three passed with the gavel, all concerning information to be included on the NRLCA website.

There were 334 Non-Binding Resolutions presented to the delegates.

Two sections were passed as a block, the first concerning leave replacements and the second RRECS.

Automation, EMA and Grievance Procedures each had a few that passed.

A lot of time was spent on resolutions dealing with Benefits.

17 were passed concerning leave slips, annual leave, donated leave, bereavement, leave carryover, high options, conversion training for new regulars, additional leave given when USPS requires time off due to CDC recommendation, and interest paid on settlement payments.

The day ended with Relief Day resolutions, seven passed.