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ABOUT THE
DIRECTOR OF
SAFETY AND HEALTH |
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NALC's Director of of Safety and Health is responsible for following safety and health issues that relate to letter carrier jobs. The current director is Brian Hellman, who also represents NALC's interests on:
| —the National Joint Labor-Management Safety Committee established by Article 14, Section 3 of the National Agreement, |
| —the National Joint Labor-Management Uniform Control Committee established by Article 26 |
| —the National Joint EAP Committee established by Article 35. |
Letter carriers' occupational safety and health is protected by Article 14 of the National Agreement and by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (see the OSHA page). |
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HOT TOPICS |
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EAP website for postal employees |
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The cold-stress equation |
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Other Safety & Health topics |
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Safety and Health
Keeping letter carriers safe
on the job
It's getting warmer out,
so drink plenty of liquids! |
Know the signs of heat sickness, and act to avoid heat-related health problems.
Click here to read more...
EAP website for postal employees
Magellan Behavioral Health, the contractor providing the Postal Service with Employee Assistance Plan (EAP) services, has created a free, informative, new website for postal employees. Letter carriers may join the site by surfing to EAP4you.com, clicking "New User," entering 800-327-4968 and registering with an anonymous user name and password.
The site contains a huge storehouse of up-to-date health and wellness information on everything from coping with workplace stress, to child and elder care, to time and money management, to learning the warning signs of substance abuse. It also offers an "ask the expert" section for customized advice, anonymous self-screening tools for such problems as depression and alcohol abuse, and a wealth of links to Internet resources on all things related to personal or family health.
Uniform allowance
Employees covered under the 2006-2011 United States Postal Service-National Association of Letter Carriers (USPS-NALC) national agreement who are eligible to receive annual clothing allowances, as specified in Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) section 932.1, are entitled to an annual allowance increase effective on allowance anniversary dates occurring on or after November 21, 2008, as follows:
Regular Uniform Program (ELM 932.11):
| Year |
2008
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2009
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2010
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| Effective Date |
Nov 21
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Nov 21
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Nov 21
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| First-year amount (Type 1 uniforms) |
$435
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$446
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$457
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Employees no longer eligible for a
first-year allowance (Type 1 uniforms) |
$353
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$362
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$371
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The allowance amount is updated on the uniform allowance anniversary date. The Uniform Purchase Card will reflect the increase approximately two weeks after the employee’s uniform allowance anniversary date. In accordance with the 2006-2010 national agreement, increases are effective on November 21 of the contract year.
— Uniform Program Labor Relations, 11/20/06
Newly eligible employees entering the reimbursable uniform program will receive an additional credit to the employee’s allowance as follows:
- Effective November 21, 2008: $82, if entitled to the $353 per annum.
- Effective November 21, 2009: $84, if entitled to the $362 per annum.
- Effective November 21, 2010: $86, if entitled to the $371 per annum.
Employee Assistance Program—National Joint Committee
The meeting of the National Joint EAP Committee was held at APWU Headquarters in Washington December 16, 2008. Attendees included Brian Hellman, (NALC); Sue Carney, (APWU); and Debbie Atkins, (EAP Administrator). Sandy Savoie, (USPS – Manager, Contract Administration NPMHU and EAP/WEI Programs) was absent. Minutes
Postal Service EAP wins award celebrating 40th anniversary
November 2008 was a month to reflect on and take pride in the history and achievements of the Postal Service’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
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| The EAP National Joint Committee, from left to right: Susan Carney APWU; Brian Hellman, NALC; Sandy Savoie, USPS; Deborah Atkins, USPS. |
On November 12, 1968, in San Francisco, the first office became available to help those in the Postal Service dealing with alcoholism. It was called the Program for Alcoholic Recovery (PAR).
From those humble beginnings has come a state-of-the-art and awarding-winning EAP.
The EAP is now a free, voluntary, and confidential program that offers assessment, referral, short-term counseling and work/life consultation to postal employees and their families. The EAP can help you resolve your personal concerns, so you can be your best at work and at home. The EAP is designed to assist in the identification and resolution of personal, family, and workplace concerns.
In this milestone month, we are proud to announce the receipt of an award from the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA). On October 18, 2008, EAPA held their Awards Luncheon at the Annual World EAP Conference in Atlanta. It was announced that the Postal Service was nominated and selected for the Ross Von Weigand Award, which honors a labor/management Employee Assistance Program (EAP) that exemplifies exceptional cooperation and working relationship.
This is a very prestigious award that represents the best efforts of Postal Service management, the APWU and the NALC to provide a comprehensive work-life resource for all employees and their immediate family members. This award honors the work of the EAP advisory committees, who serve as ambassadors for the program, explaining how the EAP works, emphasizing confidentiality and stressing the breadth of services that EAP offers to employees and their families. The EAP National Joint Committee (NJC) wants to thank everyone who has served on a DAC, or who has provided support and encouragement for the EAP. It is your dedication to helping others that earned us this very high honor. EAP History | EAP in the ELM
National Joint Safety Task Force
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| Standing, from left: Michael Ragan, Michael Gorham, Tony Minicucci, Sam Pulcrano, Brian Hellman, Judy Willoughby, Tom Gates, Donna Bowers, Michael Fortunato, Mark Richards. Seated, from left: Yolanda Stenson, John Foley, Shelly Beller. (Not available for the photo was David Flippo.) |
| SAFETY & HEALTH TOPICS |
| Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Information about letter carrier benefits under the program |
| Joint Statement on Violence: The 1992 Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace, the Snow Award and more |
| OSHA page: The Occupational Safety and Health Act, letter carrier rights under the law, the federal regulations and regional OSHA offices |
| National Threat Level: The Postal Service implements protective measures in accordance with the current national threat level |
| Emergency Notification Plan for Off-Site Employees: A basic notification plan for off-site employees, including letter carriers |
| Beat the heat! Know the signs of heat illness |
| USPS Biohazard Detection System: BDS system testing and implementation explained |
| Pandemic influenza: The White House and the Homeland Security Council have released a National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza. |
| SARS: Information on Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome; includes symptoms and links to health organizations monitoring the disease |
| West Nile virus: Information on the virus; symptoms listed |
| Suspicious powder exercises: Exercise guides and a checklist to ensure a consistent and reasoned response when suspicious powder is found in the mail |
| Dog-bite dangers: Links to other online resources |
| Heart-attack symptoms: Basic facts on heart disease; warning signs of impending problems |
| Hypothermia: OSHA has issued a cold stress card providing workplace guidance for workers who spend time outdoors or in unheated environments. |
| District Safety Committees: A pilot program involving the establishment of DSCs is expanded under a new MOU |
| Materials: USPS Publications related to safety & health, OSHA |
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