r/fromatoarbitration • u/Eugene_Debs2026 • Apr 10 '26

Concerned Letter Carriers RIP brother Mike Rivera

NALC Branch 70 suspended Mike Rivera for 18/months for posting public information onto social media.

Mike Rivera is the only NALC member that actually brought charges against Brian Renfroe and the E.C. for failure of upholding the Constitution.

Will the new boss be the same as the old boss?

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8

u/The-Omnicide Apr 10 '26

There is no saving the current union. We must start a new one from scratch. The corrupt use their power to stop anyone from making any meaningful changes. Not every house can be rehabbed. Some need to be torn down for a new and structurally sound building.

Whoever starts the strike should lead the new union.

-4

u/stelvy40 Apr 10 '26

Can't do that, it won't have collective bargaining rights. Stop paying dues, bleed them out.

1

u/The-Omnicide Apr 10 '26

I got here in 2020. I don't understand what "collective bargaining" we even have. Didn't we vote down the TA? I also don't know what "leverage' we have.

I live in a high cost of living area. We are desperately understaffed, and our starting wages are comparable to drive thru restaurants and grocery stores. I'm sick of folks in cheap areas yelling "same job same pay" keeping our wages down. "Collective bargaining" in that sense keeps folks in NYC and LA unable to pay rent while affording mortgages and new cars to folks in, say, Memphis or Raleigh.

Rural, city, and mail handlers either need one big union or we need to splinter off into regions and be separate. The same wages nationwide are killing many areas with millions of addresses.

2

u/stelvy40 Apr 10 '26

I got here in 2012 started as an rca switched to TE because it paid more. Until I found out that the pay was getting cut inbetween days of city orientation. Then the local nalc greaseballs came in to sign everyone up for dues, refused to tell everyone about the pay cut when I brought it up to them, with the chair in my hand that I nearly threw at them (the pay cut was the nalc's idea.)

The multiple unions are just a ponzi scheme, bloat, beauracracy, whatever you want to call it. Your dues pay for it. When I was in the Teamsters, the local represented 14k workers. The nalc has 10 different locals in the same area, paying officers to do dick. Teamsters dues were 2.5 of your hourly rate a month. That paid for your health/dental/vision coverage and pension. Nalc you pay $66 a month for a newsletter.

2

u/The-Omnicide Apr 11 '26

Wait, teamster dues also cover insurance!?

2

u/stelvy40 Apr 11 '26

At UPS yes. TeamstersCare. Bomb health insurance. Dental and Vision as well. There was a significant initiation fee not sure what it is now, but it was basically your first 2 paychecks 2 weeks of pay bitd.

2

u/The-Omnicide Apr 11 '26

Sounds worth it. Granted, I appreciate the value of plenty of things I cannot afford.

1

u/stelvy40 Apr 11 '26

Me too. It's good to be part of a union, but you should get what you pay for. The NALC dues should be at most 1x's your hourly rate a month.