Meeting Opened at 7:09 PM by President Virginia Price-Booker

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MINUTES

JUNE 26, 2013

Meeting opened at 7:09 PM by President Virginia Price-Booker.

Pledge of Allegiance was led by Vice President Robert Daggs. President Price-Booker requested a moment of silence for departed, sick, and injured members.

Roll call of officers revealed all officers present

MINUTES: Minutes from the May 22, 2013 meeting were presented. It was moved and seconded to waive the reading of the minutes. Motion passed. It was moved and seconded to accept the minutes, as printed, with the necessary corrections. Motion passed.

BILLS AND COMMUNICATIONS: Treasurer Beverly Wash furnished a reading of bills and disbursements for the month of May 2013. There were a total of 22 checks written during May 2013. Thank you cards were received from member Laverne Mahoney thanking the Branch for the plant sent for the loss of her relative.

FINANCIAL SECRETARY REPORT: Financial Secretary Darryl Smith stated he has received applications from Willie Riley, sponsored by Duane McCann, and Beverly M. Young, sponsored by Laurentine Owens.

VICE PRESIDENT REPORT: Vice President Daggs stated:

• Different management styles require members to adjust to them, and continue to follow instructions. Supervisors must be sure they are monitoring the timekeeping for their employees, and be sure they are off the clock at the appropriate time.
• Members should avoid disparaging remarks about their manager.
• Prior to entering any postal facility in St. Louis City, NAPS representative must notify the Postmaster of St. Louis.
• Request representation during meetings with managers that may lead to discipline.

PRESIDENT REPORT: The numbers of PDI’s and leters being issued have increase over the last few weeks.

Remember that you must document incidents that occur on you tour. You must also make sure that your employees are being held accountable for their failure to properly do their jobs. If you don’t hold them responsible you will be held accountable for their failure to do there job correctly the first time.

If you have a 204B working for you they are getting level 17 pay hold them accountable for the performance of there assign duties. There have been some issues with supervisors receiving calls from other supervisor/managers/mpoo’s because they have a relative (CCA) working in there office and you want them to have some special consideration or time off. Do not ask anyone to have their job on line because you want a favor.

Remember if you are having trouble meeting dead line let you manager know in writing

and follow up as you meet deadline. Hold those supervisors that work in your operation accountable for not during there job. We have still several supervisors and managers that are working through Performance Reviews all are progressing and offices are showing improvement.

The testing requirements for EAS applying for jobs and were told they need to take the assessment test have changed. We are not sure what affect this has on those that had to take the exam and were eliminated from interviews and not promoted. If you fall in that category contact your NAPS represesntative.

New Supervisor Program

Duration of the New Supervisor Program will extend for one calendar year for each trainee. The program consists of Virtual Learning, eLearning, and classroom courses. Additionally, I will pair a skilled peer coach to assist you in transferring knowledge gained from your training experiences into superior job performance. Our corps of coaches is comprised of managers who possess exceptional experience in the areas of Distribution Operations and Customer Services.

There have been a several incidents this month that have involved what I consider poor

Communication skills. I have extracted from the Postal Service Team Talk produced by Gateway District that I feel will be very helpful to us all.

Communication Tips

Below are some tips to enhance your ability to communicate well. Good communicators tune in not only to the words, but to how they are said and the non-verbal behavior that accompanies the words.

Verbal Skills: There are a number of verbal skills which will ensure that you have understood what has been said and will provide feedback to the other person that you are listening. If you watch a good interviewer on television you will see them make use of these skills.

Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing is simply putting what you heard into your own words. You do this by using fewer words.

Reflecting: Paraphrasing refers to the facts, whereas reflecting focuses on feelings, emotions and experiences. Reflect back what you see or hear through non-verbal cues as well as the words spoken.

Summarizing: Sum up what the other person has said. This is useful after the person has been speaking for a while.

Questioning: Good questions can ensure your understanding of a conversation. Use open-ended questions that require more than a one-word response. For example, "did you have a good day?" will likely give you a one-word answer, whereas "what did you do today?" should give you more detailed response.

Non-verbal communication: What does the speaker’s body language tell you? Also, think about your own body language. Non-verbal communication can sometimes give away what a person is really thinking or feeling.

Consider the following body language:

 Posture. Is it relaxed, slumped, upright? Is their posture open or closed?

 Eye contact. Is the person keeping good eye contact or are they avoiding your gaze? Avoidance may indicate sadness, embarrassment or shame.

 Gestures. These include nodding, smiling and hand movements.

 Facial expression. Look for changes which differ to their usual expression.

 Voice. Pitch, stress, volume, clarity and the pace of the words spoken can make a huge difference to the meaning of what is said.

Active listening

When we listen actively to another person, we use all of the above skills. However, active listening also requires listening to another person attentively without letting our own thoughts here seem to me much.

Congratulation: to Cheryl Benford as she travels to her new job in Texas. Remember to

Recruit those newly promoted supervisors into the NAPS organization. See Darryl for applications.

Have a GREAT Summer see you all in the fall. Your NAPS representatives don’t have the summer of so if you need us we are just a phone call a way.

Virginia Price Booker

Branch131 President.

President Price-Booker stated some employees are failing ODIS tests because they do not have signs up indicating a test is being conducted. She reminded members to hang signs up everywhere in the facility to announce that an ODIS test is being conducted.

President Price-Booker stated if members have received an interview for a job, and then you were informed you had to take the assessment test, and you were not selected or given an interview, you should document the incident, and contact a NAPS representative.

Discussion followed on the selection and interview process. Members were informed the effective July 1, 2013, the requirement for Exam 642 for EAS employees was no longer necessary for employees whose permanent grade was EAS-17 and above, employees who previously held the position of Supervisor, Customer Service and Supervisor, Distribution Operations, and employees who have a qualifying score on Exam 642.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Social and Recreation: No report.

Constitution and By-Laws: Parliamentarian Gary Schroeder gave the second reading of the following proposed amendment:

ARTICLE VIII: DELEGATES

Section 7. LEGISLATIVE TRAINING SEMINAR: Delegates for the Legislative Training Seminar will consist of the President, the Vice-President, and the Legislative Committee Co-Chairperson by virtue of their office. Efforts will be made to have two delegates from each Congressional District in which Gateway Branch 131 have members. Should less than four (4) members be designated as delegates by this procedure, additional members will be selected to bring the total number of delegates up to four. Selection of these additional members should be prioritized by their Congressional District and their status as “first-timer” and will be selected by the President, the Vice-President, and the Legislative Committee Co-Chairperson. Delegates to the Legislative Training Seminar shall be allowed a sum to cover the registration fee, air fare, $20 for public transportation, hotel, and “per diem”.

Discussion followed on the proposed amendment. It was moved and seconded to accept the amendment. Motion passed 10-6.

Attendance: Chairman Carol Marley reported that at the last meeting, three (3) members volunteered to assiston the Attendance Committee: Lisa Davis, Carolyn Hester, and Edmond Smith. Chairman Marleygave a summary of the surveythat was included in the newsletter and sent to all members. She stated she received no surveys back in the mailto date, but the members present at the last meeting had completedsome forms. She stated 93% of the respondents recommended an interest in trainingand guest speakersfor the monthly meetings. The top seven (7) topicsof interestrecommended by the respondentsto improve attendance at the meetingswere: Labor Relations, TACS, SOXCompliance, Injury Compensation, Conflict Resolution, Financial Procedures, and Safety. She stated guest presentations/training are scheduled for the balance of the 2013 branch meetings as follows: September 25, 2013, Dan Muskopf – Labor Relations, October 23, 2013, Pam Cothrine and Staff – Injury Compensation,November 27, 2013, Allen Mitchell –Senior Manager, Distribution Operations.

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Chairman Marley presented a proposal for a “Congratulations and Welcome Event for New Supervisors” to solicit new members for the Branch. She suggested a BBQ Meet and Greet Social. It was moved and seconded to allocate funds for the event, and schedule it for Sunday, September 15, 2013, at the Machinists Hall from 3:30 PM – 7:30 PM. Motion passed.

SERGEANT AT ARMS REPORT:Sergeant at Arms Pamela Cothrine asked that members contact her when a member is sick or passes, or a relative of a member passes, so she can send a plant from NAPS. She stated she can be contacted at (314) 436-3616.

President Price-Booker stated she has received a letter from NAPS National Secretary-Treasurer Brian Wagner stating he is a candidate for re-election to his position in 2014.

Sandra Stepney, NDC Supervisor was recognized for attending her first NAPS meeting.

The 50-50 winner was Robert White.

Meeting adjourned at8:23 PM.

Recorded

MELVIN E. BELL

Corresponding Secretary

Reviewed

VIRGINIA PRICE-BOOKER

President