Not quite a year ago we moved toward a more active State Association. It was a new path for all of us on the board - Director of Retired Members Mike Sheridan was the only person that continued in their previous position with the board, and more than half of us were serving for the first time. Less than half of our Congressional Districts had a Letter Carrier Congressional Liaison. We made no impact on the 2024 elections. It was time for a change.

 

      We now have a LCCL in each of our 13 Congressional Districts, some with two. Thanks to each of you who stepped up for that task. Working on legislative issues can seem daunting. Many of our union colleagues don’t want to take on this task. Each of you plays a vital role in furthering our agenda and we can’t succeed without support in Congress. Our successes are tough to measure - but the easiest metrics to use are lobbying meetings accomplished and cosponsorships on our legislative issues. We have either had, or have scheduled to happen, lobbying meetings in 11 of Michigan’s thirteen districts and we’re working on the last holdouts. As a result of those meetings we have 7 Michigan cosponsors on House Resolution 70, 7 cosponsors on HR 1065, 2 on HR 1165, 3 on HR 3170, 2 on HR 3011, and 3 on HR 491. We also had the first Representative in the country to sign on to every one of our legislative priorities - Rep Shri Thanedar in CD-13.

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      In a legislative arena that wasn’t on our agenda a year ago, we have a bill in Lansing to add letter carriers to the list of community servants who are protected by enhanced penalties when victims of crime while on the job. HR 5483 amends MCL 750.81d. Rep Joey Andrews (38th district, St Joseph) introduced the bill at our request and there are 20 additional cosponsors in the Michigan House. This is a developing issue - you can look to social media for updates.

 

      BREAKING NEWS! STOP THE PRESSES! I actually had to have the Editor change the paper, which was already in galleys, to add this. I spoke with State Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Huntington Woods) on March 9th. The two of us had a 45 minute talk. We discussed her plans in the upcoming election, our legislative priorities at the national level, and Michigan House Bill 5483. I asked her to introduce a companion bill to HB 5483 in the Senate, expecting a month or two process to get there. Nope! 9 days later, on March 18th, Senator McMorrow introduced SB 844, which mirrors HB 5483. Thanks to State Senator Mallory McMorrow and her staff for such a quick turn-around on this important letter carrier issue! (BTW - our Editor, Executive Board member Jennifer Rake, does a great job and she doesn’t even fuss at me when I do things like this that make her job more difficult.)

 

      This brings me to the new territory we will all have to explore together. As HB 5483 and SB 844 move through Lansing, we will need to contact our state legislators to influence them. This process mirrors how we work in Washington, but the infrastructure that we have at NALC.org doesn’t exist for state level matters. Fortunately, our state legislature does have an easy way to determine who our legislators are and to contact them.

 

      First, go to legislature.mi.gov. On the right side of the main page you’ll find clickable links for “Find your Senator” and “Find your Representative.” You’ll be able to enter your address at each link to find your senator and congressperson. When the legislator comes up there will be a link to their email address and phone number. You can write to them at Sen/Rep NAME, Post Office Box 30014, Lansing, MI 48909. Look for sample letters in the Michigan NALC Facebook page.

 

      This year, in addition to staying on top of our legislative agenda, we will be looking to help branches with their LCPF numbers. Over the next several months, we will be contacting Branch Presidents with a request for them to appoint LCPF representatives for their branches and forward those names to the State. We will then, in conjunction with the NBA’s office, provide training opportunities for those LCFP representatives who need it. Dates, times, and funding models are to be determined, so no details yet - your branch president will know as soon as we do.

 

      2026 is an election year. We will be involved in the election process. I already have been active through my seat on the Michigan AFL-CIO General Board. By the time you read this, I will have had personal meetings with three of the four viable candidates to replace Senator Peters. We’ve also had meetings with some of the candidates in Congressional District 10, which is an open seat. Through the AFL-CIO we have also met with candidates for Michigan Secretary of State, Attorney General, and a number of Michigan legislature candidates. Our next newsletter will be devoted to the issues surrounding the 2026 general election. Look for that to arrive in your mailbox around the same time that absentee ballots for the general election hit.

 

      For those who haven’t heard yet, we have a new, trial position. Our by-laws have a position for Upper Peninsula Representative which has unfortunately been unfilled for some time. After talking with branch presidents in the northern Lower Peninsula, I found that many of the issues that caused the UP Rep to be added to our bylaws also exist in the northern Lower Peninsula. I decided that we should try having a Northern Lower Peninsula Representative. I appointed Barry Wiley, a retiree from Petoskey Branch 523, to fill that ad-hoc position. We will evaluate the program for another year or so and decide whether or not to continue it. Thanks to Barry for agreeing to help us evaluate the program.

 

      Thanks to everyone who came out to support the rallies on February 22nd. The weather wasn’t the best but we still turned out a great group of people. I don’t think that Feb 22 was a one-and-done event - I expect to see more demonstrations in the future.

 

      It’s never too early to plan for upcoming events. Michigan Senate District 35 special election is May 5rd. Michigan 1’s food drive kickoff is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 7. The Food Drive is Saturday, May 9. Look for guest columnist Jim Hunter’s article discussing the food drive elsewhere in this issue. Michigan’s State-wide primary is August 4. Be sure to vote absentee if you’re a NALC national convention delegate - the convention is August 3-7. We will also be marching on Labor Day in Detroit again this year. Labor Day is September 7. We had a great time last year!

 

      Another item that I’ve had to ask the Editor to wedge in after the galleys were done: earlier this month Treasurer Peter Palmer informed me that he was going to resign from his position on the state board. I’m sorry to see Pete go. He was an invaluable asset to the State Association and was elected by acclamation just last year. Pete’s resignation will become effective March 31st.

 

      Based on the authority given me by the Constitution for the Government of State Associations and the Bylaws of the MISALC, I have appointed Nicole Wheatley of South Macomb Branch 4374 to fill the remainder of the Treasurer’s term. Sister Wheatley’s appointment will become effective when Brother Palmer leaves office and Nicole will be formally installed at our board meeting on April 1st. Thanks to Brother Peter Palmer for his service to the State Association and welcome to Sister Nicole Wheatley.

 

      In closing, I’d like to remind everyone of our media outreach channels. Obviously, twice a year we publish this newsletter. It’s our best way to get information to every member of the State Association but the lead time required to assemble, edit, publish, and mail the newsletter makes it impossible for us to share time-critical information here. I write a State article which gets sent to branch presidents and newsletter editors on the 1st of each month. How your branch uses that article is up to them - not every branch has a newsletter and for some branches the timing of the article doesn’t work out. We make sure that we have an article for the State Association page in the Postal Record each month as well. The best way to get timely information from the Association is by joining our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/groups/NALC.Michigan. I also have a segment on the Colorado State Association of Letter Carriers webcast which is on Thursdays at 9AM Eastern. I generally speak between 9:45 and 10:00. My friend and colleague COSALC President Richard Byrne is the show host and you can get the weekly link at www.coffeewithlettercarriers.org.

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Here's a list of handy contact points:

Facebook group: NALC Michigan

Facebook: Ronald S Zalewski

Email: rszalewski@aol.com

State Office: 734-999-8080

Cell/SMS: 586-206-3770

Mailing Address: MISALC / PO BOX 794 / TAYLOR, MI 48180

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