[StBernard] Post Offices

[Westley Annis]

That is the most idiotic thing I've heard of!  Completely eliminating
them???
 
Okay, okay, I know...I'm the one who questioned why they (P.O.) couldn't
rent boxes in the Chalmette facilities when trailers were placed.  That's
one thing.
 
However, to completely close down the the other P.O's and only have the one
is ridiculous.
 
The writer said some folks would be returning to the lower parts (St.
Bernard 70085) and Violet because they didn't have flood insurance.  We had
flood insurance but were under-insured so we can really only repair what we
had rather than pay the inflated prices our northshore brethren have chosen
to sell their houses for.  It will cost us more than we got for flood and
homeowners but we want to come home to St. Bernard, warts and all.
 
A question to the postal employees....what do the Unions say about this?  Is
there anything they can possibly do?  Also, if there truly isn't enough work
for now, why can't they float you all to other area post offices?  
 
I'm going thru something similar myself.  I work (worked?) at NFC at
Michoud.  I was in IRMD.  Probably in Sept./Oct my supervisor called me to
ask about deploying to the backup data center in Philadelphia PA.  She said
they were working 12 hr shifts and there would be very little/if any leave
approved.  She asked if my mom (80 yrs. old and I'm her primary caregiver)
would be okay on her own.  I said let's try.  Well...after her blood
clotting went off on her Coumadin for her artificial heart valve, two trips
to the local dr. and then a hospitalization here in B'ham I had to email the
boss to say under the conditions she stipulated, I could not go to Philly.
Her answer was that I had been ordered to deploy and since I wasn't there I
was on AWOL.  I now have 4 letters from her, I'm sure proposing to terminate
my job.  
 
Now also, on the NFC website there *was* a blurb about if you were in the
affected Katrina/Rita areas and would be willing to work for another agency
such as FEMA or the Corps, to contact NFC.  I was waiting to contact NFC
ONCE I got our FEMA trailer and had a place to stay in the area.  Still
haven't heard on the damned trailer.
 
I had initially contacted Cong. Charlie Melancon's office about this.  One
of his staffers told me that if they tried **anything** like trying to fire
me to contact his office immediately.  His toll-free number is
1-866-289-9210 and the district office # is 337-367-8231.
 
I'll be calling them tomorrow after I open these damned letters.
 
 
***A note to non-fed readers of this list***
I am not complaining about not being paid.  The original statement from NFC
was that if you could not deploy to alternate site, you would get paid
Admin. leave for as long as that was authorized and then you would be placed
on Leave Without Pay.  At least that way, the medical insurance would go on
and you'd repay your premiums once you got back into pay status.  If they
terminate me I won't even have the health insurance, which I'm sure a lot of
people are going thru.  However, I'm on 5 different prescription drugs for
everything from hypertension, anxiety/depression and cholesterol lowering
med. My thoughts have been that if they terminate me, I won't have the
hypertension or cholesterol meds so let that happen, let me have the stroke
or heart attack and so be it.  You can only fight so many battles at one
time.
 
Jim York
jaywhy321 at yahoo.com