We get a few updates from Michael and from me. We announce our candidacy in the upcoming rerun of our tainted branch election, and we talk about some of the problems of mandating.

I received a letter from Brian Renfroe today, answering my question of whether it's permissible for me to be nominated for a branch officer position in our upcoming re-run election, AND to be nominated to serve as a steward. Turns out, yes. Yes it is. This ruling will strengthen involvement and democracy in my branch, which is a good thing.

I'm back from vacation! I'll probably talk about Peru at some point, but right now it's time to talk about my other big passion: education.

Michael and I answer questions from listeners.

Michael joins me in studio to talk about the importance of filing preventative grievances. Most of our grievances are reactionary, responding AFTER the damage has been done. Michael makes the argument that there is a role for grievances before the harms to carriers become great.

Carlton and Brian lost their bid to overturn the status quo in their branch election, but that doesn't mean they're giving up. I talked to them about their effort to update their branch's bylaws, the underhanded methods the good ol' boys use to thwart their efforts, and what the future looks like for their reform movement. Despite the discouraging subject matter, this episode serves as an inspiration for anyone who is dedicated to reforming their union.

This was a BANGER of a Zoom meeting! Michael and I took part in a national Zoom meeting with a bunch of other podcasters, and special guest Manny Peralta (Director of Safety). John Murphy did a great job of collecting questions about safety issues that affect all letter carriers. I know it's a long episode, but it is very much worth a listen.

Sorry about the sound levels. It was recorded off Zoom, and people were at different volumes. I did what I could to balance things out on the fly. This is my recording of the Zoom feed, and includes a little bit of prep in the beginning, and a little bit of post-Zoom conversation at the end.

It's been a while since we've looked at the platform for the Concerned Letter Carriers. In this episode, I will read the platform as published on the CLC website, and comment on it. There have been some updates, and some other planks are out of date. I'll go over the things I agree with, and some parts of the platform that I think are lacking.