President's Report, June 2026
Hello brothers and sisters of Star City Branch 524! It’s already June and the hot and humid summer of Virginia we all know and love is here. I hope you are all taking the time to stay cool and hydrated. Myself, I have purchased so many watermelons that the staff at ALDI thinks that I am trying out to be the next Gallagher.
LMS, it’s a BFD!
National has announced a great new tool to train current and future union leaders. It is called The Learning Management System (LMS). What is the LMS? The LMS is a series of online training modules that will soon be accessible through the “members only” portal on NALC.org. Each module will be 15-60 minutes long and each one covers a variety of subjects that current and prospective union representatives could find helpful. These subjects include (but are not necessarily limited to) Contract Administration, how to effectively grieve contractual violations, and general education. These modules have been put together primarily by regional staff from across the nation.
This is a huge deal for Letter Carriers and a major benefit for the union. One of the most important things that a shop steward can do is educate themselves. However, for far too long that has almost exclusively involved traveling hours away from home, missing work, getting put up in a hotel, and having to wait weeks to be reimbursed for their expenses. This logistical challenge has often dissuaded many from attending these events. And while these modules are probably still not as good as the wonderful "hands-on" style of training that Region 13 offers, it’s a decent substitute for it.
The LMS has already begun rolling out to select regions and will be made available to us in Region 13 on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. More information about the LMS can be found on National’s website.
VP Fellers returns from the DC Collective Bargaining Conference.
Vice President Randy Fellers has returned from the June Collective Bargaining Conference that was recently held at the Washington DC Hilton. His full report on the event can be found here.
Remembering Brother Dave Sutton.
Retired Cave Spring Letter Carrier Dave Sutton passed away unexpectedly on May 29, 2026 from complications due to cancer. Despite retiring from the Postal Service in 2022, Dave remained an active participant at Branch 524 meetings and functions and even was signed up to be a delegate to the 2026 National Convention in Los Angeles. Branch 524 extends its deepest sympathies to his family.
Carrier Annex Shop Steward Steps Down
Kyle Benjamin has announced that he will be relinquishing his position as shop steward of the Roanoke Carrier Annex’s “12-Zone”. Mr. Benjamin has confirmed that he has accepted a position with the Roanoke Fire Department and will be resigning from the Postal Service at the end of the month. If you have worked in the Carrier Annex at all this year you will know that he has become a thorn in the side of anyone in management who willfully violates the National Agreement. He has so far this year won hundreds of dollars for carriers and worked to remove countless discipline letters. Thank you, Kyle, for your hard work and dedication. Branch 524 wishes you all the best in your future endeavors!
Union Hall Work Day
On Friday, June 19th, Branch 524 is inviting all members to come down and help out with cleaning up the union hall and doing light repair work. Food will be provided. If you are interested in participating, please notify your shop steward as soon as possible.
Jourdian Returns to Roanoke.
With the departure of Roanoke Postmaster Larue Dickerson to Huntsville, Alabama there is a new acting postmaster. Donald “Sherman” Jourdian. To many of you, Mr. Jourdian is a familiar face as he was the OIC of the Roanoke installation in 2021. That was a particularly difficult time, as many offices were staffed with skeleton crews driving postal vehicles packed to the ceiling with Amazon boxes. NS days were nonexistent for many, with carriers getting forced overtime daily and stacks of undelivered mail became the norm.
Now, it is worth noting that Mr. Jourdian did not necessarily cause these issues at the time. However, he certainly didn’t help. One example of this bad decision making was turning away carriers who wanted to transfer in. If anyone wanted to transfer into the installation and their record had even the slightest flaw, he would reject them. All the while, mail sat undelivered, and carriers in Roanoke worked themselves to the bone. Hopefully, Mr. Jourdian has since come to his senses…
Being Mindful in The Parking Lot.
Recently there have been a few issues that have arisen out of the parking lot at the Roanoke Annex. First and foremost, when you drive your personal vehicle onto postal property, you are bound to the rules and regulations in the handbooks and manuals.
Many carriers like to decorate their cars with decals and stickers. Most of these are not a problem. However, should you decide to affix a political sticker on your car and park it on postal property, you may be in violation of the Hatch Act which prohibits federal employees from participating in political activities.
Additionally, if you feel a certain way about a group of people, and you wish to express this opinion with a sticker on your car, you may also be in violation of Section 665.23 and 665.24 of the ELM and potentially subject to corrective action.
Lastly, when you drive your personal vehicle onto postal property, your vehicle is subject to being searched. There are signs posted about this too. We recently had an incident where a carrier borrowed his wife’s car to get to work that day. His wife had left her parents’ mail on the front seat. Well, someone happened to se this and one thing led to another. Next thing you know the Inspectors showed up and were going through the carrier’s wife’s car. Once it was discovered to be a misunderstanding, they let the carrier go. However, the carrier was quite upset about the whole fiasco and understandably so.
The bottom line is, obviously, don’t bring anything illegal or prohibited on postal property. Also, don’t leave any suspicious items in plain view in your personal vehicle when you park it on postal property.
Food Drive Totals.
After calculating all 13 offices in the branch, we have learned that Branch 524 has brought in over 80,000lbs of donated food! Thank you again to everyone who participated. I can't wait to see how we do next year!
I would like to wish everyone in Branch 524 a very safe and happy Juneteenth and Fourth of July. Please remember to be safe this summer and do what it takes to get the job done safely and professionally!
In Solidarity
-Ross Murray
President, NALC Branch 524.
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