Day 3's session is convened in the afternoon due to the Primary Election, in this case for the Western Region VP. Voting is usually done from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. After the usual opening formalities, i.e. invocation, pledge of allegiance, announcements, we were given a demonstration of a "roll call vote". A roll call vote is required when the President can not distinguish during a vote by the entire Delegation which was louder, the ayes (yes) or the nays (no). Next was the Report from the Constitution Committee. This is the time when we get down to the "meat and potatoes" so-to-speak. This is where things get serious and often times heated. It was serious , and it did get a little lukewarm, but overall, everyone treated each other with dignity and respect. After a break, we had a video message from Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-MA).
Congressman Lynch is a long-time friend of the NPMHU who also spoke to us in person at our 2004 Convention in Boston, MA. He understands first-hand what it means to be a postal employee because he has several family members who are postal employees. Congressman Lynch is a sponsor of the Mail Network Protection Act. If enacted, this act would require the Postal Service to bargain and arbitrate with the Mail Handlers Union before outsourcing work to private contractors. We concluded today's session with the announcement of the Primary Election results. The end result was Brother Rudy Santos and Sister Dot Henderson receiving the two highest vote totals thereby placing them in another election to be held later this year in the Western Region.
