A changing of the guard at National Association of Letter Carriers
Kevin Card and Jim Cook — two
longtime local leaders in the National
Association of Letter Carriers (NALC)
— have left office.
Card started in mid-November as a
special assistant to the union’s national
president, working on workers’ com-
pensation. Card was secretary-treas-
urer of Portland-based NALC Branch
82, as well as president of NALC’s
state association. He will remain in the
area part-time, however: Card’s new
schedule consists of two weeks at
NALC’s regional office in Vancouver,
followed by three weeks at the union’s
Washington, D.C., headquarters. In his
new job, Card helps members appeal
denied workers’ comp claims. The
U.S. Postal Service has one of the
highest injury rates in federal govern-
ment, so workers’ comp is a big issue
for NALC’s 260,000 members.
Ricky Horton of NALC Branch 916
in Eugene takes Card’s place at the
NALC state association, which coordi-
nates the union’s legislative and politi-
cal work.
And Matt Pierce, a steward and let-
ter carrier at Multnomah station, suc-
ceeds Card as Branch 82 secretary-
treasurer.
Cook, meanwhile, opted not to run
JIM COOK RETIRES
KEVIN CARD HEADS TO D . C .
PAGE 8
for re-election after coming out of re-
tirement to serve four years as Branch
82 president. Branch 82, with 1,200
members, is NALC’s largest local in
Oregon. It was Cook’s third stretch as
Branch 82 president, having served in
that role from 1988 to 1993, and from
1996 to 2001.
Cook is known locally as an active
member of the Pacific Northwest La-
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
bor History Association and the Labor
History Committee of the Northwest
Oregon Labor Council, and as a mem-
ber of the labor ballad troupe General
Strike, which performs on picket lines
and at rallies. He retired from the U.S.
Postal Service in 2007. Cook said he
plans to continue as a delegate to the
Labor Council. He will also serve as
Branch 82’s legislative liaison.
Longtime chief steward Jim Falvey,
just-retired as a letter carrier at Rose
City station, succeeds Cook as Branch
82 president. Falvey started at the U.S.
Post Office as a mail handler, and was
vice president of the mail handlers lo-
cal. He became a letter carrier in 1988,
and has served on the Executive Board
of Branch 82 and the state association.
JANUARY 17, 2014