NAPUS members voted unanimously Tuesday morning, Sept. 1, at their national convention in Mobile, AL, to dissolve the NAPUS organization and join with the League to form United Postmasters and Managers of America (UPMA).

Linda Gurka, Michigan Chapter president and Postmaster of Suttons Bay, spoke at the mike:

“Mr. President: I move that we dissolve the National Association of Postmasters of the United States and join with the National League of Postmasters to form a new organization know as the United Postmasters and Managers of America. I further move that we adopt the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of this new organization as written and presented, effective Nov. 1, 2016.”

Bill Judge, Postmaster of Piqua, OH, seconded the motion.

President Tony Leonardi asked all active Postmasters in favor of the motion to please stand. He then asked everyone to sit. Next, he asked any active Postmaster not in favor of the motion to please stand; no one stood.

“The motion passes!” he declared.

Leonardi then asked everyone in favor of the motion to stand and show their support for the new organization; everyone in the room rose to their feet.

Also present at this historic event was League President Sean Acord, as well as John Olson and Jack Jameson—the League’s representatives on the joint committee who worked out the details of the consolidation. The NAPUS representatives on the committee were Secretary-Treasurer Dan Heins and John Galera.

Earlier during Tuesday morning’s general business session, NAPUS members approved a constitutional change to open membership to everyone in the Postal Service. There now are three membership categories:

Active—Postmasters, PMRs, managers, supervisors and any other EAS employee employed by the Postal Service. Active members can vote and hold office, with the exception specified in Article 17, Section 2 (see Constitution and Bylaws at www.napus.org).

Postmasters Retired—Any person retired from the Postal Service, including employees having held the title of Postmaster any time during their careers and employees having held an EAS position at any time during their careers. Postmasters Retired members do not have the right to vote or hold office, except as provided in Article 5, Section 6; Article 17, Section 1; and Article 10, Section 1 (see Constitution and Bylaws at www.napus.org), but can attend all meetings.

Associate—Postal Service employees (not otherwise covered in this article), former Postal Service employees (not to include Postmasters Retired) and surviving spouses. Associate members are members of the Postmasters Retired organization. Associate members do not have the right to vote or hold office, except as provided in Article 5, Section 6 (see Constitution and Bylaws at www.napus.org), but can attend all meetings.

This constitutional change takes effect immediately; current associate members who are EAS employees will have until Nov. 1, 2015, to decide whether they want to become active members or cancel their memberships.

source: NAPUS