Two down—seven more to go …

The U.S. Senate confirmed two nominations to the Postal Service Board of Governors, and President Trump announced his intent to nominate two other individuals to the board Aug. 28.

The Senate confirmed Robert M. Duncan, a Kentucky resident, and David C. Williams, an Illinois resident.

President Trump nominated Duncan and Williams last fall.

On Aug. 28, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Ron A. Bloom, a New York resident, and Roman Martinez IV, a Florida resident.

The USPS Board of Governors acts much like a board of directors, conducting long-range planning and setting strategic policies, among other duties.

 

Under current law, the board is intended to be comprised of nine governors and the Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General.

“The U.S. Postal Service is pleased with yesterday’s action by the U.S. Senate to confirm nominees to the Postal Service Board of Governors. We look forward to working with Robert M. Duncan and David C. Williams when they begin their terms as governors and thank the administration for nominating them to serve on the board. We also thank the administration for nominating two additional candidates yesterday to serve as governors, Ron A. Bloom and Roman Martinez IV,” said Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan.

“The public interest and the Postal Service are best served by a fully constituted board made up of well-qualified individuals with diverse perspectives and experience. Powers of the Board of Governors necessary for continuity of operations will continue to be delegated to the temporary emergency committee until the board once again has a statutory quorum.” source: USPS News Link

President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:

Ron A. Bloom of New York, to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service, for the remainder of a seven-year term expiring December 8, 2020.

Prior to joining the Obama administration, Bloom was a special assistant to the president of the United Steelworkers. His responsibilities included the union’s collective bargaining program.

Before joining the Steelworkers, Bloom was one of the founding partners of Keilin and Bloom, an investment banking firm, where he was involved in numerous transactions on behalf of the Steelworkers, United Auto Workers, Teamsters, Air Line Pilots Association and other unions.

Roman Martinez IV of Florida, to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service, for the remainder of a seven-year term expiring December 8, 2024.

Mr. Roman Martinez, IV, has been an Independent Director at Cigna Corporation since July 1, 2005. Mr. Martinez was a Partner of Lehman Brothers of New York, where he served for more than thirty years. Mr. Martinez is involved in a broad spectrum of U.S. and international investment banking activities. He headed a sector of Lehman’s investment banking division from 1986 to 1989. He serves as a Member of Investment Advisory Council at Florida State Board of Administration. Mr. Martinez serves as a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves on the Board of Governors of New York Presbyterian Healthcare System, Inc. Lehman Brothers Inc. acts and has acted as Financial Advisor. He serves as a Trustee of The New York and Presbyterian Hospital and a Director of International Rescue Committee. He served as the Managing Director of Lehman Brothers from 1978 to 2003. Mr. Martinez has been an Independent Director at Orbital ATK, Inc. (formerly known as Alliant Techsystems Inc.) since May 4, 2004 and Bacardi & Company Limited since July 2008. He served as a Director of Bacardi Limited since July, 2008. Mr. Martinez served as a Director of GreenPoint Financial Corp. since January 2004 and Spanish Broadcasting System Inc., since November 2, 1999. He served as a Member of the Board at the Lehman Brothers division of Shearson Lehman Brothers from 1989 to 1993. Mr. Martinez is a Graduate of Boston College and also obtained an MBA Degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

From NALC:

On August 28, 2018, the Senate confirmed the nominations of David Williams (D) and Robert Duncan (R) to serve as members of the U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors, each for one term.

David C. Williams was confirmed to serve the remainder of a seven-year term that ends December 8, 2019. Williams has a long history of government service. He joined the Secret Service after a tour of military duty in Vietnam, and then served as part of the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Strike Force. Following his work on President Ronald Reagan’s Commission on Organized Crime, he led the Office of Special Investigations at the General Accounting Office (since renamed the Government Accountability Office). He was then confirmed as the Inspector General (IG) for several federal agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Social Security Administration, the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. His longest stint as an IG, at the Postal Service (from 2003 until his retirement in 2016), led to his nomination to the Board of Governors.

Robert M. (Mike) Duncan was confirmed to serve for the remainder of a seven-year term that ends December 8, 2025. He is a banker and currently the chairman and CEO of Inez Deposit Bank, as well as chairman of the President’s Commission on White House Fellows. Previously, Duncan served on the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority and was chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2007 to 2009.

Additionally, the White House announced its intention to nominate two more individuals to the USPS Board of Governors, Ron Bloom (D) and Roman Martinez IV (R).

Ron Bloom, who will be nominated for the remainder of a seven-year term expiring December 8, 2020, began his career as an investment banker and union consultant before serving as the special assistant to the president of the United Steelworkers for many years. President Barack Obama appointed Bloom to serve as the Assistant to the President on Manufacturing Policy in 2009, when he helped rescue the auto industry during the Great Recession. In 2011, he returned to investment banking at Lazard Company, where he served as Vice Chairman, U.S. Investment Banking. During his time at Lazard, he advised the NALC on postal issues and appeared at both a national rap session and a national convention. Bloom is currently Managing Partner and Vice Chairman at Brookfield Asset Management, where he helps manage the firm’s private equity investments.

Roman Martinez IV will be nominated for the remainder of a seven-year term expiring December 8, 2024. He began his career as an investment banker in 1971 at Kuhn Loeb & Company until it was acquired by the now-defunct global financial services firm, Lehman Brothers. Martinez worked there as the managing director of investment banking until his retirement in 2003. Since 2003, he has served on the board of directors for several different companies and has been involved in various Republican presidential and Senate campaigns.

To be confirmed, they will need to appear for confirmation hearings before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs (HSGAC). If approved by the Committee, their appointments will be subject to a confirmation vote by the whole Senate.

The USPS Board of Governors consists of eleven members, nine governors and two ex officio members, the Postmaster General and the Deputy Postmaster General. While the Board functions similarly to a board of directors of a publicly held corporation, it has not been fully staffed since 2010 and lost its final appointed governor in December 2016, leaving all nine positions vacant. If Bloom and Martinez are confirmed, four of the nine seats on the Board would be filled, enough to achieve a quorum if the Postmaster General and Deputy Postmaster General are present.

“NALC is pleased to see action taken by the Senate to fill the first two vacancies,” said NALC President Fredric Rolando. “We encourage the Senate to begin consideration of these additional nominations and we urge the administration to fill the remaining vacancies with qualified nominees.”

NALC will continue to work with the Senate and the administration to ensure that letter carriers’ interests are represented.