The History of Female Leadership in the NALC
This podcast’s purpose is to give a history of women who have stepped into leadership roles within the National Association of Letter Carriers, and discuss the leaders of now and into the future.
The History of Female Leadership in the NALC
Yvette Kinard
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This episode features Yvette Kinard, Region 15 RAA. Yvette is a member of Branch 36, New York, New York.
Welcome to the History of Female Leadership in the NALC podcast. I'm Craig Schaefer. I'm a city carrier in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. I'm in branch 1015. Today I'm honored to have a sister from New York today. If you don't mind, go ahead and introduce yourself.
SPEAKER_01Hi, um, my name is Yvette Connard. I am born and raised in the Bronx. Um, my branch is branch 36 from New York. We cover Bronx in Manhattan. And I have about 24 and a half years in the post office.
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, what kind of, if you don't mind, kind of go back and tell me what brought you to the post office.
SPEAKER_01Well, I started off in um in retail. Um, that was just kind of like right out of college, doing some retail work. I knew I wanted a union job. I came from a union household. Um, my mom was a nurse's aide, you know, she was part of the union. My dad was a truck driver, he worked for like the laundry union. My brother actually works for the post office. He's much older than me, he's about 10 years older. And I was just kind of like waiting, trying to figure out my way. I was like, you know, early 20s. And I actually had a carrier come into the place I was working at the time. And he was like, Oh, you know, the post office is hiring. And I was like, really? And I applied, and you know, I was ecstatic. I got calls within that first class. And, you know, at that point I just knew I wanted the stability of the union, the protections of the union, and I was just thrilled to get a union job.
SPEAKER_00Awesome. Well, and so now you've been at the, you know, you've you got the job, you're in there. Um, a lot of people, you know, they either get voluntoled to do something in the union or they have an experience that causes them to want to do something in the union. Uh, could you did you have anything that, you know, came up or what what caused you to decide to kind of pursue a leadership role in the NALC?
SPEAKER_01Um, well, I would say when I first started, I had a few experiences that happened to me. Um, I was actually a PTF at the time, and I got hit by a van delivering the route. Yes. Oh, wow. And I I didn't know my rights, you know, actually. And I I still remember like, you know, they took me in the ambulance. Luckily, I was fine, a little sore, felt like I got hit by a van. I really felt it. But um I remember I had a supervisor call me and she says, you know, you're not guaranteed hours, but if you come back to work, I can give you eight hours per day. So I'm like limping and sore, and I found myself into work. And the steward at the time, he's he looks at me and he says, Everybody knows if you get hit by a van, you stay out for 45 days. And I just kind of like looked at him like, I'm new. If no one ever told you that, how would you know that you even had 45 days of continuation of pay? And, you know, it was just like one of those beginning stories that kind of piqued my interest, where, you know, I was doing my route, you know, certain conversations would happen with the carriers, and I was listening, trying to learn as I went along. And the opportunity presented itself when we had a um a steward at the time, my station was built for two stewards. And the steward at the time, he was retiring. So now we had an open spot, and it seemed like no one wanted to do it. And I was like, you know what? Something just clicked and was like, you should you should do it, just try it. And before me, my husband actually was a steward, like maybe a couple of years before then. He tried it, you know, he did it like you know, the kids were still kind of small, so he didn't do it for too long, just like a couple of years. And he was actually surprised when I said I was gonna do it. And he was like, Really? And I was like, I was like, Yeah, something's just telling me to do it, to try it. And that's kind of how I started the adventure of getting involved in the union.
SPEAKER_00Oh, very nice. That and that seems like that's it. There's a lot of times there is that little uh something happens that you're like, okay, I'm not going to put up with this, and I'm not gonna let you treat my brothers and sisters this way. And and I've heard that over and over, and I it it it seems like that's usually the way it is. So I and I can understand where you're coming from and hit getting hit by a van. That's wild. I'm glad you're okay. Every everything was fine after that. I mean, you healed just fine.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, everything was fine. I um I was lucky. Um, it was kind of like the van just turned into me. So it like knocked me down, but it didn't do a lot of damage. It was just more like soreness and muscle aches, you know, stuff like that. Probably I probably could have used the 45 days to kind of recuperate, but yeah, you know, now I know better.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I teach better. Well, I'm I'm glad you're okay. I I couldn't I couldn't just let that getting hit by a van just be skimmed over. I had to get a little clarification on that. Sorry about that. Oh, yeah. Uh got off track. Um, so you know, you you said you're a steward when you got first started, you you started as a steward. Well, what other positions have you held in the NALC?
SPEAKER_01Oh, let's see. Um I was a I was a steward of formal A. Um, when I started doing the formals, uh, the branch pretty much gave me like multiple stations. So I covered a lot of different areas. And during that time, I actually I got assigned to the director of education, which was one of my favorite positions within the union. It was um, I liked it because just knowing that you can look through the contract and just pick out different things that you're hearing on the workroom floor, writing articles, just kind of doing your research. That was like actually one of my favorites. Um, from director of education, I became the editor of the paper for my branch. Um, both were parts on positions. And from there, as editor, my branch president at the time, he was like, They're doing a DRT training. Do you think you want to, you know, learn about DRT? And I was like, Yeah, sure, a certificate. I would love to get another certificate. That's fine. And not knowing that maybe like a month after the class, they asked me to be the primary in DRT. So I started because pretty much I was the primary for like almost four years. And then now I'm in my current position as RAA, um region 15, but I also did stuff like EAP liaison, um, food drive coordinator, OJI. I've had a lot of different jobs within the union.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and and that's the reason I asked that question is I always love to hear all of that because it's and I say it pretty much every episode, it's so good to hear all of the other jobs. It's not just the the officers, there's other positions, and I, you know, that's a good way to get your foot in the door is going up and saying, hey, I want to be involved. There's all these all these little jobs that have to be done. And so I always want to point that out that you know, there it's not just the president, vice president, secretary, that it's not all that. It there's a lot of other stuff. So thank you for mentioning all those other ones as well. Um, and but that leads me into my next question. As an RAA, what what are your duties as an RAA?
SPEAKER_01Um, I always joke around and I tell everyone I do whatever my MBA, Bruce Diederson, asked me to do. So um, but currently what I do is I handle everything arbitration. So from the time we get impasses in from um the step B, you know, I appeal to cases, um I'm scheduling like the arbitration hearings, I'm blogging cases, reviewing cases. Um it's a it's a you know, that part of the job is is kind of like the heaviest workload. Um, I also do, I'm the um regional food drive coordinator. So I'm you know, kind of we're right in the middle of putting that stuff together right now. And um, you know, we create trainings when we we just finish our regional rap session, like maybe like two weeks ago. And pretty much like anything that the MBA needs me to do, I handle. I'm always offering to tell him, like, whatever you need me to do, just tell me. And he always says, like, I don't want to give, you know, too much work to like the the two RAs that's here. But you know, I'm like, we do whatever we can for the region. So whatever needs to be done, just give it to us, give it to me, we'll get it done.
SPEAKER_00Nice. Well, it it's uh a lot of times I think that position is a thankless job because uh I think we all call you guys regularly, and it's not usually just a call and say, Hey, thanks for all you do. We usually have problems that we're calling with. So beyond all the other stuff you're doing, you're I'm sure fielding phone calls all day as well. So uh once again, thank you for all you do. Um that was definitely a great job.
SPEAKER_01I, you know, it was um, you know, in the beginning when everything is like moving a little slower, you're kind of learning what you're doing. And you know, I was answering the phones all the time, and it wasn't that big of a thing, but when you get busier and the phone is ringing, it definitely fills up your day. It definitely does.
SPEAKER_00I've I've been to my business agent's office before, and that phone rings off the hook all day long. Every time I'm there, it's just call after call, you know, and and so yeah, you guys, ever every one of the business agents and all the RAAs and RGAs and everyone that works in the business office. I don't envy you guys, but I appreciate you guys. Um, so you know, you've been around for a good while, you've you've held a bunch of different positions, you've done a little bit of everything. And as you've been coming up through the ranks, um do you have any times where you felt like you may have been uh dealt dealing with some discrimination um because of being a female, being treated differently, whatever, and if so, did did you how did you deal with it and was it resolved if you had anything?
SPEAKER_01Um so I want to say I'm probably one of the few lucky ones. I came from I'm from a very diverse branch. Um, we have such a mixture of nationalities, um, male, females. It's it's a it's a big mixture. And you know, I never personally experienced, you know, the feeling of feeling of being like discriminated against. But I I do know that there are plenty of women that had the complete opposite situation. And you know, I'm I'm I just find myself very fortunate to kind of come up in the the ranks of a very diverse branch.
SPEAKER_00Good. Uh that's always good to hear. You never want to hear about it, and it it kind of grosses me out when I do hear about that stuff. So I'm I'm I'm so glad. And it's like you, you know, you said you were fortunate or you were lucky or whatever that you didn't deal with it. That's the way it should be. Like you shouldn't, I shouldn't even have this question. It shouldn't be a question on here, but unfortunately, it is what it is. So, no, I'm I'm really glad to hear that. Um, another one that I I want to ask you about, um, because your job, you know, you're putting in 10, 12 hour days regularly, you're on the road traveling, doing different trainings and things like that. Has the time that you have put into your position in the NALC caused any issues for your family or friends, just your in your personal life? Has that caused any issues?
SPEAKER_01Um, I would say I definitely don't hang out as much as I used to. It's not enough time in the day. Um, but um, you know, again, I'm I'm fortunate when I did start getting involved in the union. You know, my husband wasn't involved in the union during that time, so he kind of picked up a lot of the slack with the kids. Um, now the kids are older. My youngest is in high school. And, you know, my husband works for the post office. He's a shop steward, he's a formal A. So his schedule mimics mine, so he can't complain because I can't complain. Um we still make time though. So, you know, we started this thing where at least one time a week we have family dinners where we just sit around the table and we just talk about any issues we're having, whatever problems. Um, or it could just be to share good things. Like good news would happen with my son, he runs track. It'll be, you know, he PR' in an event that he, you know, he was really excited about. But we always try to make sure that we have that family time. So I would have to say, um, as far as any issues, anytime anything comes, anytime anything comes up, we pretty much handle it as a family and we just kind of adjust if there's something I can't make it to, my husband will make it to, or you know, my my dad or his mom will try to pick up some of the slack if we can't make up certain things.
SPEAKER_00Well, I always do this. What's your husband's name?
SPEAKER_01Charles. Charles Travart.
SPEAKER_00Charles, shout out to Charles. Thank you for supporting the vet. We need her, and we appreciate you and all you do as well. So I've uh we I always love to hear that uh the husbands are supportive because you know it it does take that, especially when you have a family. So that's that's great. So I I just I I know it's this is about you, but I wanted to throw his name out there and just thank him for allowing us to have you as well, you know. So that's that's great.
SPEAKER_01Um he'll love the fact that his name was mentioned, believe me.
SPEAKER_00Good deal, good deal. I'm I'm glad I could glad I could help my brother. So that's awesome. Um well, and this question kind of leads in from what you were just saying. You know, when you are off work, when you turn your phone off, shut your computer down, um, or weekends, or whenever you get a chance, what do you like to do to unwind, relax? Uh, do you have hobbies? What do you what do you like to do when you're not dealing with NALC?
SPEAKER_01So I don't really have hobbies per se, but what I what I started doing a few years ago, um, just with working with step B, sometimes, you know, the cases will stay in your head long after you left the building. So what I started doing was I started getting more into like audiobooks and just funny stories, short stories, anything like that. So during my commute, you know, I'll put on an audio book like in the morning time to kind of clear my head. But on my way home, I put on an audiobook just to kind of, you know, think about anything else except work. And when I get home, usually I like watching funny videos. That's just kind of my thing. It has to be like a comedy, it could be a movie, it could be TikToks, it could be anything. And, you know, I just feel like life is so serious that sometimes you just have to laugh. Like you need something that's gonna make you laugh, lift your spirits, and just just to remind you that there's better things out there, like you know, everything is not so serious.
SPEAKER_00Um, I'm right there with you. Uh I'm all about comedies and just I'm act silly all the time. So I'm I'm right there with you. And it and you're right, and especially in your position, I mean, you deal with uh very serious issues all day long, you know, dealing with our brothers and sisters, um, you know, jobs and and and their money and everything. And so I'm sure that you need a little bit of time to unwind from that and and have an escape. So that's that's awesome to hear. I like I I love that. So all right. Well, this next question, I you know, once again, you've been around for a few years, you know, you've seen some stuff, you've done some things. Um, if there is someone listening to this right now and kind of, you know, thinking, you know, I might want to do something, I want to might want to step up and do something for the NALC. Um, what is a piece of advice that you would give that person to kind of get them on the right track?
SPEAKER_01I would say definitely don't be afraid to get involved. Um, voice your opinions. If you see something wrong, say something. You know, um don't be afraid to ask for advice or opinions or to ask the question, really, because I think we're we're kind of a lot of us are in a place where, you know, I guess we're we're kind of ashamed that maybe we don't know something, or you know, we're all learning every day, and questions are natural and normal, and we all learn different. Like just don't be afraid to step up. Take that chance and get involved. Just do it.
SPEAKER_00That's perfect, perfect. And the questions, uh I I have uh my mentors, I drive them insane with questions, but it's one of those things where you would rather know and do it right the first time than to mess it up and have to redo it. So it's just better to ask. And like I said, the good thing is I have not found one time now. Once they get off the phone with me, they may be cussing me up one side and down the other. But when they're on the phone, they're always gracious, they always help me out. And the same, you know, whether it's my my buddies or the business agents' offices, you guys are always there. And like I said, you might you might be grinding your teeth afterwards, but you guys are always there and help us out, and we appreciate you so much.
SPEAKER_01Um, you know, the the funny thing, not to cut you off from sorry.
SPEAKER_00No, go ahead. No.
SPEAKER_01Um, the funny thing is, it's like no matter how many times we get questions at the office, you know, I think all of us have it in our mindset that we're teaching the person on the line, but that person is teaching other people. So us answering that one question, we probably taught about 20 carriers, you know, the the correct answer or the correct, the correct way to do something. And, you know, I don't even mind if I get the if I get hit with the same question like 20 times a day, we don't mind. We're just kind of like, okay, like, you know, we really want everyone to understand. So it actually makes our job easier because the the more training people have or the more understanding they have, they know how to fight for their rights, they know how to, you know, walk away from certain situations or how to document certain situations. And it's just fulfilling to all of us. I think I speak for all of the RAs when I say that it's very fulfilling.
SPEAKER_00That's amazing. Yeah. I well, we we all down here appreciate all you guys do. I know it's a tough job, but you you guys do it with grace and always are so friendly and helpful. So uh we definitely appreciate you guys. So now I I'm pretty much my questions are up. And now I just want to turn the floor over to you. And if you have anything to add, if there was anything I missed, it's all you.
SPEAKER_01Um I just want to say, like, you know, I would like to see more females get involved. Um, I would love to see, you know, the participation grow. And just to kind of make every I feel like every office should reflect like the people. So, you know, if half of your members are females, pretty much, you know, your your regional officers, your branches, everything should kind of mimic how your branch is made up. And I would love to see more females definitely get involved. And just, you know, don't be afraid to take that step. I think it's it's amazing when we all get involved. We may not get to, you know, branch president, but like you said earlier, it's not just about the branch president, it's about all of the other steps leading up to that point. So, like I said, my favorite job was director of education. And, you know, that was a part-time position, but it was like one of my favorite positions. And just pretty much that's it. Like just, you know, get involved, start small, and keep moving.
SPEAKER_00That's perfect.
SPEAKER_01And also have to give a shout out to branch 36 and region 15.
SPEAKER_00Definitely, definitely. And uh I one of these days I'm gonna come up there and uh visit New York. My wife has been there a couple times, I believe. And or she's going the second time here in a couple months. They're my my old or my youngest is turning 21, and they're going to uh, I believe, go see maybe. Harry Styles or somebody like that up there.
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00I don't know. Um, I'm not going, but it it is what it is. Um, so one of these days I'm gonna make it all the way to New York. I want to come up there and see a Yankees game and check it out. So I will definitely be giving you a call if I make it that far. So thank you.
SPEAKER_01Definitely. You got we're at the office is right off of Times Square, so you have to come by.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that is awesome. That is awesome. Okay. Well, thank you again for joining me tonight. I I appreciate it. I know you've had a long day and you're taking some time away from your family, so I'm gonna get off here and let you go spend some time with them. Um, I can't thank you enough, and thank you for listening to my podcast and be safe and be kind.