Beyond the Satchel

The boys are back for another roundtable despite an onslaught of technical difficulties. They discuss topics from the upcoming convention, how the post office is "broke", and of course... baseball.

Life was a bit hectic there for awhile, but your two favorite Beyond the Satchel co-hosts are back! We cover our thoughts on having letter carriers doing the census, Ken provides us with a beautiful shark metaphor, and Cristal's ADHD peeks through a little more than usual. Buckle up! We also announce another competition! We'll be posting shorts on our Youtube channel, and the host who posts the video with the most views is the winner. The loser has to eat a hot pepper. Stay tuned in! 

Some asked why we edit videos. This is your answer! No edits to be seen besides adding the intro and outro. We discuss how to take action on the NALC website, and we also address some items mentioned in the anti-privatization resolution. We also put out our own challenge for ourselves. If Ken says Uhmmm more than 20 times in this episode, he will get five pies to the face. If I do not talk for at least 20% of this episode, I will get a pie to the face. Help us out. Count the Uhmms and comment below! Time Cristal and comment that, too! #nalc #podcast #mail #usps #beyondthesatchel #mailman #steiner #politics #lcpf #letter #vote

We are getting back to the basics here on Beyond the Satchel. The two hosts talk about the Protect Our Letter Carrier Act. This bill focuses on getting funding to enhance security, higher severity punishments for crimes against carriers, and ensuring cases involving crimes against letter carriers are handled in a timely fashion. Hope you enjoy and learn something new. 

Hi Everyone! For the first time in what feels like forever, your wonderful hosts are recording without a guest to be seen. They discuss how the rally went, what we need to do next time, and question what it is going to take to get the membership out there screaming our battle cry. #nalc #podcast #mail #usps #beyondthesatchel #mailman #union #fightlikehell

Hey everyone! It is time for our second women's roundtable featuring our host, Cristal Czajkoski, Sarah Mae Hoerchler, Shay Benson, and Sarah Kurkowski. We all reflect on how we feel the rally on the February 22nd day of action. We also touch on the opening statement by President Renfroe on the beginning of negotiations.    #NALC #beyondthe satchel #mail #usps #union

The boys are here to talk about the upcoming rally, mental health, and whatever else happens to pop up as the conversation flows. The crew featured in this episode include our very own Ken Pratt, James Palinkas, Michael Scheib, Colin Walker, Louie Rivas, and Richie Ray.  #NALC #mail #union #usps #fightlikehell #mailman #rally #postoffice

We sit down and chat with our buddy, Scott Vana. We let the conversation lead where it may go, and we goof off just enough as per usual. Enjoy! #nalc #mail #usps #mailman #lcpf #postoffice #politics

We are joined by Parcels of Knowledge host, Joshua Shrum AKA the Roseville Wrecking ball. We discuss the call to action he put out, the February 22nd nationwide rallies, and touch a little bit on a new bill introduced in congress.  Here is the link to find out your Congress people and their contact info: https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member Here is the link to the template Joshua Shrum put out for the letter/email: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zZ7u5vzXtXGYTkaBPQgYovFyX2zHXVYxhkq_5mMOv4A/edit?usp=drivesdk

Hello Everyone! Today we are chatting with Ahmed Karrar. He is a 2026 candidate for Illinois State Senate in the 14th District. You can find out more about his platform and how to help support his campaign at karrarforil.com. You can also find him on a variety of other social media platforms. #mail #nalc #politics #illinois #lcpf #beyondthesatchel #usps #2026midterms #vote

Hello Everyone! Today we are chatting with Joey Ruzevich. He is a 2026 candidate for Congress IL-6. You can find out more about his platform and how to help support his campaign at Joey4Congress.com. You can also find him on a variety of other social media platforms. #usps #joey4congress #politics #congress #lcpf #nalc

Just in case you missed it, we took a break from hosting and went on another fellow podcaster's show, Hot House with Richie Ray! Be sure to check out his show on Spotify. We had a great time talking about the Letter Carrier Political Fund and whatever random thoughts that came to mind.    #mail #podcast #nalc #mailman #usps #postoffice #lcpf #politics #beyondthesatchel

We are joined by a CCA from Ken's home office as well as a CCA trained by Ken. We talk about their experience as a letter carrier so far, reminisce on the old days back when we were CCAs just starting out, and attempt to keep Ken's ego in check in this light-hearted episode. 

Welcome to the New Year! Let's make it a safe one out there on the mail routes, and here to help you achieve that goal is Aaron Purnell. We discuss some common safety issues in the workplace, working together to further safety goals, and remind everyone....please, for the love of God, WEAR YOUR GOSH DARN SEATBELT!!! #mail #nalc #postoffice #mailman #usps #safety #beyondthesatchel

While the boy is away, the women will play! With Ken on vacation, Cristal is flying solo in this episode and hosting a women's roundtable discussing women in leadership. #mail #nalc #postoffice #women #womenempowerment #leadership

Package volume has been suspiciously light for the both of us these past few weeks, and we have now found out why. The processing facilities that send out everything to our offices are backed up big time. With frustrations growing and previous attempts to privatize the post office, it is important to remember privatization is not the answer to these problems. We must stay strong and support the anti-privatization resolution ( ( S.Res. 147 / H.Res. 70) currently in congress to protect the postal service and all the great letter carriers trying to do right by their customers. #nalc #letter #usps #postallife #unionstrong #laborunions #overtime #mail #mailman #postoffice #delivery #delivering #accountability

We promised this one would be a big one, and it is finally here! We have NBA and NALC National President candidate Mike Caref on the show with us to answer some questions, discuss his platform, and plan a future hunting trip with Ken. You can check out Mike's platform at Caref4prez.org #usps #mail #mailman #nalc #postoffice

This one is short and sweet. We appreciate your patience as we get the hang of this media stuff while juggling the chaos of peak season at the post office. The wait is worth it, though. We have some great episodes coming soon! #usps #mail #mailman #nalc #postoffice

On this episode of Beyond the Satchel, we have a chat about the letter carrier political fund with Maritza Villarreal and the LPO of our area, Matt Tanner.   #usps #mail #mailman #nalc #postoffice

Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy the new intro music. In this episode, we talk with the one and only Mailman Nick (Don't treat him like a 204B over here).   #usps #mail #mailman #nalc #postoffice

Glad to have you here! We've got a lot to go over, but this video introduces who we are, why we are doing this, and what we have in store for the future of Beyond the Satchel. Sidenote: The best of the best in his region 3 leadership academy class, Ken, misspoke....he graduated in 2024, and Cristal graduated in 2025 (This is why Cristal's 2025 class is the best)