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Women’s Organizing Campaign 2008
Continue the ‘Family’ Tradition

(This article first appeared in the March/April
2008 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

In 2007, when the APWU launched a Women’s Organizing Campaign, the results were outstanding: Approximately 11,000 postal employees joined the APWU last year as a result of the women’s campaign and other organizing efforts.

“We are really fired up as we begin the next phase of our family-focused activities,” said Organization Director Frank A. Romero. “I’m not just being optimistic when I say that we are expecting this year’s campaign to be even more successful.”

“We had a great kickoff to the campaign,” said Dallas Area Local Secretary Treasurer Jennifer Fulbright. “We signed up 60 members in early December and are confident it will be a great 2008 for organizing.” Among those new to the APWU is Donna Adams, shown here with Yared Wonde, the local’s vice president, as well as the TV she won in a campaign drawing.

Once again, the campaign is being chaired by Northeast Regional Coordinator Liz Powell.“ The responsibilities of work and home often make us feel like we are being pulled in too many different directions,” Powell said. “Helping our children, looking after grandkids, or caring for elderly parents — we seem to do it all, while working and running a household.”

The campaign was launched in March, during Women’s History Month, when we pay tribute to women for their accomplishments both inside and outside the workplace. “We hope this campaign will help to re-invigorate all of our organizing efforts,” Powell said. The 2008 slogan is Organizing Is Our Future! A Woman’s Place Is In Her Union — Make It a Family Affair.

“There are a wealth of issues that the APWU can take credit for,” she said. “The union has always fought to preserve the Family and Medical Leave Act, which gives us the right to take time from work to care for sick family members; the opportunity to use sick leave for dependent care; the right to bid on a schedule that best fits our routine; job security, and most important — a wage that supports our lifestyle. These and other benefits make our hectic lives just a little easier.”

Powell noted that the most recent contract features provisions that should appeal to potential members. “President Burrus negotiated provisions that required the Postal Service to convert Part-Time Flexies to full-time in large offices, which has eased the anxiety level of male and female employees.

The Fort Wayne Area Local’s organizing drive last year yielded 135 new members. Organizing Committee Co-Chair Amy Sutcliffe, left, and Stephanie DeBolt prepare a bulk mailing during the campaign.

“And we won language that requires management to schedule consecutive days off for Clerk Craft employees who work in mail processing.” Local memorandums can modify this arrangement, but “it’s the union members who talk to management, who get it done.”

“Where do these rights and benefits come from?” Romero asked. “The answer is simple: From the American Postal Workers Union.”

The campaign approach will emphasize one-on-one contact, Powell said. “We’re asking union activists to focus on the contributions that labor has made in improving the workplace, especially in helping women balance the demands of work and the family.”

For additional information about the campaign — including details about a nationwide contest open to the younger members of the “APWU family,” please contact Frank Romero (202-842-4227) or Liz Powell (212-563- 6379).

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