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September 11, 2014
We Don’t Always See Eye-to-Eye, But We Always Remain United
By now the 22nd Biennial National Convention is a thing of the past, but just in case you missed it, let us recap. Just prior to the start of the convention, a committee of MVS members reviewed resolutions submitted by l...
September 11, 2014
Privatizing by Incentivizing
We often think of privatization as the transfer of public ownership. However, the Postal Service’s policy of offering postage discounts to large mailers has led to a similar harmful end result – a huge transfer of work a...
September 11, 2014
Dispute on Custodial Staffing Settled; More Than 3,150 PSEs Converted
The APWU and USPS signed a major settlement on July 9 that resolved a long-standing dispute over custodial staffing and resulted in the conversion to career of all Maintenance Craft Postal Support Employees. It was not a...
September 11, 2014
Our Right to Vote is Under Attack
In recent years, our right to vote has come under attack all across the country. Dozens of states are advancing voter suppression laws in an effort to influence the outcome of elections. The democratic process of the Uni...
September 11, 2014
Do You Have What It Takes to Vote?
There has been a lot of information on TV, in newspapers, and online about changes in voting procedures for the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 4. Voter identification laws have made it more difficult for seniors to e...
September 11, 2014
Setting Priorities, Mobilizing Members For Contract Negotiations
On the final day of the APWU 22nd Biennial National Convention in July, delegates adopted a resolution that spells out priorities for upcoming contract negotiations with the USPS, which are set to begin in February. The...
September 11, 2014
Why Congress Can’t Get It Done
Why can’t Congress get anything done on postal reform? It seems I’m asked that question all the time – in conversations at conferences and conventions, in letters, phone calls and email correspondence. In part, the answe...
September 11, 2014
Protecting Freedom or Trampling Workers’ Rights?
Isn’t it amazing that every time anti-union groups claim they are protecting our freedom, they are actually steamrolling working people? Take the so-called “right to work” legislation that has been proposed in many state...
September 11, 2014
Consolidation Attack – We Must Mobilize!
When the USPS announced on June 30 that it would move forward with plans to close or consolidate 82 more mail processing plants, it was a declaration of war. Not just on postal workers, but on postal customers and on the...
September 10, 2014
Standing Up, Fighting Back!
Brothers and sisters: We are under attack from all quarters – Congress, Wall Street and the Postmaster General himself. Privatization is not a distant danger; it is a direct and immediate threat. A congressionally-manufa...
September 10, 2014
New York Metro Fights ‘Relocation’ Smokescreen
An impassioned community turned out in force on Aug. 27 to a public hearing sponsored by the USPS about plans to “relocate” the College Station Post Office in Central Harlem. The message from participants was unanimous,...
September 10, 2014
Postal Workers, Teachers, Customers Take ‘Don’t Buy’ Campaign to Staples’ Home Turf
Opponents of a no-bid deal between Staples and the USPS are taking the fight to the Massachusetts-based company’s home turf. In August, postal workers, teachers and customers staged rallies in and around Boston, and the...
September 8, 2014
Postal Union Unity
Members of the APWU, the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union marched side-by-side in Philadelphia’s Labor Day Parade, Sept. 1.
September 6, 2014
More than Half of Senate Now Backs Call to Stop Consolidations
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has added his high-profile support to calls for a one-year moratorium on USPS plans to close 82 mail processing plants and slow mail delivery. Reid has joined 50 other senators wh...
September 6, 2014
Postal Unions Hold Historic Joint Webinar on Plant Consolidations
The four postal unions held a historic joint webinar on Aug. 28 for union members at the 82 sites where plants are scheduled for consolidation or closure beginning in January 2015. The occasion marked the first time the...
September 6, 2014
Connecticut Senators, APWU Denounce Consolidations
Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy condemned USPS plans to consolidate two Processing and Distribution Centers in the state at a press conference on Aug. 27 and urged Postmaster General Patrick Dona...
September 2, 2014
AFGE President Seizes the Moment
At a training session sponsored by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the union’s president – a fierce supporter of the APWU’s campaign to Stop Staples! – collected 423 signatures on postcards to Sta...
September 2, 2014
e-Team Report, Sept. 2, 2014
Earlier this summer the Postal Service announced plans to close or consolidate 82 mail processing plants. On August 1st, the Postal Service published in the Federal Register a reduction in Service Standards, which makes...
August 31, 2014
The Real Norma Rae
Early On May 30, 1973, the J.P. Stevens textile mill in Roanoke Rapids, NC, fired 32-year-old Crystal Lee Sutton. Before Sutton left the plant, she climbed atop a table on the shop floor and raised above her head a piece...
August 29, 2014
OIG Asks: Should the Postal Service Continue Its Consolidation Plan?
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is conducting a poll on its ‘Pushing the Envelope’ blog to determine whether it should advocate for or against the Postal Service’s plan to resume consolidation and closure of up to...
August 25, 2014
COLA Increase
Career employees represented by the APWU will receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of $686 per year in September 2014, in accordance with the 2010-2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement. The raise is the result of an...
August 21, 2014
Statement on Ongoing Events in Ferguson, Missouri
By APWU General Officers Mark Dimondstein, President; Debby Szeredy, Executive Vice-President; Elizabeth Powell, Secretary-Treasurer Fair-minded people from all walks of life are deeply concerned and outraged by the kill...
August 21, 2014
Don’t Buy Your School Supplies at Staples!
With the back-to-school season in full swing, the APWU is asking union members and supporters to make sure parents and teachers get the message: Don’t buy your school supplies at Staples. To spread the word, union member...
August 20, 2014
USPS Guilty of Bad Faith, Unlawful Tactics
The Postal Service engaged in delaying tactics that constituted an unlawful refusal to provide the APWU with information about the agency’s deal with Staples, an NLRB judge wrote in an Aug. 13 decision. The USPS “did not...
August 20, 2014
Tell Your Congressman: Sign the Letter!
A bipartisan group in the House of Representatives – five Republicans and five Democrats – has drafted a letter to leaders of the House Appropriations Committee calling for a one-year moratorium on Postal Service plans t...
August 20, 2014
e-Team Report, Aug. 20, 2014
On August 14th, 50 U.S. senators sent a letter to the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee urging congressional action to preserve service standards and prevent the closure or consolidation of mail processing f...
August 14, 2014
‘Stop Postal Service Cuts and Plant Closures’
Half of the U.S. Senate has called for a one-year moratorium on Postal Service plans to close mail processing plants and slow down mail delivery. An Aug. 14 letter signed by 50 senators said Congress should block a propo...
August 14, 2014
It’s Okay to Post
Postal management may not prohibit or otherwise interfere with the display of the APWU’s Wanted poster on union bulletin boards, APWU attorneys report. The poster features a picture of Postmaster General Patrick R. Donah...
August 14, 2014
Convention Photos Posted Online
Photos from the APWU 22nd Biennial Convention in Chicago have been uploaded to the union's Flickr account where members can view and download high-resolution photos from all convention events. To download a photo, click...
August 12, 2014
IT-AS Members Ratify New Contract
APWU members in the IT-Accounting Services Centers (AS) ratified a new Collective Bargaining Agreement by a vote of 592 to 38 in voting that ended Aug. 7, Support Services Director Steve Brooks has announced. The new agr...