All News

The Latest from your Union—All in One Place

All News All News

fighting for justice

Filters

June 9, 2009

APWU Responds to USPS Notice on Retail Operations's image

APWU Responds to USPS Notice on Retail Operations

In response to a USPS notice that “the Postal Service is considering consolidating operations in our larger stations and branches,” APWU President William Burrus has reminded management that a Memorandum of Understanding...

June 4, 2009

Burrus Calls on Labor Department to Reverse Bush FMLA Rules's image

Burrus Calls on Labor Department to Reverse Bush FMLA Rules

APWU President William Burrus has called on U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to rescind the new regulations governing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that were imposed by the Bush Administration jus...

May 29, 2009

Army to Award Bronze Star To APWU Members’ Son's image

Army to Award Bronze Star To APWU Members’ Son

Kevin Imholte, son of Minneapolis Area Local APWU activists Brenda and Vern Wellman, will be awarded the Bronze Star Medal for an act of bravery in Iraq two years ago.

May 15, 2009

APWU, Mail Hauler Agree to One-Month Contract Extension's image

APWU, Mail Hauler Agree to One-Month Contract Extension

The APWU and the private-sector mail-haul firm Pat Salmon & Sons have agreed to a one-month extension of a contract covering more than 500 drivers. The collective bargaining agreement in effect since Aug. 30, 2006, had b...

April 30, 2009

Arbitrator Grants Postal Nurses Raises, Job Security's image

Arbitrator Grants Postal Nurses Raises, Job Security

An arbitration panel finalized a five-year contract for postal nurses on April 28 — the first since the National Postal Professional Nurses merged with the APWU. The ruling came more than 20 months after the nurses’ inde...

April 30, 2009

Esther Peterson: Advocate for Labor, Women, Consumers's image

Esther Peterson: Advocate for Labor, Women, Consumers

Throughout her life, Esther Eggersten Peterson was “a powerful and effective catalyst for change,” notes a tribute to her in the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Among other achievements, she helped launch the women’s move...

April 7, 2009

APWU Member Back From 2nd Tour in Iraq's image

APWU Member Back From 2nd Tour in Iraq

APWU member Drew Yerger is looking forward to his second time around as a window clerk. It will be a pleasant change of pace and workplace: His last job was in the Iraqi desert. It was his second time around there, too.

April 6, 2009

Postal Nurses’ Interest Arbitration Hearings Conclude's image

Postal Nurses’ Interest Arbitration Hearings Conclude

Interest-arbitration hearings over a contract between the National Postal Professional Nurses-APWU and the Postal Service concluded April 2. Arbitrator Stephen Goldberg is expected to issue a ruling within the next sever...

March 31, 2009

Locals Urged to File OSHA Complaints on DBCSs's image

Locals Urged to File OSHA Complaints on DBCSs

The APWU is urging locals to file OSHA complaints over identified ergonomic hazards on Delivery Bar Code Sorter machines. In a letter to local presidents, Industrial Relations Director Greg Bell asked locals with DBCS ma...

March 12, 2009

placeholder image

USPS Abandons Plan to Outsource; Management to Revamp BMC Network

The Postal Service has abandoned plans to outsource the work performed at 21 Bulk Mail Centers, and instead will revamp the BMC network, the USPS Senior Vice President for Operations told the APWU on March 10.

March 2, 2009

Post Office in Illinois Capital  Named for Long-Time APWU Member's image

Post Office in Illinois Capital Named for Long-Time APWU Member

In honor of a long-time Postal Service worker and APWU member, a facility in Springfield, IL, has been named the “Colonel John H. Wilson, Jr. Post Office Building.”

February 13, 2009

placeholder image

PARS Software Grievance Resolved

On Feb. 6, the union reached a favorable resolution of a dispute over the Postal Service's decision to assign the installation of hardware and software for the Postal Automation Redirection System (PARS) to employees of...

January 1, 2009

placeholder image

Defending the BMCs

First off, I want to wish everyone the happiest and healthiest New Year… On a more somber note, however, we see that the Postal Service has begun to act on its strategic plan to contract out our parcel-post business to p...

December 31, 2008

PostalEASE Enrollment Period For FEHB, FSA Extended's image

PostalEASE Enrollment Period For FEHB, FSA Extended

Postal workers will be able to make FEHB elections using PostalEASE employee self-service through Jan. 13, 2009, the Postal Service has announced. These extended-deadline elections through PostalEASE are not available by...

December 31, 2008

Isaac Myers: Pioneer of the African-American Trade Union Movement's image

Isaac Myers: Pioneer of the African-American Trade Union Movement

It’s not unusual for a labor leader to have humble beginnings. Isaac Myers started out literally at the bottom, applying sticky sealant to the hulls of oceangoing ships. But he had a natural leadership style, and while h...

December 29, 2008

APWU Secures More Space For Inaugural Assembly,Invites NALC's image

APWU Secures More Space For Inaugural Assembly,Invites NALC

The APWU has reserved additional space for union members to gather on Inauguration Day, union President William Burrus has announced. Union members will be able to enjoy the event at the National Association of Home Buil...

December 23, 2008

placeholder image

APWU Complaint About Falsified Reports Prompts OIG Audit of Philadelphia P&DC

An APWU complaint that senior managers and other supervisors filed false mail-count reports at the Philadelphia Processing & Distribution Center has resulted in an exposé in the Philadelphia Daily News that has highlight...

December 19, 2008

Union Files Second ‘Dispute’ Over Two-Tour Initiative's image

Union Files Second ‘Dispute’ Over Two-Tour Initiative

The APWU has filed a second Step 4 dispute protesting the Postal Service’s nationwide program to eliminate or drastically reduce Tour 2 assignments and employees. The dispute, filed Dec. 16, is a companion to another Ste...

December 17, 2008

Union Files ‘Dispute’ Over Elimination of Tour 2's image

Union Files ‘Dispute’ Over Elimination of Tour 2

The APWU has initiated a Step 4 dispute with the Postal Service, protesting management’s nationwide plan to eliminate or drastically reduce Tour 2 assignments and employees. The dispute, filed Dec. 16 by union President...

December 16, 2008

placeholder image

USPS Still Embraces Shipping Franchise That Offends

APWU President William Burrus has posed a straightforward question to Postmaster General John E. Potter regarding the Postal Service’s decision to designate a shipping franchise with an offensive name as a participant in...

December 16, 2008

Federal Health Plan Open Season Extended's image

Federal Health Plan Open Season Extended

Open Season for the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHB) has been extended, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced Dec. 8. The extension was granted in response to widespread concern over benefit c...

December 15, 2008

APWU Offers Commemorative Inauguration Buttons's image

APWU Offers Commemorative Inauguration Buttons

As excitement builds for the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States, the APWU is offering union members commemorative buttons to mark the historic event.

December 12, 2008

APWU Members in Florida Enlist Public’s Support in Consolidation Fight's image

APWU Members in Florida Enlist Public’s Support in Consolidation Fight

When the Postal Service announced a consolidation study in Manasota, FL, APWU’s Local 7136 swung into action without waiting for the first in “a series of community meetings” that the USPS said it would schedule. Instead...

December 11, 2008

Burrus Meets with Obama Transition Team's image

Burrus Meets with Obama Transition Team

APWU President William Burrus met with Stephen Crawford, a member of President-Elect Obama’s Transition Team, at the union’s national headquarters on Dec. 8, where the two “engaged in a thoughtful conversation about the...

December 9, 2008

Health Plan Open Season Extended's image

Health Plan Open Season Extended

Open Season for the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) will be extended, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced Dec. 8. OPM took this action in response to concerns over a change in coverage in...

December 4, 2008

Federal Judge Dismisses APWU Lawsuit Against Bush's image

Federal Judge Dismisses APWU Lawsuit Against Bush

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has dismissed an APWU lawsuit against President George W. Bush and Postmaster General John E. Potter that sought to compel the appointment of a Postal Advisory Council...

December 3, 2008

placeholder image

Arbitrator Rules Tour 1 Casuals May Work After 5 a.m.

In a national-level award, Arbitrator Shyam Das has ruled that Tour 1 casuals may continue to work past 5 a.m., concluding that the intent of the 2006-2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement is to prevent management from as...

November 26, 2008

Shop ‘Union-Made’ for the Holidays's image

Shop ‘Union-Made’ for the Holidays

As the holiday shopping season begins, APWU President William Burrus is encouraging members to "look for the union label" when selecting gifts for their family and friends. "When we care enough to seek out union-made gif...

November 26, 2008

Crawford Wins Clerk NBA Election's image

Crawford Wins Clerk NBA Election

Jack Crawford has won the race for Clerk Division National Business Agent in the Dallas region, defeating Jeane Gardiner and Paul R. Manley, 1624-803-1211. The race was a re-run of a contest originally held in November 2...