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June 4, 2008
Union Pauses for Impromptu Celebration of Obama’s Win
APWU officers and staff paused briefly Wednesday afternoon to celebrate Barack Obama’s apparent nomination as the Democratic Party candidate for president. “We want to acknowledge the historic nature of June 3, 2008,” sa...
June 3, 2008
Time Running Short For ‘Creativity Contest’ Entries
APWU members are reminded that entries for the union’s creativity contest for their children and grandchildren are due by June 30. Sponsored by the American Postal Workers Union, the contest is designed to promote among...
June 2, 2008
APWU Testimony Kicks Off Controversy
Recent APWU testimony on Capitol Hill about the Postal Service’s obligation to provide “universal service” to all Americans seems to have stirred up a controversy. Addressing a House subcommittee on May 8, APWU Legislati...
May 28, 2008
Postal Workers Protected from Retaliation for Age-Discrimination Complaints
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled May 27 that the law that prohibits age discrimination protects federal and postal employees from retaliation when they file age-discrimination complaints. The ruling is noteworthy because the...
May 23, 2008
Onsite Children’s Activities Violate Local Regulations
While delegates to the last several APWU national conventions have had childcare services available to them, a recently-passed local ordinance means that the union will be unable to coordinate activities for children at...
May 21, 2008
Support for Mail Network Protection Act Tops 100
Thanks to continuing legislative outreach efforts by APWU locals, 10 additional members of the U.S. House of Representatives have become co-sponsors of the Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236). To date, a total of 104...
May 19, 2008
‘Ask a Working Woman’ Survey
Working women understand the difficulties of balancing work and family, the pressure of making ends meet, and the challenges of getting ahead. That’s why the union urges APWU members to make their voices heard by taking...
May 16, 2008
APWU Wins in Private-Sector Campaigns
The APWU reached a tentative agreement May 15 on a “first contract” for approximately 120 workers at the Cincinnati Mail Transportation Equipment Service Center (MTESC). If they ratify the contract in a vote on May 28, w...
May 14, 2008
E! Television Series Is Offensive to Postal Workers
In a crass display of sensationalism, E! Entertainment Television is broadcasting a series titled Going Postal: 15 Shocking Acts of Violence. “The title of the series is an affront to more than 700,000 hard-working posta...
May 13, 2008
Another Dozen U.S. Reps. Sign On to Mail Network Protection Act
APWU efforts to build support in Congress for the Mail Network Protection Act have gotten a big boost in the last two weeks, as 12 more members of the U.S. House of Representatives became co-sponsors. The bill (H.R. 4236...
May 8, 2008
Postal Reform Act Is No Endorsement of Privatization
The passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in December 2006 did not change the fundamental mission of the Postal Service, an APWU leader testified on Capitol Hill, and should not be perceived as justifi...
May 7, 2008
Online Registration of Convention Delegates To Replace Paper Process
For the first time, APWU locals and state organizations will register delegates to the APWU National Convention online, through the union’s Web site, www.apwu.org. “This is another important step on the road to moderniza...
May 5, 2008
Court Upholds Unfair Labor Charge Against USPS
A federal appeals court has upheld an unfair labor practice charge against the Postal Service in a case involving a supervisor who threatened to retaliate against an employee who had filed a complaint with the National L...
April 30, 2008
Ralph Fasanella: Self-Taught Artist Chronicled Workers’ Lives
By the time he started painting pictures at age 31, Ralph Fasanella had developed a strong disdain for the social and economic injustices he witnessed every day in the streets of New York City. Over the rest of his life,...
April 29, 2008
It Takes Only One to Get the Grassroots Growing
John Windle APWU member John Windle has been hard at work, boosting Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign as the important May 6 Indiana primary approaches. Noting that his state has never been so crucial to a modern...
April 28, 2008
Six More U.S. Representatives Co-Sponsor Mail Network Protection Act
Six more members of the U.S. House of Representatives have become co-sponsors of the Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236) in support of the union’s efforts to reduce wasteful, inefficient, and detrimental subcontracti...
April 22, 2008
Workers Memorial Day
On April 28 each year, the labor movement observes Workers Memorial Day to commemorate workers who have been killed or injured on the job, and to renew the fight for safety-and-health protections. This year’s theme is, G...
April 17, 2008
Mail Network Protection Act Gains Eight More Co-Sponsors
Eight more members of the U.S. House of Representatives have become co-sponsors of the Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236) in the past two weeks, thanks to continuing outreach efforts by APWU locals. The legislation...
April 16, 2008
APWU Donation to Save Small-Town Post Office
The APWU has given a one-of-a-kind gift to the people of McCausland, Iowa: a donation of $30,000 to help save their post office. The contribution will pay for renovations to a building the small town purchased in order t...
April 14, 2008
APWU Members Lead the Charge In Defense of FMLA
APWU members rose to an important challenge in recent weeks: Postal workers submitted more than half of the postings to a Department of Labor Web site that features comments regarding proposed revisions to the Family & M...
April 14, 2008
Burrus Asks Bush to Appoint Postal Service Advisory Council
APWU President William Burrus has asked President Bush to appoint a Postal Service Advisory Council, noting that the appointment of the panel is required by federal law. “The Postal Service is required to ‘consult with a...
April 9, 2008
Executive Board Endorses Barack Obama for President
The APWU National Executive Board has voted unanimously to endorse Barack Obama for president. “Sen. Obama’s message is one of hope and change,” said union President William Burrus. “His message is special, and the timin...
April 8, 2008
Union Members Urged to Help Save FMLA Protections
Time is running out for union members to voice objections to new regulations proposed by the Department of Labor that would undermine employees’ medical privacy protections and make it more difficult for workers to exerc...
April 3, 2008
Ten More U.S. Representatives Co-Sponsor Mail Network Protection Act
Since Congress returned from its Easter recess on March 31, 10 additional members of the House of Representatives have taken a stand against wasteful, inefficient, and detrimental subcontracting by signing on to the Mail...
April 2, 2008
Federal Court Dismisses APWU Suit
A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit by the APWU and the Consumer Alliance for Postal Services (CAPS), which sought access to the meetings and records of the Postal Service’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC...
April 2, 2008
APWU Board Assails McCain For Crossing Strikers’ Picket Line
The APWU National Executive Board has adopted a resolution criticizing Sen. John McCain for crossing a picket line of striking members of the Writers Guild to appear on the Tonight Show at the end of January. “This callo...
March 28, 2008
Bush Keeps Trying to Chip Away at Workers’ Rights
The headlines last July seemed to say it all: “Labor Department Study Affirms That FMLA Is Working as Intended.” So union activists were dismayed when seven months later the Department of Labor proposed sweeping new regu...
March 25, 2008
PRC: Postage Hike Exceeds Limit on Worksharing Discounts
Although a review by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of proposed USPS postage increases found that the rate hikes are within the price cap permitted by 2006 postal reform legislation, there was another less public...
March 17, 2008
Inspector General: USPS Wasted $17.8 Million on FedEx Contract
An audit by the USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has concluded that during Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006, the Postal Service’s Pacific Area incurred approximately $17.8 million in unnecessary costs by the use of “...
March 14, 2008
Mail Network Protection Act Steadily Gaining Co-Sponsors
As of mid-March, 55 members of the House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of an anti-subcontracting measure supported by the APWU. The Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236), which was introduced in Nove...