APWU Supports NALC’s Annual Food Drive
April 29, 2014
APWU President Mark Dimondstein is urging APWU members to actively support the 22nd annual Letter Carriers Food Drive, which is set for May. 10.
“I urge every APWU member to make a generous donation” he said. “But I also encourage our members to do more. I hope APWU locals — and individual union members — will volunteer to help with the organizational tasks that are necessary to ensure the success of the drive.”
The concept is simple: Postal customers across the country are asked to put non-perishable food donations in a sturdy bag and place the bag near their mailbox prior to their regular mail delivery on Saturday, May 10. Letter Carriers will collect the donations as they deliver mail. (Many USPS worksites also set out containers to collect contributions.)
“Too many people in this country are still going hungry every day,” said Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers.
Last year, with the help of thousands of volunteers, letter carriers collected more than 74.4 million pounds of non-perishable food — bringing the grand total to just under 1.3 billion pounds.
Food banks and shelters usually benefit from an upswing in charitable donations during the winter holiday season, the NALC notes. By springtime, however, their stocks tend to dwindle to critically low levels. “Helping local support organizations deal with this post-holiday lull in donations is the main reason we hold our national drive on the second Saturday in May,” Rolando said, adding that since many school meal programs are suspended during summer months, millions of children are left scrambling to find alternate sources of nutrition.
Volunteers can:
- Organize donations as they come in;
- Help transport contributions to local pantries;
- Place posters and flyers about the food drive in public places;
- Make sure family and friends know about the drive and how easy it is to donate, and
- Spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
The best place to start is by contacting the local food drive coordinator [list-PDF].
NBAs to Address Questions On Residual Vacancies
APWU President Mark Dimondstein has assigned Clerk Craft National Business Agent Rachel Walthall to handle questions from Clerk Craft representatives pertaining to the implementation of the March 20 agreement between the APWU and USPS regarding filling residual vacancies. The agreement outlines a procedure for filling the vacancies. It also will result in the conversion of Postal Support Employees to career status and the conversion of Part-Time Flexible Clerks to full time.
Stewards and officers who are unable to resolve problems locally can contact her by phone at (202) 842-4223
or via email at ResidualVacancies@apwu.org
or PTFtransfers@apwu.org.
Maintenance and Motor Vehicle Craft employees with questions or problems should contact their NBAs.