National Organizing Week: July 18-22

The APWU has designated July 18-22 National Organizing Week as part of a campaign to sign up new union members.

“The Postal Service is facing a financial disaster — which Congress created — yet some politicians are proposing a ‘fix’ that would be devastating for the USPS and for postal workers,” said President Cliff Guffey.

“We must ask all postal workers to join with us in the fight of our lives. To win this fight, union members must get involved in legislative affairs,” he said, “and must encourage co-workers who are not union members to join the APWU and get involved.”

To support the organizing campaign, the national union has sent locals a supply of posters, flyers, buttons, balloons, and more. Bright yellow posters spotlight the threats to our jobs, pay, and benefits. They say, “We Need You!” and ask, “Are You In?” Other material emphasizes the benefits of union membership — for newly-hired Postal Support Employees, workers in small offices, veterans, and postal workers generally.

Locals have been asked to plan organizing activities in swing rooms and other areas where workers congregate during National Organizing Week — and beyond.

In addition, the national union is mailing brochures to potential members, inviting them to sign-up and join the fight to save the USPS and to protect our jobs, our pay, our benefits and our collective bargaining rights.

“Now, more than ever, we need a larger, stronger union to stand up to politicians who are trying to make workers pay for the Postal Service’s financial difficulties,” Guffey said.

“That’s why we must tell co-workers who have not yet joined our ranks, ‘We Need You!’ and ask them, ‘Are You In?’”

Up Next: Supporting a Bill to Fix the USPS

In addition to the organizing drive, the APWU is launching a campaign to win support for legislation that would address the Postal Service’s financial crisis.

“Postal workers must contact their members of Congress and urge them to support H.R. 1351, which would prevent the demise of the Postal Service,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “We also must voice our strenuous opposition to H.R. 2309, which would be disastrous for the Postal Service,” he said. “H.R. 2309 would do nothing to address the cause of the USPS financial crisis — but it would lead to significant service cuts for postal customers and substantial pay cuts for postal workers.”

The USPS financial crisis is caused by two factors, Guffey said: Billions of dollars in overpayments to postal pension accounts and the mandate in a 2006 law that requires the USPS to pre-fund the healthcare costs of future retirees,” he said. No other government agency or private company is required to make these payments, which exceed $5 billion annually.