Our Members Expect Change

(This article first appeared in the March-April 2015 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Editor's Note: Below are excerpts from President Dimondstein's opening statement at contract negotiations.

The American Postal Workers Union welcomes this opportunity to represent approximately 200,000 postal workers in these important negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.

Few in this room were postal employees during the days of “collective begging.” But we know the history: Forty-five years ago, the unions representing postal workers had no authority to negotiate over wages, benefits and conditions of employment. Instead, postal workers’ livelihoods were subject to the whims of politicians. Many postal workers qualified for public assistance.

Today – since the advent of true collective bargaining, which was gained as a result of the postal strike in 1970 – postal workers’ lives are vastly improved. And representatives of our union today sit across the bargaining table from management as equals – not because we have important titles – but because we have a union sustained and supported by our members.

Our Mission

The APWU is passionate in our support for the crucial mission of the public Postal Service, which is outlined in the 1971 Postal Reorganization Act: “To provide postal services to bind the nation together,” to “provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas,” and “render postal services to all communities.”

But today this mission is in jeopardy. It is threatened by a congressionally-manufactured financial crisis, by those on Wall Street who would like to get their hands on the Postal Service’s $67 billion in annual revenue, and by ideologues who oppose the very concept of the public good.

And while we sincerely welcome the appointment of the new Postmaster General Megan Brennan and the opportunity that comes with it for positive change, it must be said that the policies and practices of the Board of Governors and too many postal executives over the last few years has led to severely degraded services, delayed mail, subcontracting, and partial privatization.

Deeply Dissatisfied

I am here today as a relatively new president of the APWU because our members are deeply dissatisfied with the current state of affairs and they expect change.

Our members want an end to the divisive three-tier structure that pays workers significantly different amounts for performing the same work. We want an end to a situation where new hires barely make a living wage, and where full-time career work has been placed at risk. We strive for dignity and respect on the job.

We believe postal workers should be justly compensated for our service and hard work; we should be provided a safe workplace, and after concluding our careers, enjoy a secure and dignified retirement.

We believe the deep concessions of $3.8 billion from the wages and benefits of postal workers in the last contract should be considered temporary solutions to temporary problems. Absent the congressionally-manufactured pre-funding hoax, the Postal Service is enjoying strong financial performance in relation to its operations, with great opportunities for expansion in response to the ecommerce revolution and new possibilities for expanded postal products and services.

A Vibrant Postal Service 

We also approach these negotiations as an opportunity to promote a vision of a vibrant Postal Service for generations to come. We will be putting forth proposals for maintaining overnight delivery standards, halting plant closings, expanding hours of service and staffing, financial services and postal banking.

There are indeed competing visions for the future of the Postal Service. The USPS deal with Staples is one stark example of a direction that the APWU rejects. It transfers living-wage jobs to the low-wage sector and undermines the sanctity and security of the mail. It also props up the profit margins of an anti-worker company that has paid millions in back wages to settle allegations of wage theft and attaches the trusted postal brand to a company that was recently singled out by the U.S. president for its shameful practice of cutting employee hours to avoid the company’s obligations to fund employees’ health insurance.

Another example of our differing views on the way forward is reflected in former Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe’s farewell speech at the National Press Club, where he proclaimed that young workers don’t deserve traditional defined-benefit retirement plans – which he now enjoys to the max. He called on Congress to use the Postal Service as “an incubator” for destroying these decent retirement plans as a prelude to eliminating them for all federal workers.

We vehemently oppose this “race to the bottom” and hope with the new leadership of the Postal Service this thinking will be buried in the past. For we believe that the Postal Service should be an incubator, as it has been for decades, of good, living-wage jobs for workers from all walks of life, with equal pay for equal work for women and minorities and solid job opportunities for veterans.

This is part of our answer to the shocking and growing income inequality where by next year 1% of the world’s wealthiest individuals will control more than the combined wealth of the other 99%!

The Postal Service’s future can be bright, and key to its success is the hard work and dedication of hundreds of thousands of postal workers – from those who sell postage and accept packages, to those who sort medicine and catalogues, to those who transport mail and repair the vehicles, to those who maintain the equipment and facilities, to those who deliver the mail.

Ready to Get to Work

The APWU will approach these negotiations with passion for the public we serve and the workers we represent. We will keep an open mind, forthrightly share our proposals, and be honest in our dealings. We will work hard to achieve a negotiated collective bargaining agreement.

We enter these negotiations as part of a movement to protect and enhance a vital institution and a great national treasure. Many friends and allies are part of this effort. As we meet here on opening day, thousands of APWU members around the country are taking up the call for “Good Service, Good Jobs!”

With this mandate, the APWU is ready to get to work!