Retirees Answer the Call
July 24, 2014
“You are, and we are, a value to the union!” Retirees Department Director Judy Beard said at the Retiree Conference on Saturday, July 19.
Retiree members from all over the country gathered at the conference to send a clear message to the union: they are active, mobilized, and ready to fight for the APWU.
Retirees Department members organized eight local retiree chapters and one state chapter since the last convention in 2012. Nearly every retiree chapter delegate in attendance reported that their chapter had been involved in Stop Staples actions. “Our retirees are out there on crutches, they’re out there with walkers, they’re out there with scooters, your participation in the protests is valuable,” Director Beard told the assembly.
President Mark Dimondstein addressed the meeting, and was greeted by members chanting, “Postal Staples has got to go!” Dimondstein thanked the retirees for their spirit and activism. “If the post office goes down, it doesn’t just affect the current workers, it affects the retirees,” Dimondstein said, “The activism of retirees helps sustain the union for years to come.” He closed his address by leading the group in chanting, “The US Mail is not for sale!”
Retiree members have been volunteering their time and energy to every APWU cause. Over half the attendees were actively involved in the AFL-CIO affiliated retirees’ organization, the Alliance for Retired Americans. Several others have worked for APWU legislative campaigns.
APWU Honors Mary Ann Medina
Calling her activism “a source of great inspiration, ” APWU President Mark Dimondstein honored Mary Ann Medina for her many years of union involvement, during the APWU Retirees Conference on Saturday, July 19.
Medina started her postal career in 1966, and has been a union activist since 1968. A participant in the great postal strike of 1970, she has held a number of union positions.
As president of the San Francisco Retiree Chapter, APWU second alternate to Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) and vice president of the San Francisco CLUW chapter, she remains a devoted unionist.
Her most recent endeavor includes participation in dozens of daily “Stop Staples” protests.