MID-TERM Elections: Use Your Voice and Your Vote

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) 

By Retirees Department Director Nancy Olumekor

Use your voice to let the candidates running for the U.S. House and the Senate know that you and your family will only vote for those candidates that are committed to protecting your hard-earned benefits. This includes your federal pension, i.e., CSRS or FERS; Social Security; Medicare; health insurance and life insurance.

Tell those candidates running for Congress in your area that you will only support candidates who are opposed to privatizing the Postal Service and the federal agencies such as OPM, Social Security and Veterans Administration. Let the candidates know that you are only voting for candidates who will fight to protect and preserve the Postal Service and federal agencies.

Review candidates’ voting records on these and other issues of importance to you. If they haven’t supported our issues in the past, let them know that you will not be supporting them during the mid-term elections. If the candidate doesn’t have a voting record then ask them questions. Ask them for a commitment to support our issues; to protect our federal pension, protect Social Security, Medicare and support legislation to improve the standard of living for seniors and retirees, as well as the standard of living for all working people. Tell them your story; this election is personal to you.

Take ten (10) minutes to write a letter or a postcard to your elected representatives in the House and the Senate. Tell them why this election is important to you, your family and your future. Then, make that telephone call to Capitol Hill 1-202- 224-3121 or use the APWU line 1-844-402-1001 to call your member of Congress. Remind them that you are registered to vote; you are a postal retiree with a federal pension; you will only support candidates who will protect your federal pension, benefits, the postal service and federal agencies.

These issues are of paramount importance in this election for postal/federal retirees, senior citizens and postal workers. We need to make sure that we elect candidates who are going to protect our livelihood and our federal pension and benefits.

Talk to your family, your neighbors, your friends and other like-minded registered voters. Educate them on the issues of importance to you. Ask them to vote for those candidates who will support our issues. Join with others who are working to elect candidates in your area who will support our issues in Congress.

Contact your local AFL-CIO Central Labor Council or your local union office to help. Volunteer to make telephone calls, knock on doors to help elect candidates who will support Labor’s issues in Congress. Then, last but certainly not least, VOTE. Vote early, if you can, then help someone else get to the polls to VOTE on Election Day – Tuesday, November 6, 2018.