Voting: Your Voice and Opportunity to Make a Difference

Let’s hope that we delivered for democracy in our General Election and elected candidates who support the people’s Post Office up and down the ballots. I also hope for our Postal Service, our workers, our communities, and our world, that we were able to successfully elect Harris and Walz. I hope I woke up to the election results the next morning, and I was able to cry tears of joy instead of sadness.

Electing the right people to make our work and our world a better place means everything. General elections aren’t the only important elections. We need like-minded people, not only in the House and Senate, but in all city and state positions. It is also important to vote in your local and national union elections. It breaks my heart when I see the small number of members who have taken the time to vote for candidates running for National APWU positions. Sure, you can say, “I don’t know those people running,” but like everything in life, you must read up on each candidate and make the better choice. We must do the research and make an informed decision.

I know it can be hard to understand how important your vote is, but we all need to step up for our families, coworkers, and communities. Your vote is your voice. Some may even decide to choose to run for office, whether in a union or publicly.

My Hopes for Negotiations

I have some thoughts on negotiations, keeping in mind the song from Bob Dylan, “Times Are A-Changing.” Our Postmaster General (PMG) should settle with the APWU, the Letter Carriers, and the Rural Carriers before Election Day. The Postal Service should provide a great economic package, fix toxic work environments, end short staffing, and devote more time towards improving training, job protection language, insourcing, and a work-life balance that includes considering child/ adult care benefits - similar to health care benefits, and work on better ways to effectively communicate with all its employees. Lastly, the PMG should pause Delivering for America (DFA) and build on the inside with input from the unions.

The PMG can make the needed changes to his DFA plan, such as returning to 2012 Service Standards so that all mail processing facilities, including their surrounding areas, can provide the good services the public was accustomed to, and expand community services like postal banking to bring in new revenue. The Postal Service should provide excellent public service to all communities across this country, no matter where they live. The Postal Service can be the best government “model,” providing a productive environment where employees are highly motivated, valued, and well rewarded. The Postal Service is a unionized workplace, and when the union and management work closely together, we can reduce turnover, attract dedicated employees, and perform better services, building the trust, experience, transparency, and empowerment that will allow the Postal Service to thrive!

To be a leader of the future, organizations should transform their unionized workplaces into places where all stakeholders, including employees, prosper, and where all interests are balanced and aligned to win. We should take that leap forward, together, in these negotiations.

I pray that all of you are given strength to get through the holidays safely, and with the important time to spend with your family and friends. Thanks for your dedication to making our workplace better. ■