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(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) (L-R) Amarillo Local Steward Taylor Martin & Amarillo Secretary Angela Ramos at the Pittsburgh rally. During the 24th Biennial National Convention and pre-convention meetings, The American Postal Worker spoke with some of the dozens of young members in attendance. We asked the new APWU leaders about their experiences as postal employees, APWU members and, if applicable, local representatives. “Being a young worker, and holding the title PSE [Postal Support Employee], management tries to treat us as ‘second rate’. They tend to assume we aren’t knowledgeable and that we aren’t aware of our contractual rights,” said Eveyana Cortez, New York Metro Area View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Retirees Department Director Nancy Olumekor Retirees in Action (L-R) Roosevelt Daniel, President of the California Area Local Retiree Chapter, with Congressman Pete Aguilar (D-CA-31) & Letitia Ochoa, Vice President California Area Local Retiree Chapter. 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. View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Health Plan Director John Marcotte As an advocate for workers and quality health care, I am disturbed by recent media reports about health insurance companies using data collected from non-medical sources. The implication is that this could be used to set rates for health insurance premiums. First let me assure you that the APWU Health Plan does not do business this way. I personally find this practice discriminatory and reprehensible; it defies the entire construct of health insurance. The APWU Health Plan was created by postal workers banding together to share the financial burden of health conditions should any one of us be unfortunate enough to have or contract one of these conditions. This is a proud heritage and one I believe is worth fighting to defend. View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Research & Education Department Director Joyce B. Robinson Pregnancy discrimination exists in many agencies nationwide, including the Postal Service. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978 amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and prohibits sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Pregnancy is considered a temporary disability in the eyes of the law, meaning the treatment of pregnant employees falls under the same jurisdiction as disabled employees. View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Human Relations Director Sue Carney Your donations are needed to sustain the Postal Employees’ Relief Fund (PERF). PERF is a nonprofit charitable organization. When disaster strikes and all is lost, PERF provides tax-free relief grants to postal employees and retirees to help them reestablish a home and replace necessities. PERF has provided more than $19 million in assistance to postal families during its 28-year history, but meeting its mission has become increasingly difficult over the last decade. View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Organization Director Anna Smith Breaker Boys in Pittston, PA 1911 We all have heard of human rights and we all have those rights. But, did you know that labor rights are human rights? What do I mean by that? Well, let me give an example and begin with the “right to an education.” Public education is far too often taken for granted by Americans. Sadly, only in the last century is it normal for children go to school and learn reading, writing and basic mathematics. This is all because of the work of worker unions in the late 1800s and early 1900s to end child labor. Once young children were no longer going to work in places like the clothing mills or mines, the need for elementary and high schools emerged. Unions then fought for those schools to be public, and not owned by a religious group or a company (in the cases of “company towns”). Workers fought for free public education. We succeeded in helping secure the right of every American to have a K-12 education. We still are fighting for that same right to a free collegiate education. Labor unions fought for human rights to be protected by law. We constantly fight to give true meaning to the phrase “dignity and respect.” We fought for, and continue to fight, to maintain basic freedoms like thought, speech, press, religion, assembly and especially our right to petition our government to correct the wrongs we face. View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Legislative & Political Department Director Judy Beard The 2018 Midterm elections are quickly approaching! On Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, one-third of the U.S. Senate, every U.S. House Representative, dozens of governorships, and countless local and state positions are in play. These candidates want our vote. Before you head to the polls, find out where these candidates stand on preventing the privatization, in part or in full, of the United States Postal Service. Privatization means ending our publicly owned and operated Postal Service to be replaced by private corporate interests. It means ending our jobs that pay a living wage and jeopardizing our hard-earned retirement and healthcare. To see if your representative supports House Resolution 993, (which calls for Congress to ensure that the USPS is “not subject to privatization,” go to tiny.cc/993. We have more than 190 sponsors so far, both Democrats and Republicans. **Editors Note: Click Here to Pledge to Fight for the People’s Post Office!** View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Central Region Coordinator Sharyn M. Stone This is a tough article to write because by the time you read it, we could either have a contract or be headed for binding interest arbitration. Our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires on September 20, 2018. Hopefully we have achieved a fair and just contract and maintained the hard-fought protections we have achieved. Our negotiations’ team, headed up by President Dimondstein, serves us well. Even if all is complete with the CBA, we have miles to go before we sleep. The constant threat of Article 12 excessing, reorganizing, mismanagement, harassment, coupled with the President’s threat to privatize the Postal Service into oblivion is still in play. Have you called your member of Congress? Nothing should be more inspiring and more motivating than a threat to our livelihood and the continued existence of the Postal Service committed to serving every community... View the full article

Twenty-one hundred APWU members departed from the union’s 24th Biennial National Convention in August uplifted, united and ready to continue Fighting Today for a Better Tomorrow! Four days of rousing speeches, an enthusiastic rally against the privatization of the public Postal Service, as well as vigorous debate over resolutions on work floor topics and social issues reflected the APWU’s spirit of activism and a commitment to strengthen the union. View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman “It is the responsibility of management to provide safe working conditions in all present and future installations and to develop a safe working force.” This is how Article 14 of our Collective Bargaining agreement with the Postal Service begins. That one sentence is very powerful and tells all of us that the highest-ranking postal manager – the Postmaster General – recognizes that ultimately it is their responsibility to provide a safe and healthy work environment. You may hear supervisors and managers say that safety is “everyone’s responsibility” or that every accident is “preventable.” But how often do you hear that safety is every worker’s right? View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Secretary-Treasurer Liz Powell It starts with the process for nominations. One of the ways to alleviate and hopefully prevent complaints, Local Election Committee (LEC) and National Election Appeals Committee (NEAC) appeals, and Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) investigations, is for local affiliates to ensure elections are conducted in accordance with Department of Labor (DOL) guidelines. View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By Vice President Debby Szeredy My dream would be to help make APWU truly a movement of members fighting to save the USPS from privatization. Everyone needs to take responsibility and get involved. There is plenty of work to do. It will only get better when everyone joins in making it happen. We all want a safe, non-hostile, good paying, enjoyable workplace! We all are under attack and without all of us in this fight we could lose everything. View the full article

(This article first appeared in the September/October 2018 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) By President Mark Dimondstein I was honored to have led the just concluded APWU’s 24th Biennial National Convention – the grand union meeting that sets our union's future direction. It was inspirational with dynamic speakers, democratic with much lively debate and votes taken, included a spirited rally to save the service, and helped prepare us for the challenges ahead. Some excerpts from my keynote address follow: On this 50th anniversary of the historic 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ strike when 1,300 courageous African-American workers in the segregated south took on city hall and won, we gain courage and inspiration. Fifty years later the education workers’ rebellions uplift us… View the full article

Web News Article #: 62-2018 After decades of jurisdictional disputes, the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) reached agreement with the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU) and the Postal Service on an updated RI-399 procedure for jurisdictional work assignments to Clerks and Mail Handlers. View the full article

Web News Article #: 92-2018 APWU President Mark Dimondstein has announced that the union and the Postal Service have agreed to extend negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement for 30 days. Our current union contract between the American Postal Workers Union and the United States Postal Service covers the wages, hours and working conditions of 200,000 postal workers. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expired Thursday, September 20, 2018... All the rights, benefits and provisions of our existing union contract remain in place, and are fully enforceable during the 30-day extension of negotiations. View the full article

Web News Article #: 88-2018 Privatizers – those who want to sell the public postal service to private corporations – are hard at work. Together we can stop them in their tracks. Get ready to hit the streets with our sister postal unions, family, friends, and community allies to Save Our Service. Rallies will take place at many Congressional offices throughout the country. Check with your local and state leaders for more details and for the exact time and location in your area. View the full article

Web News Article #: 90-2018 View the full article

Web News Article #: 89-2018 When the USPS made changes to Chapters 5 and 7 of the Postal Operations Manual (POM) in 1995, APWU challenged the changes as not fair, reasonable, and equitable. While USPS agreed to restore the language in 2007 and again in 2012, they never did. APWU never stopped fighting. On August 28, we reached an agreement with the USPS to restore the language within 12 weeks. "This language is significant because it protects work that is presently being performed in the MVS Craft," said Michael Foster, Motor Vehicle Service (MVS) Division Director. View the full article

Web News Article #: 88-2018 Some non-unionized drivers from Pat Salmon Companies in El Paso, TX approached the Salmon Companies Dallas APWU represented drivers with concerns over their working conditions. The Dallas driver President, Sonny Castleman, quickly arranged for a meeting with the drivers to discuss the issues. View the full article

Web News Article #: 88-2018 View the full article

Web News Article #: 87-2018 September 20, 2018 marks the expiration of our Collective Bargaining Agreement between the APWU and the USPS. There is much at stake for members of the American Postal Workers Union as your negotiating committee is fighting to protect job security, win fair wage increases, maintain our COLA, expand rights of PTFs and PSEs alike, seek to end the divisive multi-tier wage structure and expand postal services. This Thursday, Sept. 13 and Thursday, Sept. 20 are the last two Union Gear Thursdays before our contract expires. Make sure to ‘Gear Up!’ Coast-to-coast – Hawaii to Maine, Florida to Alaska – as we show the Postal Service that we are one, we are strong, we are united. Put on your buttons, wristbands, stickers, shirts, hats and other union gear! Tag #APWUnited on social media, send us your images to nccc@apwu.org, and proudly display our solidarity! Click here to download the flyer and spread the word: Sept. 13 is NATIONAL UNION GEAR DAY! View the full article

News Service Bulletin #: Vol. 48, No. 07 The current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the American Postal Workers Union and the United States Postal Service expires at midnight September 20, 2018. The union entered the final 10-day stretch of intense negotiations – including days of round-the-clock bargaining – on Sept. 10. National President Dimondstein will provide regular updates starting Sept. 14. Call 866-412-8061 to get the latest news and updates as we continue Fighting Today for a Better Tomorrow! Seventh and Final COLA under the 2015 National Agreement View the full article

Web News Article #: 86-2018 The current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the American Postal Workers Union and the United States Postal Service expires at midnight September 20, 2018. The union entered the final 10-day stretch of intense negotiations – including days of round-the-clock bargaining – on Sept. 10. National President Dimondstein will provide regular updates starting Sept. 14. Call 866-412-8061 to get the latest news and updates as we continue Fighting Today for a Better Tomorrow! View the full article

Web News Article #: 89-2018 The Clerk Craft recently settled four (4) Step 4 National Disputes with the Postal Service that address (1.) the assignment of injured on duty employees in USPS “pilot” or experimental programs, (2.) Lead Clerk duties and leading other employees, same level and higher, (3.) 204B details to non-supervisory positions, and (4.) Lead Clerk and TACs training and duties. Click Here to Read More. View the full article

Web News Article #: 85-2018 APWU POWER Southern Region The APWU POWER Southern Region Educational Conference will be held on Monday, October 15 to Tuesday, October 16, 2018. The deadline to register is Monday, October 1, 2018. It will be held at the IP Casino and Resort, 850 Bayview Ave., Biloxi, MS. For more information and to register, click here. APWU POWER Eastern/Northeast Region The APWU POWER Eastern/Northeast Region Educational Conference will be held on Thursday, November 1 to Friday, November 2, 2018. The deadline to register is Friday, September 21, 2018. It will be held at the Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel, located on the Boardwalk, 1416 Pacific Ave, Atlantic City, New Jersey. For more information and to register, click here. View the full article