On Feb. 19, almost a year after walking out of school and beginning a national movement of teacher and education workers strikes across the country, West Virginia workers struck again. This time teachers and school personnel walked out explicitly in protest against a potential bill that would begin a process to privatize the state’s education system. Schools in 54 of the state’s 55 counties were closed for the day, and the House of Delegates voted 53-45 to kill the bill only hours after the walk out.

On Feb. 13, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced S. 478, the “Expand Social Security Act,” legislation that would expand benefits and add almost 50 years of solvency to the program. Social Security, in its current form, is paying out more money to recipients than it takes in, and will no longer be able to pay out full benefits by 2034.  A companion bill, H.R. 1170 was introduced in the House on the same day by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR-4).

On Feb. 15, 2019, the APWU National Executive Board adopted a proclamation honoring women of the APWU throughout March, in celebration of Women's History Month.

The proclamation read:

On Monday, Feb. 11, over two thousand educators from the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) walked out of school, launching the first teachers’ strike in the city in over 25 years. The walkout follows 15 months of negotiations. The strike vote passed in January with over 93 percent of the workers in favor of the walkout.

The APWU National encourages members who are able to join the picket lines or show their support via social media with the hashtag #DCTAstrong. You can also donate to the strike fund.

Consistent with the requirements of the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015, the Postal Service allows veteran employees who meet the eligibility requirements to take Wounded Warrior Leave. This is a specific type of leave, which provides veteran employees with no loss in pay, for undergoing medical treatment for a service-related disability rated at 30% or more.