(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.

(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.

(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.

 (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.

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

By Organization Director Anna Smith

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.