(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…

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.

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.

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.