(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...

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.

(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?

(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.

(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.