(This article was first reported on the National Website on June 30, 2018)
The American Postal Workers Union began negotiations for a new union contract with the U.S. Postal Service with an opening session on June 26th. In a display of postal union unity, NALC Executive Vice-President Brian Renfroe and NPMHU president Paul Hogrogian sat shoulder to shoulder with the APWU leadership. A host of notable labor and community allies, including AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and NAACP national leader Hilary Shelton, were present in support, underscoring the national importance of this round of bargaining. The APWU delegation of 80 national officers, the Rank and File Bargaining Committee, friends and supporters and local representatives marched to the meeting room chanting “Fired Up and Ready to Go!” while in a national day of APWU solidarity and unity thousands of members wore their stickers: “Fighting Today for a Better Tomorrow.”
APWU President and lead negotiator Mark Dimondstein presented the union’s opening remarks pointing out that “Since the advent of true collective bargaining gained as a result of the postal strike of 1970 – postal workers’ lives are vastly improved. And representatives of our union sit across the bargaining table from management as equals – not because we have important titles, but because we have a union sustained and supported by our members.”
With the recent White House proposal to privatize the Postal Service, Dimondstein didn’t mince words. “As we enter these negotiations, powerful forces on Wall Street and the likes of UPS continue to push for the breaking up of the postal service and selling pieces off to the highest bidders,” he said, adding that “management should not be afraid of bold and creative thinking and approach these negotiations as an opportunity to discuss various ways to protect and expand the public postal service.”
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