White House 2018 Budget Proposal Targets Postal Workers and Postal Services

(This article first appeared on the Web News Article #: 53-2017)

This week the White House released their budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, as they do every fiscal year. There are a number of disturbing provisions which will directly affect postal workers and postal services for the American people.

The White House’s budget proposes $46 billion in “savings” to the Postal Service by a reduction in the methods of delivery. This could include cutting the number of delivery days and a further reduction in service standards.

The budget further calls for an increase of 6% employee pension contributions into the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) – 1% a year for each of the next six years. This would result in a pay-cut of thousands of dollars a year for each FERS postal employee.

The budget also proposes eliminating Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) on FERS retirement benefits, reducing COLA on current civil service retirees and a change in calculating future retirement benefits from the current “high three” average to a “high five” year formula. In addition, the proposal advocates doing away with the social security supplement currently covering the gap in FERS benefits for those who retire before they are eligible for social security benefits.

Each of these proposals would be to the severe detriment of hard working postal employees, both active and retired.

Will Devastate Working Families

Contrary to President Trump’s campaign promises to elevate workers and protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits, the proposed budget contains a number of extreme cuts which will deeply affect tens of millions of working families. These include massive cuts to social security disability benefits, Medicaid coverage, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the student loan program. The budget proposal shrinks all these essential programs while lowering the taxes for corporate America and the wealthy elite.

“This budget proposal is Robin Hood in reverse,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “It robs from the workers to give more and more to the wealthy. Taken in their entirety, these are draconian attacks on hard working postal workers and our families.”

Ultimately, Congress sets the federal government’s budget. However, the White House’s budget proposal is a reflection of the spending priorities of the Trump administration. The APWU, working with our sister unions and many allies, will vigorously oppose actions by Congress to allow these cuts to vital government programs as well as any attempts to undermine postal services and the well-being of postal workers and postal retirees.

“No postal worker cast a vote in the last presidential election to cut postal services and worker benefits,” Dimondstein continued. “I am confident, that our members of all political persuasions will stand up and fight back against these new assaults on postal workers and all working folks.”

‘All for One and One for All!’

(This article first appeared in the July-August 2017 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)
By President Mark Dimondstein

The Three Musketeers must have belonged to the “Musketeers Union” with their rallying cry “All for one and one for all!” That captures the essence of union solidarity.

So does the recent APWU-led informational picket in Barre, Vermont.

Barre is a rural Vermont town of some 9,000 people, with a deep union history rooted in the struggle of immigrant granite workers in the once-thriving granite industry of New England.

As with so many towns and neighborhoods, the Barre post office is an integral part of the community. The office consists of eight clerks and one maintenance employee, as well as city and rural letter carriers. As with postal employees around the country, they are skilled, well-trained and perform their jobs with dedication and pride. They are union-strong with 90 percent of the employees organized.

So why were 100 APWU activists (including yours truly), letter carriers, United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE) members, the Vermont Workers Center, the state and local AFL-CIO and faith-based community allies out in force?

Because “Workers Deserve Respect!” – whether we are working in the largest or smallest postal facility. This slogan has multiple meanings: Workers deserve to make living wages for the wealth we create and the services we provide. Workers deserve to have decent health care coverage. Workers deserve quality time-off with family and friends. Workers deserve a dignified retirement.

And yes, workers deserve and demand safe and decent working conditions, free from management abuse and harassment. The postal workers of Barre have not been afforded these basic rights. Workers are berated by management in front of customers. Union rights are ignored and union representatives belittled. Management snubs their noses at grievance settlements. Poor staffing by management adds stress to the employees and undermines service to the customers.

Northeast Regional Coordinator John Dirzius and APWU National Business Agents have attempted to address this problem for over two years, with no positive results from higher-level management.

Enough is enough! Tyrannical management has got to go!

A large percentage of our clerk members work in small towns like Barre, from sea to shining sea, from the northern border to the southern border of our vast country. There are many post offices staffed by a handful of employees. Without the strength in numbers of larger facilities, it is harder for workers to resist and stand strong. Barre Local President Nancy Rowland and the other postal workers are doing just that. I commend their resolve and fighting spirit.

In my many years in the post office, I saw many good supervisors and managers who cared about our service to the people and treated workers with respect. I also witnessed far too many abusive managers. More frustrating is that we, as well as the other postal unions, have rarely found a way to force upper management to hold their managers accountable.

Unfortunately, the abusive atmosphere in Barre, Vermont, is not an isolated incident. However, the APWU just sent a powerful message – No postal worker represented by the APWU is alone. An injury to one is an injury to all. We demand that abusive managers be removed and postal workers be able to perform our work and mission free of intimidation, harassment and abuse.

The Barre action underscores that we will take to the streets when necessary. (Hats off to Brother Dirzius for leading the charge.) Solidarity is what won the Stop Staples fight. Solidarity is what produces strong union contracts. Solidarity – “All for one and one for all!” – is the path forward to hold management accountable. Solidarity forever!

Direct From The National Website

APWU and Mail Handlers Union Send a United Message to PMG Brennan Denouncing “Wholesale and Massive Job Cuts”

This is the latest from the National Website. If this is your first time to the website or you haven’t noticed it, the National website’s RSS feed is on the sidebar of the website. Going directly to the new Facebook account is also in the sidebar. But below, we just HAD to post the letter sent to the PMG from both the National Presidents of APWU and the Mail Handlers Union.

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