Take Part In the Process!

The 2008 elections are fast approaching, and we strongly urge all APWU members to participate in this important process. Our position on a number of Congressional races will be publicized, but that information is just one part of the decision-making process: The most important thing is that you participate — play an active role in our country’s democratic process.

We do not take lightly our responsibility to inform you. Foremost in our minds is whether a candidate represents the interests and goals important to our members and their families. In order to make that evaluation, we review the voting records of incumbent candidates and the profiles of candidates seeking office. We hope that you do the same.

Getting Out the Vote

No one can win an election unless they mobilize their supporters and get their people to vote. The first step is to make sure that every member eligible to vote is registered to do so. There’s still time: If you are eligible and not currently registered, please sign up immediately. Click here for information on each state’s voter-registration deadlines. [PDF]

Getting out the vote is step one. The next step is to get labor’s message out to APWU members and working families throughout the country. We form alliances with others in the labor community in order to maximize our input into the political process. An important part of that effort is our work with the AFL-CIO Labor 2008 program to identify and communicate a unified message to our constituencies. Our union, more than almost any other, has members in virtually every precinct in the country.

Our regional grassroots coordinators are playing an important role: Janice Kelble (Northeast); Ian Stublarec (Eastern); Donna Dean (Central); Aaron Carmella (Southern); and Michael Points (Western) are working with state AFL-CIO bodies as well as the APWU state and locals in their areas. For information on the grassroots effort in your area, contact the coordinator for your area.

The demographics of each state are being analyzed to identify competitive House and Senate races, and we are placing a strong emphasis on finding candidates whose platform and record supports working families, and focusing our energy and resources accordingly. Needless to say, COPA funds are vital to the amount of influence we bring to the table.

HR 4236 Gaining Steam

As we go to press in late August, more than one-third of the members of the House have signed on as co-sponsors of H.R. 4236, the Mail Network Protection Act. We appreciate the efforts of local and state leaders from around the country who have contacted their House members and asked them to sign on to this important bill, which would help reduce wasteful, inefficient, and detrimental subcontracting by requiring the USPS to bargain with postal unions on the matter.

Click here for a complete list of co-sponsors; we urge you to check it out. Please take the time to thank the legislators who have signed on and contact those not yet involved to ask them to become co-sponsors.

This bill is intended to require the Postal Service to negotiate with the union prior to contracting out major portions of our work. The legislation is necessary because the Postal Service routinely makes unilateral decisions, denying the union the opportunity for true negotiations before the work is outsourced.

If given the chance, we believe that we can show that postal workers can do the work more efficiently, that keeping the work in-house is better for everyone, especially postal customers.

HR 6217

Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives dealing with the USPS consolidation plans. The bill that would require the Postal Service to provide notice to the public of any consolidation plans and grant the public an opportunity for input before such plans are implemented. The bill was introduced in early June and thus far only has two cosponsors: Don Payne (D-NJ) and Rothman (D-NJ).

We are keeping a close eye on this bill and will report on it more in the future.

[back to top]