Timing of the Contract Extension Vote

Several questions were submitted inquiring about the timeline for the ratification vote on the contract extension. It has been suggested that the process would be better served if the vote was delayed until after the craft conferences.

The final decision about the timing and the content of contract ratification is the constitutional responsibility of the Rank and File Bargaining Advisory Committee. I favored the timeline they selected.

I considered suggesting a delay until after the craft conferences, but decided against that course of action.

The details of the contract were announced June 28; advance copies of the tentative agreement have been mailed to local and state presidents and have been posted on the APWU Web site. By the time ballots are due to be returned, more than five weeks will have elapsed — plenty of time for members, stewards, and officers to evaluate the tentative agreement.

I would welcome the opportunity to point out to the thousands of union members attending the conference the benefit of securing wage increases, cost-of-living adjustments, and upgrades without jeopardizing any important contractual provisions — as opposed to gambling that we might achieve more in arbitration. However, I do not believe it is in the interest of APWU members to delay the process further to achieve any objective beyond providing them the opportunity to decide.

Thank you for being a member of the APWU.

July 15, 2005

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