Printer-Friendly Page
|
Ask the President
Question:
As a first-time and excited delegate to the 2008 APWU National Convention in Las Vegas, I'd like to know: Do you remember your first convention? What was it like?
Albert, Greater Connecticut Area Local
President Burrus:
Thank you for sharing your experience as a first-time delegate to the APWU National Convention.
I vividly remember my first convention in New Orleans in 1972:
We had recently merged the five predecessor unions to create the American Postal Workers Union, and the 1972 convention was our first opportunity to interact as a single union. The agenda was extremely limited, as there was no procedure for submitting resolutions in advance.
The officers were meeting the members for the first time, and the convention was more of a get-acquainted session than a business meeting. While we had a number of congressional speakers, none of the other activities that we now routinely engage in were a part of the convention. These include COPA night, international guests, picketing, and receiving a presentation by the Democratic nominee for president. We had no convention t-shirts and did not have a convention bag to carry the convention material.
President Francis ‘Stu’ Filbey was an excellent president and was knowledgeable about Roberts Rules of Order, so the proceedings were run in an orderly fashion. There were only six full-time field officers, many part-time officers, and 21 resident officers.
The large locals, including New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago and others, dominated the convention discussions and competed with one another to propose changes. New York alone had over 200 delegates. In the early years, the large locals communicated with their delegates with walkie-talkies.
There were fewer than 50 women delegates and fewer than 100 African-Americans.
We were new to the collective bargaining process, so our labor-management proposals, comprised of approximately 50 resolutions, were extremely limited compared to today.
The constitutional issues included the establishment of the Rank-and-File Advisory Committee for contract negotiations; delegates also voted to reject a reduction in elected officers and opposed a dues increase. The convention approved a proposal to negotiate area wages, and endorsed George McGovern for president.
Finalizing the convention rules consumed an entire day. One of the controversial issues was the number of delegates necessary for a roll-call vote, as the large locals wanted the power to call the roll based upon a limited number.
We also discussed at length whether the delegates would vote on the committee recommendations as opposed to the resolution as printed. Roberts Rules instruct that votes should take place on the committee recommendations but we created a special rule to vote on the printed recommendations and the difference between the two was very confusing to the delegates.
The first convention was not at all similar to your first as a delegate. My first convention fueled my interest in continuing my union involvement; I hope that your first experience leads you to many years as an active union participant and to becoming a future leader. You have excellent role models in John Dirzius and Bob Johnson.
Sept. 3, 2008
