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Financial Issues for Local and State Union Officers:
Giving Our Member Their Due
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(This article by APWU Secretary-Treasurer Liz Powell first appeared in the January/February 2010 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
Thank you! Let me express my sincere thanks to President Burrus for the opportunity to serve as your Secretary-Treasurer and to the National Executive Board for the vote of confidence in my appointment. I also thank my predecessor, Terry Stapleton, for his many years of service to our union. But, most of all, I thank you for your continued support of the APWU and for your support as I transition into this challenging union position in these especially trying times.
Strength and Numbers
Our union’s strength is derived from several sources; I believe the following are primary:
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Your voluntary support through your dues — and your participation — is critical. You literally sustain the union through the relatively small stipend you pay in dues. Yet, more than 40,000 APWU-represented postal workers do not pay their fair share. It simply is not right that they reap the benefits even though they fail to contribute a single penny! Thank you for sticking with the union.
The resolve of your elected leaders to fulfill their duty to provide fair representation to the dues-paying members is crucial. Union officers are elected to represent your interests and to do our very best on your behalf. Unity of purpose is not only a goal, it must be lived each and every day, whether on the workroom floor, in a union hall, on a picket line, or at a union picnic.
Farewell to Good Friends
Last October and November in postal facilities throughout the country we gave our best wishes to friends and co-workers who retired under the incentive negotiated by the APWU. No doubt, it was bittersweet. Our fellow employees provided great service to the USPS as they worked alongside us shift after shift, week after week. We thank these stalwart troupers for their years of dedication.
Many of the recent retirees are long-time APWU members who have seen the benefits of union representation as their wages increased and working conditions steadily improved. We recognize that the departure of these beloved employees will diminish the union’s membership rolls, but we are hoping that they will accept our invitation to stay on as members of the union’s Retiree Department.
Fiscal Responsibility
As we enter the New Year, all of us must work to ensure that our union continues to be financially stable. Signs that the economy is slowly improving should not give us false hope that all is well. The Postal Service is still facing severe financial difficulties, and our members are feeling the impact. Many are facing forced reassignments, and we are still in the process of assessing the impact of the incentive retirements. Of course, the Postal Service is not hiring.
As the union’s chief financial officer, I will do everything in my power to ensure that our union stays on solid financial ground, but I cannot do it alone. I need and will not hesitate to ask for your support. I know that I can count on all of you.
Time and Trilogy
As we struggle to survive in an evolving Postal Service, 2010 is certain to be a busy one for the union. Three major events are looming that we are obligated to fully fund — in the most prudent manner possible. Each will affect our future well into the next decade:
Contract negotiations: We must be prepared to fight just to maintain the benefits we already enjoy. Management will claim the Postal Service is broke and press for givebacks. We have already begun to plan our strategy, including the possibility that negotiations will end in arbitration. We must ready our treasury for a fight for survival.
National Convention: As we gather in assembly in August to discuss the stark realities and our daunting challenges, each local, state, and national delegate will be asked to help smooth out the rocky road ahead. We will have to be cost-conscious at the convention and ensure that time spent in Detroit is productive. We must set aside politics as much as possible, so that we can avoid emotional digression.
Elections: We will be holding the democratic election of our national union officers in 2010. The election of APWU leaders is a crucial process; every member has a vote, and each vote represents an exercise of personal power.
There are also off-year Congressional elections and many municipal contests throughout the nation to consider. We must work to elect congressional and state lawmakers and community leaders who are going to fight with us to protect our services and our jobs. We must invest in the education of our members on the issues and work to mobilize them to get to the polls. You will hear a lot about the need for voluntary donations to our Committee On Political Action (COPA). In 2010, we cannot afford to let one vote go to waste — there is too much at stake!
Functional Responsibilities
As I transition from Regional Coordinator to Secretary-Treasurer, I am really feeling the pulse of this great union.
The fiduciary responsibilities of the union fall within my charge. Maintaining and administrating the headquarters building and field offices, as well as dealing with the IRS, the Department of Labor, and other federal agencies are daily tasks. I also must oversee bonding for locals, the appeals of election- and internal-union charges, travel and expenses, payroll, insurance, APWU scholarships, fiduciary training for local officers, dues collection and disbursement, etc. In addition, I must provide administrative support to the other departments and field operations.
Also on my agenda are our broader union activities: Our fight to help pass a compressive healthcare reform bill, as well as the Employee Free Choice Act, which will allow working men and women the right to choose to form a union based upon their choice, not the choice of their bosses.
I take this all very seriously. My goal is to enhance our accountability and to serve the needs of our membership, but most of all to protect the trust you have placed in me.
