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Departments & Divisions Support Services Forging the Future Through Organizing 
Departments & Divisions Support Services Forging the Future Through Organizing Support Services Division |
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Forging the Future Through Organizing
(This article first published in the March/April 2007 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)
Saying that the APWU’s future depends on building membership, More than 200 local union leaders, national officers and members gathered in Minneapolis in January for a three-day national organizing conference.
The conference, chaired by the Minneapolis Area Local, the St. Paul Area Local, and the Twin Cities PDC Local, focused on strengthening the APWU by reaching out to workers throughout the postal industry.
During a panel titled “It’s All Organizing — Connecting the Dots,” participants discussed strategies for growing APWU membership within the Postal Service and attracting new members at the many private-sector mail operations, such as DHL and ABX.
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Panelists agreed that the necessity for private- sector organizing has never been greater. Two labor educators were on the panel: former postal worker Sarah Ryan, and Charley Richardson, who directs the Technology and Work Program at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
Richardson said that the APWU and other postal unions were once the big fish in a small pond, the U.S. Postal Service. Today, however, the pond is an ocean, with scores of private companies providing mailing services, often at the behest of USPS. The mailing industry is huge, he said, with far more workers unorganized than are covered by union contracts.
Ryan pointed out that the APWU is in a unique position to reach out to all postal industry workers because of its experience and knowledge, its diverse membership, and its strong leadership and resource base.
There were 15 workshops at the two-day conference. Participants brushed up on internal organizing, forging solidarity despite differences, dealing with new technologies, and building support for organizing both within their local unions and their communities. At roundtables, they shared stories and compared notes for recruiting new members.
APWU President William Burrus and Secretary-Treasurer Terry Stapleton addressed the conference, as did Organization Director Frank Romero, Lead Field Organizer Mark Dimondstein, and “retired” Support Services NBA Greg Poferl.
While the tone was often serious, APWU members mixed in some fun, especially when “The Global Pirates” acting troupe interrupted one of the general sessions. The Goon Squad, led by Sergeant Enron, tried to push an agenda of privatization, only to be fended off by a group of union activists led by the legendary Mother Jones.
At the Saturday evening banquet, the young performers of The Solidarity Kids Theater entertained and educated the audience with “The Really Big Fish Story.”
Isabelle Bailey, president of the California APWU, summed up the feelings of many. “This is one of the most unique, interesting conferences I’ve attended since becoming active in the union.” Participants said they would be taking the skills learned at the conference back to their locals.
