02/13/2019 - On Monday, Feb. 11, over two thousand educators from the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) walked out of school, launching the first teachers’ strike in the city in over 25 years. The walkout follows 15 months of negotiations. The strike vote passed in January with over 93 percent of the workers in favor of the walkout.

The APWU National encourages members who are able to join the picket lines or show their support via social media with the hashtag #DCTAstrong. You can also donate to the strike fund.

02/11/2019 - Consistent with the requirements of the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015, the Postal Service allows veteran employees who meet the eligibility requirements to take Wounded Warrior Leave. This is a specific type of leave, which provides veteran employees with no loss in pay, for undergoing medical treatment for a service-related disability rated at 30% or more.

02/08/2019 - On Feb. 5, Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth “Liz” Powell was honored by the World Peace Prize Awarding Council (WPPAC) as a “Roving Ambassador for Peace,” and awarded the World Peace Prize for Labor Leadership, alongside Ester Lopez, International Secretary-Treasurer, UFCW.

02/04/2019 - As part of the remedy settlement for the Postal Service’s violations regarding the Sales Retention Team (SRT) Pilot Program, the Postal Service is expected to be mailing settlement payments to previously identified eligible individuals by the end of January 2019. 

In a December 8, 2016 decision, Arbitrator Stephen Goldberg ruled that the Postal Service violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) when they assigned injured workers to perform Clerk Craft work at Sales Retention Team sites without first assigning the work to the Clerk Craft and posting the duty assignments for bid. As part of the arbitrator’s ruling, the parties agreed to a $36 million remedy settlement on January 12, 2018. 

02/01/2019 - APWU Regional Safety and Health Representatives, Regional Coordinators, and National Officers responsible for the flow of workplace safety programs recently met over two days at headquarters, where they discussed APWU’s Stand Up for Safe Jobs campaign and prepared to go into the field to present training on the campaign, and safety in general.

Each APWU region has at least one member in the field, a Safety and Health Representative, who is appointed to help states and locals with safety issues that affect workers.

01/30/2019 -

01/25/2019 - On Jan. 23, APWU officers joined together with protestors from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), SEIU, and other unions in a sit-in at the Hart Senate office building in Washington, D.C., demanding the re-opening of the federal government.  

Hundreds of protestors engaged in a silent, 33-minute sit-in action (one minute for each day of the shutdown).

01/24/2019 - APWU’s Greater Los Angeles Area Local joined United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) on the picket line last week, offering support to fellow public-sector workers during the week-long strike that ended Tuesday morning.

“It’s important to support each other in solidarity,” said Greater Los Angeles Area Local President Dominic Davis. “Teachers were out in full force, side by side with us in solidarity, during the Stop Staples campaign. We’re so closely aligned with them, with both of us going through negotiations [now], so it was important to show our support.”

01/22/2019 -

The United States is in the midst of the longest government shutdown – with 800,000 government employees locked out of their jobs. Thousands are currently forced to work without pay. Make no mistake: federal employees’ pay is being held hostage as the White House and Congress lock horns over federal funding.

President Mark Dimondstein is asking APWU members to contact their Senators, telling them that they shouldn’t use federal employees’ pay as a bargaining tool over policy issues.

01/21/2019 - The APWU joins the country today in honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a dedicated champion for the civil rights and labor movements. Dr. King’s actions still resonate in the hearts of labor and civil rights activists.