01/17/2019 - (This article first appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) 

By Health Plan Director John Marcotte

01/17/2019 - (This article first appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) 

By Retirees Department Director Nancy Olumekor

When you receive a “cold call” from a federal agency – like the Social Security Administration, the IRS, or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) – it is a fraud call. A “cold call” is an unsolicited call from someone that you did not call, which may include a voicemail to call them back. Cold callers identifying themselves as being from a government agency are committing fraud – they are attempting to get your personal identifying information, such as your social security number, your bank account information, your CSA (Civil Service Annuity) number or your credit
card information.

01/17/2019 - This article first appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) 

By Research & Education Department Director Joyce B. Robinson

According to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, membership in labor unions rose by about a quarter million this year. In 2017, 7.2 million employees in the public sector belonged to a union, compared with 7.6 million workers in the private sector. Although the union membership rate for private-sector workers increased by 0.1 percent, their unionization rate continued to be lower than that for public-sector workers (6.5 percent versus 34.4 percent).

01/17/2019 - (This article first appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) 

01/17/2019 - (This article first appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine) 

The Veterans Administration Maintaining Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act was signed into law on June 6, 2018. Dubbed the VA MISSION Act, the “reform” was touted to improve veteran access to VA health care and pave the way for a major overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which has long been plagued with problems that negatively impact our veterans.

Critics, however, see the act as an effort to privatize the VA. If you look at the fine print, they just might be right. 

01/17/2019 - (This article first appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) 

By Organization Director Anna Smith

Organizing is more than signing up the non-member; it is also engaging our union brothers and sisters as well as members of our communities. It’s about building our labor movement. It’s about ending the divide-and conquer tactics of our enemies. It’s about building up our union at every level of the organization.

As we begin 2019, inviting non-members to after-work events, parties, gatherings, bowling, etc. cannot be accepted any more. Understand, these aren’t our friends. It does not mean that we need to be rude or demoralizing, as every non-member is a potential member. What it does mean, however, is that they are working against all of us. While we fight and preserve what we have – the benefits that support our families, the wages we receive – these non-members work directly against us. If you start evaluating and looking at who has your back, you will find it is not the non-member standing next to you.