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Union Readies Response to Plant Consolidation, Commission Plans
(This article first appeared in the March/April 2003 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)
APWU President William Burrus has announced an outline of the union’s plans to address “the greatest challenges in the union’s history” – plant consolidations, the President’s Commission on the Postal Service, and proposals for legislation expected to be introduced soon in Congress.
National officers and staff are working on a number of options, Burrus said, including the activation of a national legislative network that could be mobilized to contact elected officials to oppose plant consolidations and unfavorable recommendations from the President’s Commission. APWU members will be asked to write, visit and call government officials at every level – from city council members and mayors to state legislators and Congressional representatives.
In addition, the union will develop guidelines to help state and local unions form coalitions with citizens whose mail service is likely to deteriorate if plants or post offices are closed.
President’s Commission
The commission’s report, due July 31, is likely to serve as a blueprint for legislation that the White House will support in Congress.
The President’s Commission could make recommendations: to reduce delivery to five days or fewer; to expand work-sharing to permit private companies to perform retail, maintenance, or processing work; to eliminate the Postal Service’s monopoly on mail delivery; to end the USPS universal service obligations; to erode workers’ collective bargaining rights; to create a two-tiered postage rate structure that would charge businesses less than consumers; and to establish a user fee for delivery.
President Burrus testified before the commission Feb. 20, and position papers outlining the union’s views on the cause of the Postal Service’s financial difficulties were submitted by the Feb. 12 deadline the panel had established for written comments.
Workers’ Rights
If legislation is proposed that would erode collective bargaining rights, the APWU would seek to form a coalition with other postal unions and others to oppose the attack, Burrus said.
“If the White House supports legislation that is backed by a Republican Congress, it will be extremely difficult to defeat,” he said. “This is a fight in which the union will need the involvement of every APWU member, their families, and community activists.”
“Our members must understand that their future is at stake.”
