Category: APWU News

As delegates arrived in Maryland’s National Harbor for the 26th Biennial National Convention, the Clerk, Maintenance, Motor Vehicle Services, and Support Services Divisions held their respective conferences, alongside the APWU Retirees conference. At the Clerk Craft Division Conference, Director Lamont Brooks led members in discussion of how to continue to protect and expand craft jobs, remove the multi-tiered wage system, and how to be proactive against workplace harassment and safety issues. Delegates heard about the […]

In accordance with the 2021-2024 Collective Bar­gaining Agreement, career employees represented by the APWU will receive a $1.18 per hour cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), effective August 27, 2022. The increase is the result of a rise in the Consum­er Price Index (CPI-W). It will appear in paychecks dated September 16, 2022 (Pay Period 19-2022). The value of the COLA for full-time employees in each step and grade will increase by $2,455.00 annually, and the hourly rates […]

In a recent presentation before the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, Postmaster General (PMG) Louis DeJoy outlined his views of the future direction of the United States Postal Service. One remark from the Postmaster General during a discussion following his prepared speech created headlines that deeply concern postal workers and the American Postal Workers Union. The PMG said that, through attrition and retirements, the USPS “may need to get 50,000 people out of the organization” in […]

Truck drivers for 10 Roads Express in Harrisburg, PA have voted to form a union with the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO. The 100 professional drivers in Harrisburg join nearly 1,000 10 Roads Express drivers who are already part the APWU. The drivers, whose company is now the largest USPS trucking contractor, worked hard for their win. They stood strong in solidarity against a concerted anti-union campaign based on lies, illegal threats, and retaliation. However, […]

Mark Dimondstein Share this article (This article first appeared in the July/August 2022 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) Soaring inflation is hurting working people worldwide with rising prices on basic necessities including gasoline, food, transportation and housing. Inflation is largely being driven by an economy concentrated in the hands of a few powerful and greedy corporate monopolies that have the power to raise prices, with little fear of competition. In 2021 consumer prices […]

Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth “Liz” Powell has certified the union members listed below as candidates for national union office by referendum balloting, as mandated by the APWU Constitution and Bylaws. A drawing was held on June 27 to determine the order candidates’ names will appear on the ballot.  Incumbent officers are listed first, with “(I)” appearing after their name.  Secretary-Treasurer Powell cast one vote for candidates in uncontested races and the National Election Committee declared them elected, […]

On June 4, 2022, many of the pay provisions of the 2021-2024 National Agreement were scheduled to be implemented. This included:  1.3% General Increase due November 20, 2021  Additional 1.0% increase for PSEs (for a total of 2.3%) due November 20, 2021  Additional $0.50 for PSEs due April 9, 2022  Grade 11 pay changes due September 21, 2021  $1310 COLA (additional $0.63 per hour) due February 26, 2022  Additional Pay for PTFs due to the […]

Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth “Liz” Powell has announced that the following union members have been certified as candidates for election to national office by referendum balloting, as mandated by the APWU Constitution and Bylaws. Each candidate in this unofficial listing has secured the necessary petitions required for nomination. The official list will be announced after the drawing for ballot positions is held on June 27. Incumbent officers are listed first and identified by (I) after their names. […]

Mark Dimondstein (This article first appeared in the May/June 2022 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine) Postal worker union power, whether at the bargaining table, on the workroom floor, or on Capitol Hill, begins with each and every member. You are the foundation of our strong union! As we celebrate the impressive victories of our new collective bargaining agreement and historic postal reform legislation, it is a great time to continue “Building Union Power!” with the […]

On May 24, 2022, Arbitrator Joseph M. Sharnoff issued a lengthy award on the APWU-NPMHU jurisdictional dispute over the Universal Sorting System (USS). Arbitrator Sharnoff upheld the Postal Service’s 2019 determination that all operations on the USS should be assigned to the Mail Handlers, except for the Scan Where You Band Operation which he determined to be properly assigned to the Clerk Craft.    He again confirmed the “heavy burden” for the challenging Union to prove that the Postal […]

The Union victory today of Amazon workers in the Staten Island, NY warehouse is exciting and great news. In addition, the too-close-to-call election results at the Bessemer, Alabama Amazon warehouse is also encouraging news  The 8,000 workers at the Amazon Warehouse in Staten Island NY voted “union yes” by joining a new independent union, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU).  In an outstanding example of independent self-organization, workers prevailed against a massive, multi-millionaire dollar anti-union campaign […]

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 7 to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court. She will fill the seat of Justice Stephen Breyer, who has announced he will retire from the Court this summer.   Judge Jackson’s nomination and confirmation represent many historic changes for the Court. She will be the first African-American woman and only the sixth woman ever to serve on the court and the first […]

Debby Szeredy The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 that helped manufacture a financial crisis at USPS was passed by Congress with only a voice vote. This was a plan that many believed would be the begin- ning of privatizing the Postal Service, not enhancing it. Looking at the plan, it utilized more contract drivers, caused massive downsizing of mail processing facilities, forced over a $5 billion annual payment to the Treasury each year […]

Mark Dimondstein Wow! Just months into 2022 and great news on two fronts: First: Our Collective Bargaining Agreement covering the wages, benefits, and working conditions of 200,000 postal workers has been overwhelmingly ratified with a 94% “Yes” vote by those who cast ballots. The success of this round of bargaining reflects the power of unity and solidarity, beginning with you the member, the very foundation of our union. Second: The Postal Service Reform Act passed […]

Daleo Freeman, Human Relations Director President Dimondstein has appointed Daleo Freeman to the vacant position of Human Relations Director.  In accordance with the National APWU Constitution Brother Freeman’s appointment was approved by the National Executive Board in a March 22, 2022 meeting.  Daleo Freeman has served as the elected President of the Cleveland Area Local for the past ten years and also currently serves as the Ohio State APWU Vice-President.  He began his postal career […]

(Vance Zimmerman, outgoing Industrial Relations Director) APWU Industrial Relations Director (IRD) Vance Zimmerman has announced that he is stepping down from his position effective March 26, 2022. In accordance with the APWU National Constitution, President Mark Dimondstein filled the IRD vacancy by appointing Charlie Cash, with the approval of the National Executive Board on March 22, 2022.  In his letter to President Dimondstein, Vance Zimmerman shared, “To represent working men and women and help better […]

On Wednesday, March 16, 2022, the Postal Service confirmed to the APWU important dates for implementation of the pay provisions of the 2021-2024 National Agreement. There were significant changes to the pay and leave provisions for this national agreement. Below you will see “effective” and “scheduled implementation” dates for the various pay provisions of the agreement. The effective date is the date the pay changes will be paid from. The “scheduled implementation” date is the […]

Now that the APWU membership has voted to ratify the 2021-24 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), one of the first orders of business for the Clerk Craft is to activate the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that allows Part-Time Flexible (PTF) clerks on the rolls on September 21, 2021, who have completed their probationary period, in installations with less than 100 career Clerk Craft employees the chance to voluntarily reassign to installations with 100 or more Clerk Craft […]

The Industrial Relations Department in conjunction with the APWU attorneys will be conducting a seminar on Dealing with the National Labor Relations Board. The seminar will cover topics like the Duty of Fair Representation and what locals must do when contacted by the NLRB. This seminar is intended as general information and is neither legal training nor legal advice.   Two sessions are scheduled on April 5, 2022:  1:00 – 3:00 pm EST  7:00 – 9:00 […]

94% of Voters Say YES! The main Collective Bargaining Agreement (union contract) between the APWU and the USPS has been overwhelmingly ratified by the members. The contract was signed by APWU President Mark Dimondstein and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on February 28, 2022.   Ninety-Four percent (94%) of the members who voted, voted “Yes!” in favor of ratification. The vote tally was 36,632 votes for ratification and 2,290 against.  “I am ecstatic that the membership recognized […]

On January 31, 2021, Arbitrator Sharnoff issued a lengthy award on the APWU-NPMHU jurisdictional disputes over the AFCS and AFCS 200. The APWU successfully prevailed in protecting Clerk Work when Arbitrator Sharnoff affirmed that Clerks should be assigned to work the Operator position on the AFCS 200.    As part of the historic 2018 APWU-USPS-NPMHU RI-399 update agreement, the unions and the Postal Service agreed to arbitrate the unions’ cross-disputes on the AFCS and the AFCS 200.  The […]

Clerk Division Director Lamont Brooks signed a settlement agreement to resolve the outstanding issue of the remedy in Case # Q10C-4Q-C 15174956. This issue remained pending based on the decision of Arbitrator Goldberg’s April 21, 2017 arbitration award. The parties were unable to resolve the remedy issue and the matter was rescheduled for January 19-20 2022 before Arbitrator Goldberg. As a result of the award, the Postal Service posted Level-7 Human Resources (HR) Clerk Craft and Training Technician duty […]

Nancy Olumekor Celebrating 30 Years The APWU Retirees Department “will offer great benefits to retirees and will make APWU bigger, better and stronger than ever!” This was the message in the January 1992 letter to all APWU local and state presidents from the National Executive Board. With a broad range of knowledge, skills and abilities, retirees have proven to be an asset to the union at every level, as a support system for our union […]

One year ago, on January 6th and 7th Congress, under the intense pressure of the organized, seditious and violent assault on the U.S. Capitol, rightfully completed its Constitutional duty to certify the election results of the 2020 presidential election. The aim of the attempted coup, including the intent by some in the mob to hang the sitting Republican Vice-President and the Democratic Speaker of the House, was to overturn the results of the election and disenfranchise tens of millions of voters. The APWU joins with the entire labor movement and all justice-minded people […]

The American Postal Workers Union and the U.S. Postal Service have reached a tentative three-year Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) announced APWU President and Lead Negotiator Mark Dimondstein. The following is a summary of that tentative agreement. The APWU is preparing the complete Tentative Agreement to be sent to members with their ratification ballot. Detailed information on the ratification vote will be announced in the near future. To learn more about the Tentative Agreement, sign up to attend a […]