2005 Convention
2004 Convention
2003 Convention
2005 New Jersey State Convention Recap
NJSPWU President Bill Lewis laid
down his priorities for the state APWU organization at the 34th Annual State
Convention, held at Bally's in Atlantic City from April 27 through April 29.
Applying lessons learned in the battle to reopen the Trenton facility after it
was closed due to Anthrax contamination in October 2001, Lewis spoke of the need
for intensive 24/7 organizing efforts, better communication, and a continued
push for COPA fundraising.
ORGANIZING: Speakers at the
convention warned that an alliance of private mailers, conservative political
leaders and Postal management is poised to attack postal unions and take back
many of the gains made over the past 30 years. With such powerful enemies,
the APWU cannot afford even one non-member. The APWU must be exhaustive in
our efforts to bring non-members into the fold. Solidarity is our best
hope to survive the coming assault upon our Union. "Other unions don't
tolerate [non-members]," said Lewis. "[Other unions] sell the Union every
day."
COMMUNICATION: "We must
explore different means of communicating with our members," said Lewis, "and put
in place the mechanism to deliver our message." Lewis learned this lesson
the hard way as, in the aftermath of Trenton's closure, members scattered and he
was forced to find effective ways to get accurate information to members.
COPA: The Trenton experience
and the ongoing efforts to ensure that "Postal Reform" is not just a cloak for
Union busting have taught APWU leaders the value of having political friends.
Executive Vice President Hank Rauer
put the message succinctly: "We're going to get together. We're
going to stay together. We're going to fight together."
National Motor Vehicle Director Bob
Pritchard spoke at length about upcoming contract negotiations. "The big
push is healthcare," he said. The Postal Service and the forces behind
Postal Reform are committed to putting health care, and every other benefit, on the table and slashing it.
And don't be surprised, Pritchard warned, when you hear, later this year, "just
how overpaid you are." As negotiations unfold, Pritchard said, the USPS
will be comparing Postal Workers to minimum wage Wal-Mart clerks and low wage
delivery drivers. Pritchard closed with a call for COPA contributions.
"Few of us," he said, "would miss even $1 a day from our wallets. But we
would miss these jobs if they were gone. Believe it!"
Regional Coordinator Liz Powell
updated those present on withholding and excessing, stating that the Union is
"taking a very strong position" that Residual positions should be returned to
their locals for PTF conversions and that the hiring freeze should be lifted.
Ms. Powell also presented an update on grievance activity, showing that the
backlog has been greatly reduced in the past few years. She cautioned
members and union officials to be vigilant, however, as management in some areas
is backfilling vacancies with casuals. And, she noted, the USPS has
"quietly" updated their Transformation Plan to target even more jobs and
facilities.
Leader of the Year honoree, US
Senator Jon Corzine, was unable to attend the convention because of an
anticipated late-hour assault upon Social Security by the Bush Administration in
Washington Thursday night. Bill Lewis was also honored as "Hero of the
Year" by attendees for his tireless work in the fight to reopen the Trenton
facility.
Also in attendance were National
Business Agents Mike Gallagher, Frank Giordano, Jeff Kehlert, Russ Knepp, Joe
LaCapria, and Eric Wilson, retired NBA Louise Yanuzzi, Boston Metro President
Moe Lepore, and several union leaders from Pennsylvania including LeRoy Moyer
and Art Doherty.
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New Jersey Honors Moe Lepore, Endorses Kerry
More than a dozen National Officers,
almost as many National Business Agents, and a
generous helping of Local
and State Presidents from Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire
and Ohio gathered to honor Boston Metro Area Local President Moe Lepore (left,
with APWU President Bill Burrus) at the 33rd annual New Jersey State Postal
Workers Union Convention at Bally's Park Place Casino in Atlantic City, April
4-6, 2004. Delegates also voted to endorse presumptive Democratic nominee
John Kerry for President, and discussed looming legislation on Postal
Reform and the on-going fallout from the Anthrax contamination in 2001.
Mixing jokes with stories from his APWU
career, Leader of the Year Moe Lepore imparted a message of hope to all those
present, including the Bally's workers who remarked that Moe's speech was among
the most inspired and inspiring they'd ever witnessed.
Trenton Metro President Bill Lewis
updated delegates on the continued plight of displaced Trenton workers and
efforts to reopen the Hamilton Township facility. "They had 2 years to
prepare for this," Lewis said, "and they failed again." Lewis noted that
the newly installed Bio-Hazard Detection System had already experienced a
"positive hit," though it turned out to be from a "dead spore." As with
the recent Ricin incidents, USPS communication with the Union and with employees
remains poor. Additionally, the USPS continues to stonewall Anthrax travel
grievances and has failed to reimburse a single employee for personal items lost
when the Hamilton facility was closed over 2 years ago.
"I found out the
value of COPA," said Lewis. "It's second to none. When we were shut
down, the only help I got was from the politicians."
Pennsylvania State President LeRoy
Moyer echoed Lewis' sentiments on COPA, saying,
"COPA is important. We need the influence. Everything else is
secondary." Moyer plans a "COPA Walk" from Philadelphia to Washington, DC,
beginning May 10. Details are available on the
Pennsylvania Postal Workers web
site.
APWU President William Burrus, in his
speech on Monday night, emphasized not only COPA, but the need to be politically
active in this election year. Earlier Monday, Research and Education
Director Joyce Robinson bluntly appraised the current Administration. "We
have an Administration in office," she said, "that's trying desperately to ruin
everything. They're trying to repeal FMLA. They're trying to take
away retirement and medical benefits from Senior Citizens. They're trying
to destroy labor unions. And when you speak out against them, they say you
are 'unpatriotic'.... It's time for us to send George Bush's behind back
to Texas!"
Monday
afternoon featured a spirited Q & A with the National Officers present.
Most of the debate centered on Article 12 issues and the continuing
"outsourcing" of APWU work, particularly as exemplified by the USPS "deal" with
Hallmark. On the latter, Clerk Division Director James McCarthy stated
that the numbers reviewed by National do not show that Hallmark is impacting
APWU jobs at present, but that members desiring "action" on the issue should
address those concerns with President Burrus.
A recurring theme, throughout the
Convention, was that APWU National should be more visible to the members.
Bill Lewis stressed that National Officers and Representatives need to be at
every plant and post office, ensuring contract enforcement. State
President Joe Shevlin agreed, saying, "It's time for our leaders to stand up and
lead!" Shevlin added that, if they're not going to lead, then it might be
time for them to move on.
Special thanks are extended to the Chuck Lambert Band, who
contributed two rousing Blues sets to Monday night's proceedings.
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IN MEMORIAM
John E. Smith
Motor Vehicle National Business Agent
"THIS IS THE FIGHT OF
YOUR CAREER"
by Martin Johns (pictures by Ken
Givings, Ray Glasser and Martin Johns)
The message from the 2003 NJSPWU (New
Jersey State) Convention was loud and clear. From Local stewards to
APWU President and NJSPWU Leader of the Year Bill Burrus, the message was
"We are at war!" Even as Americans fight the battle against terrorism
overseas (4400 USPS employees among them), hostile forces in this nation and
abroad have launched a full-out frontal assault on workers' rights and on
the Postal Service in particular. USPS employees are struggling for
survival on all fronts. The President's Commission on the Postal
Service will give its report to Congress at July's end, and recommendations
for sweeping changes are expected. It is anticipated that the
Commission, which includes many who are on the record as opposing organized
labor, will recommend changes to Universal Service and uniform pricing
mandates. It is expected that the Commission will recommend drastic
changes to, if not elimination of, Collective Bargaining rights.
Testimony has already been introduced calling for the immediate abolishment
of 150,000 USPS jobs--most coming from the bargaining units of the Clerk and
Mailhandler crafts.
Meanwhile,
the "powers-that-be" in Washington have already announced intentions to seek
changes to, or elimination of, such workers' rights as overtime, FMLA, and
even Collective Bargaining itself. And member states of the World
Trade Organization are conspiring to challenge the government monopoly on
mail delivery and the "prevailing wage" as unfair trade barriers.
National APWU Legislative Director Roy Braunstein told the gathering,
bluntly, "No member anywhere in this country can say 'This is not my
struggle;' because it is!" Every member, he said, must be asked to
contribute--time, money, skills, something--because only as a Union, all
working together, will we survive. Mr. Braunstein had a
few words for non-members, as well, saying that no Postal Service employee
can any longer afford to be disengaged. We must let the non-members
know that too much is at stake. "YOUR JOB is at stake!" Mr.
Braunstein noted that the current struggle is a political one, and that,
like it or not, politics are fueled by money. He urged every Local to
return home from the Convention committed to recruiting every member and
every non-member for the coming battle. And he cautioned that
"privatization" may be the feared buzzword, but the USPS need not be
privatized for employees to lose their rights and their jobs.
Another, and interrelated, message coming from the NJSPWU Convention was
that the APWU must change the way it does business. National Human
Relations Director, and former NJSPWU President, Sue Carney told those in
attendance that the Union has to become something more than a "grievance
machine" (albeit a very successful one) to survive. "The Union is not
a fee-for-service organization," she said, "It is a family." She
offered that stewards and officers need to pause long enough from the
"business" of the Union to see their members as people whose needs extend
beyond the workplace. These sentiments were echoed by Retirees
Director John R. Smith, who told those
attending his retirement
seminar that stewards and officers should spend time with members before
they are in trouble or must file a grievance. In doing so, he
said, the Union can prevent many problems from becoming grievances.
Sue Carney also advocated "community outreach," saying that, while not
everyone is cut out to be a steward, all have something to offer. "If
you knew your job was going to cost you one hour a week of community
outreach, or your job would go away, wouldn't you step up?" Ms. Carney
also spoke about improvements to the EAP program (EAP4U.COM),
which is no longer Post Office run, and about the many deficiencies of the
USPS "Shared Services" program, which is "failing and failing badly."
The messages of "solidarity" and "positivity" were the keynotes of the
NJSPWU banquet, held Monday night, April 14.
In
accepting the 2003 NJSPWU Leader of the Year award, APWU President Bill
Burrus noted that, whatever disagreements there may have been between APWU
National and New Jersey organizations in the past, there will never be
problems between them again. It is essential that all APWU represented
employees leave the past in the past and join together for the future with
positive energy and solidarity.
Bringing all Postal Workers together, "One Union, One Voice," has been the
primary goal and focus of NJSPWU President Joe Shevlin since assuming that
position. It was clear to most attending the 2003 NJSPWU Convention
that Mr. Shevlin's efforts are paying off, even if progress in that
direction has been slower than would be hoped. As he had done last
year, without much
success, Mr. Shevlin extended invitations to many APWU leaders outside of
New Jersey. The list of invited guests attending this year's
Convention not only included many National Officers (including Steve
Albanese, James McCarthy, Greg Bell, Sue Carney, Bob Pritchard, Roy
Braunstein, John R. Smith, Liz Powell, Charlie Wilcox, John E. Smith, Joe
LaCapria, Frank Giordano, and Jeff Kehlert) but also Jack Daugherty,
President of the non-affiliated Northern New Jersey Local, Boston Metro
President Moe Lepore and several representatives from the Philadelphia BMC
and the Pennsylvania Postal Workers. In the end, the message of the
2003 NJSPWU Convention was that, to act together, we must first be
together, and to be together, we must get together. If
the APWU is calling upon its members to act as one Union, Union leadership
must lead the way.
On a sad note, John E. Smith, Motor Vehhicle NBA, passed away on Monday
night, following the banquet. A dedicated unionist, John Smith has
represented members of the Motor Vehicle craft as an NBA since 1983.
Prior to that, he served as a Motor Vehicle Area Representative. Mike
Levine, Vice-President of Red Bank Local and NJSPWU, noted that John died
surrounded by the people he had dedicated his life to serving and shortly
after winning a 50/50 drawing for COPA. In short, he died a winner.
John Smith's family requests that, in lieu of flowers, those wishing to
express condolences send contributions to the American Diabetes Association.
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