190,000 Postal Workers are engaged in the country’s biggest contract fight

The APWU rallied in Detroit to build support for its contract fight, the biggest in the nation. | Cameron Harrison / People's World

DETROIT—The American Postal Workers Union – fresh out of discussion, debate, and workshops at their 27th Biennial National Convention here – held a rally to build support for their new contract fight with the U.S. Postal Service. Bargaining talks between the union and management opened on June 25.

During the convention, which was attended by 2,100 delegates, APWU President Mark Dimondstein condemned recent assaults by corporations and reactionary politicians on workers’ and women’s rights. He slammed the bigotry and voter suppression of multiple recent Supreme Court rulings that set back democratic rights.

“With an election this fall, we should weigh the ramifications of the dangerous march toward dictatorship and what it would mean to the rights of the people, workers, our unions, the public post office, and the well-being of society. We must unite and reject wannabe dictators as part of defending our union and worker rights,” he said.

The goals of the new contract with the Postal Service include “maintaining career no-layoff protections, the 50-mile limit on excessing, full cost of living adjustments, and annual wage increases.” Eliminating the hated two-tier wage system and ending poverty wages for the lowest ranks of its members are the main bread-and-butter issues for the new contract.

The collective bargaining agreement would be the largest single contract this year for the trade union movement. The current contract, covering 190,000 workers, expires in September.

Keith Richardson, President of APWU Local 1 in Chicago, told People’s World that postal workers from all over the country are looking at the examples of UPS Teamsters and autoworkers in last year’s breakthrough contracts establishing industry standards. “We want to deliver industry-setting standards for our members,” Richardson said.

The “two-tier system is an unfair system and it promotes division on the shop floor,” Wanda Harris, President of APWU Local 172 in Miami and chair of the union’s Rank-and-File Committee, told People’s World. She cited the APWU members’ service to the country during the 2020 elections. “We delivered millions of mail-in ballots and helped save our country’s democracy,” she said. “We plan to do it again in 2024.”

The Postal Workers also aspire to see its members achieve a shorter workweek with no loss in pay, as stated during a recent national Zoom rally – a demand also fought for by the United Auto Workers during their “Stand-Up” strike against the Detroit Three last year.

With profits on the rise and technological advancements boosting productivity, workers are seeking a reduction in work hours to prioritize family time. On average, American employees are working longer hours but earning lower wages per week compared to 50 years ago. Addressing this exploitative cycle, at a time when corporations are raking in massive profits, requires a shift in work hours and higher wages.

Luigi Gjokaj, Vice President of UAW Local 51, told the postal workers that his members were rallying right here in Detroit this time last year for a fair contract with the Big Three automakers. “Just like you,” he said, “we were fighting against tiered wages and outsourcing. Just like you, we were fighting for higher wages, job security, benefits, and to be treated with dignity and respect.”

“The battle is never over,” he continued. “We must take this fight to all industries – public and private. You aren’t alone…working families and the UAW have your backs.”

The APWU strongly opposes Trump-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s plan for the Postal Service, “Delivering for America.” The scheme includes the moving of mail generated locally long distances for processing, and it eliminates afternoon collection runs. This project will inevitably result in mail delays, the union argues.

DeJoy’s proposal also involves closing and consolidating sorting centers, having carriers make long trips to get mail before starting their routes, and implementing large-scale worker transfers and/or retirements. First-class mail would also be delayed – a service many working-class people rely on for receiving Social Security checks, for example, and prescription drug deliveries.

Addressing the delay in mail delivery, Dimondstein said that “management’s incompetence in implementing the plan has been outrageous, causing severe delays and breaking the bond with the people of the country.”

Management at USPS facilities has long been a thorn in the side of workers as well, according to APWU Local 390 President Ibrahim Pedrinan of Albany, N.Y. “For a long time now, postal workers have faced a hostile management culture. It is past time that these abusive managers are held accountable. It’s time our members feel safe and comfortable at work.”

Cassidy Diienno, a postal clerk from Local 679 in the Eugene area of Oregon, told People’s World that working as a Postal Support Employee, or PSE, was taxing. “I was working 60 hours a week, with one day off. When I called off sick due to burnout, I was harassed by management,” she said. “I was constantly treated as a second-class citizen because of my PSE role.”

“All postal workers look the same to the customer…why don’t we look the same to managers?” she said. “But I’m proud to be in this union because it has shown me that we’re stronger together.”

The union’s contract proposal demands an “all-career workforce” and the elimination of the second-tier PSE role. Typically, a PSE would need to work two years in order to secure “career” employment, but some workers, according to Diienno, have had to work for ten years to get there.

Elizabeth Powell, APWU Secretary-Treasurer, raised up the role of the workplace union reps. “The shop steward is the backbone of our union,” she proudly declared. “We will never be by ourselves. We are always together, and that is the true meaning of solidarity.”

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CONTRIBUTOR

Cameron Harrison

Cameron Harrison is a trade union activist and organizer for the CPUSA Labor Commission. Based in Detroit, he was a grocery worker and member of UFCW Local 876 where he was a shop steward. He also works as a Labor Education Coordinator for the People Before Profits Education Fund, assisting labor organizations and collectives with education, organizing strategy and tactics, labor journalism, and trade union support.