APWU Human Relations Director Sue Carney Retires

(This article first appeared in the July/August 2020 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine)

Earlier this year, national Human Relations Director Susan M. Carney retired after 19 years as a national officer. Prior to being elected to this position in November 2001, she served as a local shop steward and Secretary- Treasurer for the South Jersey Area Local (NJ). She also served as an Executive Board Member, Executive Vice-President and President of the New Jersey Postal Workers Union.

Sue Carney was tenacious when it came to protecting the rights and benefits of our membership in the areas of OWCP, veteran issues, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and the Postal Employees Relief Fund (PERF). She was an active member of Post Office Women for Equal Rights (POWER) and received several awards honoring her service and leadership.

“On behalf of the entire membership I thank Sister Carney for her many years of dedication and service to the American Postal Workers Union, and wish Sue and her family the very best, and a long, happy and healthy retirement,” shared Mark Dimondstein.

President Dimondstein Joins Communication Workers Union (UK) General Secretary Dave Ward in Livestream Event

(This article first appeared in the July/August 2020 issue of the American Postal Worker magazine)

On June 15, the APWU and the United Kingdom’s Communication Workers Union (CWU) joined together for a virtual livestream event. The event, hosted by CWU Communications Director Chris Webb, was a lively discussion between President Dimondstein and CWU General Secretary Dave Ward. The virtual livestream was the first event of its kind between the two fraternal postal unions.

The main focus of the discussion was the importance of solidarity between postal workers around the globe in the fight against COVID-19 and the postal privatizers using the public health crisis to advance their goals.

“The privatizers, led by U.S. Wall Street capital, know no borders. The coronavirus knows no borders. And we as postal workers around the world – in the United States, the United Kingdom, and beyond – cannot afford to know any borders,” President Dimondstein said in his opening statement.

“We may be thousands of miles apart, but we’re fighting for the same things,” General Secretary Ward agreed. “We are fighting for the future of our members’ jobs…but also fighting for the future of the services we provide to the public, to the communities, to business, and we are fighting for the very future of the postal industry.”

President Dimondstein and General Secretary Ward also encouraged members from both unions to use all available resources – including technology and social media – to reach out and build relationships across the Atlantic in order to strengthen global solidarity between postal workers. “We have a common enemy and we need to share and learn from each other. We need to be internationalists so privatizers cannot just run to another country,” said President Dimondstein.

The full livestream is available on cwu.org/live.