Guffey Elected President, Bell Wins as VP

In balloting that ended Oct. 14, Cliff Guffey was elected the new president of the American Postal Workers Union, receiving 69 percent of the votes in a three-way race. Greg Bell garnered 75 percent of votes cast, to win the Vice Presidency. 

Guffey, who has served as the APWU’s vice president since 2001, becomes the union’s fifth president.

Also claiming victory was Martha Shunn-King, for Director of Organization. William “Bill” Kaczor was re-elected Health Plan Director.

Rob Strunk won the race for Clerk Division Director, and Princella Vogel was elected Southern Region Coordinator in a three-way contest. Robert “Bob” Pritchard was re-elected Director of the Motor Vehicles Services Division, and Michael Foster  was re-elected Assistant Director.

A total of 30 races for national office were contested in this year’s elections. The American Arbitration Association (AAA) tabulated the ballots on Oct. 15. A total of 190,531 ballots were mailed to eligible voters, and 51,994 were returned. 

Voting was extended until Oct. 14, after the American Arbitration Association announced that it had received many reports that members had not received ballots more than two weeks after the AAA mailed them.

Unofficial results are shown below. The winning candidate’s name appears first, in bold. Incumbent officers are denoted by (I) appearing after their name. Uncontested races are listed on page 3.

A complete election report can be found on the union’s Web site, at www.apwu.org. Results also will appear in the November/December issue of The American Postal Worker.

The oath of office will be administered in a ceremony on Nov. 6. For information about the Installation Dinner-Dance, see page 2. Newly-elected officers take office effective Nov. 12 and will serve three-year terms.       

Installation of National Officers

APWU members and guests are invited to attend the Installation of National Officers Dinner-Dance, on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, DC. The ceremonial affair will feature the swearing-in of new and returning officers. Festivities will begin with a reception at 6 p.m. The installation of officers will begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $65 each and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. (Only 1,000 tickets are available.) Tickets may be purchased online at www.apwu.org, and payment is due by Oct. 22. Please note that refunds will not be issued for any reason.

The Hyatt Regency is located at 400 New Jersey Ave. NW, Washington, DC, 20001. Tickets will be available for pickup at the Hyatt Regency on Friday, Nov. 5, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Saturday, Nov. 6, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the Redwood Room. Guests who are unable to pick up tickets prior to 4 p.m. on Nov. 6 may pick them up outside the Regency Ballroom just prior to the event. Please note that tickets will only be released to individuals who purchased them unless a designee is named during the reservation process.

For more information, please call the APWU Secretary-Treasurer’s Department at 202-842-4215.