(This article first appeared in the March-April 2017 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

By Retirees Director Nancy Olumekor

The USPS and Staples deal is over! APWU retirees worked tirelessly on the Stop Staples campaign to help the union achieve a big victory. We must continue actions to achieve other successes for retired and active members.

The biggest challenge facing retirees and postal workers today is making sure our voices are heard on Capitol Hill by the 115th Congress. On Nov. 8, many of us took action by voting to elect the President of the United States as well as Congressional representatives and Senators from our respective states. The will of the people, state by state – from Alaska to Florida, from Hawaii to New Hampshire, from sea to shining sea – comes together on Capitol Hill. It is the states who decide the make-up of our federal government, not the majority vote. Always remember that the states rule! 

Retirees, it is now or never! We must tell our representatives in the House and the Senate, no matter the party affiliation, to keep their hands off the retirement benefits we worked our whole lives to earn. Promises made must be kept.

Let Congress know we are opposed to privatizing Medicare and Social Security. Let Congress know that we want the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) either reformed or repealed. Let Congress know you want the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) calculated by using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for retirees based on CPI-E, the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly, instead of CPI-W, the Consumer Price Index for Workers. Let Congress know we want to vote by mail. Let Congress know you stand with the APWU on postal reform. Let your representatives know you intend to build a relationship with them.

As retirees, unionists and citizens we must be vigilant! When called upon to act, we must contact our representatives and senators on Capitol Hill. When and how do you contact them? What do you say and how do you say it?

• Check the website, apwu.org/departments-divisions/legislative-and-political, for updated information on current legislation.
• Contact your local retiree chapter president.
• Contact your state and local president.
• Contact the Retiree Department, 202-842-8584.

UPCOMING EVENTS

May is Older Americans Month. The theme is Age Out Loud. 

The Retiree Educational Conference will be held Oct. 2-4, 2017, at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel.