Organizing is Essential to Secure the Future of Our Union

How many opportunities in a day do you let pass by without organizing a non-member? Every day on the work room floor we talk to our coworkers, but do you know if that coworker you’re speaking with is a member? Next time you’re having a casual conversation, take a moment to ask if they are standing with you or against you. If they are not a member, you have set the stage for a conversation about the benefits and importance of being in a union.

We have an abundance of benefits provided by the years of negotiations between the APWU and the Postal Service. Many of our non-members look at the APWU as just a grievance machine, and have somehow convinced themselves that they have never needed the APWU, so why should they pay dues? We must take the opportunity to explain to them that, although they may receive their paycheck from the USPS, all of the contractual raises, step and cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increases exist because of negotiations by the APWU.

The fact that we have paid annual and sick leave, an APWU health plan consumer driven option, where the Postal Service pays 95 percent of our premiums, seniority rights, and two-year conversion for Postal Support Employees (PSEs) are ALL benefits negotiated on their behalf as a result of the APWU membership. The more educated our coworkers are about our benefits, the more likely they are to see the importance of joining the union and standing with us to increase the strength and bargaining power of the APWU.

We often hear, “whether or not I pay dues, the union still has to represent me.” The problem with that theory is that if everyone felt this way, there would be no APWU. And without the union, all of the benefits negotiated over decades would start to disappear. It takes the collective power of our membership to continue to negotiate and move our union. Without members, we have no negotiating power, and management would no longer provide the benefits that our union brothers and sisters have fought so hard for.

Never miss an opportunity to organize! Educate your coworkers, organize your non-members, and secure the future of the APWU.

With our recent COLA increase, now is a great time to remind our non-members of what we can achieve by standing together, and how much stronger we would be if we all stood together. Our online process has made joining the APWU easy for both non-members who want to join, and for the members looking to sign up their co-workers. The entire process takes minutes to complete. Take a picture and save the QR image below on the left to your phone. Once saved, you can easily have your non-member coworker scan the code with their phone so they can complete the process of joining online. If we weren’t unionized, everyone one of us would be nothing more than casual employees, lacking the benefits, wages, and working conditions that we enjoy today. Make the commitment today and ask at least one non-member coworker to stand with you.

Gearing up for the Peak Season Hiring

Local leaders, please remember Peak Season Hiring is just around the corner. So be sure to get your organizing material orders in. You can now click here to order materials online. ■