(This article appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)
On Nov. 3, the people of this country will elect House
representatives and senators to represent them in
the 120th Congress, which begins in January 2027. Governors,
state delegates, countless local offices, and ballot
measures will also be voted on. These elections will have
a direct impact on each of our daily lives.
As postal workers, we have so much at stake in this
election. The Postal Service is running out of money,
our role in the election mail process has been called
into question, Board of Governors nominees who support
privatization are moving forward, and problematic
solutions have entered the conversation about how to
“fix” the Postal Service, like:
- Eliminating six-day delivery;
- Restructuring the workforce by increasing the number of pre-career employees and decreasing the number of career employees;
- Enacting hiring freezes to an already understaffed system;
- Attacking our collective bargaining rights so the Postal Service doesn’t have to negotiate in good faith over wages and benefits;
- Eliminating the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for new employees;
- Changing the current workers’ compensation structure of the Postal Service to mirror the private sector;
- Outsourcing middle mile and retail network jobs to the private sector, eliminating good union jobs; and
- aCutting off retiree health benefits for new and nonvested employees.
To counter these attacks, we need to elect a Congress
that will fight for the mission of a public Postal Service,
but not at the expense of workers’ benefits or the universal
service mandate.
APWU members need to be involved by voting and
educating our friends and family on the issues. Because,
even if you have no interest in politics, politics affect
you. Engaging in our legislative and political fights
does not mean you care any less about fighting for
strong collective bargaining, grievances, or arbitration.
On the contrary, being involved in these fights means
you care so much about the gains we have made as
a union that you are willing to fight on every front to
protect those rights.
Let me be clear: We cannot win our political fights
without you.
The collective legislative gains we have made over the
past decade were made possible by two things: An active
membership and a broad coalition of support for
postal issues in Congress.
Legislative gains like:
- The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022, which eliminated the pre-funding mandate;
- The Social Security Fairness Act, which eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset;
- USPS funding, which converted a $25 billion government loan to a grant during COVID;
- Paid leave during COVID, which made sure that postal workers could qualify for emergency paid leave during a time of national crisis as we kept the country connected.
We can achieve so much when we work together.
I am not just calling on you to make a plan to vote
on Nov. 3, I am calling on you to stay involved in
our legislative fights throughout the new session
of Congress. Build relationships with your lawmakers,
regardless of their party affiliation or committee
assignment. Support the Legislative/Political
Department on our days of action and engage with
fellow union members who have been hesitant to get
involved.
Because when we fight together, we win! ■
The post This Election Season, the Stakes Have Never Been Higher first appeared on APWU.