Statement of APWU President Mark Dimondstein on Attacks to the Public Postal Service
February 20, 2025The Washington Post has reported that the Trump Administration will soon issue an Executive Order firing the Postal Board of Governors, and placing the United States Postal Service under the control of the Commerce Department.
The Washington Post has reported that the Trump Administration will soon issue an Executive Order firing the Postal Board of Governors, and placing the United States Postal Service under the control of the Commerce Department.
If this reporting is true, it would be an outrageous, unlawful attack on a storied national treasure, enshrined in the Constitution and created by Congress to serve every American home and business equally.
Any attack on the Postal Service would be part of the billionaire oligarch coup, directed not just at the postal workers our union represents, but the millions of Americans who rely on the critical public service our members provide every single day.
The public Postal Service is the low-cost anchor of a $1.2 trillion mail and shipping industry, which supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the country.
Efforts to privatize the Postal Service, in whole or in part, or to strip it of its independence or public service mission, would be of no benefit to the American people. Instead, it would drive up postage rates and lead to reduced service, especially to rural America.
Postal workers struck in 1970 to win collective bargaining rights and to rid the Post Office Department of the political patronage that crippled the Agency at that time.
The Postal Reorganization Act, which created the modern Postal Service after the strike, begins by saying “The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people.”
The law created the Postal Service as an independent Agency, freed from the shifting political winds, and dedicated to serving the American public. The law created the Postal Board of Governors, and empowers it and it alone to hire and fire the Postmaster General. Any effort by the Administration to remove the Board or fire postal executives is clearly illegal.
The Washington Post also reported that the Board of Governors intends to fight this hostile takeover of the public Postal Service. The APWU supports their efforts to defend our national treasure.
The Postal Service is owned by the people, for the benefit of the people. Postal workers are dedicated to our mission to serve, no matter who sits in the White House or in Congress.
Postal workers and our unions will join with the public to fight for the vibrant, independent, and public Postal Service we all deserve.
The Washington Post has reported that the Trump Administration will soon issue an Executive Order firing the Postal Board of Governors, and placing the United States Postal Service under the control of the Commerce Department.0
Read More....
Herc Teamsters Unanimously Authorize Strike
(UPPER MARLBORO, Md.) – Drivers at Herc Rentals represented by Teamsters Local 639 have voted unanimously to strike if an agreement is not reached soon. Teamsters are demanding a contract that includes wage increases and high-quality health insurance benefits. “Teamsters at Herc provide essential services and materials to construction sites, as well as WMATA and […]
Read More....
Hertz Teamsters in Texas and Florida End Strikes, Ratify Contracts
(WASHINGTON) – Hertz Teamsters at the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Airport and Palm Beach International (PBI) Airport have ratified new collective bargaining agreements, successfully ending their strikes. The new three-year agreements include wage increases, improved vacation language, and tool allowances for mechanics, among other gains. “This strike wasn’t just about wages — it was about respect, […]
Read More....
An Attack on Public Service: The Working People Weekly List
An Attack on Public Service: The Working People Weekly List
Every week, we bring you a roundup of the top news and commentary about issues and events important to working families. Here’s the latest edition of the Working People Weekly List.
TWU Local 100’s New Union President Vows to ‘Take No Crap’ from MTA Management: “John Chiarello—the new president of Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100, which represents over 40,000 transit workers in NYC—bluntly warned the MTA that he wouldn’t be pushed around in fighting for his workers’ best interests.”‘It’s an Attack on Public Service’ | Union Representing Postal Workers Fires Back After Trump Hints at Taking Control of USPS: “At Friday’s swearing in of Howard Lutnick, President Trump hinted at handing the United States Postal Service over to the new Secretary of Commerce. ‘He’s going to look at it,’ said President Trump of Lutnick. ‘He’s got a great business instinct which is what we need, and he’ll be looking at it and we think we can turn it around.’ Brian Renfroe is the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, the largest postal union that represents more than 200,000 letter carriers. ‘It’s an attack on working people, it’s an attack on public service. It’s literally an attack on the Constitution.’”271,500 Workers Went on Strike in 2024: “Hundreds of thousands of workers across the United States went on strike in 2024—from health care workers in California to public school teachers in Massachusetts to telecommunications workers in the South. The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that 271,500 workers were involved in ‘major work stoppages’ in 2024. The number of workers involved in these stoppages decreased by 41% compared with 2023 but remained elevated compared with strike activity in the early 2000s and 2010s.”It’s (Past) Time for Oregon to Level the Playing Field: “When talk of the world’s first trillionaire takes center stage in our nation’s news cycles, you know there’s something wrong in our society. When the world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes since 2020 while five billion people around the world have become poorer, it’s clear that there’s an imbalance in the economy. Even when workers use their most powerful—yet risky—tool to fight for fairness by withholding their labor in a strike, corporations often intentionally prolong the strike, starve them out, and cancel healthcare coverage to force them to accept an unfair contract settlement. Unfortunately, this can often perpetuate the ills of our society at large: corporate greed, unsafe jobs, and a culture where we are not respecting working people for their labor; the glue that makes our communities run.”Federal Workers to Hold Public Actions in Multiple U.S. Cities on Wednesday: “Three weeks after a January 28 memo titled ‘Fork in the Road’ encouraged federal workers to accept ‘deferred resignation’ and leave their positions—and one week after a union-backed demonstration held at the Capitol—federal government union members are gearing up to hold demonstrations in cities across the country on Wednesday, February 19. Organizers are calling the coordinated events Save Our Services Day of Action.”New DNC chair: Union Workers, Labor Leaders Will Be ‘Core to My Decision-Making’: “New Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin said Tuesday that union workers and labor leaders will be ‘core to my decision-making.’ ‘As Trump wages his war on working families, Democrats will fiercely answer the call to my favorite old union song, “Which Side Are You On?” I’ll tell you what: Democrats are on the side of the worker,’ he said. ‘We will show Americans every day that workers in fact do have more power than any billionaire.’”Want to Defeat Trump? Support Unions: “But there’s no need to despair. A powerful force in our society has the legitimacy, resources and leverage to turn things around: organized labor. Unions can beat back Donald Trump’s attacks, expose his sham populism, and—by uniting workers around their shared economic interests—help isolate his xenophobic scapegoating. Rather than hibernate for the next four years, or limit ourselves to posting online about the president’s latest outrages, each of us can lend support to workers organizing at federal agencies, schools, Starbucks, Amazon, auto plants and beyond. Just as importantly, we can expand the labor movement’s reach by unionizing our own workplaces. It won’t be easy to counter Trump’s shock-and-awe offensive, or to fill the void left by the Democrats’ disarray. But it’s both necessary and possible.”Delaware State AFL-CIO Announces New President: “The Delaware State AFL-CIO recently announced Nelson Hill has been elected as its new president. A dedicated labor leader with 20 years of experience fighting for the rights of working families, Hill will now lead the state federation in its mission to protect and empower union members across Delaware. Hill also serves as vice president and executive assistant to the president of UFCW Local 27, one of the largest and most influential unions in the region. His extensive experience in organizing, collective bargaining and worker advocacy has made a profound impact on the labor movement, improving conditions and securing stronger protections for thousands of workers.”
Kenneth Quinnell
Thu, 02/20/2025 – 13:19
TCU/IAM Lorton Amtrak Auto Train Workers Rally for Fair Wages
More than a year after voting to organize into the Transportation Communications Union (TCU/IAM), the largest union on Amtrak, union representatives for Drummac employees who work on the Amtrak Auto Train Property in Lorton, Va., held an informational picket on Feb. 19, 2025, to highlight Drummac management’s stall tactics during negotiations. SEE PHOTOS FROM THE INFORMATIONAL PICKET The informational picket took
The post TCU/IAM Lorton Amtrak Auto Train Workers Rally for Fair Wages appeared first on IAMAW.
A win for fair pay: Osceola, Fla. battalion chiefs’ overtime issues resolved
Outstanding issues surrounding overtime pay for Osceola County, Florida, battalion chiefs have been resolved through litigation with assistance from the IAFF.
Read More....
Rail Division Local Chairmen Visit Winpisinger Center for Training
IAM Rail Division Local Chairmen, also known as lead or first stewards, recently attended the Basic Local Chairman Class at IAM Union’s William W. Winpisinger Center in Hollywood, MD. Helping to lead the class from District 19 were: Reece Murtagh, President/Directing General Chairman Marty Rosato, Secretary-Treasurer John Denny, General Chairman and Assistant President/Directing General Chairman
The post Rail Division Local Chairmen Visit Winpisinger Center for Training appeared first on IAMAW.
Iowa Local 1293 Dexter Laundry Members Prepare for Negotiations
The proud and hardworking IAM Local 1293 members at Dexter Laundry in Fairfield, Iowa, build U.S.-made professional laundry machines. The 170-member group recently sent four members to the IAM’s William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, Md. The negotiation team prepared a unified approach for upcoming talks with the employer. Over the week,
The post Iowa Local 1293 Dexter Laundry Members Prepare for Negotiations appeared first on IAMAW.
Workers Memorial Day
On April 28, Stand Up for Safe Jobs!
On Workers’ Memorial Day, File a PS Form 1767 Report of Hazard, Unsafe Condition or Practice.
NFFE-IAM Takes Up Fight to Save VA, Protect Veterans
IAM Union and the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE-IAM), along with fellow labor unions and allies in Congress are calling for the current administration to stop its plan to recklessly cut the federal workforce, including crucial Veterans Affairs (VA) staff. NFFE-IAM National President Randy Erwin joined allies outside VA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in
The post NFFE-IAM Takes Up Fight to Save VA, Protect Veterans appeared first on IAMAW.