News

17,000 AT&T Workers Strike Across Southeastern US

August 23, 2024More than 17,000 AT&T workers across nine southeastern states walked off their jobs on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. The workers, represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA), filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against AT&T management’s bad faith bargaining during stalled contract negotiations. The APWU stands in solidarity with the brave union members in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee standing strong through their union and going on strike.  More than 17,000 AT&T workers across nine southeastern states walked off their jobs on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. The workers, represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA), filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against AT&T management’s bad faith bargaining during stalled contract negotiations. The APWU stands in solidarity with the brave union members in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee standing strong through their union and going on strike.  CWA District 3 representatives have been in negotiations with AT&T since June, but management has refused to send representatives to the table with the authority to sign off on many of the mandatory subjects and backed out of agreements made throughout the bargaining process. Now, according to the CWA, management has resorted to using unqualified subcontractors and undertrained managers during the strike to perform work as customer service representatives and for installation and maintenance roles. “Our members have seen them at work in their communities and documented unsafe practices, including failure to wear proper safety equipment, failure to secure ladders and other equipment, putting the worker and nearby vehicles and pedestrians at risk, and failure to mark work areas with safety cones,” said CWA District 3 Vice President Richard Honeycutt. “We are encouraging members of the public to use extra caution when encountering these worksites.” “I encourage our members to sign the petition and if you are near an action, join the striking workers on the picket line at AT&T,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “Workers across all industries deserve the dignity and respect of good faith bargaining during negotiations and I hope and expect that AT&T takes the workers’ demands for a fair contract seriously.”  The workers have set up a petition for supporters to sign at: cwa.org/attse-support. 17,000 AT&T Workers Strike Across Southeastern US0Continue reading→

Statement from APWU President Mark Dimondstein on the Postal Service’s Proposal to Further Slow Mail Processing and Delivery

August 23, 2024The American Postal Workers Union is deeply concerned regarding the August 22nd announcement from postal management, with the support of the Postal Board of Governors, that they are once again planning to slow down much of the country’s mail. The APWU understands that change is needed to address the profound and permanent changes that the internet and social media have caused in the way people communicate. Letters continue to significantly decline, and the Postal Service must gain more of the growing package market. While we remain open to change for the long run viability of the public postal service and our job security, we refuse to accept that a winning strategy includes further slowing first class mail and providing overall worse service to the people of the country. Mark Dimondstein The American Postal Workers Union is deeply concerned regarding the August 22nd announcement from postal management, with the support of the Postal Board of Governors, that they are once again planning to slow down much of the country’s mail. The APWU understands that change is needed to address the profound and permanent changes that the internet and social media have caused in the way people communicate. Letters continue to significantly decline, and the Postal Service must gain more of the growing package market. While we remain open to change for the long run viability of the public postal service and our job security, we refuse to accept that a winning strategy includes further slowing first class mail and providing overall worse service to the people of the country. Management is already failing to meet the current first-class mail service standards even after lowering delivery targets in 2021. Rather than fix the service delays and problems, these new management proposals are to simply “move the goalposts.” The proposed service standard changes announced on August 22nd will be reviewed by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC.) As we saw in 2021, the Commission issues only an Advisory Opinion on the proposals and ultimately lacks the power to stop them outright. We urge the Commission to do a thorough analysis of the impacts of the proposed changes, and for the Postal Service to seriously consider the Commission’s views before it proceeds in further degrading service. But make no mistake: our union and postal workers across the country will join with the public, leaders in Congress, and others, in rejecting this proposal and instead favor plans to bring mail service back to the high standard the public deserves and is promised under the law. We demand a solution from the Postmaster General and the Board of Governors that fixes service delays, rather than further slowing the service standards for delivery. Management has the tools to improve service while at the same time improve the Postal Service’s finances. In addition to the growing package market, they need to focus on new and expanded services. Management can improve staffing and retention by working with the postal unions to ensure every postal job is a good job – with fair pay, decent benefits, and career opportunities. Instead of slowing service standards and accepting bad performance, management needs to put every effort behind improving all forms of mail service and regaining the public’s confidence that the Postal Service is in fact “Delivering for America.”  The people of the country deserve nothing less.   The American Postal Workers Union is deeply concerned regarding the August 22nd announcement from postal management, with the support of the Postal Board of Governors, that they are once again planning to slow down much of the country’s mail. The APWU understands that change is needed to address the profound and permanent changes that the internet and social media have caused in the way people communicate. Letters continue to significantly decline, and the Postal Service must gain more of the growing package market. While we remain open to change for the long run viability of the public postal service and our job security, we refuse to accept that a winning strategy includes further slowing first class mail and providing overall worse service to the people of the country.0Continue reading→

Julian Electric Workers File for Union Election to Join UAW, Will Hold Mass Meeting Saturday in Chicago

WHAT:     Press Conference and One-on-one Availability after Mass Meeting WHEN:     Saturday, Aug. 24, Noon WHERE:   UAW Local 551, 13550 S Torrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60633 Workers at a parts plant near Chicago have just filed for a union election and are holding a mass meeting on Saturday at a union hall on Chicago’s East Side. A […] The post Julian Electric Workers File for Union Election to Join UAW, Will Hold Mass Meeting Saturday in Chicago appeared first on UAW | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.Continue reading→

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Memphis City Employees Celebrate Across-the-Board Pay Raises and Bonuses

Service & Solidarity Spotlight: Memphis City Employees Celebrate Across-the-Board Pay Raises and Bonuses Working people across the United States regularly step up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our Service & Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story. Employees of the city of Memphis, Tennessee, are celebrating much-needed wage hikes and bonuses they secured through the union they formed—a testament to the power of a union.They are celebrating $5,000 bonuses along with pay raises of at least 5%. Workers who keep Memphis’ hospitals, schools and roads running saw this increase last month.Employees of the city’s Solid Waste Department, who keep Memphis clean, saw pay raises ranging from 6% to 34%.Corrections officers and deputies saw raises of 6%.These well-deserved pay raises and bonuses are thanks to AFSCME Local 1733 members, who had been negotiating with the Memphis City Council since April and came to an agreement.Tomorrow Bonds, a member of Local 1733’s negotiations team and a crewperson in the Memphis Public Works Department, said that she and her co-workers were not going to back down from their proposals.“We came to the table with our proposals for the wage increases that we wanted, but the city kept turning it down,” Bonds said. “But we decided we weren’t going to take their counterproposals for less, and we wanted a fair wage.”On June 18, Local 1733 members ratified a memorandum of understanding that they reached with the city for these pay increases and bonuses to take effect on July 1.For Bonds, these wage increases are only the beginning. The fight for a livable wage continues.“It’s very important to me that everybody has a livable wage, and right now, we’re still not at a livable wage,” Bonds said. “But I can see that fighting for this pay increase has opened up a path for us to get there.”This post originally appeared on the AFSCME blog. Kenneth Quinnell Fri, 08/23/2024 - 10:02Continue reading→

ATTENTION APWU RETIRED MEMBERS the APWU Retirees Department Presents: PSHB and Medicare Webinar

ATTENTION APWU RETIRED MEMBERS: The APWU Retirees Department is proud to announce a virtual presentation about the Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Program & Medicare Part B Special Enrollment Period (SEP). RETIRED APWU members, join APWU National Officers and the USPS PSHB Representatives for one of two sessions: Thursday, Aug 29 at 4:00pm EST or Friday, Aug 30 at 12:00pm EST. August 29, 2024 - 4:00PM to August 30, 2024 - 12:00PMVirtual NationalNoYes2024-08-30 00:00:00Postal Service Health Benefits and Medicare WebinarJoin APWU National Officers and the USPS Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) Representatives for one of two sessions: Thursday, Aug 29 at 4:00pm EST or Friday, Aug 30 at 12:00pm EST.   To register, please select one of the links below for the date you plan to attend. Aug. 29 Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_TY7P-fIpThG5bltlvVAp0A Aug. 30 Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ctMjHPAuQ5yXwDQGBKMlqw   After registering, you will receive a link to join the webinar. 00Continue reading→

Maintenance Division Appoints Josh Montgomery as Southern Region NBA

August 22, 2024In accordance with Article 21 of the APWU Constitution and Bylaws, Maintenance Division Director Idowu Balogun has appointed Josh Montgomery to serve as Maintenance Division, Southern Region National Business Agent “C”, with an effective date of Sept. 09, 2024. APWU National OfficersMaintenance Division In accordance with Article 21 of the APWU Constitution and Bylaws, Maintenance Division Director Idowu Balogun has appointed Josh Montgomery to serve as Maintenance Division, Southern Region National Business Agent “C”, with an effective date of Sept. 09, 2024. Brother Montgomery received unanimous consensus in a vote by the Maintenance Council on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. In 2010, The Postal Service promoted him into the Maintenance Craft as a Mail Processing Equipment (MPE) Mechanic at the Lafayette Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) where he was quickly promoted to an Electronic Technician position. Montgomery became a union steward in 2012 and has been the Lafayette Local President since 2014 and Louisiana state president since 2019. Brother Montgomery attended APWU Arbitration Advocacy Training in 2017 and has been actively handling regional arbitrations for the Maintenance Craft for his local and the entire Southern Region since then. He received a bachelor’s degree in general studies at the University of Louisiana while working as a full-time Electronic Technician on the workroom floor at night and running the local and state organizations during the day. “Brother Josh is a very seasoned arbitration advocate,” said Director Balogun. “I am greatly confident that he will be more than ready on day one.” Maintenance Division Appoints Josh Montgomery as Southern Region NBA0Continue reading→

UAW Members to Rally Outside Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, Call On Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to Keep The Promise

On Friday, August 23rd, UAW members will rally outside Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (SHAP) to call on Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to honor the union contract and Keep The Promise to maintain product and investment commitments in Belvidere, Illinois and across the country. Tavares is set to visit SHAP on Friday and has refused to meet […] The post UAW Members to Rally Outside Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, Call On Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to Keep The Promise appeared first on UAW | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America.Continue reading→

IAM Union Congratulates Local 709 Members on Lockheed Martin C-130 Program’s 70th Anniversary  

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Lockheed Martin C-130 program and congratulates IAM Local 709 members at Lockheed Martin’s Marietta, Ga., plant for their significant milestone. IAM Local 709 has been at the forefront of building this iconic aircraft, a testament to the dedication and skill The post IAM Union Congratulates Local 709 Members on Lockheed Martin C-130 Program’s 70th Anniversary   appeared first on IAMAW.Continue reading→