News

May 15, 2025The Industrial Relations Department shares information on when and how to use a PS Form 4707 - Out of Order notice, and why it is essential to red-tag damaged equipment: magazineSpeak Up for Safe Jobs The PS Form 4707 - Out of Order notice is a critical tool for enforcing workplace safety, operational efficiency, and equipment integrity. Many times, Postal Service management will allow damaged equipment, that should be taken out of service after an employee fills out and submits a PS Form 4707, to continue to be used on the workroom floor, creating safety hazards. Postal workers should use the PS Form 4707 to report and tag defective equipment as “Out of Order” when equipment is found to be defective. It should be removed from service immediately, tagged with PS Form 4707, and taken to be repaired or placed in an area designated for troubled equipment. This ensures that the equipment is fixed before it goes back into service, creating a safe workplace environment for postal workers. Below are some of the reasons why proper use of the PS Form 4707 is essential: Use PS Form 4707 to Report Damaged Equipment for: Safety Compliance – Reporting damaged equipment with a PS Form 4707 helps prevent accidents, injuries, or further damage by ensuring that employees are aware of malfunctioning or hazardous machinery and management can begin the work to fix or replace it. Operational Efficiency – Identifying and tagging broken equipment helps maintenance teams prioritize repairs, reducing downtime and improving work ow. If the damaged equipment cannot be repaired locally, it is sent to a regional facility for repair. For example, damaged equipment in the Southern Region must go to Atlanta, GA for repair. Regulatory and Policy Adherence – The USPS follows strict safety and maintenance regulations. Properly using a PS Form 4707 enforces compliance with internal policies and external safety regulations. Accountability and Documentation – This form provides a record of equipment issues, which helps track maintenance history, identify recurring problems, and support necessary repairs or replacements. Employees Should Not Remove a PS Form 4707 Red Tag. It is Necessary to: Prevent Unauthorized Use – The red tag indicates that equipment is unsafe or non-operational. Removing it without proper authorization can lead to injuries or further damage. Ensure Proper Repairs – The tag remains in place until the maintenance team has assessed and repaired the issue. Premature removal could result in equipment being used before it is safe. Comply with Policy – USPS policies require damaged equipment to be properly tagged and assessed before returning to service. Removing a PS Form 4707 red tag without proper clearance violates these policies. Prevent Legal and Liability Issues – If an accident occurs due to the unauthorized use of tagged equipment, it could lead to liability issues for both the worker and the USPS. By following proper procedures for reporting and tagging damaged equipment, postal workers can help maintain safe and efficient workplaces. If you or any of your coworkers become aware of anyone on the workroom floor condoning the use of red-tagged equipment, please alert a shop steward to address the situation immediately. The wellbeing or life that you may save could be a coworker or your very own! ■ How to Use a PS Form 4707 to Enforce Workplace Safety0Continue reading→

May 15, 2025“You and your coworkers are the Union! No matter your political party, now is the time to protect America’s Postal Service!” – Western Regional Coordinator Omar Gonzalez explains steps we can take to defend the public Postal Service and preserve our jobs. magazineWestern RegionOmar M. Gonzalez Threats of privatization, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) snooping, and government upheaval raise alarms while big banks like Wells Fargo outline what postal workers face, which is a “buy out” followed by layoffs. More than 100,000 postal workers could face layoffs because of their tenure or employee status. Few APWU-represented postal workers have life-time protection against any involuntary layoff under the 1978 arbitrated collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The rest must earn their protection by completing six years of continuous service in pay status, with at least one hour or call-in guarantee for 20 of the 26 pay periods each year, per Article 6 of the CBA. Forewarned Is For Armed Per Article 6, management can “effect layoffs for lack of work or other legitimate reasons,” and the layoffs can be exercised in lieu of reassigning employees (excessing) under Article 12. Also, if Congress repeals or significantly relaxes the Private Express Statutes, which are a set of federal laws that prohibit private entities from carrying and delivering letter mail without paid U.S. postage, our current layoff protections expire. For decades we have successfully fought off privatization, but now the snarling wolves are ready to bite. Former Postmaster General DeJoy’s agreement with DOGE claims to be driven by efficiency, but the reality equates to cuts undermining a struggling service. How Layoff Occurs Management identifies which employees will be laid off based on job classification in competitive areas and levels, such as Veterans' Preference, seniority, tenure location, and more. The union is given a 90-day notice, while impacted employees only receive a 30-day notice. Preconditions include a reduction in postal support employees (PSEs) and a 20-day posting of vacancies in the installation, or commuting area, for possible selection and reassignment. Severance pay and allowances are described in the Employee and Labor Relations Manual (ELM) Chapter 435. Health and life insurance coverage is subject to the ELM (see Article 6 for specifics). The disruption that layoffs would inflict is real, but privatization or a merger into a federal department, like Commerce, is dastardly. Private companies do not have to retain our union contract. Current federal entities could void our contract and the rights of postal workers, like it did with TSA. What You Can Do About It You and your coworkers are the Union! No matter your political party, now is the time to protect America’s Postal Service! Helping to protect the Peoples’ Post Office and YOUR job security is E.A.S.Y.: Educate yourself and those around you about the threat of dismantling the USPS and how it would undermine service. Assemble and protest! Let’s get the public on our side to stop any efforts to privatize or dismantle our Postal Service. Handout flyers and make signs for events at your local post offices. Sell service, not postage when dealing with our public and their mail. Your job depends on it! Your congressional representatives need to hear from you, your family, and neighbors, to support House Resolution 70 and Senate Resolution 147! Dial 844-402-1001 and urge them to protect USPS from privatization. It will only take three minutes. For more ways to take action, visit apwu.org/action. America’s Cornerstone Our Post Office was established by the Continental Congress in 1775, enshrined into the Constitution by Congress in 1789, and signed into law in 1792. The history of the USPS is the history of the United States. My fellow Coordinators Tiffany Foster, Amy Puhalski, AJ Jones, Yared Wonde, and I urge you to help us save the People’s Postal Service. If you and every APWU member, with your coworkers, take action - the U.S. Postal Service will remain the Post Office of the People, By the People, and For the People. Will You stand up for our Post Office before it is too late? ■ Layoffs - Worst Case Scenario?0Continue reading→

May 15, 2025Industrial Relations Director Charlie Cash explains due process, “one of our most important union rights. In the simplest of terms, it means you have the right to your ‘day in court’ to tell your side of the story and defend yourself if management wants to discipline you.” magazineIndustrial RelationsCharlie Cash No employee may be disciplined or discharged except for just cause — Those words come from Article 16 of the APWU’s main Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Postal Service and is consistent across all the contracts we have with the Postal Service and our private sector contractors. This language gives every employee, covered under one of our contracts, their rights to Due Process. Due process is one of our most important union rights. In the simplest of terms, it means you have the right to your “day in court” to tell your side of the story and defend yourself if management wants to discipline you. There is much more to it than this, but in the end, you are able to have your chance to defend yourself before the Postal Service can take an adverse action against you. Many of us have worked in industries where there is not a union and where we were at-will employees, meaning that there wasn’t a union contract that required just cause and due process procedures. One could be fired or have adverse actions taken against them without a chance to defend themselves. How unfair is it that you do not even get a chance to tell your side of the story or see the evidence against you? I have represented hundreds of postal employees over the years in disciplinary proceedings from very minor issues to serious issues. As a union representative, I always ensure that the people I represent have their right to due process in the disciplinary process, no matter the violation. Every union-represented employee must be given these rights. It is a strongly held belief for me. If I am asked why I represent someone, I always make it clear that if I ever make the decision to turn my back on someone’s rights, that decision would render those provisions of our contract meaningless. Once a right is surrendered for one person, it starts the fall towards elimination of that right in its entirety for everyone. But due process isn’t just something we all are entitled to in the grievance process. Due process is a fundamental right every person in this country has. The United States Declaration of Independence names three unalienable rights – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution disallows the government from infringing on those rights without due process. Everyone in this country has the right to defend themselves when they face losing any of these unalienable rights and more. If you are charged with a crime, it is your right to defend yourself before a jury of your peers. If you were to have your driver’s license revoked, you have the right to a hearing. If your taxes are audited, you have a right to be heard and explain. If you are being evicted, a process must be followed before it happens. There are so many things where due process applies, that we probably take them for granted. Today, this country faces the threat of losing our right to due process. Some people are being detained without any real due process. No matter what one’s political leanings are, I do not believe anyone thinks that our rights to due process should be stripped away from us. Whether a person is accused of a crime, in the country illegally, protesting or saying things that are not popular, look different, or writes a news story that angers someone; that person must know that they will be granted their rights and have a chance to defend themselves in front of the appropriate authority before losing a single unalienable right. I will stand up for those rights for anyone in this country, even the people I disagree with. Will you stand with me? ■ Due Process, Your Union Right0Continue reading→

May 15, 2025Amid threats of privatization by the current presidential administration, A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service has revitalized our campaign, bringing together allied coalitions to strengthen ties between postal workers and our community. Read how we’re taking action:  magazineA Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service Our Alliance brings together hundreds of groups and individuals who are committed to preserving our public Postal Service. With the threat against the USPS greater than ever, we have been busy strengthening the ties between postal workers and our community. Coalition Meeting On March 19, we held a joint briefing with the Save the Post Office coalition to emphasize the threat to the USPS. About 120 people from the many organizations that make up the coalition attended, including MoveOn, Indivisible, the Alliance for Retired Americans, and Public Citizen. Melanie Campbell of the National Council on Black Civic Participation kicked off the event. APWU President Mark Dimondstein followed, laying out the threats and consequences of postal privatization. Monique Morrissey, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, explained the impact of a postal sell-off. Shawn Sebastian of Rural Organizing discussed the direct impacts privatization would have on rural communities, while APWU member Brittany Price (Cleveland Area Local) gave a postal workers’ perspective. Act Locally, Act Stronger A highlight of APWU’s March 20 Day of Action was how many local organizations held events – more than 300 in total. Several Alliance members organized actions, including the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Jobs with Justice, and Indivisible. Local events build stronger community support to oppose postal privatization. At a Globe-Miami Indivisible chapter event, an event organizer explained that having leaflets to give out to people in support of the rural Globe, AZ Post Office and having a toolkit with information was an excellent way to have great conversations with people regardless of who they voted for. Individual community members and informal groups also held events. The organizer of an event in Lincoln County, ME, described how uniting makes us stronger: “The most important thing is that I met a bunch of new friends who care about my rural town like I do, and who, like me, know that our postal team are hard-working, dedicated neighbors who provide CRITICAL services to our community.” APWU locals can continue building relationships by reaching out to local chapters of coalition members. Start with a phone call and identify your shared interests. Show how you can help them and ask for their help. If you need assistance reaching a local affiliate, please email us at: info@agrandalliance.org A New Response to Renewed Threats Considering the administration’s ongoing threats, our Alliance has updated its mission statement, warning that the U.S. Postal Service is: “…under extreme assault by the current administration’s illegal hostile takeover of the independent agency. These actions are a huge step toward dismantling and selling off the USPS, in whole or in part, to private corporations, for private profit.” […] “The public good must not be sacrificed for the sake of private investment and pro t. A strong public Postal Service is our democratic and constitutional right. Join us in the fight to improve, protect, and enhance vibrant public postal services now – and for many generations to come.” Read the full statement and see our list of supporters at: agrandalliance.org ■ The Post Offi ce Celebrates 250 Years of Service in JulyContinue reading→

May 15, 2025Secretary-Treasurer Liz Powell shares the importance of maintaining adequate financial controls, policies and procedures as a local Trustee. magazineSecretary-TreasurerElizabeth Powell Whether local trustees are elected or appointed, the responsibilities of the position should not be a customary rubber stamp of local practices that conflict with the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), Department of Labor (DOL), or IRS provisions. The Trustee position should not be a member of the local executive board, as it would cause a conflict of interest for the trustee and the financial oversight that is required of the position. The Trustee’s primary task is to ensure that all union resources (money and assets) are used for legitimate union purposes, as authorized by the membership, in accordance with your local constitution and bylaws. In addition, trustees should ensure that the local is complying with all legal requirements for financial reporting, recordkeeping, and bonding. Each local affiliate should have provisions establishing set frequencies for trustees to conduct an audit. Local audits should be conducted annually, at a minimum. If there is no constitutional language, a motion is needed to establish set time frames. However, the constitution should be amended to provide for periodic internal audits. During the audit, trustees should review the disbursements, receipts, DOL and IRS compliance, and conduct an inventory of local assets. LMRDA provisions require officers and employees of the union to ensure that union funds and other assets are used solely for the benefit of the union and its members. Trustees are the first line of financial controls that a local should have in addition to various policies to ensure financial oversight is maintained. Having policies and procedures in place defines acceptable and unacceptable practices. Written policies and procedures are clear and reflect the values and principles of your local. They ensure uniformity and consistency in decision making and operational procedures. They can clarify functions, responsibilities, and establish accountability. Policies and procedures assist with the day-to-day management of your local and can be invaluable in ensuring the local is running in an efficient and business-like manner. Problems can be managed quickly and effectively through existing policies. When implementing policies, consider involving officers and stewards. This will promote awareness, understanding, and ownership when the policy is implemented. Present and explain the policy to your local membership and move to adopt the policy. Local union officers should consider implementing the following policies: Travel and Expense Leave Without Pay (LWOP) and Other Compensation Credit Card Use Additional policies could include a Computer Access and Internet policy, and a Local Grievance Handling policy. If you currently have policies in place, review them regularly to ensure that they are current and in line with changes within the local. Finally, local officers should have computer back-up procedures in place for computer financial files, password access for QuickBooks, and other financial banking requirements. These and other important directives should be stored in a locked fireproof safe. ■ Maintaining Adequate Financial Controls, Policies, and Procedures0Continue reading→

May 15, 2025“To create a better world, we must have faith in each other and how our diverse beliefs, backgrounds, and perspectives unite in solidarity for justice.” - Vice President Debby Szeredy urges members to mobilize within our communities and spread our message to preserve the public Postal Service. magazineVice PresidentDebby Szeredy The work we do as postal workers to provide public services is a calling. Those who work for justice often make it their lifetime devotion. We become empowered through inspiring moments and teachings based on the principles of non-violence: helping workers in need, sacrificing for others, and having respect for others and for oneself. It is that work that ends up deepening our daily lives. We embrace compassion and peace to uplift our workers and our community. It is all about embracing a life of tolerance and equality, and that is why we have government, independent, and non-profit workers to unify all people. Many activists from different generations are coming together to engage in collective strategies that create a sustainable movement to fight for the issues that matter the most to us. To create a better world, we must have faith in each other and how our diverse beliefs, backgrounds, and perspectives unite in solidarity for justice. Relationship- building creates a strong community. We must take the government out of the hands of the oligarchy and put it back in the hands of our beloved community. One recent example of community coming together for the collective good occurred when Jalyna West, a union representative and the secretary-treasurer of the Mid- Hudson Area Local in New York, contacted the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Region 3 to request permission to set up a table at their conference highlighting our fight against postal privatization. She and her husband, who is a CSEA member, worked to mobilize support to stop privatization of the Postal Service! They handed out flyers and collected 132 signatures in support of our public Postal Service, after just four hours of tabling at the CSEA Conference. Speaking about the experience, Jalyna said, “I always look for opportunities to get the word out about the attack on the Postal Service. My husband has been a member of CSEA for 23 years and second VP of Local 550. [On] April 3rd, we set up our table after I had mentioned the attack on postal workers, and members asked about how they could help, and I mentioned I had a petition they could sign and fact sheets to hand out. A table was given to us to educate CSEA members. We were also able to get support from Jessica Ladlee of CSEA; Dutchess County Legislator Terracina Brown; Daniel Atonna, candidate for City of Poughkeepsie; Alyssa from MHA; Lisa Kaul, Veterans Programs; Aymar Blair, Dutchess Comptroller; Brenda Lawlor, Dutchess County Legislator; and Pat Ryan, our House Representative for New York.” That’s what I call stepping out and mobilizing our community! We can win; we just need to step out to get the support! ■ Are You Reaching Out with Best Practices for Member and Community Mobilizing?0Continue reading→