Learn, Lead, Fight: APWU 28th Biennial Convention Begins

President Smith’s State of the Union Address

APWU’s 28th Biennial National Convention opened Monday, Aug. 17, at the Los Angeles Convention Center under the theme “Honoring Our Past, Fighting for Our Future.” More than 1,800 delegates from across the country gathered for the first day of business, which featured President Jonathan Smith’s first State of the Union address, a return of the union’s original March of the States, tributes to the leaders who built the APWU, and the first afternoon of debate on convention resolutions.

On Monday, APWU National President Jonathan Smith delivered his State of the Union address, reflecting on the union’s history, honoring the generations of postal workers who built it, and laying out a vision for a stronger and more united APWU.

Smith shared the story of his grandfather, who left the tobacco fields in Georgia to build a better life through postal employment and union membership. He highlighted the courage and sacrifice of generations of postal workers and pointed to the 1970 Great Postal Strike as a defining example of what workers can accomplish when they stand together for dignity, fairness, better wages, and safe working conditions.

Smith recognized APWU retirees for building the foundation for today’s union and thanked them for continuing to support the labor movement. He emphasized the importance of bringing generations together, with experienced members, young workers, and new activists each playing an essential role in strengthening our union.

“The state of the American Postal Workers Union is strong,” Smith declared — strong, he said, because of the union’s members, locals, stewards, and officers, and because of every clerk, maintenance, motor vehicle service, and support services employee who proudly wears the APWU emblem.

On the future of the Postal Service, Smith reaffirmed the APWU’s commitment to protecting the USPS as a public institution. He emphasized the importance of universal postal service for veterans, seniors, rural communities, small businesses, and millions of Americans who depend on the Postal Service. He also highlighted the importance of protecting Vote-by-Mail as a way to ensure Americans can participate in our democracy.

Smith outlined the serious challenges facing postal workers and the Postal Service, including declining mail volume, technological changes, staffing shortages, facility consolidations, outsourcing, privatization efforts, workplace safety concerns, and attacks on collective bargaining rights.

“But the biggest issues — the biggest fights we have in front of us — to save our union, to save the Postal Service, and carry our proud APWU tradition forward for generations to come, will not be won or lost at the bargaining table. They will not be won or lost in a grievance hearing,” Smith said.

“They will require a movement, a movement that our union must lead, to build the public Postal Service that we all deserve.”

Smith also called for unity among delegates and members, emphasizing that disagreement is a natural part of a democratic union but should never outweigh the shared commitment to the APWU. Delegates, he said, would return home wearing the same union emblem and must leave the convention united around the work ahead.

As a call to action, Smith challenged members to “Learn, lead, and fight.” He encouraged members to learn the union’s history, lead with integrity, and fight for postal workers, working families, communities, and future generations.

In closing, Smith called for an APWU that is stronger, more united, and prepared for the challenges ahead. He urged delegates to honor the struggles of those who came before them by strengthening the union today and building a future worthy of the generations of postal workers who fought to make the APWU what it is. In this way, the APWU will live up to the convention’s theme of “honoring our past, fighting for our future.”

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