I am so excited and I just can’t hide it. I’m about to lose my mind, and I know I like it. Woo, do we got some APWU people in the house? Do we got some APWU in the house? Do we got some fighters in the house? Are you ready to fight? Yes. Are you ready to fight? Yes. Then stand on your feet. Stand on your feet.
Who are we? APWU. APWU.
APWU. APWU. APWU. APWU. APWU. APWU.
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh APWU family, good morning. Thank you, Tiffany, for, uh, you, you… I was almost wondering who you was talking about. I, I said, “Oh, that’s me.” Uh, first of all, I want to thank this marvelous National Executive Board for the work that they do every single day. You have no idea how hard we work up at headquarters, and I think that deserves a round of applause
I would like to thank all the resident officers up at headquarters, uh, for what they do. I would love, and I thank you for the MBAs that go out there every single day and fight on behalf of you
But most of all, I want to thank you, the members. I want to thank you for showing up every day. I want to thank you for what you do because the Postal Service is you. APWU is you. So I want to share some things with you today. Can we have a conversation? Yes. I said, can we have a conversation? Yes. First of all, I have to give honor to God before I speak.
A lot of people don’t like that, say you can’t mix God. Let me tell you something. Please don’t make me choose between God and APWU because I love APWU, but I’m a servant before I’m anything else. Yes. So I want to thank God simply for waking us up this morning, waking you up and waking me up. I now realize that waking up is a privilege and a gift.
Somebody alarm clock went off this morning and they didn’t have an opportunity to cut it off. May my attitude for the rest of my life be gratitude. That, I wanted to get that out the way. I am so proud to be a APWU child. I was reared by my grandfather who worked for the Postal Service for twenty-five years and was a dedicated member of the American Postal Workers Union It was his courage to leave a dead-end job in Macon, Georgia, working in the tobacco fields, to come up to New Jersey, not knowing what he was coming up to New Jersey for, but he knew that he had to leave the poison of racism, bigotry, and hatred, not for himself, but to give his family a better opportunity at the American dream.
And that was his children, and I stand proud to say that I am his grandson.
I’m standing here as tangible proof that if we believe and never give up, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that is impossible. My grandfather was not the type of person that would intimidate you because he was all of five foot eight, but he was the smartest man that I’ve ever known. He was a giant to me because my grandfather stepped in a gap that he didn’t have to step.
He dealt with the world that was cruel to him, but he kept believing, and he came to the Postal Service where the rights that we enjoy today was not there And he went out on the picket lines. It was getting a job at the Postal Service and joining the struggle at APWU that just changed his life because he got opportunities that he could only dream of I am so proud to say that I am the grandson of John Henry Smith because he fought through the pain, he fought through the discrimination, he fought through the hurt to give me the opportunity and give you, because he was out there in 1970, the opportunity that we have today.
And for that, I will be eternally grateful because what he was not only fighting for is no different than what we’re fighting for today. He was fighting for dignity and respect. That’s what the contract represents, a form of dignity and respect. For the next several days, we will debate, discuss, and at times we will disagree and ultimately decide the future of one of the greatest labor unions in America.
This is who we are. This is what democracy looks like, and I could not be prouder to stand before you for the opportunity that you gave me to be your national president
But make no mistake, this convention is happening at a pivotal moment. The decisions we make here will shape not only our union, but the future of hundreds and thousands of postal workers and the millions of Americans who depend on the United States Postal Service every day. This fight is for the veterans and the elderly that depend on the postal service to deliver their much needed medicine.
This fight is for small business owners that can’t compete with the large conglomerates. This fight is for the millions of Americans that just can’t get to the poll stations to vote on a specific day at a specific time because life showed up, because they’re caring for elderly parents, because they can’t get a day off of work, because they can’t stand in line.
It’s physically painful and harmful. They need us to show up for them. America depends on us. America depends on vote by mail, and we will deliver it.
As we say it, keep it protected and expanded. There are some that said, “And it worked for the post office.” And they vote against their own interest in vote by mail that brings revenue into the postal service. But most of all, we talk about the vote count of 1920. Why aren’t we talking about 90 million people that did not vote, and what would have happened if they would’ve had the opportunity to vote by mail?
That’s what we should be talking about. We should be talking about the post office, not as a business, but as a service, because that’s what we are. The founders of our country never intended us to be profitable. When you look at postal legislation, postal legislation not only says that we have a universal delivery obligation, but we have to be prompt and efficient.
And they knew when we had to deliver to everybody, there were some places that would not be profitable. But because we are the greatest country in the world, we did not take a position that someone should be left out of an opportunity to get information. That’s what this is about. Why are they trying to say that we are not making money when in the legislation it says that we are a not-for-profit entity?
Our responsibility has never been greater, but neither has our opportunity. Before we can discuss where we’re going, we must remember who we are. We are the union born from courage. We are the union built by workers who went on strike because they refused to accept poverty wages, unsafe working conditions, or second-class treatment.
People just like my grandfather. Our history and our destiny were not handed to us. It came through blood, sweat, and tears. It came through sacrifice. In nineteen seventy, the postal changed America forever. Fifty-six years ago, postal workers stood together and forever changed the labor movement. The great postal strike of nineteen seventy was never simply about wages.
And a lot of people complain about the wages, but since nineteen seventy, let me educate you. That was the only contract about wages. Our contract has always been about job protection. And if you don’t think job protection is important, ask UPS. And when UPS got that contract, my phone was ringing off the hook, and I’m pretty sure your phone was ringing off the hook.
And they said, “That’s what a real union looks like.” And then six months later, they said they’re laying off a third of their employees. I wonder if I went to UPS today and asked them if they could get some of our job protection, would they give back some of that money? I think they would. It was about a limitation on excess and within fifty miles.
It was about I am my brother’s keeper. It was about a right to bid. It was about a right to choose. It’s a– it was about a right to take part in your own destiny. That’s what our contract is about. It’s about having a voice that you wouldn’t have no place else
And you have to understand that people talk bad about our contract because they’re jealous of our contract. Where are you gonna go where they gonna warn you that they gonna fire you? That’s not the real world. When you hear that in private industry, they say, “What? You gonna warn me that you gonna fire me?”
Imagine if you owned a business and somebody wasn’t pulling their load and you said, “I’m giving you a warning, I’mma fire you.” It wouldn’t pass the test of common sense And we want dignity and respect, and we want a fair day wage for a fair day’s work, and we have to stop this nonsense of cheering on people that want to get paid for staying home.
We expect you to come to work
Because you are not screwing the Postal Service, you are screwing the American people, the people that we say that we love and the people that we want to serve. Every contract we negotiate, every grievance we win, every job we protect, every benefit we enjoy stands on the shoulders of those who dared to fight for the next generation.
Those courageous men and women that risked everything not only for themselves but for generations they would never even meet Oh my God, I am so excited to deliver this address. We are that generation, people. We are that generation, and now it is our turn to answer the call. We, we have a roadmap left by our postal ancestors, and that roadmap is simple.
When we fight. We win. When we fight. We win. When we fight. We win. When we fight. We win. Oh, it can’t get no simpler than that. This is the price they paid for us to have our postal experience, one with a union contract, safety protections, cost of living adjustments, and the opportunity to provide for our families and our future.
Please join me in recognizing every retiree in this room, those joining us and those joining us virtually You need to get on your feet for the debt that they paid for all of us
Your sacrifice Your sacrifice built the foundation on which we proudly stand today. Today we honor the past, but we refuse to live in it. Our responsibility is to build the future and that future begins with one simple truth. The state of the American U- Postal Workers Union is strong. You must didn’t hear me.
The state of the American Postal Workers Union is strong.
Strong because of our members, strong because of our local unions, strong because of our stewards, strong because of our officers, strong because every clerk, maintenance, motor vehicle service, support service employee, and every postal worker who proudly wears the APWU emblem. When I accepted the responsibility of serving as your president, I made one promise.
I would never, ever stop fighting
It’s just not in my DNA Not for one member, not for one craft, and not for one region, but for every APWU member, even those not hired or born yet, and for the future of our public postal service. The state of the union is strong because our members are strong. Our strength has never been measured by bank accounts.
It has never been measured by buildings. It has never been measured by titles. Our strength is measured by 200,000 workers who show up every single day to serve the American people
There are those that continue to believe that the Postal Service should be treated like just another corporation. They are wrong. The Postal Service is a public institute. It binds our nation together. It serves every community, every family, every business, every veteran, every senior citizen, every rural town, every urban neighborhood.
Universal service is not a burden. It is a promise that we make to the American people. And as long as I’m the American Postal Workers Union leader, that promise will be defended and that promise will be protected
Yet we know that our work is far from finished. The threats faced in our Postal Service are real. Privatization, outsourcing, consolidation, facility closures, understaffing, unsafe workplaces, toxic work environments, and attempts to weaken collective bargaining. All of these in addition to threats to fire the Postal Board of Governors.
These changes demand more than words. They demand action, and this administration has answered that call. The tremendous turnout across the country to protect our public Postal Service National Day of Action clearly shows you are ready to answer the call. But That was just the beginning, not the end. And I was very happy about the day of action.
There was hundreds and hundreds of postal workers out there until you realize that we are thousands and the change you want, you have to work for it. I have never seen anybody change anything sitting on the couch. You have to get off of your behind. You have to get your coworkers off of their behind.
You gotta clean your house of the people, and we gotta go out there and be counted. We gotta go out there and fight
We have spoken with one voice that the Postal Service is not a business created to maximize profit. It is a public service written into the very fabric of our nation, every address and every zip code. Every American deserves reliable postal service that is worth fighting for, but protecting the Postal Service begins with protecting postal workers.
No employee should fear coming to work because management ignores safety. No family should wonder whether their loved one will return home after their shift. Safety is not a slogan. Safety is a right. No employee No employee should have to deal with a toxic work environment where they are ridiculed and demoralized.
It is unacceptable, and let me be clear, it will not be tolerated
Our union will continue to demand accountability, enforce our contractual rights and ensure that every workplace is safer than it was yesterday. We also know that knowledge creates power. An educated membership cannot be divided. An educated membership cannot be intimidated. An educated membership wins every time.
That is why education has become one of the highest priorities of APWU from steward training to labor history to contract enforcement to leadership development and most importantly, membership engagement. We are investing in the greatest resource, our members. Many of you, have you seen the videos that are going out?
APWU has always been great at putting out information, but it’s damn time for us to put out some education. We have to educate these young members. We have to literally stop talking about a bench and really build a bench. We have to put our shoulders around these young workers and stop seeing these young workers as la-lazy and start looking in the mirror and say, “Have I fulfilled my responsibility to prepare the next postal worker for the future?”
I am so lucky when I came into the post office that there was my coworkers putting their arms around me, loving me, and when I made bad decisions, correcting me. I needed that. It’s the same thing that these young members need. They need to be mentored. I think at the panel yesterday they says, “We got all the fight.
What we need is purpose.” It’s our job to give them purpose. Because when members understand that their rights, they become unstoppable, and I am especially proud of what we are doing to strengthen our future through our young members and our young workers. You are not walking, you are not waiting for your turn, because your turn is now.
The battle to protect the public postal service will not wait for you to grow older, wiser, or stronger. The labor management belongs to you as much as it belonged to those that came before you were even born. Our responsibility is not simply to welcome you, our responsibility is to prepare and mentor you to lead.
Our job is to give you opportunities, to teach you our history, to prepare you to negotiate, to prepare you to organize, to prepare you to lead, because someday you will be standing, if I do my job right, where I’m standing at today
To put it simply, leadership is not inherited, it’s developed and we have a responsibility to devel- develop our young. This week you will hear from remarkable young leader who reminds us that the future of the labor movement is bright. But leadership is not measured by age, leadership is measured by service and I have every confidence you will take this union even further.
Former President Emeritus Bill Burrus once told me, “You have to educate members about what they are fighting for because one, because they will not accept the challenge of the struggle until they first know what they are fighting for.” I believe these words to my absolute core. You cannot ask people to fight and refuse to educate them on what they are fighting for and it’s our job to let them know.
To our retirees, I already said thank you, but I can’t thank you enough. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you
You built this union. You fought battles many of us only read about. You taught us solidarity, you taught us perseverance, and you taught us that giving up is never, never an option. Your example of determination was exemplified through the successful Staples campaign and passing of the Social Security Fairness Act, just to name a few.
We also thank you for your continued membership to the APWU health plan and to this great union. Throughout this convention, we will honor those whose shoulders we stand upon, our retired leaders, our past national officers, and those who helped build the APWU into the powerful organization it is today.
Their stories remind us that progress never comes easy. It must be earned generation after generation. Our union is strong when every generation works together. We honor your legacy, not simply with applause, but by continuing the fight you began. The wisdom of experience, the energy of the youth, the passion of new activists, the steady leadership of seasoned veterans, together they create something extraordinary.
No generation replaces another generation. Every generation learns so they can carry the torch forward
This is how unions survive. This is how APWU grows. This is how we build a lasting legacy. Brothers and sisters, unity is not an agreement on every issue. Unity is standing together despite our differences because what unites us is greater than what divides us
As delegates, each of us carries a responsibility. We were elected not simply to attend, we are elected to lead. Leadership requires listening. Leadership requires courage. Leadership requires respect even when you disagree. I ask every delegate to remember that when this convention concludes, we’ll all return home wearing the same APWU emblem.
So let’s not forget that no matter what happens here, you are sisters and brothers in the struggle
We leave not as winners and losers. We leave as one union. This has been a optim- a optimistic speech, I know. They say, “He crazy.” Yes, I am. I’m crazy about my members. I’m crazy about the opportunities that I see. I’m crazy because I believe there is at least 250 more years left in APWU just like it’s in the Postal Service
I’m crazy because I’m committed to leave to the next generation what was left for me. I’m crazy because I see the retirees not as a thing of our past, but essential to our future. I’m crazy because I see these young members and I see this look in their eyes and I remember when I was a young activist, and I see that they’re ready to go for the throat, but they just need to know how.
Oh, I’m crazy. I’m crazy in love with APWU because everything that I have was because of APWU, so I don’t mind being crazy.
Believe me, I mean it when I tell you that the state of the union is strong. But despite my optimism, despite our strength, no one in our union can afford to get complacent. We must face head-on the seriousness of this moment. Everyone here has heard the postmaster general testimony. They’re running out of money.
They can’t afford our pension. They can’t afford our healthcare. We heard it all. More fear-mongering from management. They’re just preparing us for crumbs come contract negotiation time. But let me tell you something, and I know that the post office financial struggles are real, but so is the bonuses that they’re giving them managers and supervisors, and some of that belongs to us.
So it’s the numbers up on Capitol Hill that goes up into the millions and millions that they paying these executives to do nothing because the Postal Service would not run if not for what we do, because they don’t know what they doing. So you can cry broke all you want. I’m going to cry broke too.
Break us something off
But APWU family, we will be ready as we are the APWU and we are union strong. Oh, yeah. We are union strong. Oh, yeah. I can’t hear you. We are union strong. Oh, yeah. Technology marches on. The way people use the Postal Service has changed and AI and technical changes don’t just threaten to change our jobs, they threaten to eliminate thousands of our bargaining unit postal jobs.
This week we will hear from the leadership of the American Federation of Government Employ Union, who will tell you firsthand just what this administration thinks of federal workers. A million federal employees have lost their union fight, tens and thousands of jobs gone, whole agencies disappeared. If they’re coming for the VA, that, what makes you think that they won’t come for the post office?
This administration has told us in no un- certain terms what they want to do to the Postal Service. They have called us a joke and now they are trying to kill vote by mail. The threat to the Postal Service and the threats to our union are real. Just take a look around the world and see what’s happening to other post offices.
Facing the very same forces we now face, governments have had to make choices and, and too often postal workers and customers have paid the price. Privatization is the norm in other parts of the world. Thousands and thousands of jobs have been lost, community post offices closed forever, postal unions, one proud strong union have disappeared or shrunk to a fraction of what they used to be.
So let me be very clear, we do have a contract enforcement issue. Yes, we do have a health and safety issue Do we deserve more in our next contract? Yes. But the biggest issue, the biggest fight we have in front of us is to save our union and to fight to save the Postal Service. We hopefully ensure our future and carry our proud APWU tradition forward generations and generations to come.
Our fight has to be to save the American people’s post office. It cannot be to save our job, because if we save the people’s post office, they will take care of us. So we need to make sure that we deliver the right message. No one cares about our job, but they do care about their post office. That must be the message.
This struggle will not be won or lost at the bargaining table. It will not be won or lost in the grievance hearing. So let’s be real. There are powerful people in this country who want to see the Postal Service fail. There are powerful people who want to see the APWU disappear, and they have the power to decide our future.
We cannot afford to sit back and hope for the best. We cannot afford to be comfortable with ourselves and w- and, and, and stand on past glories. The struggle requires a movement, a movement that our union must lead. Frederick Douglass said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will.”
Whoo. We’ll make our demands, and we’ll build for the struggles ahead. We make the Postal Service run, and we’ll demand a- and we’ll demand a say in its future. We are absolutely demanding a say in the postal future. We’ll demand that the powerful recognize once and for all that the post office is a service and not a business.
Whoo. We’ll determine no more attacks on our union rights. It’ll take a fight. They’ve got power, but we got power, too. They got the power of money, but we got the power of the people- Yeah … and we must charge
But take a look around the room. Take a good look around the room. Look at your neighbor and say, “I got your back.” I got your back. Look at your j- neighbor on the other side, say, “I got your back.” I got your back. That is your power. Thank you for plugging in
Are you ready to use your power? Yes. Are you ready to use your power? Yes. Are you ready to build your power? Yes. Are you ready to win this fight? Yes. Because I know we will win. I said before, and I’ll say it again, we’re not facing a crisis, we’re facing a situation. Because a crisis would mean there is no solution.
A situation means there is a solution, Congress just has to get off of their ass and act.
And we will continue to put that pressure on them to do what we ask them to do, raise the debt ceiling from fifteen billion dollars to between thirty-five and forty billion dollars. If we, since we are a service and if you consider us a business, no business is told what they can invest in and what they can’t.
So allow us to invest our money in more than just treasury bonds and we did a calculation over the last ten years and if we would have been able to invest in something as simple as the C Fund that many of you are vested in, in your thrift savings, we would have seven hundred and seventy-seven billion dollars in the surplus.
If you take away the surplus, the miscalculation of the civil service retirement plan, which they’ve been killing us on for years and we don’t have a lot of civil service employees left, the government has been robbing the Postal Service. They owe us between fifty and eighty billion dollars right now.
Do you see a crisis or do you see a situation? Do you see a crisis or do you see a situation? Yes. In twenty years, if there is to be an APWU, it’s because in this moment, at this time, we chose to stand up and fight. If there is to be a Postal Service, it’s because we choose to run at the challenge and throw safety away because we realize that we’re fighting for the next generation.
We’re not going to run from this challenge. In twenty years, if our union is bigger and stronger and our families are secure than they are, than they are today, it’s because the people in this room and the many more we represent back home left this convention united, eyes on the prize, and ready to win the future we all deserve.
Management hopes we become divided. Those who seek to privatize the Postal Service hope we become discouraged. Those who unders- underestimate working people hope we become silent. They misunderstood who we are. They don’t understand the American Postal Workers Union. Quitting is simply not in our DNA.
There are challenges ahead, staffing shortages, technological changes, contract enforcement, safety concerns, political uncertainty, and economic pressure. None of these challenges will disappear overnight, but history has taught us something. Never bet against organized workers. Never underestimate postal workers, and never underestimate the American Postal Workers Union
Where APWU stands together, we negotiate stronger, we organize stronger, we fight stronger, and we win stronger. As we look towards tomorrow, I ask every delegate to leave here, this convention, with three commitments: learn, lead, and fight. Learn our history. Lead with integrity. Fight for every member. Fight for every postal job.
Fight for every community we serve. Fight for the next generation. The challenges ahead will not be easy, but neither was 1970. Neither was any contract fight that we’ve ever been in. Neither was any organizing campaign that we ever moved forward. Our predecessors never asked whether the fight would be difficult, they simply asked whether it was right.
That is the same question we must ask ourself today, and protecting the American Postal Service is right and it is absolutely the right thing to do. Protecting postal worker families’ rights, protecting union job is right, protecting future generations is right. Let’s honor our past by recognizing that this moment requires that we show the same courage they taught us.
So let history remember this convention not as a gathering of delegates, but as a movement renewed, a movement united, a movement determined. Together we will defend our contract. Together we will defend our work- our working families, and together the American Postal Workers Union will continue to rise.
Before I close, I want every delegate to think about one question. Years from now, when the next generation gathers for their convention, what will they say about us? Will they say that we protected the Postal Service? Will they say we invested in our young members? Will they say we respected and learned from our ancestors?
Will they say we strengthened our union? Will they say we left APWU better than we found it? I believe they will because I believe in you. I believe in our locals, I believe in our officers, I believe in our retirees, and I believe in our young members. And above all, I believe in the American Postal Workers Union.
So let us leave this convention committed to doing more than debating resolution. Let us recommit ourselves to service, to solidarity, to organizing, to education, to protecting every member, to protecting every job, to protecting every community we serve. Together, we will honor our past. Together, we will strengthen our present.
Together, we will build the future. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for believing in me. And together, we will- Win And together, we will- Win And together, we will- Win And together, we will- Win
Thank you.
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