Feb 2009 Presidents Report

by

George Prusak, President

Before I get into my article I want to let everyone know about our upcoming state seminar. This year it will be hosted by Denver Metro and will be held April 30, 2008 thru May 1, 2008 at the Rocky Mountain Park Inn in Estes Park, Colorado.

Rooms for King or Double will be $79.00 per night. Their contact information is as follows:

Rocky Mountain Park Inn
101 South Vrain Ave.
Estes Park, CO 80517
RESERVATIONS – 1-800-803-7837

All Members are welcome including Mebers-at-Large

Recently President Burrus sent out a letter to all non-members that are represented by the APWU Bargaining Unit to join our great Union in these troubled economic times.

I would like to touch on a few things to say regarding this letter. First, I would like to have all of you reach out to the non-member and ask them to join the Union. In these times it is all of our jobs at stake.

These non-members have elected not to associate our collective efforts. In the past non-membership did not adversely affect them because they continued to receive the benefits of Union representation. They casually accepted each contractual improvement, including more than $10,000.00 in pay raises over the past seven years, protection against lay-offs and much, much more.

Perhaps their non-membership is in response to what the union has not achieved, such as full-time status for PTF’s in small offices, an end to excessing, the absolute right to transfer, or the immediate removal of abusive supervisors or Postmasters. It is possible that they have elevated the importance of these unachieved objectives to such a level that they overshadowed all of the accomplishments.

Perhaps they feel it is something an officer or steward did not do for them, including myself.

Well, times have changed and their job, like yours and mine is threatened like never before. It is not my intent to cause you or them undue alarm, but none of us can ignore the economic turmoil affecting our state, country and the world. Worker just like us have had their jobs eliminated, lost their benefits, or had their hours or pay cut dramatically. Current news reports are chronicling the reduction of pay and benefits for auto workers from $28 per hour to less than $18 to make the Big Three automakers more competitive with non-union, foreign-owned manufacturers. Such changes are affecting workers in every sector, but the auto workers union is one of the most effective unions in history: If it can happen to them it can happen to us.

So I urge all of you to seek out a non-member and relay this important information to them. Now is the time for collective bargaining and we need all workers to unite as one.

We see the way the postal service wastes and squanders money each and every day with no accountability what-so-ever. We need to all pull together as one to not only save the postal service as we know it, but to save our jobs and benefits as well.