American Postal Workers Union (APWU)

Introduction

Brief Overview

Postal workers in America have always faced the challenging dilemma for equal representation. Establishing a right to negotiate on all matters concerning important issues was needed in order to maximize great gains. This can only be done by strengthening the unity and solidarity of the different crafts it represents. Five postal unions entered into a merger forming the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) in 1971. These five Unions included National Postal Union, Union Federation of Postal Clerks, National Association of Special delivery Messages, National federation of Motor Vehicle Employees and National Association of Postal Office and General Service Maintenance Employees. APWU represents the rights of those United States Postal Service, who serves as maintenance employees, clerks, and workers of motor vehicle service. Moreover, it also represents 2,000 mail workers of the private sector. APWU works in affiliation with United Network International and American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

It is one of the largest unions of postal workers, representing a total of approximately 220,000 employees of the United States Postal Service (USPS). It also represents the retirees of USPS and 2,000 mail workers from the private sector. APWU has fought not only for the dignity and respect of the jobs of the workers that it represents, but also for their safety and benefits. Now, this struggle has been going on for more than four decades, and APWU as an affiliate of AFL-CIO has also entered into the struggle for obtaining social justice for the families of the workers it represents (www.apwu.org).

Recognition Scuffle

In response to the hindrances created for employees for rights of equality President Kennedy, approved the Executive order 10988, which recognized the right of employee unions at the workplace. However, there were two major flaws in this executive order. Firstly, the workers cannot negotiate with the management over wages and fringe benefits; and secondly, the Post office management never agreed to reach at a negotiation with the unions.

The promises made to workers regarding pay equity, even in the private sector were not fulfilled, and as a consequence, of this inequality, the workers had to lobby against the government. The government made numerous efforts to curb spending and salaries of federal workers, which in turn created a wave of fury in the federal employees, and the employee turnover rate increased up to an unbelievable extent. In turn, backlogs started to gather in the mail, with a high drop in workers morale, the frustrations among employees rose high as the existing postal unions remained incapable of solving their matters and being a reason in contributing in the increase of sense of powerlessness and dissatisfaction among the employees.

Thus, they went on a strike in March 1970, which spread all over the country so rapidly that approximately 200,000 employees got involved in it; thus, resulting in a major breakthrough, in the history of postal worker union. The employees came back to work after the announcement of Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, which declared the U.S Postal Service ...