Postal workers negotiate contract

Top officials from the American Postal Workers Union, the National Association of Letter Carriers and other employee organizations are negotiating their contracts with the U.S. Postal Service, hoping to improve the situation both of employees and their beleaguered employer.

On the agenda are wages, working hours, conditions, maintaining the breadth and depth of the Postal Service's physical plant, as well as labor's goal of rolling back the congressional requirement to pre-fund postal retiree health benefits years in advance, costing the USPS a flood of red ink.

"We want an end to the situation where new hires can barely make a living wage and where full-time career workers are replaced. We strive for dignity and respect on the job,” APWU President Mark Dimondstein stated. “We believe that postal workers should be justly compensated for our service and provided a safe workplace, and after our careers have concluded, enjoy a dignified retirement.”

The head of the storied AFL-CIO union (of which the APWU is a member organization), Richard Trumka, was also present--as was celebrity and son of postal employees actor Danny Glover.

"These bargaining sessions and negotiations are important to the United States and to working families everywhere,” Trumka said. “For decades the USPS has been a source of good jobs and reliable service. Postal Services have been a cornerstone for all the communities in our great nation. That’s what the flag means. That’s what the emblem on the side of post offices and on delivery trucks everywhere means."

“I am here on behalf of all the workers that provide an extraordinary service to the community, extraordinary leadership in the community and are redefining and enhancing the whole idea of community," Glover said.