Brothers and Sisters,

My name is Xaviare Reed, and I am running for President of your APWU Columbus Area Local 232.

 I am writing this article to assure you that if you are looking for integrity on the floor, look no further. The past years have been especially rough for our Union, but we have gained traction despite the departure of three Craft Directors. I served a long term as Maintenance Craft Director and have succeeded in building a strong team of stewards that I am very proud of. I have worked with many of you guys and have put in many hours on and off the floor to boost our Union. I have handled EEO complaints for every craft, Step 2 grievances, assisted Advocates at Arbitrations, delegated for our local at national and state conventions and even designed the logo for our union only to name a few examples but our job is never finished! I plan on taking the much-needed steps to restructure and reform our local. We deserve real leadership that is empathetic to our hardship and grievances. We deserve leadership that is constantly in the building and on the workroom floor. It is crucial that we start rebuilding now and reinforce our foundation so that we won’t have regrets in the future.

As President I will continue to work right beside my co-workers and reform this local union. We cannot continue to allow postal management to evolve faster than we can organize. For years we have had our hands bound by poor leadership even amongst our own ranks that have attempted to take us out of the fight rather than invite us to it. If we don’t pass the torch now and focus on what is important, we risk losing the very momentum that took decades to achieve. I plan on reintroducing what makes our Union a long-term organization: I have already designed a series of educational seminars with presentations and hands on activities that will assist in education and development of stewards. We will promote the democratic process amongst our membership while expanding our reach to members in the outer areas of our local. Vote for Xaviare Reed and put the new face of your Union to the test. Get involved and stay involved! If we fall by the wayside, we have already admitted defeat.

In Solidarity,
Xaviare Reed
Maintenance Craft Director and Long-Term Member