Scroll down this page for a small look into our vision, and some of our main tenets. We are determined to rebuild and reform this union – our members have suffered far too much over the past decade. We truly need change now more than ever!
Transparency
One of the key tenets we believe in for our local union is transparency. This has guided our efforts regarding former-Postmaster General Dejoy’s plans for Central Ohio – making sure employees are informed every step of the way about possible consolidations, downsizing, etc. We believe the membership has a right to know about things that may affect their careers. After all, people’s livelihoods are at stake here.
This is why we’ve been ensuring that there are more articles of substance in the Vindicator that aren’t just about pickleball. We’ve also set up an email newsletter to better provide real-time updates to our members, which is crucial for transparency.
Rebuilding and Reform
We believe in the need to truly rebuild and reform this local union. This tenet ties into the others, and sums up our mission. Our local union used to be great, with strong leaders that fought against management and won real victories. Our local union hasn’t been like that in over a decade, and we want to get that strength back but also be better than our local union ever was in the past. Again, this ties into the other tenets of re-establishing committees, filling vacant officer positions, reforming our local Constitution & By-laws, and truly modernizing our local.
Fighting Excessing, Consolidation, and Downsizing
Change is coming with the Postal Service, and we must be ready to fight back against excessing, consolidation, downsizing, and privatization. Our previous president was never as involved as other local union presidents have been, and we must do better! We must keep our membership informed about any upcoming changes, and we must have a strong leadership team ready to lead this local to fight back! We must be ready to rally, picket, perform community and political outreach, and use the grievance-procedure to minimize the impact on our members’ lives! And in situations where we can’t stop these impacts, we’ll make sure that the Postal Service follows the contract.
Re-Establishing and Creating Committees
Too many of our local union’s committees were dormant, inactive, empty, and altogether useless under our previous president. We have already begun the process of re-establishing and creating committees to further the interests of our members. This includes safety, grievance, entertainment, etc. committees, but also we need to create committees to fight against harassment, fight against excessing/consolidation/downsizing, and to better build outreach to our membership.
Steward Training
We have begun holding regular group trainings for our new and prospective stewards, and we are well on our way to accomplishing one of our original campaign promises of better steward training. We must not allow steward training to ever become neglected again, as it was under the previous president. Rick Farrell and Cameron Taylor are both motivated to train our current and future stewards to better serve the union and our members.
Enforcing Safety & Fighting Harassment
Maintenance Craft Director Cameron Taylor recently put together a 60-page book, and gave two two-hour lectures, to help teach the stewards and officers to better fight against harassment. This has been helping us fight back, but we need to maintain strong leadership to truly implement this training in our local union.
As mentioned above, we’re re-establishing and creating committees to help our local union enforce safety, fight against harassment, and truly make a difference. Cameron Taylor and Chief Steward Ken Hamrick have been pursuing grievances against a particularly abusive supervisor at Citygate, which included the interviewing of dozens of employees and the filing of a nearly 800-page grievance aimed at getting that supervisor removed.
As we promised in our original campaign, Anthony “Tony” George is now our union’s Safety Officer, and he has quickly become a ferocious advocate for working conditions and safety. Tony George is also the Chair of the Safety and Health Committee, and has recruited quite a few members across the plants, stations, and associate offices, and has already begun producing great results.
Holding Management Accountable
For too long, Management has got away with abusing and harassing employees, violating their rights, violating the contract, and even violating the law! We must hold them accountable using all appropriate methods. A large part of ensuring this is proper steward training, making sure they know violations and how to file grievances or respond to them. It also means having leadership that will support their stewards and have their backs against management. The stewards must be able to trust that their officers will support them against even the worst supervisors and managers. In addition to steward training, we must help our members learn their rights and to see violations when they happen.
City Station and Associate Office Inclusion
We have already begun initiatives to better include and incorporate our more remote members, who can be neglected too often at the City Stations and Associate Offices. Not everyone works at Citygate and Twin Rivers, after all! One of our team members, Cameron Taylor, actually worked at an Associate Office (the Middletown, OH Post Office) for 5 years, and he always preaches about how often they’re forgotten.
Through Safety Officer Tony George and the Safety and Health Committee, we have begun the process of improving our presence at the Stations and Associate Offices, updating their bulletin boards, making sure PS 1767s are available to report unsafe conditions, and making sure the members have a regular line of contact with the Union. We have also been recruiting stewards at City Stations and Associate Offices. Management out there can seemingly get away with anything when they’re left unchecked, and we are diligently working to better represent those members effectively.
Outreach & Membership Involvement
We have many members that sadly aren’t involved in our local union. We have already begun efforts to change that! We are forming committees to create events, etc. to better involve our members. We also plan to have advocates to be ambassadors for many of our members that are under-represented, often due to cultural and language barriers. We represent many different peoples, and this is their union too! We can truly be a force of good in our members’ lives, and it starts with electing strong leadership.
Fighting for Change in APWU Local 232 