E-Board January 3, 2024 1:30 pm

E-Council January 7, 2024 5:30 pm

General Membership Meeting January 7, 2024 6:30 pm

Meetings are held at 2360 SE Morrison Portland OR, 97214

New officers shall be sworn in at the General Membership Meeting. 

So, this is it.  On January 7, 2024, my time on the Portland Oregon Executive board will end.  I was hired at the Post Office in 1984 as an LSM clerk. I was first elected to office in 1990. I held office off and on until 2004 and have served on the board for 20 consecutive years.  My Postal career ended in retirement in 2022.  Firstly, my gratitude must go to my wife Maria, Thomas, and all our children for their support and tolerance of my Union work over the years.  I have had the pleasure of working with many different local stewards and officers.  I have much gratitude for several of these fine officers and stewards.  I was schooled early on by the likes of Bob Tunstall, Jim Lewis, Larry Perez and Darrell Strobel, all who have passed on.  Names like Patty Olson, Brian Dunn, Brian Dunsmore and Bill Martin have, and are still teaching me. 

 Speaking of bills, these past years working with Bill and Debbie Battle have been some of the best years of my Union career.  They were there to help when help was needed, point me in the right direction when I was off course and most of all, they are great friends.

 Without the support and friendship of these people, and many others, I would not have had the opportunity to have a career with this local. The knowledge, guidance, help and friendships that has been provided and passed on by all these individuals, and others, is immeasurable. 

  None of this would have been possible without the support of the membership.  My interaction with the members, stewards and officers has and will continue to be one of the highlights of my life. I truly believe I have a Union family.  Thank you to all the members past and present for your support of our Union and me.  Please provide the same support to our new President and his executive board. 

 I wish all our members and their families a happy and safe holiday season.  It is important during this time of year that we remember that our families must deal with peak season as much as we do.   The most important people are those right in front of us in our homes.  Take care of your family, yourself, and your co-workers during this time.  I am sure the old saying “kiss your family goodbye and tell them you will see them after New Years” still applies to many employees of the USPS.

 It would be an extensive gratitude list for all that I have received.  I will just leave with a simple THANK YOU! 

Joe Cogan – Retiree

The Portland Oregon Area Local held its nomination meeting on October 15, 2023. None of the offices were contested.

By vote of the membership, a white ballot was declared.

The 2024-2026 Executive Board:

President William (Bill) Martin

Vice President Cheryl Walton

Secretary/Treasurer Debbie Battle

Director of Legislation Daniel Cortez

Editor Travis Epes

Director of Education Azeb Embaye

MVS Craft Director Steven Clinton

Maintenance Craft Director Joni Oramas

Clerk Craft Director Teresa-Marie Oller

Director of AO’s Cynthia McQuade

The list has been up dated.

From APWU Industrial Relations Director Charlie Cash: It had been brought to our attention that the Postal Pulse survey contained Employee Identification Numbers on them. The Postal Service has admitted that this is the case and they are blaming Gallup for the error. Of course, the APWU has always recommended that employees DO NOT TAKE THE SURVEY! It is even more imperative this year to get the message out as it appears that both Gallup and the Postal Service can identify who submitted the survey. The Postal Service is instructing units that still have the surveys to destroy them or send them back to Gallup. They are also instructing employees to destroy their surveys—something the APWU whole-heartedly agrees with. However, the Postal Service is in the process of reprinting the surveys without the EIN information and resending the surveys.  THE APWU STILL RECOMMENDS YOU DESTROY YOUR SURVEY AND NOT TAKE IT!

Better yet, turn your survey into the local office or your steward for a chance to win in our quarterly drawings.

Members of the community joined with Postal Workers for a rally at East Portland Station. Director of Organization Teresa-Marie Oller, President Joe Cogan and representatives from Jobs with Justice, Multnomah County, Teamsters Union, Starbucks Workers Union, NALC, CPWU and others participated with short speeches. Local Officers Editor Travis Epes, Director of Legislation Daniel Cortez and Vice-President Bill Martin were in attendance.

Starting June 14 through July 15 2022, the USPS is pushing its annual Postal Pulse Survey. The APWU leadership urges you to not let the Postal Service take your Pulse! Management surveys have been used as a weapon against the APWU during contract negotiations while not producing any real positive change for employees at the Postal Service.

Through notification from the Postal Service, APWU has learned the 2022 version of the survey removes the comment section and also asks the employee to recommend the Postal Service as an employer and rate its products/services. Nowhere in this survey is there a disclaimer that it is voluntary. Regardless of pressure from supervisors or managers, letter correspondence, excessive emails, or other tactics, employees are not required to participate in this survey. APWU urges you to not participate.

The USPS Postal Pulse Survey of 2021 showed us nothing that we didn’t already know. Management continues to ignore your most pressing concerns: worker morale, lack of positive recognition, health and safety concerns, and lack of career growth. Our right to collectively bargain, fight for better wages and safer workplaces begins postal workers standing together in their union.

Stay united, and don’t be fooled by management’s tricks created to divide us. Over years of struggle, we’ve won a negotiated grievance process, a labor-management cooperation process and national negotiations to address workplace issues. These are the proper channels for management to seek input from postal workers, not a management survey put together without any input from the APWU or the other postal unions.

Don’t let them take your “Pulse!”

The APWU was notified by the USPS that they will be attempting, again, to take your “Postal Pulse!” The survey period is schedule from May 11, 2021 to June 11, 2021. We must once again clearly state our objections. Do not let the Postal Service take your Pulse!

Postal employees can expect to have postcards promoting the Postal Pulse survey sent to their homes. Copies of the survey will be sent to employees at work and home. Employees with regular access to usps.gov email addresses will be blitzed with messages to take the survey. Messaging monitors, bulletin boards, etc. will make sure you see something from the Postal Service encouraging you to participate every day during the survey period.

Management may hold “stand up talks” to push the survey on employees. Some supervisors and managers may even insist employees take the survey. You are not required to take the survey and you cannot be forced to take the survey!

Why does management even pretend to care or how you answer the survey? Local supervisors and managers are not rewarded for how well they score on a survey, but for how many people take the survey. Even if you do the survey and answer every question as negatively as allowed, your “participation” counts the same as the employee who gives them a perfect score. Remember, even if you send in a blank survey—that is considered a “participated” survey!

“The surveying of employees has been going on for years,” said Industrial Relations Director Vance Zimmerman. “Has it led to improvements at worksites? Has it led to better wages, hours, or working conditions? The answer is simply no. Management is still cutting staffing, they are still demanding postal workers work faster and harder with less resources.”

How about the new Emergency Federal Employee Leave? Are your direct supervisors and management being understanding? Are they helping to approve your leave or does it seem the answer is always “denied” when you apply? The Postal Pulse will not help solve these issues and has not solved the issues for years. Only union negotiating, filing grievances, and fighting for adherence to our contract has improved our wages, hours, and working conditions. 

Management Routinely Uses Surveys Against Workers

The Postal Service in the past has used the surveys to argue in arbitration to cut your wages and benefits. In the past postal management asked 27 questions in this survey. The first 26 was about listening to you and making the workplace better while the 27th question was about your wages and benefits. They took the first 26 questions and ignored them. They then used the 27th question against the employees in interest arbitration.

And now, in 2021, the survey is being pushed immediately before the APWU will begin contract negotiations with the Postal Service to establish a contract. Will the Postal Service use the Postal Pulse against the APWU in negotiations? That is a question that must be pondered.

“I implore all postal workers to not assist management in stripping your pay, benefits, and working conditions by participating in the survey,” said Director Zimmerman. “Stand with your union and boycott the surveys!”

Only collectively demanding compliance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and speaking together with one voice, will we force management to change their ways. Stand united – and do not be fooled by these “Trojan horse” initiatives, created to divide us.

Management may also ask people to join focus groups and participate in management-initiated events to make the workplace more “engaging” or more “efficient.” These are not sanctioned nor approved by the union. They were not negotiated and use of them violates the union’s right as the sole representative of the bargaining unit employees under Article 1. Do not give in to the cheap participation incentives like pizza, gold stars, or pictures in magazines to get you to participate. Survey participation does not benefit you. It only benefits management.

We have a negotiated grievance process and a negotiated labor-management cooperation process to address workplace issues. Management needs to be following our contract, dealing with the grievances already filed and making sure hostile frontline supervisors are dealt with. Your union knows the “pulse” of those we represent. If a local supervisor or manager cannot see the problems without a survey, then they are part of the problem.

Today, Postal Service management issued a 10-year plan they are calling Delivering for America. The plan lays out a number of steps management hopes to take to bridge the projected $160 billion financial shortfall projected over the next ten years. There are elements of this plan the APWU will support and there elements of the plan we will oppose.

For generations, postal workers and the United States Postal Service have fulfilled the postal mission of “binding the Nation together” by providing the “prompt, reliable and efficient” services the law requires. Postal workers are justifiably proud of our commitment to service and our role in connecting every home, business and civic institution in the country.

Our experience of the past year amidst the pandemic has only underscored the essential role the Postal Service plays in every community across the country. However, the Postal Service is at a critical juncture and the future of the Service itself, hundreds of thousands of family-sustaining postal jobs and a critical national institution, lay in the balance. The Postal Service’s finances, squeezed by more than a decade of a congressionally-manufactured crisis and a lack of much-needed investment in people, processes and equipment, are in a dire state. On-time mail delivery is at unprecedented and unacceptable low levels.

It is no exaggeration that the future of our national treasure, the public Postal Service, will be determined by the actions of Congress, the Postal Service, postal workers and the mailing public in the months to come.

Some elements of the plan are welcome proposals which reflect the enormous dedication of postal workers and the Postal Service’s unrivaled network and its unmatched presence in communities across the country. We share management’s optimism in the Postal Service’s potential to grow new lines of business, capitalize on the booming package market, connect everyone more closely with all levels of government, and to increase and improve services offered to business and household mailers alike.

The APWU will continue to work to ensure the Postal Service succeeds in expanding and enhancing service to the public. We welcome those proposals in the plan and will also continue to advocate for other enhanced services, like expanding postal financial services.

There are parts of the plan that raise deep concerns to the APWU and our members. At a time that the public is demanding faster delivery of mail and packages, proposals that would slow the mail and reduce retail services – such as changing service standards, plant consolidations and reducing operating hours at post offices – will only have a negative effect on postal workers and the public. We will proactively engage with management, the PRC, Congress and the public to address areas of concern and defend the jobs and living standards of APWU members. As always, the APWU is united with the people of the country in our demand for prompt, reliable and universal postal services.

The APWU considers management’s introduction of the plan an opportunity to debate and discuss the future of the United States Postal Service and the jobs and livelihoods of the postal workers who make it the most trusted agency in America. We have a vision for the future of the Postal Service that shares some of the proposals in this plan, and departs from it in other areas.

Above all else, the plan underscores the urgent need for Congress to act swiftly and boldly to provide the Postal Service with critically-needed relief from the financial constraints of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, funding to make the Postal Service whole from COVID-related losses and funding to allow the Postal Service to invest in the people and infrastructure needed to improve and expand postal services for generations to come. The last year has emphasized the vital role of reliable, speedy and universal postal services for all communities. Congress has an important role to ensure the Postal Service and postal workers have the resources needed to deliver on our promise to the public.

The American Postal Workers Union will continue to advocate for postal workers and the people of the country who rely on the essential service we proudly provide each and every day.