Postal Workers Ratify Contract

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Members of the US Postal Service's largest union – the American Postal Workers Union – voted last Wednesday to accept a new contract that includes a 3.5 percent raise and cost-of-living adjustments over four years (APWU, USPS Reach Tentative Agreement On New Contract, UC 3/17/2011). “This is a good day for postal workers nationwide,” said APWU Nation’s Capital and Southern Maryland Local President Dena Briscoe, “especially for those being threatened to be moved into jobs that are up to a thousand miles away. I hope this a lesson for those promoting anti-union and anti-worker sentiments of the importance of working together for what's best for workers and the public agencies they serve.” APWU President Cliff Guffey said in a statement that the contract protects members from layoffs and will "bring back thousands of jobs in each craft." – adapted from Jolie Lee’s report on Federal News Radio