Seminole, FL – On the morning of January 29, around 20 union members and community supporters rallied outside of Representative Anna Paulina Luna’s office in Seminole, Florida. The Florida AFL-CIO organized the event to demand justice and accountability for Alex Pretti, a Veterans Administration nurse and American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union member who was murdered by Border Patrol in Minneapolis.

Carol White, the legislative political coordinator for AFGE Local 547, began the event by leading a moment of silence in honor of the memory of Alex Pretti. “AFGE calls for a full and transparent investigation into Alex’s killing, led by an independent third party. We also call for bipartisan Congressional oversight to uncover the truth, ensure accountability, and begin repairing the damage in public trust,” White shared.

The AFGE was joined by speakers from the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association (PCTA) and National Nurses United (NNU). Also in attendance were union members from the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA).

“Due process does not involve any government agency shooting people on the street who are practicing their civil rights,” said PCTA president Lee Bryant.

Standing outside Representative Luna’s office, the crowd chanted “Hey, Rep. Luna, read the room! Hey, Rep. Luna, shame on you!”

Serving Florida’s 13th Congressional District, Representative Luna has been a strong supporter of ICE and regularly stands in opposition to the movement for immigrants’ rights.

“I demand that Representative Luna use our tax dollars to fund healthcare and not ICE,” said Karena Jimenez, a registered nurse and member of National Nurses United.

The Tampa Bay Area isn’t slowing down anytime soon and will continue to demand justice for Alex Pretti and all victims of ICE violence this Friday night outside of the VA hospitals in Tampa and Saint Petersburg.

#SeminoleFL #FL #Labor #ImmigrantRights #AlexPretti #AFGE #NNU #APWU #AFACWA

The past few months have seen a non-stop assault on organized labor by the Trump administration. Early removal of an NLRB member, stripping TSA workers of their union, moving to privatize the post office—each of these could be seen as a precedent-setting attack in their own right. In response, unions have filed lawsuits, pressured Congress, and held several National Days of Action.

However, on March 27, Trump carried out what Mark Dimondstein, President of the American Postal Workers Union, called “the most serious attack on unionized workers in this country in at least a generation.” Using an executive order citing “national security,” Trump unilaterally ripped away all union protections for upwards of 700,000 federal workers. For comparison, Reagan’s crushing of the air traffic controller strike led by PATCO in 1981 involved around 11,000 workers.

In 2011, the Republicans in Wisconsin introduced Act 10, which sought to take away public workers’ collective bargaining rights. From the beginning, it was an all-hands-on-deck situation. Union members and students occupied the state capitol building in Madison. At the crucial moment, many union leaders balked and focused on a recall election of the Governor, which failed. The struggle was successful to the extent to which it was militant. It failed when it was reduced to a “Get Out the Vote” effort. We cannot forget this lesson.

This historic attack on federal workers is in no way an attempt to save the government money or to maintain “national security.” It is a massive political attack on federal union workers—who are resisting Trump—and on the entire labor movement.

We have also seen targeted attacks on union members and leaders, as when ICE recently detained two union activists in Washington state, Alfredo Lelo Juarez and Lewelyn Dixon. The local AFL-CIO and immigrants’ rights groups called for action right away and brought people out into the streets. We need labor leaders to stand up for their members and fight back hard against the Trump administration’s agenda.

Using the courts and pressuring lawmakers is, of course, necessary, but it is in no way sufficient. The time to escalate actions is NOW. The time to get union members into the streets is NOW. The time to defend the working class with all means at our disposal is NOW.

April 5 has been designated the next major Day of Action to resist Trump, and we call on everyone to hit the streets on that day. If nothing is organized yet in your city, reach out to other unions and build it yourself.

International Workers Day comes every May 1, and this year it’s coming with a bang. Build with all people under attack by Trump, especially immigrants, to come out for May Day.

The billionaire ruling class has dropped the mask and is coming for blood—our blood. The slow decline of union density over the past fifty years has served them well, but that era has come to an end. Either we show them weakness, or we show them strength—and the working-class movement needs strength above all else. The future of the union movement will be defined by what actions we take now.

-All out for April 5!

-Build for a Massive May Day!

-When Workers and Immigrants Are Under Attack, We Fight Back!

#Labor #FRSO #Statement #Trump #FederalWorkers #Unions #APWU #Feature

Seattle, WA – Seattle union members and community activists joined a National Day of Protest on March 23 led by the National Association of Letter Carriers, saying “Hell No!” to dismantling the postal service. 300 people attended the rally in front of a Seattle post office, one of several rallies in the region in solidarity with 200,000 letter carriers and 640,000 postal workers who are fighting against President Trump’s attempt to restructure or privatize the U.S. Postal Service.

The Trump administration threatened to reorganize the independent, self-sufficient USPS under the Department of Commerce. Elon Musk recently stated, “We should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized.”

Speakers emphasized the universal, trusted, public service of the USPS and were representative of the breadth and depth of solidarity for letter carriers across the labor movement.

David Yao from the American Postal Workers Union said, “Trump and his evil henchman Elon Musk have come for our public services and that is because the billionaires don’t need those services, the people do! What do they want? Higher prices, less services! But we are going to fight, and we are going to win!”

C Moline, rally emcee, NALC shop steward and delegate, stirred the crowd, stating, “Why was there a 1970 strike? Because we had no collective bargaining, we only had collective begging. Letter carriers deserve fair pay, and fair work.”

Katie Garrow, executive secretary treasurer of the MLK Labor Council, continued the theme, “In 50 years, we will look back on this moment and your children and your grandchildren will ask you: where were you then? You will be able to tell them that you stood in the rain to fight back!”

To close out the rally, the Seattle Labor Chorus sang Solidarity Forever and the union letter carriers led the crowd on a march around the block, situated in a popular strip mall. Workers chanted, “Yes to unionization! No to privatization!” and “When union rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

While this action was at an urban postal office, the NALC has emphasized that while everyone benefits from the widely trusted USPS that delivers 376 million pieces of mail and packages, rural residents benefit the most. USPS letter carriers deliver mail to 51.5 million rural households and businesses where private carriers do not deliver.

A reorganization or privatization of USPS could have a devastating impact, not only jeopardizing the 7.9 million jobs in the mailing industry, but it could also reduce or end services to rural households and raise shipping costs. In this scenario, working-class households are hit the hardest, while a tiny number of bureaucrats and billionaires profit.

The Seattle rally was one of many across the country, demonstrating the desire of letter carriers and postal services workers to fight against Trump’s attacks, and the broad community support for their universal public service.

#SeattleWA #WA #Labor #Postal #APWU #NALC #Privatization #Trump

Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, March 23, over 300 people took it to the streets to demand an end to Trump and the billionaire class’s constant threats of dismantling the United States Postal Service (USPS). The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Pioneer Branch 2 hosted the rally with support from the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) Local 3 and the Wisconsin Rural Letter Carriers Association. The event was part of a larger national day of action which saw hundreds of other cities across the country participate.

The attack comes while the NALC and APWU are in contract negotiations with the USPS. For the first time since 1978, the membership of the NALC recently voted down a proposed contract, with 71% voting no.

The Postal Service continues to poorly manage the company and claim it is broke, yet it continues to spend record amounts on wages for abusive managers and in the installation of surveillance technology that further micromanages and represses its employees.

The Postal Reform Act of 2022 repealed the requirement to pre-fund retiree benefits and will go into effect this year, taking a $5.6 billion burden off the books.

At Milwaukee’s rally, Travis Albert, vice president of NALC Branch 2, said, “Hell no to the attacks on the Postal Service! Politicians are attempting to take away our right to paid grievance time. This would impact our only avenue for peaceful negotiations with management. You take that away and what will we be left with? And we here in Milwaukee we are building a mean, mean union!”

NALC Branch 2 Sergeant at Arms William Schroeder called employees to action, stating, “We need to take this energy back to the shop floor every single day – if all of us used this energy at union meetings, in the grievance procedure, and when management harasses us it would stop right now.”

The Postal Service is a trillion dollar company that provides an affordable service to every house in the country, and any attempt to dismantle or privatize it is an attack on all Americans. If there was no public Postal Service, the private sector would run rampant with high costs and less coverage to rural areas. Today however, the various Postal unions made it loud and clear that the U.S. mail is not for sale.

The turnover rate in the postal service is higher than ever before due to the poor working conditions and low wages, but that has not deterred postal workers from all over the country. Instead, these conditions have ignited a new wave of militant action against Postal Service management and anyone else who tries to dismantle the company.

A national reform movement is rapidly growing within the NALC as members across the country have become angry with working conditions and the incompetency of union national President Brian Renfroe. This has resulted in the rise of the Concerned Letter Carriers (CLC) and Build a Fighting NALC (BFN), which both demand an end to concessionary leadership. Thousands of members have participated in national organizing calls to replace the weak NALC leadership and in demanding a strong contract.

#MilwaukeeWI #WI #Labor #NALC #APWU #CLC #FBN

St. Petersburg, FL – On March 23, 300 postal workers and community members came out with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) union to stand against the privatization of the post office. With recent talk of President Trump transferring USPS to the department of commerce and privatizing it, union members are ready to stand up for the future of the public service.

Attendees held signs and stood at all corners of a busy intersection to bring awareness to the current uncertainty. The privatization of the post office could mean an estimated cut of 10,000 jobs, an increase in shipping costs, and an end to rural service.

All eyes are on Trump as he has continued to gut public services, including the Department of Education, national parks and library services. This action was one of hundreds around the country and the American Postal Workers Union and NALC will both continue to be holding actions to defend the postal service.

#StPetersburgFL #FL #Labor #Postal #NALC #APWU

Tampa, FL – On March 20, over 60 workers with the American Postal Worker Union (APWU) held a public demonstration in Tampa, Florida to bring awareness to attacks on the postal service. The Tampa APWU action was one of over 250 held across the country.

“The post office is not for sale, and it never will be!” chanted workers as they marched up and down the road handing out informational flyers to passing cars to raise awareness about the issue.

The right to a federal mail service is protected in the constitution, which means that its privatization would be illegal. Despite this, President Trump has been considering transferring U.S. Postal Service to the Department of Commerce and privatizing it, which would have the effect of cutting jobs and raising shipping costs. Privatizing the post office is only one of many attempts the president has made on public services, including his attacks on the Department of Education.

Postal workers with the National Association of Letter Carriers will be holding a similar national day of action to fight against privatization this Sunday, March 23.

#TampaFL #FL #Labor #APWU #USPS #Postal

Tampa, FL – On October 1, over 40 United States Postal Services workers and members of the American Postal Workers' Union rallied in front of the Carrollwood USPS office in Tampa, Florida for the national APWU Day of Action to demand a good contract. They lined the sidewalks along Dale Mabry Highway, held signs, and chanted their demands for better staffing, modernized facilities and better working conditions.

Tampa was one of 90 cities set to have rallies in response to this call to action.

“Better staffing, better service” and “I stand with Postal Workers” read the signs that protesting workers held all along the street. Prominent among the APWU's demands is for management to hire more permanent staff and expand the clerks' staffing apparatus, to which management has been staunchly resistant.

Despite major increases in mail and delivery volume, the number of clerks has declined drastically.

“Moving the mail is in the DNA of postal employees,” said Michael Searle, the retired former president of APWU Local 259. “The union has had to advocate for better service standards. While the USPS continues to reduce staffing and slow down service to our customers on a daily basis, the union fights for the jobs that will provide service. The union fights to prevent the delay of First-Class mail and parcels. APWU members have dedicated their careers to providing the service that the customers deserve.”

The APWU has also been fighting the recent USPS decisions to move mail from distant processing centers, which will delay mail for people who live in rural counties.

“No one is more embarrassed for the company than the union members when they can't provide service,” Searle continued, “when customers are forced to wait in line for extended periods of time, when products are not available to be sold over-the-counter, and when mail is delayed for no good reason.”

#TampaFL #FL #Labor #Postal #APWU

Fort Worth, TX – On March 17, 600 union members from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, American Postal Workers Union, National Rural Letter Carriers Association and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, along with others rallied in support of the Molson Coors Teamsters of Local 997, who are fighting for a decent.

General President of the Teamsters Sean O’Brien and General Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman attended the rally.

O’Brien stated, “Today we have a great opportunity to take on corporate America, and thankfully we have the support of rank-and-file members nationwide to make certain that we hold this white collar crime syndicate – Molson Coors – accountable and make certain that they picked fight with the wrong union”

The Molson Coors Teamsters are demanding better cost of living adjustments to counteract inflation, an end to the two tier system that allows varying wages for workers, and to remove forced 12-hour shifts. The company met with the workers but did not negotiate in good faith and even tried to remove health care benefits. The company has not yet come back to the table to negotiate a new contract, which has forced the union members to go to the picket line.

Local 997 member Jeff Pruitt said, “We are out here for every plant out here, and we're out here for the American worker as everyone is struggling to pay their bills.”

The rally ended with chants such as “What do we want? Contract! If we don't get it? Shut it down!”

#FortWorthTX #TX #Labor #Teamsters #Coors #Contract #Teamsters997 #APWU #NRLCA #IATSE