Finding Our Way Forward

By Loren Adams, District 6 Vice-President    (June 2010)

Everyone realizes the storm is fast approaching, but many simply ignore the obvious – perhaps as a means of survival. I remember how Grandma Emma Adams used to herd us kids down to the storm cellar every time she heard the thunder roll. She remembered the day a tornado swooped up her two aunts at Belleville, Arkansas around 1908, and she didn’t want a repeat.

The APWU is fast approaching  a storm – a decision day – negotiations during the time of the greatest economic strain on the Postal Service in 80 years as well as the entire United States since the Great Depression of the 30s.

Yes, escaping by avoiding or ignoring seems to be a temporary fix. But the day of reckoning eventually catches up to those that choose retreat. There are good reasons the ostrich buries its head in the sand and turtle withdraws into its shell. But eventually the predator gets the best of them. The sense of false security goes like this, “If I just ignore the problem, it’ll go away.” (Somewhat like, “If we build it, they will come,” but in reverse.) “Out of sight, out of mind.” “No news is good news.”

No war has ever been won by soldiers on retreat. By the same token, no union movement has succeeded by being led by the meek, the weak, or the inactive. The Union needs an optimistic, proactive, positive, solutions-based leadership that’ll meet this challenge with unwavering determination.

Yes, we’re facing crisis of Apocalyptic proportions. Yes, national leaders are dropping out like flies as they apparently watch the same storm approaching that we are. (Were officers of the Titanic first to abandon ship?)

The question remains, “But what can we as individuals (despite national officers jumping ship) do to prepare?”

Almost every day I’m confronted by members inquiring as to what’s happening on the national level, whether management is preparing to force five-day delivery down America’s throat, etc. I tell them I don’t have all the answers, and management seldom communicates with me – even for that which they’re contractually obligated. It’s as if we’re peering through a tinted glass trying to ascertain the future. I sure don’t have all the answers, but I have a few suggestions for the near term.

The first suggestion would be to SAVE MONEY. I realize most postal employees think “This too will pass, so we can carry on as usual.” But I wouldn’t count on it this time. Cut expenses to bare-bones and delay big-purchase items. Get your credit card debt down to ZERO. Pay off your car and home, if possible. The hard fact is we don’t know how much we’ll be earning this time next year. So, keep that primary thought in mind.

My second suggestion is to pick new national officers with some SPINE.  And some BRAINS. Negotiations are not a walk in the park. We need a Mother Jones in these tough times to steer APWU back on course, and there are some great national leaders from which to choose. How can you discover the best? Pay attention; read online and via publications, and talk to local and state leaders in-the-know.

My third suggestion is probably the most important. Get INVOLVED in your local union. Go to meetings. Visit your co-workers when they’re in the hospital. Recognize special days and dates in their lives. Back them up with witness statements when requested. Become a shoulder to cry on, or become that morale booster so desperately needed in times like these. Make your workplace a vibrant community instead of a miserable compound. There’s strength in numbers; that rule never changes. The stronger the locals are, the stronger the national organization. And the only way to build strength is to show genuine concern for one another. UNION is not simply about the Contract or work issues.

“UNION” is about UNITY, and the only way to build this invaluable solidarity is to care for those around you. Be sincere about it too.

I’m reminded of the “Prayer of St. Francis” written around 900 years ago. It goes like this: