They offer nothing & just whine about things … petty gripes that we only now hear about from them. They’ve stood silent- offering nothing — showing no leadership.Your NBAs must use the results of our HQ efforts to be successful in their own jobs representing Maintenance members. Every one of the Maintenance NBAs — Zimmerman, Beaton, Walker, Howe, LaSalle, Gearhard, Paz, Kingsley & Waldon support the re-election of Raymer & Martinez as your HQ Maintenance Officers.
Please join with them & our thousands of supporters to re-elect Maintenance Director RAYMER & Assistant Director MARTINEZ. We have the experience, talent, proven success & will continue building on a record that keeps Maintenance Proud & Strong!
First Name: Idowu
Last Name: Balogun
Email: balogun@aol.com
Union/Local: APWU – Greater Los Angeles Area Local
Office held if any: Assistant Director A, Maintenance Division, Washington DC
Union and NAME of Local/Branch
APWU - Reno Nevada local 936
Office held, if any
Maintenance Craft Director, Shop Steward
Union and NAME of Local/Branch
Atlanta Metro Area Local 32
Office held, if any
Workroom Floor Steward
I said this before and I will say it again Brother Balogun, YOU should have run against Director Steve Raymer.
As it is, we must disagree on supporting Brothers Raymer and Martinez. I don’t need to argue about Raymer because you either understand as a Unionist that Career Union Jobs are more important than Line-H cash awards or you are a greedy selfish individual who would sell out your Sisters and Brothers futures for a dollar.
But I will argue that Brother Martinez is NOT the kind of fighter that we need in that position:
As a Maintenance Craft Steward, I have no experience with Brother Martinez other than him always telling my fellow Stewards that we could not win the grievances they were calling him for guidance on. As an NBA he was simply never an aggressive grievance fighter, at least not for my Atlanta Local.
Michael “Big Mike” Burris however was. Big Mike came to Atlanta to advocate some very toxic grievances that NOBODY else, including NBA Martinez, would touch. Big Mike took on those toxic grievances that I personally filed and he won every single one of them.
I can’t expect any advocate to win every grievance, but I DEMAND that they have enough fight in them to at least try because that is what we pay our representatives to do. NOT make excuses, sell us short, withdraw grievances and make crappy deals with management that cost us jobs and harm our Craft.
I’m sorry if I sound like an angry jerk, I don’t wear a suit or nice dress clothes to work because I don’t have an office. I wear work clothes because I work on the workroom floor every day, dealing not only with my own USPS work assignments, but also with the daily struggle with management and the problems of my coworkers because I am a workroom floor Steward. Life on the workroom floor is hard, and you have to be even harder to survive it. That is why I have no tolerance for soft Union Reps who are living a much less stressful life that pays a lot more money who won’t stand up and fight for me, my Craft and our Members.
But I warn any of you, don’t make the mistake of calling my gripes “petty” to my face. I work for a living.