4 thoughts on “My thoughts on some of the 2019 APWU candidates

  1. Union and NAME of Local/Branch
    APWU - Atlanta Metro Area Local 32
    Office held, if any
    Maintenance Steward
    Email Address
    apwunodine@gmail.com
    Brother Moyer,

    First, let me start by thanking you for your many years of dedication to our cause. And let me say I have the highest respect for you. So stating my disagreements with your assessment of our candidates in this election does not come easy for me. With that said:

    PRESIDENT
    Mark Dimondstein

    My past support of Brother Dimondstein is no secret to all who know of me. The recent criticisms of how he conducted his attempts to achieve a negotiated CBA settlement are valid, he seems to have acknowledged that in the recent debate by stating he would have done that differently if he had a do-over. Did he learn a lesson from it and become better for the experience? I am certain he did and he will. Or will he repeat those same mistakes? I don’t think so, but that is just my opinion. Each member must decide this for themselves, however, I don’t see this issue as pivotal in that our Constitutional system of checks and balances ultimately worked and to our Membership, the net effect on the workroom floor was no harm, no foul.

    As far as President Dimondstein “forgetting contractural issues,” the most important criteria I consider first is has he delivered on his campaign promises? Among those is whether he has delivered on reversing the damage the 2010 “Watershed CBA” did to the next generation of our Members, our PSE’s. On that promise, he achieved converting all Maintenance Craft PSE’s to career and eliminating PSE’s from the Maintenance Craft altogether. And while he has not yet achieved the same reversal for the Clerk Craft, he has made progress in the right direction as evidenced by many Clerk PSE conversions rather than agreeing with management to increase the number of PSE Clerks.

    If we can’t protect our most harmed Members, our PSE’s, then we have no right to call ourselves a Union. I say this as a soon to retire 30-year Member who you would expect to place retiree benefits as my highest priority. But I wouldn’t be a Unionist if I did that, I would just be selfish. Which is the one thing that undermines Unions more than any other single factor.

    In the scope of the larger picture, I don’t think President Dimondstein has made significant enough mistakes or “done enough wrong” to not withdraw my support of him. However, that is not to say my support of him is blind or obedient, I shall compare him to the other candidates and vote for the one I consider to be the best for the next term. Just as he would not only expect but also encourage every Member to do.

    In short, I have seen President Dimondstein accomplish much good for the conditions of life on the workroom floor, as impossibly difficult as that task is. And I have seen him cause no harm to the conditions on the workroom floor, where it really counts. So what if fellow officers don’t like him the ivory tower at APWU headquarters? I didn’t vote for him to be nice to them or to kiss their arses. How he runs the show in DC means little to me. The bottom line is how he impacts the workroom floor means everything to me. So I must count his record as president as a winning record for those of us struggling and suffering daily on the workroom floor.

    Tony McKinnon

    The problem I have with Brother McKinnon is the fact there are 31 DBCS’s in my plant with the smallest machines having 222 pockets and the others having 238 and 254 pockets. Many days I still see some of these machines being run by only one Clerk who is loading and feeding mail into one end of the machine and running back and forth trying to sweep all of those pockets at the same time.

    Brother McKinnon’s big campaign move was to hand out his “two clerks per DBCS “Agreement” at the convention just prior to the last election and tout it as being some kind of victory. But it is far worse than just a hollow victory, it sold out the Clerk Craft on this issue because the agreement only requires two Clerks to start a DBCS, not actually run a DBCS. I say “sold out” because the agreement makes it practically impossible to negotiate a real agreement that actually REQUIRES two Clerks to run a DBCS at all times. And now we are now stuck with it.

    How any Clerk could ever vote for Brother McKinnon for any position in the APWU, much less president is beyond me. He has proven to me that he will say and do anything to get elected. How any Clerk could ever vote for him again is beyond me. But some will and they will deserve what they get should he be elected.

    John Marcotte

    “No you run, no you.” I see that as a very good thing! It tells me Brother Marcotte has no tricks up his sleeve and does not covet the position so he has no agenda to lie to win the election “by any means necessary” for his own personal glory and ego. That’s the kind of person I want representing me, someone running for reasons other than their own personal agenda.

    But more importantly, Brother Marcotte has the cushiest best job in the entire APWU. Our Health Plan Director gets paid the most money for having the least responsibility. And it is a position that is difficult to screw up so badly that our Members would want to ever vote the incumbent out of office. It is a job for life. His reelection to Health Plan Director is all but certain.

    The fact that Brother Marcotte is willing to give up being our Health Plan Director puts some real skin in the game. He is the only challenger with any skin in the game, and it is the most skin any candidate could possibly risk giving up. That is a very powerful qualifier in my book.

    Brother Marcotte says he has not lost touch with the workroom floor. I believe him to the extent that is possible. Another powerful qualifier in my book.

    And he has both local and national experience, rounding out the qualifiers I see as most important to lead our Union. This makes it a two-horse race for our president in my book. And I believe we would be well served by Brother Marcotte or Brother Dimondstein. So much so that I have not yet decided which I will vote for. And when I do, I may invoke my right to keeping my ballot secret. No matter who I choose to vote for, it will be a tough decision sending either Brother Dimondstein or Brother Marcotte home as losing either will be a big loss to our Union.

    Greg Bell

    Watershed! Watershed! Watershed! Perhaps the greatest CBA on paper that was ever written, but the worst CBA for those on the workroom floor impacted by it. Just like Communism is the greatest form of government in theory, but the worst in actual practice. I should not have to recite all the reasons the 2010 Watershed CBA is probably the worst contract agreement in the history of the Labor Movement. But I will say that had there been a provision that PSE’s get all of their PSE years credited towards retirement when they are converted to career, I would not be as vehemently opposed to it. But they don’t and I’m not.

    The real issue I have with Brother Bell is his continued insistence that the Watershed was a good CBA. Not only does that tell me he learned nothing from that mistake, but that he will continue to persist in that line of thinking in future negotiations should be elected as our president. It is my opinion that he has long lost any concept of what life is like on the workroom floor.

  2. Union and NAME of Local/Branch
    APWU - Greensboro BMC Local # 7035
    Office held, if any
    Current Clerk Craft Director (Greensboro BMC), Former President Central Jersey Area Local # 149
    Email Address
    postalexpress11@aol.com

    Leroy,

    Thank you for your valuable input. I am sure that this will help individuals, that are on the fence, go one way or the other.

  3. Union and NAME of Local/Branch
    APWU - Central Jersey Area Local #149
    Office held, if any
    MVS Director
    Email Address
    lafauci@att.net

    Thank you, LeRoy.

  4. Union and NAME of Local/Branch
    Michigan State Retiree Chapter & Flint MI Area Local Retiree Chapter
    Office held, if any
    Retiree Chapter advisor
    Email Address
    allab1937@gmail.com

    There was an APWU editor whose byline was: “I’m entitled to my opinion, and so are you.” First, think about the clever facets of that, and it’s fairly applicable to the Brother’s post. Write On!

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