The Effects of the Union on the United States Postal Service
The effects of the union on the United States Postal Service
Brittney Horton
University of Phoenix
HRM 531
April 09, 2012
Alesha Alstoft
Abstract
The United States Postal Service is one of the nations most thriving companies. It has over 600,000+ employees and is the second largest civilian employer in the United States. (DeHaven, 2010). While it is one of the countries most thriving businesses it is not void of faults. To prevent the employees from being mistreated, most post office branches create unions. The unions not only protect those who take advantage of the membership but the other employees of the United States Postal Service (USPS) as well. This paper maps out the many benefits to being in the American Postal Worker Union (APWU) as well as the steps to take in order to unionize. It also covers how a union bargains as well as the effect union bargaining has on the organization.
The effects of the union on the United States Postal Service My mother has worked for the (USPS) for over 35 years and after retiring in October of 2009 she left the post office as the president of the American Postal Worker Union (APWU) Local 171 Portsmouth, VA. In the 10 years she was president I have seen her go to court week after week to help every member in her union. She has stood in front of the Post Master General and argued many of cases. Seeing things like that happen made me understand that being unionized is not a way to keep people employed, it is the leading way to maintain peoples rights in the work place and give them a piece of mind. Being in the APWU is very beneficial to those postal employees that have taken advantage of the opportunity. The some APWU’s contract not only state that those in the union cannot be fired if they do not break the contract or commit any federal infractions, it also has many benefits. Some of them include: Health Insurance, full Life Insurance paid by the USPS, the
Brittney Horton
University of Phoenix
HRM 531
April 09, 2012
Alesha Alstoft
Abstract
The United States Postal Service is one of the nations most thriving companies. It has over 600,000+ employees and is the second largest civilian employer in the United States. (DeHaven, 2010). While it is one of the countries most thriving businesses it is not void of faults. To prevent the employees from being mistreated, most post office branches create unions. The unions not only protect those who take advantage of the membership but the other employees of the United States Postal Service (USPS) as well. This paper maps out the many benefits to being in the American Postal Worker Union (APWU) as well as the steps to take in order to unionize. It also covers how a union bargains as well as the effect union bargaining has on the organization.
The effects of the union on the United States Postal Service My mother has worked for the (USPS) for over 35 years and after retiring in October of 2009 she left the post office as the president of the American Postal Worker Union (APWU) Local 171 Portsmouth, VA. In the 10 years she was president I have seen her go to court week after week to help every member in her union. She has stood in front of the Post Master General and argued many of cases. Seeing things like that happen made me understand that being unionized is not a way to keep people employed, it is the leading way to maintain peoples rights in the work place and give them a piece of mind. Being in the APWU is very beneficial to those postal employees that have taken advantage of the opportunity. The some APWU’s contract not only state that those in the union cannot be fired if they do not break the contract or commit any federal infractions, it also has many benefits. Some of them include: Health Insurance, full Life Insurance paid by the USPS, the
Citations: and References DeHaven, T. (2010). Privatizing the U.S. Postal Service. Retrieved from http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/usps Office & Professional Employees International Union. (2011). Steps to Create a Union Where You Work. Retrieved from http://www.opeiu.org The National Labor College. (2006). Union Collective Bargaining Process. Retrieved from http://www.nlc.edu/ Murray, M. (2012). Restructuring the USPS. Retrieved from http://logistics.about.com/od/legalandgovernment/a/Restructuring-The-Usps.htm