Ballots for the 2022 Election of APWU National Officers will be mailed to members’ homes, along with the election magazine, on Wednesday, Sept. 14. All members in good standing as of June 17, 2022, will receive a ballot.

To be counted, ballots must be returned to and received in the designated post office box in Washington, DC, by 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 5.

Union members are encouraged to follow the balloting instructions carefully. To protect the privacy of your vote, place your ballot in the secret ballot envelope, and insert it into the mailing envelope. Information on the mailing envelope must be completed to identify legitimate voters, but mailing envelopes will be separated from secret ballot envelopes before votes are counted.

Members in good standing who have not received their ballots by Monday, Sept. 19, should notify their local or contact the American Arbitration Association between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m (Eastern Time) at 800-529-5218 to request a duplicate. Ballots may also be requested by visiting: www.electionsaaa.org/ballotrequest/apwu

All requests for duplicate ballots must include the member’s name, address, email address, employee ID number (or retiree ID number), the last four digits of the Social Security number, division (craft), local, and the reasons for the request.

The APWU National Election Committee will take custody of the ballots from the designated post office box at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 5. Votes will be tallied at the Hyatt Regency Washington, 400 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington DC 20001.

Unofficial election results will be posted on the union’s website, www.apwu.org, as soon as they are available, and will be updated frequently. Official results will be posted as soon as they are available, as well. For more information, visit www.apwu.org.

Attend a virtual health fair

As we get ready for Postal Service Employee conversions, APWU Health Plan is here to help. Becoming a career employee is a life-changing and exciting time for a PSE. We want to educate new career employees on Health Plan benefits. As you know, we have two great plans that offer strong benefits for APWU members and their families.

Thursday, September 8, 1 pm–3 pm ET, Register Now

Thursday, September 22, 1 pm–3 pm ET, Register Now

Once registered, you will get an email confirmation with a GoToWebinar link and dial-in information. On the day before the virtual health fair date you selected, we will email you a reminder and include the dial-in information with instructions.

In accordance with the 2021-2024 Collective Bar­gaining Agreement, career employees represented by the APWU will receive a $1.18 per hour cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), effective August 27, 2022.

The increase is the result of a rise in the Consum­er Price Index (CPI-W). It will appear in paychecks dated September 16, 2022 (Pay Period 19-2022). The value of the COLA for full-time employees in each step and grade will increase by $2,455.00 annually, and the hourly rates for part-time employ­ees will be adjusted accordingly.

The COLAs are in addition to general wage increases. This is the second cost-of-living increase under the 2021 contract. The first, effective in February, amounted to $0.63 per hour or $1,310 annually. The COLAs received so far during the 2021-2024 National Agreement total $3,765.00 this year.

In light of the fact that Postal Support Employees (PSEs) do not receive cost-of-living increases, they have received several additional increases beyond the general wage increases for all employees in the APWU bargaining unit under the 2021 contract.

Rising inflation underscores just how important the continuation of our negotiated Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is in our outstanding new union contract. The COLA is our best protection against inflation. Postal Workers are some of the few U.S. workers who receive COLA increases. Even in the postal world, we are the only postal union that has maintained full COLA in our union contract.

“At times of high inflation, our union-won COLA is invaluable to ourselves and our families,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “It pays to be union! It’s always a struggle to keep these COLA provisions and every postal worker should be proud we fought hard and prevailed to keep full COLA in our latest contract.”

Go to apwu.org/pay-information to view pay scales.