Reading Between the Lines:
The Secret Message from the Rank and File Committee Decoded

By Clint Burelson, President of the Olympia Local

The Rank and File Committee unanimously recommended approval of the contract.  As a result, many members are considering a yes vote based on recommendations from national officers and the committee.  Therefore, I decided to revisit their report and take a second look.  I discovered that the real Rank and File Committee report was in code due to the delicate nature of their situation.  Here then is the official report and my translation of what the committee was actually trying to say.

The Committee said, “From November 20, 2010, to the present, the committee received numerous briefings and conversations with President Cliff “C.J.” Guffey, Vice President Greg Bell, Industrial Relations Director Mike Morris, all National Craft Directors, other national officers, and staff. The Committee acknowledges that the tentative agreement was the cumulative effort of national resident officers, field officers, and members from around the country under the direction of the National President.”

Translation:  The union spent a lot of money and time for the Committee to understand the proposed agreement as it was being negotiated.  Many people are responsible for the givebacks in this tentative agreement, but those identified by name are the main ones.

The Committee said, “We believe this effort has resulted in a tentative agreement that can best be described as a ‘new’ direction for the American Postal Workers Union.”

Translation: This tentative agreement is so bad that the best thing that we can say about this ridiculous agreement is that it is a “new” direction for the APWU.  And notice we did not say what direction we are headed.

The Committee said, “As our first agreement in 1971 was improved upon over the past 40 years, it is our belief that this agreement will be a solid foundation to build on for the next 40 years!”

Translation: The union started at the bottom in 1970 and fought hard for 40 years to improve wages and working conditions for postal workers.  This agreement gives away many of those gains and starts the union towards the bottom again.  However, the basement floor is solid concrete and perhaps in 40 years we can build our union back up to where we were before we agreed to this lousy contract.

The Committee said, “The negotiated changes to the agreement are extensive and too numerous to describe in detail. We encourage you to take time to read the tentative agreement and make your own decision.”

Translation: Ideally, each committee member should provide detailed information and opinion to assist the membership in understanding the tentative agreement.  However, the new changes to the agreement are so bad and bad in so many ways that it would be embarrassing for us to say anything.  We would prefer you forget about us and just read the damn thing yourself.  If you are not smart enough to see that this contract will harm the union or brave enough to do something about it, then you deserve what you get.