The crucial role of our union is to property enforce these provisions, which were put into place to protect and preserve fairness on the job for all employees. It must be remembered that both USPS management and our union have jointly signed and agreed to the terms of these contracts. The workroom floor is where the greatest visibility of our union exists. The shop stewards are responsible to answering the workers' disputes, problems and concerns. Policing our contract is the chief responsibility of out stewards.
Proper representation is also the key to the effectiveness of any union.
This important function does not exist in a non-union shop. Recourse on the job is guaranteed with a union contact. Without this document, the proverbial 'door' works both ways. Our union, like most public unions, goes beyond the workroom floor to protect the interests of its members. In the past year, for example, the APWU won a multi-million dollar settlement against the hiring practices of the Postal Service, where the USPS overreached in its casual employee hiring commitments.