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Tuesday, July 28, 1998
Postal union leader visits Las Vegas
The National Association of Letter Carriers president rallies members for future contract talks.
By Hubble Smith
Review-Journal
The president of the National Association of Letter Carriers talked about upcoming contract negotiations and the future of the U.S. Postal Service at the group's biennial convention Monday in Las Vegas.
Vince Sombrotto, head of the 312,000-member NALC, issued a challenge to Postmaster General William Henderson to work with him in reaching a contract settlement when bargaining begins in late August. The current contract expires Nov. 20.
"Let's walk together and get a negotiated contract, a contract that rewards the men and women that have made it possible to have billions of dollars in profit," Sombrotto urged nearly 10,000 delegates at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "We want our share."
In his keynote address at the weeklong convention, Sombrotto talked about a task force to help the Postal Service become more competitive and showed a video of UPS President James Kelley saying the Postal Service "wouldn't last one day in free and open competition."
"We can compete with anybody," Sombrotto responded.
He also talked about Federal Express and UPS bosses trying to get legislation passed in Washington that would allow the private companies to compete in mail delivery.
"One of the challenges we face is in the political arena," Sombrotto said. "We must make sure that those representatives that are returned to Washington (in this fall's election) in both the House and the Senate are worker-friendly representatives, not anti-worker representatives."
Following his speech, Sombrotto was presented a plaque by John Wilhelm, president-elect of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, in appreciation of the letter carriers' support of the Culinary union's six-year strike at the Frontier.
"This union was extraordinarily helpful throughout that strike," Wilhelm said. "Mr. Sombrotto was personally on the picket line."
Wilhelm encouraged NALC delegates to "go down to the Frontier ... tell them you're there because you're a union member."
Wilhelm left for San Diego immediately after the presentation, where he will be discussing Indian gaming and pari-mutuel wagering as a member of the federal panel studying the social and economic impact of gambling.
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