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UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings said that the Post & Logistics unions play a key role in UNI and fight the for union rights around the world.



“We are in a fight,” Jennings said, adding that “the elite would prefer a world without us.”



He urged unions to fight back against attempts to liberalise and privatize postal services.



The UNI Post & Logistcs conference with the theme “Delivering Breaking Through: Innovate, Organise, Mobilise” is being held this week in Washington DC, just as the United States Postal Service is facing a defining moment in its history.



“These are critical times for the future of the US postal service whose destiny is being discussed as we meet here in the capital of this nation,” said Jennings. “We support what the trade unions are trying to do here.”



Jennings called on workers all over the world to mobilise and demand their rights. He called for an end to austerity and for governments around the world to focus on jobs and protecting worker and union rights. He said UNI and its unions must change the rules of the game in the global labour market and put an end to a global workplace stripped of dignity.



He also said that the Arab Spring brings new opportunities to support the union movement.



“The new challenge at UNI Global Union is to build new organizations and break through to make sure there is an independent, democratic and robust labour movement in those countries.”



Jennings stressed the importance of working together with unions around the world to grow trade unions and the need for innovation at UNI. He emphasized the importance of UNI’s 40 for 40 campaign (www.uni40for40.org) to increase women’s leadership throughout the organisation.



Jennings encouraged the unions in the post and logistics sector to focus on innovation as well.



“In this organisation the game is not over,” he said, citing the ideas shared by unions on growing the postal service in their own countries by offering financial services, digital services, last mile delivery partnerships with private delivery companies and by using vast postal networks to provide new services.



AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told attendees at the conference that the US postal service isn’t broke it’s shackled by unfair rules.



He said that America’s economic problems will not be solved by cuts when the main problem is that US wages are flat or falling while 25 million workers are looking for full time jobs.

“You can’t cut your way into job creation,” he said. “You can’t grow by getting smaller. It’s time for us to create a world economy that works for all workers.”

You can find photos from the conference on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/uniglobalunion/sets/72157627620151836/show/