JACK GOSE BIDS ADIEU VIA MOBILITY SCOOTER AT BALLYS' AND PARIS HOTELS IN LAS VEGAS, NV TO HIGHLIGHT HIS 20TH NATIONAL APWU CONVENTION AUG. 15-24, 2008

President Jack Gose thanks all 3230 elected Delegates and family members at the conclusion of another busy day on the floor of the National APWU Convention held in the Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, NV during the week of August 18-23, 2008. Natl. APWU Secretary-Treasurer Terry Stapleton and Legislative and Political Director Mike Reid are standing on the podium.

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Only one (1) Retiree Resolution out of eleven (11) related Retiree Amendments submitted to the Natl. APWU Constitution and By-Laws Committee was approved by the highest body in the Union, the elected Natl APWU Convention Delegates on the floor voting:

Resolution No. 11, Article 3, Section 4 (e) Increase Retiree Per Capita authored by John Richards, President, Pittsburgh Area Local Retiree Chapter, APWU and Eastern Region elected Delegate, to wit:

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"Resolved, to increase retirees per capita by one (1) dollar per month, this increase to be passed on in whole to existing local and state retiree chapters where they now exist or may be organized in the future. Where there are no retiree chapters in existence, the one (1) dollar increase shall be retained by the Retiree Department in an organizing fund, to be disbursed solely for organizing activities by the Retiree Department."

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Congratulations to John who spoke on his resolution from a floor mike, and the winner is the Retiree membership and Chapters who will be able to continue to survive in this tough economy. Las Vegas AL and Phoenix Metro AL new Retiree Chapters were honored with charters at the Retiree Conference.
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Jack Gose, President of APWU of Florida State Retiree Chapter, AFL-CIO, seated in a handicapped electric scooter rental with a fellow lady Delegate from Florida celebrate during the Parade of States with over 3,000 other delegates and family in Bally's Hotel Conference and Event Center on Thursday nite, Aug. 21, 2008. The Florida theme for this gala was to wear tropical clothes with shirts, Key West hats, and sandals to mystify the multitude and win the Grand Prize in competition with the other 49 states and islands!

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Former Natl APWU Retiree Director John R. Smith, former Natl APWU Special Delivery Messenger Craft Secretary Jack Gose in mobile scooter, and former Natl APWU Executive Vice President David Johnson reunite at the National APWU 2-day Conference chaired by Retiree Director Judy Beard on the 26th floor of Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas, NV on Sat. and Sun., August 16-17, 2008. The trio began their journey with the merger of five (5) National Craft Unions in 1971 and all went to Washington, D.C. to make the merger a bargaining union Success story for the membership.

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Valentine Serpico, President of Broward County Area Local Retiree Chapter, AFL-CIO, seated on front row seat in center of picture next to Barbara Prothro, former Natl APWU SDM NBA, smiles for the camera at the Natl APWU biennial Retiree Conference at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas, NV on Sat., Aug. 16, 2008. Val received an invitation by Retirees Director Judy Beard to sit at the head table on the podium to open the 2-day conclave of over sixty (60) Retiree Dept. Delegates from all over the country. Val will assume the duties of the President of APWU of Florida Retiree Chapter, the largest in the nation, on October 1, 2008 upon retirement of founding President Jack Gose, who helped organize the third Natl APWU Retiree Chapter in the country on Mar. 15, 2002.

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Natl APWU President Bill Burrus addresses the 350 blue shirted APWU Delegates demonstrating on the sidewalks around the "Goin' Postal" Store located in a shopping center in North Las Vegas, NV before going in to talk with the owner of the store about our concern over using the name to suggest to the public that Postal Workers are sometimes violent.

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We registered at the COPA booth and picked up our Convention bag with all the goodies inside, including Natl. APWU Resolutions book, agenda of events, and headed to the Clerk Craft Conference and Retirees Dept. Conference on Sat., Aug. 16, 2008. Challenges, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, APWU! We snapped over 1,000 Digital pictures at all the APWU events in two Convention hotels at Bally's and Paris in Las Vegas. We will be displaying FREE pics for the last time at the APWU of Florida State Retiree Chapter Luncheon and Fall Seminar from Wed., Sept. 24 thru Sat., Sept. 27, 2008 at the Palm Beach Hilton Hotel in West Palm Beach, FL.
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In addition, we have thousands of other items to give away, Convention resolutions, bags, shirts, and collectibles dating back to the first National APWU Convention in New Orleans, LA in 1972. I have rented another mobility scooter to enable me to get around inside the Hilton Hotel. Valentine Serpico from Fort Lauderdale, Broward County Area Local, APWU will become the new President of the Florida State Retiree Chapter effective October 1, 2008 and we are certain you will appreciate and enjoy Val's leadership and support him wholeheartedly as you have always done for me. We Love You, APWU!

Jack Gose, President and Editor