LIZ POWELL APPOINTED AS NATL. APWU SECRETARY-TREASURER; TERRY STAPLETON APPT. CHIEF BUDGET OFFICER AT NATL. AFL-CIO HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Terry Stapleton Goes to AFL-CIO; Powell Approved As Union's New Secretary-Treasurer.

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Liz Powell, the APWU’s Northeast Region Coordinator, has been tapped to serve as the union’s national Secretary-Treasurer, making her the first woman executive officer in the union’s history. She will replace Terry Stapleton, who has been appointed Chief Budget Officer at the AFL-CIO. John Dirzius, president of the Greater Connecticut Area Local, will succeed Powell as Northeast Region Coordinator.

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Powell and Dirzius were selected by APWU President William Burrus, and approved by a vote of the executive board, in accordance with the APWU Constitution. The vote was conducted via telephone.

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Powell began her postal career in 1970 in Hempstead NY. She became active in the union soon after, and in 1979 was elected president of the Hempstead Local (now the Western Nassau NY Area Local). She was elected National Business Agent for the Clerk Division in 1983, and became the first woman on the union’s National Executive Board in 1989, when she was elected Northeast Regional Coordinator. In addition to her duties as regional coordinator, in recent years she has been instrumental in developing the Joint Contract Interpretation Manual with postal management.

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Powell’s appointment to secretary-treasurer creates a vacancy in the position of northeast regional coordinator, which Dirzius will fill. The president of the Greater Connecticut Area Local started his postal career in 1970 in Seymour CT, and rose through the ranks to president of the state’s largest local in 1980. He has served as chairman of the National Presidents Conference, a committee of local and state presidents, since 2007.

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“I am pleased to appoint these highly qualified individuals to important new responsibilities,” Burrus said, “and I take special pride in appointing the first woman to serve as an executive officer of the national union. I am confident that Liz Powell and John Dirzius will serve our union well.”

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Burrus also praised Stapleton’s contributions to the APWU. “Terry has reorganized the activities of the Secretary-Treasurer’s office, making it more effective as revenue declined and APWU obligations increased,” he said. “He has done an excellent job.

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“Terry will bring great enthusiasm to his new position, and I am certain he will make a great contribution to the AFL-CIO.”

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Stapleton will leave office on Oct. 27. He, Powell and Dirzius will spend the intervening week working on the transition.

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CREDIT: APWU Web News Article #128-09, Oct. 19, 2009.

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Jack Gose, Editor