November 3, 2000
The American Postal Workers Union won a major victory today for postal workers’ political freedom of speech when United States District Judge Alvin Hellerstein granted APWU’s request for a preliminary injunction stopping the Postal Service’s attempt to remove APWU Election 2000 posters from union bulletin boards throughout the coun-try. The USPS had ordered the posters removed because the Office of Special Counsel of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board had found the posters in violation of the Hatch Act.
The APWU has thus struck a major blow for postal workers’ right of freedom of speech under the First Amendment and their right to engage in political activity under Hatch Act reform!
Judge Hellerstein agreed with the union’s position and issued the injunction using the strongest of terms. The judge also ordered that the USPS disseminate the court’s order “so that the October 27, 2000, Memorandum of Postal Service Vice President Anthony Vegliante at issue in this case will not be executed.” That is a reference to the instruction the USPS Vice President for Labor Relations had sent to field managers ordering that the posters be removed. Following is the full text of Judge Hellerstein’s order:
Preliminary Injunction “UPON CONSIDERATION of the Motion for Preliminary Injunction by Plaintiffs Moe Biller, President, American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO and the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO (“APWU”), and the evidence and arguments in support and in opposition thereto, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their claims that the posting of the poster at issue in this case on Union bulletin boards in postal facilities is not a violation of the Hatch Act, and that the United States Postal Service’s directive to remove posters on Union bulletin boards dealing with the 2000 election, which were distributed by the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, is a violation of the Plaintiffs’ rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Court also finds that absent a tem-porary restraining order Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury to their First Amendment rights. See, Elrod v. Burns, 427 U.S. 347, 373 (1976). The Court further finds that unlawful acts have been threatened, have been committed and will continue to be committed by the United States Postal Service if a temporary restraining order is not granted. It is therefore,
“ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction is HEREBY GRANTED.
“Given these findings, the Postal Service and its officers, agents, servants, employ-ees, and attorneys, and those persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of the order by personal service or otherwise, are hereby PRE-LIMINARILY ENJOINED from removing or directing the removal of posters or other materials dealing with the 2000 election, which were distributed by the Union, from Union bulletin boards; from warning any official of the Union that he or she may be subject to discipline under the Hatch Act if he or she does not direct local union offi-cials to remove posters or other materials from Union bulletin boards dealing with the 2000 election which were distributed by the Union; and from disciplining or discharging any employee for refusing to or failing to remove posters or other materials from Union bulletin boards dealing with the 2000 election which were distributed by the Union. The United States Postal Service shall disseminate the order of this Court so that the October 27, 2000, Memorandum of Postal Service Vice President Anthony Vegliante at issue in this case will not be executed.
“This ORDER shall be stayed until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, November 3, 2000, unless modified by Order of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.”
The Postal Service’s desperate, last-minute application for an emergency stay of this preliminary injunction was denied by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit! (A Washington Post report on this battle is included with this News Service bulletin. Be sure to post them both on the APWU bulletin board!)