Clifton W. Johnson for APWU NY Clerk Craft NBA 2025

I’d like to introduce myself. I am a proud member of the Long Island, New York Area Local, APWU #3251, President Michelle Nadeau presiding. I am reaching out to you as I seek a bid to run as a National Business Agent for the Clerk Craft NY Region, in the 2025 APWU National Officer Election.

In my 30 years of working for the US Postal Service, I have served as an Area Representative for the last 11 years and have covered 2 different areas of the 173 offices we represent from the Queens border line to the north and south forks of Long Island. I am proud to be an integral part, in my local, in securing positions through actively rebutting reversions and abolishments and in working hand-in-hand with my fellow reps and NBA Pete Coradi to streamline and effectively carry out a strategy that has resulted in a greater than 99% accuracy rate in returning these duty assignments back to their respective offices - 11 years of success and still going strong.

In addition to this, in 2018, I was part of a team that worked on the more than 6 million lines of data that the postal service presented the Union in Excel spreadsheets. This data was sifted through, in just 2 weeks, to help develop statistical analysis of the continued supervisor performance of bargaining unit work in doing TACS work. This work was useful in continuing to argue what resulted in the $25 million 9.9.21 NE Area Pre-Arb Settlement Agreement inked by NBA Pete Coradi. Subsequently, I have worked cooperatively with NBA Coradi to achieve some prominent decisions in recent TACS cases. All of this while serving on a day-to-day capacity as a steward and local officer.

Since 2012, I have been part of the team of instructors in the Postal Labor Union Summer School program hosted by West Virginia University’s Industrial Labor Studies Research department. This annual program has convened since 1979 and I have had the honor to work alongside, and been mentored by, retired National Officers Jeff Kehlert and Kenny Prinz, as well as current National Business Agent John Louis Jackson, Jr. and current National Assistant Clerk Craft Director Robert Romanowski. Again, in effect since 1979, this program has served to educate the craft in multiple facets of representation and has served as a building block to many a national officer and local presidents alike. Many dutiful representatives have come through those storied doors.

At the behest and appointment of National Clerk Craft Director Lamont Brooks, I have served on the National Clerk Craft Committee for the last 3 consecutive National Conventions. The committee was responsible for evaluating clerk craft resolutions and presenting our findings before the body. I co-chaired the 2022 committee alongside Central Region Coordinator Amy Puhalski.

I have acted as technical assistant, eyewitness, and sat in on numerous arbitrations in the last 15 years and successfully completed arbitration advocacy training. On January 4, 2024, I had the experience of arbitrating my first case, before arbitrator Meeta Bass, and I was given major support by my friend and mentor, National Business Agent Pete Coradi, who took the time to act as a technical assistant in those arbitration proceedings.

And while much time has been given in service of the Union, I am an overly proud dad of my adult fraternal twins, the two greatest things I’ve ever taken part in, in my life! Fatherhood carries its own rewards and those two are mine.

I have also served in my community by participating in, and running, a martial arts program that had spanned 23 years of service for adults and children. Throughout this period, I have practiced the discipline of Ketsugen Karate for 28 years of my life. I have had the profound pleasure and honor of having mentored many of Roosevelt, Long Island’s youth from 1997 through 2020 and hosted numerous karate events.

Currently, my lifelong hobby/endeavor has been an amateur adventure through the culinary arts – I have been cooking since I was able to first reach over a stove. Especially since COVID, I have spent spare time involved in preparing private meals for small, intimate groups to enjoy the camaraderie and the joy of life. These elements of my life shall always be near and dear to me.

In closing, I hope you’ve been given a glimpse into who I am and maybe motivated to see me do more in service to our union as a Clerk Craft National Business Agent representing the State of New York. Your personal contributions shall help my campaigning across the many locals in the State of New York though 2025.