Anyone But Renfroe? BFN Statement On 2026 Elections
We the undersigned members of the Build a Fighting NALC Coordinating Committee want to put forward our point of view over the recent controversy and questions raised regarding the CLC Presidential candidate endorsement process. While we welcome the announcement of the candidacies of both James Henry and Mike Caref –NALC officers with established track records of standing up for the city letter carrier –as well as the introduction of their respective programs. We are concerned that members will be turned off by what appears from the outside to be in-fighting, and want to put forward our vision for the broader reform project: to oust the Renfroe administration and transform the NALC in a positive direction. It’s a positive development that both candidates will be appearing on upcoming episodes of the From A to Arbitration podcast, and we would urge both candidates to organize public meetings, and if needed debates for rank and file NALC members to hear about their visions for transforming the union.
We think these measures would not only provide more transparency; we think it is critical that the rank and file rally around the candidate who best serves their interest. The low turnout in the last NALC national election is a cautionary tale. This campaign to replace Brian Renfroe is about more than electing a new president; the campaign itself can be a key organizing tool, to convince tens of thousands of NALC members to become active and engaged in the struggle for their union. In our opinion, a new fighting leadership will need to work with, rely on, and be based on a broader range of NALC members –not simply shop stewards or other union officers –to mobilize to win and enforce the kind of changes we need.
When considering who best to run NALC, we cannot have an approach of simply “Anyone but Renfoe”. Naturally, a lot of NALC members would vote to replace Renfroe tomorrow if they could. However, we think the 2026 national leadership contest should provide a model for how we select leadership going forward. We cannot just rely on good intentions, or the backing from well tested fighters alone. We need to stress that our leadership contests break from the traditions of the past; that they break from “personality contests” and become arenas where candidates emphasize their vision and program for leading the NALC, and how to fight for and implement that program. Build a Fighting NALC is not in a position to run our own candidate, nor will we rush to endorse one. Our recommendation will come after a careful process of consideration, discussion, and debate. We think it is in the best interests of the two current candidates –and potentially other candidates –to take this approach, as well as to provide time to respond to the legitimate concerns of rank and file members as they come up.
It is a real concern for many rank and file members that the CLC candidate, James Henry, is the Vice President of the current Renfroe administration, and that Mike Caref, as NBA of Region 3 is on the national Executive Council. We do not think everyone among the “old guard” is guilty through association with Renfroe. However, it is a reality that many members view those with any association to the Renfroe administration with a healthy degree of skepticism, and we call for a genuine dialogue between both candidates and the ranks of NALC for the concerns of the membership to be addressed.
To overcome any skepticism or hesitancy from rank and file members, who rightfully feel betrayed by the current top NALC leadership, both candidates will need to demonstrate a real effort to put forward a vision of an administration that will break from the business union approach of Renfroe and previous administrations, where leadership has prioritized having a cozy relationship with upper management, and the concerns of rank and file members have been put second. Any candidate that is serious about challenging Renfroe and the status quo needs to go above and beyond to win the confidence and trust of the rank and file. We have a long way to go until 2026, and there will be many opportunities for this to happen.
Comments on the initial programs of James Henry and Mike Caref
We want to start by stating that we are very excited by several of the proposals in the programs of both James Henry and Mike Caref. We will not respond in detail to the documents of both candidates, but reserve our comments here to general observations. We intend to create and democratically ratify our own vision for NALC in between now and the 2026 election.
Thirty nine NALC branches and two NALC state associations have passed the Open Bargaining resolution. Build a Fighting NALC has organized several national Zoom meetings with hundreds of members from across the country who are ready to fight for Open Bargaining and transform our union going forward. Given the frustration and anger from the membership, who are suffering from inflation and attacks on working conditions, we believe any serious challenger to Renfroe in 2026 should become champions of the Open Bargaining resolution, and fight for it at the convention and beyond. We welcome that James Henry has included it in his program.
We also agree with the need to reform the structures of the NALC from top to bottom; to establish stronger ties between the national leadership and the respective regions; to establish a strong sexual harassment policy; as well as the calls for greater transparency of Executive Council meetings/minutes.
We agree with the need to rebuild a fighting union by empowering shop stewards. Brother Caref has proposed to use the training programs from Region 3 as a model nationwide and brother Henry has proposed an online Steward’s Academy, and both are needed. We welcome the proposals to clear up the vast grievance backlog, to fight against abusive management, and to vigorously enforce our contract. We also call for a national strategy to resurrect the “cease and desist” and to abolish the cooperative Step B Teams and to replace them with an adversarial third step of the grievance procedure.
As regards pay we are excited to hear that both candidates support fighting for living wages, and reducing the time it takes for a letter carrier to achieve top pay. This is currently the most pressing concern of rank and file letter carriers we work alongside. Ending mandatory overtime, while allowing overtime for those who want it, is a key issue that must be addressed if we are to ensure that every letter carrier has the work/life balance they want and deserve.
We also welcome the proposals to beat back management’s offensive on the workroom floor; to do away with the concessions on office time and load times; to ensure bullying methods by management are not tolerated; to permanently rescind TIAREAP and other scanner spying mechanisms.
Finally we agree that taking on external organizing should be a priority for the new national leadership of NALC. For too long, our union leadership has ignored organizing drives in the broader labor movement. Creating a task force to assist Amazon workers in their struggle for a union, as we did with the first major Amazon organizing drive in the US in Bessemer, Alabama in 2021, is a great step in the direction of transforming the NALC into a union that prioritizes true labor solidarity; not just in words but in deeds.
Conclusion: This Leadership Contest Must Orient and Organize the Rank and File to Retake our Union!
We want to restate that simply electing a new president and leadership team alone will not be enough to transform the NALC into the fighting democratic union we once were. Whichever candidate is elected, they will need to adopt a vision for a rank and file driven union if any of their proposals are to be won. The best guarantee of progress is an engaged and active union membership. For too long the strength, creativity, and combativity of the over 200,000 members of NALC has not been channeled and utilized. Our power lies in our solidarity. Maximum unity is needed to pose a serious challenge to the Renfroe administration in 2026, but that unity cannot come at the expense of a strong program with demands to activate and engage the rank and file membership. We
need a program that takes up the biggest issues facing letter carriers, and puts forward a plan of action to fight. Build a Fighting NALC will always strive to make this potential a reality. We look forward to more discussion and debate regarding the 2026 leadership election.
In solidarity, The Co-Ordinating Committee of Build a Fighting NALC,
Alex Glassmacher Branch 34, Boston, MA
Calvin Rich Branch 2200, Pasadena, CA
C Moline Branch 79, Seattle, WA
Chris Pennock Branch 9, Minneapolis, MN
Ernest Gonzales Branch 421, San Antonio, TX
Rob Darakjian Branch 2902, San Fernando Valley, CA
Shantia Cox Branch 4374, Sterling Heights, MI
Tim Bash Branch 9, Minneapolis, MN
Tyler Vasseur Branch 9, Minneapolis, MN
Virgilio Goze Branch 79, Seattle, WA
YouTube statement: https://youtu.be/N9bKqkHrO20?si=W4YAJQdfq1Otr6en
