Jonathan Smith on Tuesday took the reins of the American Postal Workers Union from Mark Dimonstein, who led the trade union for 12 years and is credited with improving working conditions, benefits and job protections for members in the U.S. Postal Service.
Smith, a New York City metro representative, won a national election in October to be the next APWU president.
Dimonstein, who previously announced plans to retire, on Monday gave a video farewell address in which he reflected on labor victories, such as defeating a planned partnership between the Postal Service and Staples that the union says was a step towards subcontracting all retail services, threatening the elimination of thousands of post offices and tens of thousands of APWU jobs.
The APWU represents 200,000 clerks, mail sorters, vehicle technicians and other essential support staff
