Over the Coles, by Lance Coles Editor
What’s going on?
The word is that APWU President Bill Burrus has been invited to attend the
National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) national convention, and he has
accepted.
The word is that NALC President Bill Young has been invited to attend the
American Postal Workers Union national convention, and he has accepted.
What’s going on?
Years ago these two unions negotiated a national contract together, even though
then NALC President Vince Sombrotto and APWU President Moe Biller did not see eyeto-eye.
Over the past several years Burrus and Young have traded barbs and criticized
each others organization – rarely seen in public as allies – more as adversaries.
So – What’s going on?
I seriously doubt that there is any real talk about a merger. I do think that there is
a possibility that the two largest postal unions could – once again – negotiate together.
Both unions are losing membership through attrition. The Postal Service has no
intention of hiring any new career employees. Things like Flat Sorting Sequencing (FSS),
intelligent mail and more automation, are threatening APWU and NALC memberships.
There are talks of excessing everywhere, yet at some point there will be no where
to go.
If these two powerful unions are handing each other an olive branch and reaching
out to work together – it would be the best thing that could happen to both unions.
At a recent meeting a postal official made a statement that if the postal service
were a private business it would be filing for bankruptcy right now!
With this mentality, and the push for more automation and less career postal
employees actually doing postal jobs, it is clear that the USPS will be at the negotiating
table demanding concessions and give backs and the repeal of the “no lay off” clause.
This perceived “handshake across the table” should be extended to the
Mailhandlers and the Rural Letter Carriers. They are smaller and more vulnerable. This is
not to say they can’t hold there own – they can. What I am saying is that it is clear the
USPS is doing what ever it can to eliminate career union postal jobs – through
automation and contracting out our work.
The USPS has no loyalty to any of the unions they have to work with. They have
made it clear –many times – that were are a burden to them and hinder their ability to run
the postal service as they would like to – right into the ground!
Nothing would send a more powerful message to the USPS, than for the
presidents of all the postal unions to attend each others conventions. If we were to show
this solidarity, and really attempt to work together – against the employer that is trying to
eliminate us – we have a chance to survive.
The membership in all the postal unions is going down, because the postal service
is not hiring career employees. We need to think about merger with all the postal unions.
We need to think seriously about organizing the millions of postal related jobs in
America. We need to think about a merger with the Canadian Postal Workers (who have
already merged their previously postal unions.)
I believe it was our first Postmaster General who said, “If we don’t hang together
we most certainly will hang separately.”
We don’t want your business
Recently the floods in Iowa have had a major impact on the USPS being able to
do its job. Many of the houses and businesses we would deliver to were under water or
not reachable. Many of our post officers were under water or unable to open and
function.
A manager sent out a notice to customers, in the Des Moines area, that because of
the flooding here, some of our stations may not be open or accessible. He went on to tell
these customers that they should take their business to a contract station, such as Dahls or
HyVee, and he even went to list the locations of every contract station in the area.
What he did not do was list all the other USPS stations in the area that are open
and are doing postal business. Some of these USPS stations are closer and more
accessible than the listed contract stations.
It appears to me that this was not mistake. The USPS has made it pretty clear they
do not want to provide service at the window at USPS stations.
It is unfortunate that this manager took advantage of a crisis to further his agenda,
but that does not surprise me.
There is talk of numerous jobs being eliminated at Des Moines stations, many
window jobs. I’m sure this is happening all across Iowa and the country.
If you go to a window counter, you will almost always find a long line. It is
apparent that there are not enough employees there to service the customer now, what
will happen when they eliminate more window jobs? – send more customers to contract
stations.
I hope you all are waking up and realizing that the USPS is not your friend – they
are your employer. They want to make money, and you stand in their way of doing that.
The union can help fight these job eliminations, the employee help us.
Do your job correctly. Don’t take short cuts. Don’t give up your breaks and
lunches. Follow the rules and do your job right and safely – even if that means that the
lines get longer.