We Need To Stand Together And Fight Injustice

Tue, 06/29/2021 - 4:26pm

Story written by Kimberly Karol, President of Iowa Postal Workers Union

United We Stand, Divided We Fall... for so many people these words have lost their true meaning, a call to action to shift power in the pursuit of justice. How many times have you heard someone say, "too bad there isn't something I can do about this..."? Maybe you have felt this way. That is by design, the corporate class has systematically been reprogramming the thinking of ordinary people to maintain their power and capitalize on our labors. Now more than ever we need to stand together and fight injustice. Ordinary people have the power of numbers, an army that can force change at any level of government if we are united in our mission. We are virtually unstoppable. 

Sadly, Postal workers are divided at the very time they need to stand together to fight against devasting changes proposed by Postmaster DeJoy and the corporate cronies on the Board of Governors that gave their blessings to his plan before President Biden could fill the vacant seats. I don not believe this was an accident, but rather a well-executed plan to advance an agenda that will further divide Americans. The Delivering for America Plan calls for a change in 1st Class Mail Service standards that would allow 5 days or more for delivery, slowing down the mail. In addition, the mailing network would be consolidated shrinking our processing network. Worst of all the plan calls for the privatization of the "middle mile" where private compaines would run Surface Transfer Centers that would distribute, consolidate, and transport mail. We are now seeing just how terrible the service is using this plan. Today I tracked a Priority Mail piece that was mailed on May 3 in my office, and after being dispatched diappeared until May 22 when it resurfaced in Memphis, TN on a journey for delivery in las Veags, NV. I'll bet you are seeing the same type of disappearing act with your customers packages. Under DeJoy's plan this is the future of service. I think anyone reading this article understands that slowing down our ability to provide service while at the same time proposing to raise rates by nearly 150% is not conducive to maintaining and growing customer loyalty, quite the opposite. Yet there is no unity at the National level of union leadership to stop these terrible policies from being implemented. How important is 6-7 day delivery when the packages you are bringing to customers are 20 days old. When mail processing plants are consolidated are you ready to move nearly 600 miles away to keep your job? How long do you think we will continue to maintain our customers when we are no longer able to provide prompt and affordable services? We need to fight these extremely dangerous provisions of the plan to protect our customers and maintain service in the communities we serve.

That message should be coming from the top, but once again we have been divided. Lured in differing directions by self-serving interests with very short-sighted goals.

Workers are further divided in the workplace. We are not working together to protect work for the crafts, nor are we standing together against abusive management, or unsafe working conditions. In greater numbers, employees are leaving the Postal Service as the result of deplorable treatment by managers, long working hours and unsafe or unclean working conditions. Everyone recognizes the problem, but no one is standing up to put an end to the behavior. Too many people are tucking their heads down and trying to come to work and not be noticed, they do not want to make waves. This is exactly what an abusive manager counts on. If the employees, regardless of craft stand together to report these conditions or an abusive manager Postal Regulation require the situation be investigated and resolved. Many are watching the Postmasters and Supervisors performing craft work but do not report it because they are told they need the help to get the mail out for the customers. If we do not start fighting to protect our work, we are going to lose the work and Post Offices will be closed or have their hours of operation reduced. Under POStPlan the Postmaster can perform up to 15 hours of work. When the numbers of hours are reduced in an office the 15 hours for the Postmaster will remain the same it will be the clerks that will lose hours. When it is only a Postmaster in the office, the start times for carriers are in jeopardy of being pushed back or route checks being conducted to consolidate the mail and eliminate routes all together. We can stop all of this if we work together to report violations and fight for our work. 

This is not a theory; this is a proven fact. Recently a rally was held in Des Moines to protest the changes discussed earlier in the article. All crafts were invited to participate, and all crafts showed up to stand together and draw attention to the fight. As a result, the action got tremendous media attention, and the message reached thousands of people across the country. The American people love the Postal Service because of our long history of providing outstanding prompt delivery to every address, every day. We have earned their trust and their loyalty because of the hard work that each of us does every day. When we stood together to tell the public what is happening with their mail service and that the plan is to expand these terrible policies and increase their postage rates, we got results. By the thousands, our customers and fellow Americans are sending comments to the Postal Regulatory Commission, emailing the Federal Register, and writing to their Congressional Representatives and Senators. When we stand together and are united in our mission, we get action, and we make progress.

At the time I am writing this article the outcome of our united efforts is not yet known. I am confident that we have made a difference. Our united efforts are destined to get attention and force a reconsideration of policy. It will also bring retaliation aimed at destroying the unity of our purpose. Now is the time that you take stock, recognize the power of collective action, and decide to take back your power in the workplace and actively support the unions. Being a member gives you say in setting policies or goals on behalf of the bargaining. Membership provides you access to the tools you need to make good choices and better understand the rules of the workplace; you share in the power of our sheet number. This power is only realized when you are actively engaged and working towards a shared vision. The union is not an insurance policy that you activate when there is trouble, it is a dynamic organization that thrives on the talents of each individual and depends on a strong informational network to send and receive information. It is important now more than ever that you realize the critical role you play in maintaining power in the workplace. Failing in this moment not only puts your jobs at risk but positions you to be witnesses to the permanent demise of the Postal Service and the last vestige of true democracy in this country.