From PostalReporter.com reader:
Sisters and Brothers,
A national network of postal workers from the NALC, APWU, and Mail Handlers unions, assisted by Labor Notes, is putting out the call to all postal workers and our allies to
Occupy the Post Office!
April 17th (TAX DAY)
May 15th approaches, the deadline for Congress to act before the Postmaster General begins a massive wave of mail sorting plant and post office closures. These closures will cause huge disruptions to mail service – hurting our most vulnerable, the poor and the elderly — as well as destroying tens of thousands of living wage, union jobs and sabotaging businesses that rely on timely mail delivery. The damage to communities, whether rural or urban, in the disruption of family life and consumer spending, will be substantial.
Congress appears stuck. We have a majority in the House signed onto HR 1351 but it languishes in committee. We have turned in a million petition signatures to no avail.
The Postmaster General has already bowed to pressure twice — postponing the closure deadline to May 15th and now pledging no closures between August 15th & January 1.
Many of us have organized local rallies, marches, hearings and townhalls to Save America’s Postal Service. We have found many allies, including the energetic, bold youth of Occupy Wall Street. We plan to engage the Occupy movement in whatever audacious activity makes sense in each local struggle. We call on the labor movement, community allies, the Jobs with Justice coalitions and our national union leaders to join us in this day of action.
We need to turn up the heat and raise the level of fightback or the postal service will be plunged into a death spiral.
A national flyer for local use should be ready within a week. Stay tuned and begin local plans.
Congress is ready with a handful of legislation, any one or more of which is ready to enact based on what We the People tell our reps in the next few weeks.
Let’s face it, Congress will have to act according to the vast, vast majority. Darryl Issa’s personal agenda can be overruled, but only if we all do what democratic people do – petition, pester and prove our knowledge.
Where are the flyers already?!?
Contrary to the lack of anything intelligent that many of you have to say, I am a member of 2 occupy groups. I take a shower everyday, I have full time job. I have had this job for 14 years. I know other occupier’s who are professors from John’s Hopkins, engineers from Nasa at the Goddard Space Center, retired school teachers, some are postal workers. We actually care about our country. We actually care about our community, We actually care about our neighborhoods, We actually care about the well being of our family & our friends & our fellow man. We are not selfish & self centered like you. THANK GOD ! ! !
ho more slavery on Mon, 12th Mar 2012 1:14 am
The issue should be protest at Darrell Issa office in vista california. He is the person that is using the postal issue to promote himself for the republican party. The idiot will do anything to patronize the right wing so as to position himself for the next presidential race in 2016. His crony ball licking buddy Ross from florida should also be targeted for demonstration.Issa will resort to any depths possible to obstruct any positive legislation , so as to prevent the current administration from succeeding on any level. Get the idiot some birth control.
With such a “well reasoned” argument as yours, is it any wonder that we’re having trouble getting the general public “on our side”? You’re an embarrassment to polite and reasoned discourse.
Those who put down Occupiers without working to run some of us whom we can trust to represent us in government and without meeting with Occupiers to understand are a very large source of our problems.
We know from experience that we need to work together for our common good, that that is what is effective and fulfills us.
Negative attacks on people who are not trying to exploit us only makes you who do it unhappy and pawns of those exploiting us. It must seem much safer to pick Occupiers as the cause of our problems instead of those whom we all know caused them.
The other largest part of our difficulties is all who can see what is going on enough to choose to avoid knowing more or joining anything to act together to do anything about it or who just aren’t willing to be political. Not being political together for our common good is what allows the exploiters to triumph.
Lots of us, including the Occupiers, are building the community we need. We are so far a small proportion of all of and we are growing in numbers some.
Please join the positive community for our common good. We get healthier when we do, and we build change that is real, in us and our world. It’s what history calls for. Many in other countries are way ahead of us; getting together, we can build a community that works for us locally, across our country, and with our friends in other countries.
@ Mark and Pamela
The name Occupy bothers you? Could it be that what you know of Occupy has been shown to you by main stream media and not personal experiences? I ask because I am not a free loader I have work since I was 15 supporting my entire family yet I Occupy.
People sitting in tents (jobless)? Yes I’m sure some people are jobless that participate with Occupy the unemployment rate is high. If the government has it’s way some of those people might be former post office workers. We have former teachers, business professional and others that Occupy.
Occupy complains and doesn’t offer solutions? We have done much more besides protest. We have written legislation to end Corporate Person Hood which Portland passed. We hope to get it passed in Salem on a State Level. We are active now in many city committees trying to find ways to solve our problems. We are involved in Unions’ struggles which paid off in Longview, Wa with ILWU and EGT. We endlessly talk with elected officials to find ways to solve the issues we face. Some Occupy participants are running for local offices and for Congress.
We have organized people to help homeowners keep their homes by advocating for them legally and by discouraging eviction through “occupying” their homes when the Sheriffs show up.
Occupy participants are doing so much that you probably don’t know about because the news is not interested in reporting it. If you truly want to know or understand what Occupy is doing the best way is to talk with people who Occupy or going to the offices that most Occupy groups have now.
We do need to find ways to communicate with one another and our government. People taking to the streets in protest has started conversations around the issues we have and provides a way for people to get involved and find solutions. PLEASE if you judge us, judge us off your personal experiences with us and not based on the media.
Deborah C. Essler
America needs a financially stable and Private Postal Service to best adapt to a changing marketplace and evolving mail needs.
Toward that end, the U.S. Postal Service is taking actions to abrogate the long-term affordability of mail and send this organization to financial instability.
Declining mail volumes and a rising percentage of our 6 figure salaries and bonuses dictate that we take this bold action to preserve and protect the Postal Service to retain our lucrative salaries.
In the past financial quarter, the Postal Service lost $3.3 billion dollars and is projecting steep losses for the remainder of the year, most due to the high salaries paid to upper and lower management.
It is in March ,2012 that we will announce across the board Early Retirements and possibly incentives, though the largest incentives will go to Management, and any remaining funds for craft buyouts.
Times have just changed, and so must the Postal Service. The fact is the American public and businesses are relying more on electronic communications. Bills are paid online. Friends and family interact through email, Facebook and Twitter.
Nevertheless, the demise of the Postal Service is something we all have to deal with, The Postal Service sustains a $900 billion industry that employs more than 8 million people. Its employees deliver mail to 151 million locations, the free ride of delivery to every residence , is an element of the past.
Last year, more than 8,000 postal employees in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont alone processed, transported and delivered 650 million pieces of mail to more than 1.83 million homes, businesses and post office boxes, even though management in their places of work used and continue to use intimidation and threats against them daily.
Our employees do a great job and are committed to both their co-workers and our communities, these employees though working in abusive and hostile working environments, for some reason ,continue to work.
And yet, to preserve the affordability of mail and to return the Postal Service to long-term financial stability, the Postal Service is pursuing a dismantling of our operational networks. As we do so, we are committed to ensuring a tragic end for our employees and our customers.
In December, the Postal Service agreed to impose a moratorium on closing or consolidating post offices and mail processing facilities until May 15, to give Congress time for Privatization to begin.
The steps we are taking now will put the Postal Service on a strong course for Privatization footing within the next few years.
Deborah C. Essler is district manager of the Northern New England District of the U.S. Postal Service, composed of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Oh my…this will really bring them to their knees! Guess that grievance machine isn’t working out for the APWU and neither is that Osama BinBarak! I’m sure he’s on pins and needles about this picket. Keep paying dem dues so we can pay per diem & travel to more APWU officials to picket! And, by the way, where is the hospitality room this year at the convention?
Occup the Postal Service is the exact thing to do April 17th! Not just postal workers, but every American citizen that want their universal daily mail delivery service to continue, and by the U S Postal Service! The community need to get involved! If the Potal service stop delivering the mail on a daily as it is now, close postal processing facilities, this would only destroy the Postal mail service! America stand up and let your voice be heard! Congress need to listen! Pass the H. R. 1351 Bill ontroduced byy John Lynch a year ago, that Issa is refusing to let be heard! President Obama, we need your support also!!
None of what has been suggested – sensible or non-sense – will change anything. Lets face it, when it comes to power, and money, you can bet your bottom dollar that members of congress, the postmaster general, postal management, and union leadership are all in bed with each other. The handwriting has been on the wall for quite sometime now and regardless of all the propositions, demonstrations, petitions and what have you, in an attempt to stop the closing of postal facilities and the doing away with jobs, government has the upper hand. They will do whatever it takes to see to it that their longtime mission is accomplished. Afterall, for many months now postal workers, and the public have voiced their opposition to congress reagarding the closing of postal facilities, the impact on the economy, jobs and what have you, and as of yet no one has seen any sincere attempt by congress to put a stop to the unfairness of it all. WHY??? Because the powers to be and their money is making sure that congress drags their feet so that mission gets accomplished. Postal Service as we know it is a thing of the past. The handwriting has been on the wall for years and is now in concrete no matter how much we fight against it !
Nobody is gonna support anything called “occuy” anything. You would have to really be surrounded by lefty loons to think the American people think the occupiers are anything to be copied.
Geeze, no wonder the unions have less and less support from American workers. I am a union member but am ashamed that my leadership grabs on to any left wing nut parade that comes along.
I am a local union official and yet I will never give to COPA. I do not trust our leadership to not give it all to the first hippie communist snake oil salesman that comes along.
To add to an earlier message/suggestion. On the date of the tax filing deadline all should go to a post office, ask to see the philatelic stamps available. After considerable consideration ask to buy an International Reply Coupon instead. Insist on being able to purchase the “Forever IRC.”
Excellent idea! I hope there are hundreds of thousands of people standing outside post offices nation wide on tax day… All of you SCABS, managers, mailing industry scum, need to let the postal unions be a union and America will be better off!!!
occupy all the post offices with the kool-aid drinkers from the NALC/APWU outside on the sidewalks on tax day. that will surely light a fire under congress and the senate! it will also make the general public sick to their stomachs, just like they turned on the “occupoopers”. endorsed by Obama and the whitehouse. that’ll work! give me a freakin’ break!
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I’ll never look into your eyes…again
So Mark and Pam want to pick the type of people who will support our cause?
They don’t want to be associated with people “sitting in a tent (possibly unemployed)” ? Wake up! If the Postmaster goes through with his plans we may all be sitting in a tent (possibly unemployed)
I for one, will appreciate the help of any group that stands with us in solidarity.
Time to march on Capital Hill. Need to have all Union members march on the “Hill”,
not just the Postal Workers, but all Union members.,
Good. Go. Retire early. Take your petty cash and leave. They’ll divide up that cash over a few years and it’ll slip right through your fingers. You won’t actually be able to do much of anything with it like that. Hope your financial house is in order. By the way, what’s that house of yours worth now anyway? *snicker* You won’t be getting that fat paycheck every 2 weeks. Once all this blows over, it’ll be time for some serious money. Cranky old slow employees gone, temps fired, and lots of mail for the rest of us. I can just smell the overtime now. Tell ya what, i’ll buy your short-sale house after i start raking in those first few checks.
If Rolando the Cuban Clown and Cliff,no balls and one term Guffey, are behind it, see you later !
While you all do that , some of us will support you by occupying the Crappers, so management will have to hold it, and then explode !
Who gives a crap, go do your death spiral dance, the lead dancer will be Cliff Guffey of the APWU, Early retirements for those of us who refuse to stay on the Titanic.
To avoid legal problems have everyone buy a 1 cent stamp with a 5 or 10 dollar bill.
Apologies, for my typo…In my last sentence I MEANT to say “I’m assuming you WOULDN’T want/suggest for this to be unlawful?”
You won’t be able to have this organized and on postal property. Do you remember the Christmas carolers that were asked to leave the premises when they were only singing? I’m assuming you would want/suggest for this to be unlawful?
The sad part is what happened to the Trillions of Dollars in these stimulus and bailout packages ?, it bailed out the criminal element and greed of wall street,
That money never reached the working class, and now Congress is scrounging for cuts to those areas already cut, what a sad country, the wealthy are Congress and Congress protects itself and the source of its’ wealth.
Congress is now beating a dead horse, the Federal employees are the Sacrificial Lambs, when you vote remember that Congress gets those big paychecks and a House member only has to work two years and they can retire, if they do not run again, forcing employees to work part time to mentor others is a joke, it is to get money from them and stop them from retiring when they are eligible, what a disaster, this will enhance the GOP candidate chances of being the next president, Obama has singed his own ending story, evil , the word for Obama and Congress, Greece here we come !
bring the consolidations on and merge tours, too. i’m all for both of them. usps needs to change its culture. glad somebody is doing something.
i agree that the occupy movement is of another spirit but shows what’s coming in the future.
meanwhile, “… labor and sorrow that my days should be consumed with shame?”
The issue should be protest at Darrell Issa office in vista california. He is the person that is using the postal issue to promote himself for the republican party. The idiot will do anything to patronize the right wing so as to position himself for the next presidential race in 2016. His crony ball licking buddy Ross from florida should also be targeted for demonstration.Issa will resort to any depths possible to obstruct any positive legislation , so as to prevent the current administration from succeeding on any level. Get the idiot some birth control.
I AGREE Mark, please call it something else….I don’t want to be associated with sitting in a tent (possibly jobless) with only complaints and no solutions or suggestions! We need to find better ways to communicate America’s dilemma of losing their Post Offices! It’s part of losing your freedom of speech by inexpensive communication!
please call it something else… i think the “occupy” people are freeloaders who don’t want to pull their weight and to put us in that mix…… please call it something else..