"Postal Employees Attacked...Again!"
By
Anna Anderson
Director Industrial Relations
I have been with the Postal Service supporting and serving this Union for my entire career of 29 years. I never thought that I would experience and see changes and challenges as we have and are about to see in the Postal Service. In my opinion the Postal Service is suffering from gross mismanagement, and we have been paying for it dearly.
For those of you that have not seen or heard the degrading and demoralizing tirade from GOP strategist, Jack Burkman, I urge you to view it on the APWU.org website. Jack(ass) Burkman had the audacity to call for the privatization of the Postal Service under the guise that we are draining taxpayers dollars and went so far to say that we are all "unskilled labor" and should be "bumped down to replace Nigerian and Ethiopian cab drivers." First and foremost what is the shame in driving a cab, making a living and putting food on your table, no matter what your ethnic background is? He's a blatant racist and his remarks should not be tolerated. Let's see him drive in the streets of New York and other cities and work his political strategist ass off to make ends meet.
As far as the degrading comment that we are all unskilled labor, I challenge Jack Burkman to learn a scheme, walk a route (in all types of weather), handle irate customers at the windows, (due to management requiring all the questions that must be asked for "secret shoppers), load a truck, drive a truck, stand at a machine that dictates the speed in which you work, or keep that machinery running and a building clean while cutting costs and juggling family obligations. Burkman was probably born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but it should be removed to make room for his foot.
We don't get paid by our tax dollars, we rely on the revenue from sales of our products and services, all of which were determined by Management. They have a right to mismanage. When the Postal Service shows a surplus, we give back to the Government. Maybe that's why the Postal Service was overcharged $75 billion dollars last year by the government.....oops! Who's in your wallet????
We are still the most efficient and cheapest form of mailing. Management did not have the foresight to dive into the technology pool soon enough and now we have too much competition and no time left to be competitive. It is my belief that is why this Company is failing, not because we stopped working or caring, but because we have unskilled management. This was just another jab by GOP conservatists to denigrate Union labor and take jobs away from Americans.
As a proud Union member and Postal Worker I urge you to contact your representatives to give voice to our concerns as a united front. The upcoming election will be paramount to our existence. The very fiber of this country was built on the backbone, blood, sweat and tears of the blue collar worker and now these political loudmouths are trying to dismantle it, one thread at a time and call us "unskilled labor." I fear for my children and their children's future. Are we going to sit back and watch all of our jobs be threatened and taken out of this country? For your answer, "please press zero" and wait for an underpaid and overworked employee in another country to respond!
Take a look at what has happened to the Auto industry, Steel Workers, Construction and even the Banking industries, just to name a few. We don't work for US any longer, we have other countries doing it for us.
The unending effort to bust and destroy Union jobs has been evident for a long time, and we have not had a true ally in the government that recognizes that stability and rights for workers, (especially blue collar workers), is what made this country the envy of many. We must get the word out to our political leaders! I urge all of you to contact your senators, congressman and local representatives and give them a piece of your mind and let them know that your support relies on their support for us, the workers. It's not too early to panic, please write to your representatives and VOTE!!!
You can reach your congressional Representive by utilizing the “CONTACT CONGRESS” tab on the right side of this website.
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