Postmaster General Louis DeJoy apparently does not think that the mail carriers’ jobs are hard enough. They still trudge over the ice, snow, and sleet. They come in spite of 100-plus degree weather and when it plummets to 30 degrees below zero. It does not matter whether the rain is pouring, or their pouches are stuffed with Christmas letters. DeJoy and the current occupant of the people’s White House have managed to screw with one of the noblest careers going.
This less-than-dynamic duo has imposed impossible restrictions on the carriers and sent empty long trucks across the country. They even physically removed four types of machines and dismantled them, according to the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU). The most important one was the rapid sorting machine (Delivery Bar Code Sorter machines or DBCS) which sorted 30,000 envelopes an hour, according to CNN:
‘These machines are vital because they do the majority of mail sorting for the entire USPS. They process most of the envelope mail, which includes election ballots heading to voters.’
Things are much worse, though. The NPMHU is under the AFL-CIO umbrella, and its members have been under attack by the Donald Trump Administration. In a ringing endorsement for the Democratic Biden-Harris ticket, the union explained its members had been under “direct threats on their livelihood” and attempts to break the union. The NPMHU President Paul Hogrogian wrote:
‘Over the past four years, NPMHU members have faced direct threats on their livelihood from the Trump Administration. We saw a White House Postal Task Force that attacked postal labor, recommended taking away our collective bargaining rights and increasing the cost of our retirement benefits.’
Hogrogian continued:
‘The Task Force also made efforts to undermine the Postal Service itself, calling for moving away from a six-day delivery; expanding third-party partnership, which could lead to privatization; and, increasing postal rates, pricing customers out of the market.’
The Postal Service has been a dedicated lifeline to every American home and business. They have taken special care of elder members of their communities and our veterans. The USPS delivers prescriptions, Social Security and Medicare checks, and “home goods to the house-bound during the pandemic.”
Its members chose to endorse Biden, because he has fought the Republican-led attempts to privatize the USPS, eliminate the six-day delivery, and force up-front payment of retirement costs unlike any other governmental agency. The USPS is not and was never intended to be a for-profit entity any more than the military:
‘Additionally, Joe Biden is a proven advocate for members of the labor movement, understanding its value to the growth of the middle class with the development of paid-leave, health and retirement benefit provisions, and the 40-hour work week. In contrast to the Trump Administration’s attacks on collective bargaining rights through the use of executive orders, Joe Biden will be a leader who will support and protect the men and women of labor.’
Biden also selected a “pro-postal, pro-labor running mate with Senator Kamala Harris.” As a senator, she co-sponsored legislation to protect the USPS:
‘[P]rotecting USPS from privatization; supporting the organization rights of public sector employees; and aiding the Postal Service through emergency appropriations in response to the coronavirus pandemic.’
The USPS, the people who “keep family and friends connected” faces a turning point in postal history:”
‘Despite the USPS being the most trusted federal agency, often it feels as if our work is undervalued and unappreciated by elected officials. We’ve seen attacks against our rights as workers, the service we provide, and the constitutionally protected institution we work for. We need a leader who will stand with us. We need Joe Biden.’
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
