A Few Things That Need to be Said

As many of you already know, I have decided to retire in the beginning of the year. This will be my last LIMB Article. I’m hoping that President Barton and the Editor do not mind if this runs a little long.

It’s amazing to think that almost 31 years have passed since I walked into the Bayshore Post Office as a probationary carrier. Not much later I transferred into the Wantagh Post Office and stayed there the rest of my career. I became Shop Steward there in 1991, at the time I never realized where that path would take me. Honestly, I didn’t care for the way I was being treated by both by management and the Union and I hoped I could make a difference in the way we all dealt with each other. Dignity and Respect, even back in 1991.

Not long after, we had postal workers losing their cool at work, all over the country. It became known as “Going Postal”. The work environment was so terrible that shootings even resulted. After tragedy in Royal Oaks Michigan, the Postal Service was put on notice. The entire country was watching and the workplace became a less stressful place for a few years. Not great, but less stressful.

It didn’t last all that long, management returned to their usual antics, and here we are again, a stressful almost impossible work environment but with a twist, we now have two different classes of workers, career and non-career. But I get ahead of myself.

As a Shop Steward I soon learned that it was necessary to become more involved. I began to attend meetings, right from the beginning and with the help of strong Full Time Officers, Tom Keyes, Walter Barton and Nick D’Avanzo, I learned my job. And I learned it well. As time went on, I became a Trustee for Branch 6000. Moved up in the ranks of the Executive Board. I became an Advocate to Arbitration, the Region 15 Shop Steward Trainer, the First woman on the NYS National Association of Letter Carriers Board and finally, the First Woman Full Time Officer for Branch 6000 in 2005.

Along the way, many lessons were learned, and I learned that there were still so many lessons to learn. I learned that just because I felt carriers were being poorly treated there was no easy or quick fix. I could not go into the office screaming, holding the contract in my hand and be taken seriously. I learned to get a thicker skin, because I would be cursed out and hated both by management and sometimes even my own members when I needed to state that what they were doing was just wrong. But what I never learned was how to stop caring. I, till this day, will do my best to make your lives at work easier.

So you all know, I put it right out there, and there are a few things that need to be said. The Postal Service is your employer! They have the right to instruct you, order you and ask you to do things you do not want to do. You have to follow that direct order, unless your safety and health is put at risk, and then ask to speak with your shop steward later to discover if there was in fact a contract violation. Many times, believe it or not, there is no contract violation, just an individual carrier, who believes they have no boss, and that the boss does not have the right to direct them. Whether you remember it or not, you signed a piece of paper that said that you would take whatever means necessary to follow the instructions of your supervisor and safeguard and deliver all the mail put into your care on an individual day. Don’t believe me, go into your e-OPF you will see it there, mine is in there from January of 1987, yours is there too.

In my humble opinion, everyone of the non-career (CCAs) should have been hired as PTFs. Selfish of the Postal Service and the Union to allow this non-career workforce to be hired without benefits and security. They can send 4-5 highly paid managers in a car to find a carrier sitting for 5 minutes but they cannot find the resources to pay a decent wage and provide benefits to our newest union members. This disparity of pay and benefits has cause ¼ of our workforce to be temporary workers, a revolving door. And quite frankly, very few are serious about a career. It’s a temporary job; it’s a job that’s fading away in the tech world. Our younger members do not know the importance of the job and it scares me to say that some just don’t care.

And that is not to let the Senior members off the hook. Where are you all, the members with 10-40 years on the job? Why aren’t you mentoring the younger members like was done to all of us in the past? Why are there only about 50-75 carriers at a General Membership Meeting? We are over 3000 strong. Why aren’t you getting involved? Come to a meeting, volunteer some time for legislative work. Get involved with our charities or other offerings that are available. This is your future; let’s not make it your lack of future. Yes, we all have responsibilities, families, obligations but your future income should be a priority as well.

I would be amiss if I didn’t give gratitude before I go. First, it has been my honor and privilege to serve, both as a Letter Carrier and as a Union Official. I never took my position in the Union for granted; I knew I was there only because of the support of all of you.

I thank the carriers past and present of the Wantagh Post Office. It was all of you who got me involved and help to keep me involved. A special call out to Bill Link, who was my alternate and took over as Steward after I left, thank you Bill for your support and for picking up the ball when I left Wantagh. In so many ways, you became a better Steward than I.

I thank each and every Shop Steward that I have had the pleasure to work with. Though we sometimes disagreed, we were both there trying to work for our members. I thank you all for your service to this great Union. To all the members I had the pleasure to represent; I thank you for your support. I tried as best I could to help make your work environment better and I hope you always felt that I was an ear to listen to your concerns both on and off the job.

To all the members past and present of the Branch 6000 Executive Board, I thank you for your support over the years. You all put up with my contentious self and even though we did not always agree on the same direction, we always worked together as one to achieve what we could for the membership.

To President Walter Barton, my sincere thanks for mentoring me way back when, pushing me to achieve things I did not believe could happen and to become, as I lovingly refer to you, “my Big Bro”. I would not be writing this article now if our paths had not crossed.

Finally to my husband Andy, I cannot thank you enough for listening to all my ranting and raving each and every night. Lord knows how you put up with it for all these years. You supported me when no one else would. You are my heart.

Of course, I’m not going out without a song and yes it’s a song from before a lot of you were born but the words still ring true. From Turn, Turn, Turn;

To everything (turn, turn, turn) There is a season (turn, turn, turn) And a time to every purpose, under heaven. A time to be born, a time to die. A time to plant, a time to reap. A time to kill, a time to heal. A time to laugh, a time to weep. A time to gain, a time to lose. A time to rend, a time to sew. A time for love, a time for hate, A time for peace, I swear it’s not too late.

I wish everyone good health, long life and peace in this world. Bless you all!