Stop the Unraveling
The longer I am in my position as advocate for the NALC, the more I observe that, as a people, as a Nation, as a Union - we have become divided. I have heard some say we have always been divided and that the advent of social media over the last decade and a half has just “exposed” what otherwise has always been present. To that I say, the proof is in the pudding.
Growing up in eastern Suffolk did not expose me to a lot of diversity. It was living and working in Freeport, as well as my service to the Union, that provided what insight I now possess. I can say for certain that when I started working in Freeport in 2000, the Carrier workforce was a much more cohesive group than it was when I left in 2017.
It is not entirely obvious to me why this has happened; but it is obvious that it is so. We have been divided along social and political ideologies in everything that we do. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this has hurt us as a Union. Carriers get together less and less for off the clock activities, going back even before the pandemic. We have become more clique-ish and exclusive. You don’t have to be a historian to know that if you want to manipulate people, one of the best strategies is to divide and conquer. This technique is not a new concept and has been repeated throughout history for hundreds of years, all the way back to Machiavelli and Sun Tzu. I feel that we have really lost an aspect of what made us special, our immunity to corporate greed.
While at Carrier Academy, I watch the NALC strike video at least once a week and what stands out to me is that the greatest victories in the fight for workers’ rights occur when the members focus on what unites us as Letter Carriers and craft employees. We are strongest when we put identity politics where it belongs, in the election booth. The Letter Carriers that stood on those picket lines back in March of 1970 did so at great risk. They did so as an act of personal desperation, but also of love and solidarity for one another. As such, they took the greatest leap forward in workers’ rights and benefits in Postal history.
This history is in stark contrast to what I observe today. Carriers are easily manipulated by childish acts of favoritism. There is an office where I observed incidents of Carriers working off the clock, surprisingly soon after my warnings of the grave consequences this behavior would cause to the Routes in the event of a Route Count and Inspection. After minimal investigation, I found out what was being offered in exchange was the right to take Annual Leave to go home and preferential treatment in the “type” of Overtime being distributed. The idea that someone would be willing to work for free on a regular basis is dizzying to me. It is also something that would never happen in a group that looked after each other.
It is only as a cohesive unit our true betterment be realized. For every complaint about how the newer employees perform their duties, there should also be an effort to police the poor treatment of the newer employees. For every complaint about how the Senior Carriers get preferential treatment, there should be a little respect deference for the work it takes to become a Senior Carrier by those who will have to follow. Carrying Mail is a very tough job, and the hard work should be something that unites us.
As for the politics themselves, the members of Branch 6000 should keep this in mind - in the five (5) congressional districts that make up the territory of our branch, there are two (2) Republican Congress people and three (3) Democrats. All of which have been sympatico in the interests of this Union pertaining to the legislation that has been impactful to our members' work conditions. Conversely, none of the recent Presidents have painted the USPS and its Unions in a very uncharitable light going back to Jimmy Carter (1977 – 1981). We truly are a bipartisan organization.
We must never lose sight of exactly what we will be sacrificing if we continue to be divided. This mentality of “they are just going to do what they want.” REALLY? Do you think that they WANT to give us a Cost-of-Living Increase of well over a thousand dollars twice in a row? Ask yourselves how many other organizations that have built in protection against inflation. Keep in mind that “They” are giving your Supervisor and Postmaster their marching orders from their homes half the time. The point is that they can do their job from their home. I find that interesting and am surprised that their salaries have not been adjusted thusly.
We, the laborers, must keep in our minds and hearts what it is to be Letter Carriers for the US Post Office. It is not the young business majors that the Post Office has hired to bean count that makes the United States Post Office special. In our race to capture Parcel business, it must be the Letter Carriers and the Union that remind Management that we are special because we are a SERVICE. Our customers care about us as we care about them. We are not going to beat Amazon in the delivery game by being Amazon; NO! We are going to beat Amazon by being the best version of ourselves.
