General Thoughts and Concerns

I would like to start this article off with a showing of gratitude to all of our past and present veterans. Your sacrifices and dedication to our country has allowed us to here at home to be secure in our safety. You do not receive the proper accolades that you deserve but I want you to know that you are appreciated and prayed for on a daily basis.

Now for the Letter Carrier portion of this program.

It feels like when I write these columns I am running in circles. The problem I believe is twofold.

First off, all of my statements and comments about the USPS seem to never go away. The service as we know it is under attack each and every day. Washington is looking to destroy us and then privatize. This administration has not hid its agenda to destroy our right to bargain and negotiate. They want to take more away from you and give you less for what you do. Pay more for health benefits and retirement. They want to strip the social security supplemental benefit. A benefit that allows you to retire at an earlier age by collecting the approximate monthly retirement benefit you would receive from Social Security at age 62. Very few of our members would be able to afford to retire at age 57 if this went through.

At the same time of this repeated attempt to destroy your benefits they want to make you work longer in the street. President Barton has written about case consolidation so I won’t rehash it. What I will say is if this program is ultimately successful, the service as we know it will be done. Management wants to split the workforce into two units. One casing mail (with some delivery), and one delivering mail up to 8 hours a day in the street. The two offices where this crap has been implemented on Long Island, Patchogue and Great Neck, have seen a demonstrative drop in service. Mail being curtailed or not delivered at all. Letter Carriers out delivering mail up to 8 PM on a daily basis. Carriers being forced to work 10 to 12+ hours a day. The letter carriers I have spoke to are looking for ways to get out. They are tired and starting to break down.

 There is also the issue of our PMG retiring at the end of January 2020. Some may say good riddance but the fact remains that she was pushed out by the administration. From what I have been told, Mr. Trump and his minions have repeatedly attacked her behind closed doors. So now that they have succeeded, do you think we will be getting a new PMG that has our interests at heart? I doubt it! The new PMG could very well follow Trumps master plan to disassemble the USPS by destroying it from within.

Most of this has been written about time and time again so many feel like we are just saying “the sky is falling”. I hope that is true. Unfortunately we are at the precipice of our jobs and benefits changing forever. All I can do is keep trying to educate the membership of what is going on and hope you listen.

The second of my twofold issue is just that; the membership. It is hard to fathom the general lack of concern in the craft.  Many members have no knowledge of what rights we have. Too many members believe that it is somebody else’s responsibility to worry about the job. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have been told “that’s what I pay union dues for”. The fact is, you are the union, collectively.  We stand together or we fail together. Too many members want to just sit back and blame others for everything that goes wrong. If we continue down this path, we are headed to a place nobody wants to be at. There is too much at stake to sit on the sidelines anymore. As I have said and/or written numerous times before; know your rights. Be a part of the solution or you will be part of the failure. If you can survive without this job, God Bless you. Most of us cannot. Most need their health benefits. Most need a decent paycheck every other week. Most look forward to retirement because they understand that by having a decent paying job that has a retirement benefit, they can use that benefit. Nothing has ever been given to the work force. Everything has been fought for with blood, sweat and many tears and years of negotiations.

So my advice is to get in the game. Pay attention to what is going on. Stop the blame game and be part of the solution. Stop sucking up to management! Don’t work off the clock. Stop running your routes. Take your lunch and breaks. Understand the consequences of your actions and how they affect your daily routine.

I can tell you how to do it, but I cannot do it for you.

Now that I am done rambling on, I would like to wish you and your families a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season.