Milwaukee, WI – On June 20, Eugene Gates, Jr. collapsed from a heat stress-related illness and died while delivering on his route in Dallas, Texas. Gates was a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 132 whose president, Kimetra Lewis, said that Gates “was at the point where he could retire.” He had joined the USPS in November 1987 and had worked for the company for over 30 years.

Gates would have benefited from receiving the Heat Illness Prevention Program (HIPP) training carriers were supposed to receive this spring, but instead U.S. Postal Service management falsified training records for carriers all over the country, forging documents which claimed carriers received the HIPP training in early April. If you ask carriers, most of them have never heard about the training. Heat illness is the leading cause of death for carriers and these actions show a clear lack of empathy from postal management towards its employees.

The USPS has recently been pushing for a speedup of its employees as the company shifts to conducting route evaluations based on scanner data where employees’ every move is monitored on a computer program. The company seeks to cut costs and add extra deliveries to carriers routes by forcing this scanner data to support their interests.

Local managers have been instructed to convince employees that the volume on their routes is historically low. They're going against the national agreement with NALC by implementing “mandatory hour office times” where carriers are to organize their mail and parcels and load their trucks in under an hour. If employees go over this estimate they are being harassed and written up. Management has also been implementing “pivot” strategies where carriers are being threatened with discipline unless they finish their routes an hour early to then deliver an hour of work on another route. This is before the burden of mandatory overtime most carriers see daily, with some being forced to work 12 hours a day for six days a week.

Corey Walton, NALC Branch 4 steward and host of the informative podcast “From A to Arbitration”, has stated plans to file a national grievance for falsifying carrier training records and plans to release an episode in honor Eugene Gates, Jr. and inform listeners how to combat management harassment for unrealistic productivity levels going forward.

All of these strategies recently implemented together likely contributed to Gates’ death, as the shop floor has become hostile and stressful. Carriers are being harassed to meet these dangerous new standards set forth by management with a clear lack of regard for carrier safety. If things don’t change soon management will have more blood on their hands.

#MilwaukeeWI #NationalAssociationOfLetterCarriers

Seattle, WA – Around 100 postal service workers and supporters gathered at Westlake Park on May 29 as the National Association of Letter Carriers continues negotiations for a new contract with USPS. The rally was hosted by NALC Branch 79. Postal workers and supporters spoke about the need for a strong contract that includes a higher starting pay, an end to the two tiered system, and an end to mandatory overtime.

Kevin Gottleib, president of NALC Local 79, took to the stage first and spoke out about the need for a higher starting pay that is competitive with the rest of the industry, stating, “We need our bargaining team to hit a grand slam out of the park.” The previous NALC contract expired on May 20 but will remain into effect until a new contract is agreed upon. Postal service workers are currently start at around $19 an hour.

When USPS does hire new workers, pay and benefits are not enough to retain them. This has trapped the industry in a cycle of understaffing and forced overtime. Carriers are forced to work 60 hours every week, and many work as many as 90 or even 100 hours a week, leaving them with very little time to spend with their friends and family. This also causes safety issues, as exhausted carriers are more likely to hurt themselves or others on the job.

Debbie Dixon, regional administrative assistant for the NALC, says the problem is the management – or rather mismanagement – of the U.S. postal service. Managers are often hired on after working as non-career letter carriers for less than 90 days, with little to no knowledge of the contract or the day to day of the job.

“We must train management on contact compliance,” Dickson declared to an energized crowd. “We need to them to be trained on how to actually run the United States Postal Service!”

Rogelio Gose, a shop steward at NALC Branch 79, spoke about the demands that letter carriers want to see in the contract, and sent a clear message that workers are not afraid to stand up and fight for a contract that meets these demands. In addition to an end to mandatory overtime, and higher starting wages, carriers want to get rid the non-career track “city carrier assistant” position, which comes with lower pay and worse benefits than career track jobs. “We want the national letter carrier position to be a career where we can retire with dignity and respect!” said Gose. “We must be organized and send a clear message to our national bargaining team that we need a contract that meets our standards.”

In between speeches, the crowd chanted “Hey hey, ho ho, mandatory overtime has got to go!” and “First-class service, first-class pay!”

Speakers also commemorated the postal worker strike of 1970, where over 200,000 postal workers went on a wildcat strike, which won them the rights to collective bargaining, in addition to higher wages and safer working conditions.

Meech Vecchio, vice president of the Seattle Educators Association stated, “Our collective wins affect all workers.”

David Yao from the American Postal Worker’s Union told the crowd, “Your struggle is our struggle. What we do helps you, what you do helps us.” He also called on all postal workers to stand in solidarity with Teamsters at UPS when their national contract expires on July 31.

C Moline, a carrier out of the U District station who organized the rally, was the last to speak and thanked everyone for coming out. Echoing earlier speakers, Moline emphasized the need for carriers to take back their power at the job and stop relying solely on the grievance procedure to settle issues at work. “No longer can we watch as our managers push around and bully other carriers. No longer can we fight with one hand behind our back,” said Moline. “This rally is the start of a new time in our branch, one were we take back the power we have left at the negotiating table.”

#SeattleWA #NationalAssociationOfLetterCarriers

St. Paul, MN – Over 1000 union members from all sections of the labor movement packed the Minnesota capitol, March 12, as right-wing legislators jammed a so-called ‘Right to Work’ constitutional amendment through a Senate committee. The proposed amendment needs to pass the both houses of the legislature for it to be placed on the ballot this fall.

“This amendment is an attack on workers and unions,” said Cherrene Horazuk, chief steward of AFSCME Local 3800, “it would kill our power at the bargaining table.”

Steve Fadness, a Duluth pipe fitter stated, “We have to stop this legislation because we won't be able to get back what we lose if it passes.”

Tom Fox, a retired member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, commented, “If this anti-worker amendment passes it will pit worker against worker and state against state and will domino to other states.”

A member of Minnesota Nurses Association, Susan Kreitz said, “Without a union workers will be mistreated and patient care would decline. We want Minnesota to stay a state with a vibrant union movement.”

The proposed amendment was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee to a standing room only crowd, while outside the hearing room union members packed the hallways chanting “Hey hey! Ho ho! Union busting has got to go!” “Right to work – bad deal! Right to work – unsafe!” and, hearkening back to the 2011 Madison union mobilizations, “Kill the bill!”

For over three hours, the power of the unions’ force could be heard and felt throughout the capitol and inside the hearing room. Tom Clark, Treasurer of Firefighters Local 82 and several of his fellow union members were outside the hearing. “Right to work is bad for unions and all of Minnesota. If this passes through committee today we must start a huge education campaign, letting everyone know that over time, ‘Right to Work’ will erode safety, bargaining power and workers rights.”

Diane Ersbo of Teamsters local 638 said, “I am here because I value my union job. Because I have a son with a disability, decent health care is really important. I make good wages; I’m paid equally on the shop floor compared to my male counterparts; I’m treated with respect. Right to work would end all of that. It’s important that we not wait until it gets to the ballot because there is too much at stake. Now is the time to do everything you can to stand up against this amendment.”

The amendment passed the committee 7-6, with one Republican voting against it. As politicians left the hearing room, they had to go through a gauntlet of people chanting “Shame! Shame!” and “We will return.” Republican Senators who voted for the amendment hurriedly walk past protesters and into an elevator, escorted by an entourage of police.

From here, the will move to the Rules and Administration Committee before going to the full Senate.

Martin Goff from UNITE HERE Local 17 commented, “This amendment is a culmination of attacks on the social safety net and unions, while also deregulating businesses, allowing them to reap unprecedented profits on the backs of workers.”

#StPaulMN #MinnesotaNursesAssociation #AFSCMELocal3800 #rightToWork #NationalAssociationOfLetterCarriers #UNITEHERELocal17 #TeamstersLocal638