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Letter Carriers Protest Job Outsourcing |
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Neither rain nor snow nor dark of night can keep letter carriers from their appointed routes. But now their bosses are trying to do just that.
Members of the Letter Carriers (NALC) held informational pickets June 17 in 17 cities in Florida and in Paterson, N.J., on Saturday to bring attention to the now wholesale outsourcing of their jobs to private industry.
In the past, only sprawling, underpopulated areas of Florida were handed over to private carriers who hired workers at low wages and offered no benefits. Today, the most sought-after high-rise developments are being taken away from NALC members and given to nonunion workers.
The Florida and New Jersey demonstrations are part of many planned throughout the nation to bring the attention of the public to this new policy that could diminish service to postal customers and endanger the future viability of the Postal Service.
NALC President William Young said letter carriers in Florida and New Jersey:
have witnessed first-hand this destructive policy of the Postal Service to outsource the delivery of mail to low-wage, no-benefit, part-time contractors instead of career government employees who have gained the trust and respect of American families for the past 118 years.
This policy must be reversed quickly before more damage is done. NALC’s effort to fight privatization of mail delivery has gained strong support in Congress. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced The Mail Delivery Protection Act of 2007 (S. 1457) to outlaw most contracting out. In the House, Rep. Albio Sires (D-N.J.) has authored H.R. 282, which would condemn the practice and urge the Postal Service to halt the practice immediately.
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I may be old, I may be tired, but my back is still strong. Get me a sign, I have marched before and I will do it again.
NALC fights contracting out on Capitol Hill
Letter Carriers from across the country have descended on Washington to lead NALC’s campaign to stop the Postal Service’s reckless drive to contract out the delivery of mail.
On March 28, 2007, Congressman Albio Sires (NJ-13) introduced a non-binding resolution (H.R. 282) expressing the Sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service should discontinue the practice of contracting out mail delivery services. Hundreds of Congressional Representatives have signed onto the resolution as cosponsors, showing their support for Letter Carriers as we continue to move forward towards a binding legislative proposal to address this issue.
On May 24, 2007, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced S. 1457, Mail Delivery Protection Act of 2007. The bill will limit the Postal Service’s ability to contract out mail delivery to only those places where there are less than one delivery points per mile. At the time of its introduction S. 1457 had six cosponsors including Senators Casey (D-PA), Baucus (D-MT), Bingaman (D-NM), Murray (D-WA), Leahy (D-VT), Kerry (D-MA), Tester (D-MT), and Dorgan (D-ND). We encourage you to reach out to your senators and ask for their support on S. 1457.
Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Texas Letter Carriers notify Your Senators John Cornyn / Kay Bailey Hutchinson
Subject: Please co-sponsor Senate Bill 1457
Dear Senator Cornyn and Hutchinson],
I am a Letter Carrier who lives and works in your district. I have learned from my union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, that the United States Postal Service has initiated a new program called Contract Delivery Service that out-sources the delivery of mail to new delivery points, including those in urban and suburban areas that should be served by City and Rural Letter Carriers. I write to urge you to co-sponsor Senator Tom Harkin Sense of the Senate Bill (S. 1457 that calls on the Postal Service to “discontinue the practice of contracting out mail delivery services.”
Using high-turnover, low-wage and part-time contractors instead of dedicated career employees to deliver mail will harm service and damage the public’s confidence in the Postal Service. Although this practice is limited now, the Postal Service adds up to 1.7 million new delivery points each year as new residential and commercial developments are built. If this penny-wise but pound-foolish practice goes forward unimpeded, there could be tens of thousands of contractors out there in 10 or 15 years.
As a business strategy, it makes no sense for the Postal Service to out-source its core functions and the USPS should not add to the millions of American workers who toil without health insurance and pension protection. Nor should the USPS be allowed to use contracting out to evade the law’s existing policies on veterans’ preference in hiring and collective bargaining rights for workers who deliver the mail. Please co-sponsor S. 1457 and tell the Postal Service to put a stop to contracting out delivery work.
Sincerely,
Jim Buchanan
Union Name & Branch #181
Austin, TX. zip code
I don’t see much difference between outsourcing and using illegals. In either case the American worker is being bypassed for those who will work cheaper.