Thousands of Volunteers Help ‘Stamp Out Hunger’
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The May 14 effort to “Stamp Out Hunger” was a smashing success. Thousands of members of the Letter Carriers (NALC), as well as rural carriers, other postal employees and volunteers collected an as yet unknown—but massive—amount of food from postal customers to distribute to food banks and food kitchens across the country.
NALC President Fredric Rolando said:
It is gratifying to see so many NALC members and other volunteers sacrifice their time and energy to make sure this humanitarian effort is a success year after year. I am sure that the recipients of your efforts are very appreciative during these difficult economic times for so many families.
Help Stamp Out Hunger May 14
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The Letter Carriers’ (NALC) annual national food drive this month comes at a time when millions of Americans are still struggling to put food on the table. More than 50 million people—including 17.2 million children—live in households that are hungry or at risk of hunger, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s a 30 percent increase in one year and represents more than one in seven households in the country (14.6 percent).
You can help “Stamp Out Hunger” by collecting canned goods and dry food, such as tuna, canned meat, soups, pasta, rice and cereal, and leaving them in a bag or box by your mailbox on Saturday, May 14. Your letter carrier will pick them up as they deliver your mail. NALC members will deliver the goods to local food banks, pantries and shelters to help needy families in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions.
Candlelight March to Save Collective Bargaining to Highlight King Day Celebration
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More than 400 union and civil rights activists will march to Cincinnati’s City Hall Jan. 14 to condemn the plan recently elected Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) has to strip Ohio child care and home health care workers of their right to bargain for a better life.
The march is part of the annual AFL-CIO King Day celebration Jan. 13-17 in Cincinnati. Through the march and throughout the conference, activists will send a message that Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of social and economic justice is not dead even in this tough political climate. Workers who provide vital services to the Cincinnati area—including home and child care providers and transit workers—will share their stories and concerns about Kasich and his allies’ attempts to blame and punish low-income workers for the state of the economy. The activists will focus on developing strategies to advance the issues of good job creation, immigration reform and economic equality.
King Day Celebration to Focus on Making Progress in New Political Climate
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During the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend next month, more than 400 union activists will remind the nation that the 2010 election results mean that civil and human rights activists will have to redouble their efforts to keep alive King’s dream of social and economic justice.
At the annual AFL-CIO King Day celebration Jan. 13-17 in Cincinnati, union members will develop strategies to advance the issues of good job creation, immigration reform and economic equality in a much tougher political climate. More than 40 years ago, King faced a similarly hostile political climate, and in his last speech, King stood in solidarity with working people seeking justice and dignity (see video above).
Read the call letter to the King Day celebration here. Check out the agenda here, and download the registration form here.
Letter Carriers Honor 2010 Heroes of the Year
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James Dupont had just finished delivering mail on his rural Arkansas route when he saw a truck and car collide head-on. Dupont pulled the driver from the truck and, as the vehicle caught on fire, saved a passenger engulfed in flames. He then managed to bend open the door of the burning car to rescue that driver—injuring himself in the process.
“There was no thinking about it. It’s something you see and know you have to get involved,” Dupont told 40/29 TV.
For his bravery and heroism, Dupont , a member of the Letter Carriers (NALC) Rogers, Ark., Branch 1514, was honored earlier this month as the union’s National Hero of the Year in ceremonies in Washington, D.C.
Trumka: ‘We’re Going to Rebuild America With Jobs’
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In the political showdown between Wall Street and Main Street, California is a key battleground. With the third highest jobless rate in the country and a towering budget deficit, California needs leaders who can create and save jobs, not just spout ”more of the same corporate bull,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told a crowd of thousands at a mass jobs rally in Los Angeles today.
“How are we going to rebuild America? With jobs! Who’s going to rebuild America? Working people with jobs!”
The choice for voters is clear in California, said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation. The Republican candidates for governor and U.S. senator, respectively, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, are mirror images of each other.
Both are failed CEOs. Both slashed thousands of jobs to make themselves richer. And both have a dangerous agenda that will douse any hope for economic recovery. They want to slash jobs. Eliminate pensions. Scale back overtime pay and meal breaks for workers. They’re part of the greed is good crowd. I think it’s pretty clear that’s the wrong direction.
Thousands to Rally in Los Angeles Friday for Jobs
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With a critical election less than three months away and jobs foremost among voters’ concerns, thousands of working people will join community and labor leaders from across the country Friday in Los Angeles to let our elected leaders and political candidates know we need real action, not campaign rhetoric, on creating good jobs that can’t be outsourced.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D), Letter Carriers (NALC) President Fredric Rolando, Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and community and labor leaders will speak at a massive rally in front of city hall, starting at noon PT.
Saturday, May 8: Help Letter Carriers ‘Stamp Out Hunger’
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With the U.S. underemployment rate at 16.9 percent in March, the Letter Carriers’ (NALC‘s) annual national food drive next month comes at a time when millions of Americans are struggling to put food on the table. More than 49 million people—including 16.7 million children—live in households that are hungry or risk of hunger, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This represents more than one in seven households in the country (14.6 percent).
You can help “Stamp out Hunger” by collecting canned goods and dry food, such as tuna, canned meat, soups, pasta, rice and cereal, and leaving them in a bag or box by your mailbox on Saturday, May 8. Your letter carrier will pick them up as they deliver your mail. NALC members will deliver the goods to local food banks, pantries and shelters to help needy families in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions.
NALC Says 5-Day Delivery Is the Wrong Way To Go
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The U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS’s) plan to end Saturday mail delivery would do more harm than good and it distracts from the real solution, which is eliminating the “crushing burden of a deeply flawed health benefits pre-funding policy,” according to the Letter Carriers (NALC).
The real key to saving the Postal Service, says NALC President Fredric Rolando, is to overhaul the health care funding system, which could save the agency at least $8 billion a year—far more than the speculative $3 billion annual savings the USPS claims it can get from reducing service. He adds:
The arrogance of the Postal Service in this campaign to lobby the public to embrace five-day delivery as the answer to the Postal Service’s problem is astounding. Given that Congress has shown very little interest in eliminating Saturday service and must approve any change, the Postal Service should focus its energies on real solutions, not risky and counterproductive service cuts.
Time Is Now for TSO Bargaining Rights
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Hundreds of workers braved the cold Washington, D.C., weather today to send a message to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA): Give transportation security officers (TSOs) who protect the flying public the opportunity to protect themselves with the right to bargain a union contract.
“Chanting Union Rights for TSOs,” members of dozens of unions rallied at AFL-CIO headquarters this morning. Speaking within earshot of the White House, AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker said:
“It is way past time for the Obama administration to give the TSOs their right to bargain collectively and hold their election so they can sit down at the table with management, start the negotiations and change their lives for the better.”
AFGE yesterday filed a petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) for an election to allow the 41,000 TSOs to vote on union representation. In 2003, the Bush administration stripped the workers of collective bargaining rights.
