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VIDEO: U.S. Postal Service letter carriers explain what they’re fighting for, just before contract talks start

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(WSB photos/video)

The job of being a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier is very different from what it used to be.

So say leaders of their union, the National Association of letter Carriers, in explaining why they’re determined to fight for a better contract in upcoming negotiations, and trying to be loud about it. The union held rallies around the country today, including one outside the Westwood Village Post Office, where a cold steady rain fell throughout, stopping almost the exact moment the rally ended.

More than 70 people defied the rain at the peak of the hour-long rally, even musicians identified as “the last Letter Carrier Band on the West Coast,” with their contributions including “Solidarity Forever“:

More fiery was a pep talk by April Sims, president of the Washington State Labor Council. They also heard words of support from a speaker introduced as a community-relations director from Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson‘s office, Matt McIntosh.

But the strongest words came from officials of the carriers’ own union, NALC Branch 79. One who described himself as a 20-year veteran said, “This job’s not for everyone … “it’s no walk in the park” – 10 miles a day, hundreds of stairs, 70-pound parcels, and double the rate of assault risk that carriers used to face. (The rally began with a moment of silence for a letter carrier shot dead while on his delivery route in Georgia.) “The systems that support us are being broken … Letter carriers used to be seen as a pillar of society.” Now, “we put our lives on the line, we put our bodies on the line.” There’s high turnover in the early going, they said, because most carriers are hired on as “non-career” despite doing the same work; the union wants that to change. They also want to see higher pay for all, including new hires, and including more-robust cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) – there was frequent derisive reference to “diet COLAs.” They also suggested USPS could save money by cutting some management jobs, contending that having “four supervisors for a 40-person station” is too much.

The rallying chant was, “First-class service, first-class pay.” Branch 79 financial secretary C Moline said the union waited until a year into the last round of talks before making noise, but this time would be different. They exhorted members to talk to their co-workers, wear a union T-shirt and button, and don’t let up the pressure: “This is day one.” With that, a group shot concluded the rally:

The union says contract negotiations are scheduled to start this Wednesday (February 25).

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