BY DUSICA SUE MALESEVIC | On May 14, the sun shone brightly on the steps of the James A. Farley Post Office, between W. 31st and 33rd Sts. on Eighth Ave., as postal workers rallied for a “National Day of Action.”
Across the country, as well as in Chelsea and the Bronx, the workers rallied for their unions, better service for customers and to stop what they say is the continued privatization of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
“We’re coming out to get information to the American people,” said Jonathan Smith, president of the New York Metro Area Postal Union.
There are certain notions about the postal service that they are trying to dispel, Smith said as he handed out flyers, including “not one tax dollar goes to the postal service.”
The USPS has cut overnight delivery and shuttered mail processing centers — and the effects can be seen. According to the USPS’ own recent assessment, it has taken longer for first-class mail to reach its destination. Smith said that what used to take one day now takes two, and what used to take two now takes three days.
The postal workers are also concerned about the outsourcing of some functions to corporations, such as Staples.
Smith told Chelsea Now this was a calculated plan against the middle class and a way to finish off the union.
“This is about big business,” he said. “This is about privatization. This is about greed. The post office does not belong to the politicians, it belongs to the people.”
Those gathered held signs with slogans such as “I stand with postal workers;” “Good postal service! Good jobs! Good contract!;” and “Keep ’Em Open! It’s a community right.” The Chelsea community and elected officials fought hard to keep the Old Chelsea Station open and are concerned about the USPS’ air rights sale above the historic building at 217 W. 18th St.
Diane Erlanger has worked for the postal service for the past 25 years and has been a part of the union for 15 years. She asked those passing by to sign a postcard that was addressed to Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan. Brennan became postmaster and CEO on Feb. 1.
The postcard said, in part, “I stand with postal workers in the fight to keep post offices open and expand hours…prompt mail delivery, and enhanced services, such as postal banking.” Many construction workers signed the card (the Farley post office is undergoing renovations).
Erlanger works at a post office on W. 42nd St. and says there are not enough clerks to take care of the customers. She said she understands customers’ dissatisfaction and encourages people to write their representatives.
“This is not something that we want,” she said. “We just don’t have the time or the people.”
She has experienced the longer wait time for letters, saying it took four days to get a letter that had to travel 10 blocks in Manhattan.
“The post office is a national treasure,” she noted and explained that what is going on now is “a ploy to destroy” it.
Dennis O’Neil is a retired postal worker who still comes out to support the union and the postal service.
“I believe in the postal union — more than that, I believe in the postal service,” said O’Neil, who was a postal worker for 24 years.
He said there is an effort to privatize the postal service, which goes against the mandate to provide service to all American people.
Another retired postal worker, John J. Dennie, said “corporate raiders” smell the postal service’s revenue and they want a bite.
Dennie worked for the service for 28 years and retired in 2001 but comes out anytime that he can. The privatization of the postal service has been going on for a while, he said, but lately it seems as if it is “on steroids,” also pointing to the deal with Staples.
According to Dennie, post offices have had their hours cut, which encourages people to go to Staples. What is going on is “pure and simple union busting,” he said. “The public suffers and the workers suffer.”
Kevin Walsh said that the postal workers are trying to garner support from the community and the public.
“It’s taking a lot longer for people to get their mail,” said Walsh, who is the director of organization for the New York Metro Area Postal Union.
The delay affects the elderly, disabled, people waiting for medicine in the mail, those trying to pay bills and elections, said Walsh, who wants to bring service standards back to where they were in July 2012.
There was no need to lower standards, he explained. The public sees the window clerks and carriers and they blame them, but this is the fault of those in Washington making decisions, he said. “We care about the community.”
As Chelsea Now went to press on May 20, Walsh said it looked likely that the union’s contract would expire at midnight. However, it will still be valid while negotiations continue.
He turned to look at the steps of the Farley station, now under the state’s purview, and said when they used to be in charge of maintenance, the steps were cleaned everyday — but that is just another aspect of the job that has been lost.
