Memorial Day rally to support Letter Carriers

Join WSLC, MLK Labor at Seattle’s Westlake Park on May 29 for family-friendly rally calling for better working conditions and a fair NALC contract.

By C. MOLINE and DEREK DOLBEARE
Special to The Stand

SEATTLE — Calling all supporters of Letter Carriers: the time has come to make your voices heard!

On Memorial Day, Monday, May 29 at 1 p.m. in downtown Seattle’s Westlake Park, the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 79 will be holding a rally. We encourage your attendance so we as a labor movement can demonstrate and support Letter Carriers in their fight to improve working conditions and to make clear that we won’t settle for anything less than a fair contract.

U.S. Postal Service management has become far too comfortable running stations with fewer carriers than are needed to properly staff them, leading to daily mandatory overtime and a weekly loss of scheduled days off. Not only do these long hours keep carriers from their families, but they are also unsafe, forcing carriers to stay out on the roads even when they are physically exhausted.

At the same time, running with such a lean workforce leaves the USPS vulnerable to any shocks to the system. A single carrier calling out sick often ends up delaying mail for several other routes as a consequence, and management tries to squeeze additional time out of carriers who are already overburdened. We all know these conditions and now is the time to demand an end to mandatory overtime and demand a fair contract!

NALC Branch 79 will have signs to give out, but feel free to bring your own Union signs about the importance of working conditions that respect your family and your life. We also encourage you to bring those family members and friends with you to the rally and hope you let us be a part of your Memorial Day. This will be a child-friendly event and there will be snacks and water for all that get a little hungry.

Now is the time to act because the Letter Carriers’ national contract expired May 20 and management has dragged out negotiations since mid-February. Similar events have been held in cities across the country — from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine. This is a national movement and it’s important for Washington’s union movement to show solidarity with Seattle-area Letter Carriers.

Join community leaders, representatives of the MLK Labor and the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, and your fellow labor siblings as we stand up and speak out for Letter Carriers. You will not want to miss it.

C. Moline and Derek Dolbeare are members of NALC Branch 79.