Vol. 44 No. 2
Published by Acción Latina
Enero 30–Febrero 12, 2014
Union workers denounce privatization of postal service
Trabajadores condenan privatización de correos Laura Waxmann El Tecolote
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he first of a series of planned protests denouncing what union workers are calling the privatization of the United States’ postal service began in San Francisco on Jan. 28. Over 100 hundred people— many of whom sported blue or red t-shirts bearing the slogan: “U.S. mail, not for sale”—gathered on the corner of Van Ness and Sacramento streets on a chilly Tuesday morning, right outside of a large Staples Inc. store. They represented a diverse group of American Postal Workers Union (APWU) members, current and retired post office employees and supporters who, armed with picket signs and loudspeakers, came to publicize their outrage at a partnership that blossomed last year between the United States Postal Service (USPS) and Staples. This partnership is the result of a pilot program that was implemented in October to expand post office services to the retailer’s locations across the country— and was met with outrage by postal union workers, who believe that they are being substituted by untrained Staples employees. “We are out here to protest the privatization of public postal services to private enterprises like Staples,” said Paul Lew, a 28-year postal service worker. “(The program) means the potential closure of many of our post offices—I believe in the post office as a public entity, and I believe that’s the real threat here.” The year-long pilot program places postal counters in 82 Staples stores in California, Georgia, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, with the intention of expanding the service to thousands of other locations. The new postal units offer some of the more popular services that traditional post offices do — stamp sales, domestic and international mail, and priority and express mail. To the dismay of APWU members, not included in the plan is the employment of actual post office workers, as the positions will be filled by Staples employees. “If these pilot services are successful with non-postal workers … we fear that post offices in the surrounding areas will close down, and that will take away further jobs from us,” said Michael Evans, APWU president. According to Omar Gonzalez, AWPU Western Regional Coordinator, the postal service has experienced a loss of 138,000 jobs over the past three years. “The postmaster general is not … protecting and defending the USPS and what we have here at Staples is workers making minimum wage, not a living wage, doing work that should be done by postal workers,” said organizer Rich Shelley. “It’s turning good, family supporting jobs into lowwage jobs.”
Miembros y partidarios de la Unión de Trabajadores del Servicio Postal protestan frente a la tienda Staples ubicada en las calles Van Ness y Sacramento. Members of American Postal Workers Union and supporters protest in front of a Staples store at Van Ness and Sacramento streets on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Photo Anna Villalobos Laura Waxmann El Tecolote
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Photo Anna Villalobos Convenience and saving customers time while being able to offer postal services outside of regular business hours, the program’s supporters say, are the
“The postal service is listening to private companies more than they are listening to the public, and that is a major problem for our democracy.” Phillip Warlick
reasons behind the partnership — in addition to cutting costs and creating revenue for USPS. Union members think otherwise, though. “If the postal service were interested in what the consumer wants they would not be consolidating facilities in the way
that they are doing,” said Phillip Warlick, the legislative director of APWU. “The postal service is listening to private companies more than they are listening to the public, and that is a major problem for our democracy.” The implementation of the program with Staples, some postal workers said, would pose a threat to well paying-union jobs. Despite cutbacks in recent years, many consider the postal service still a stable and decent way to make a living by providing a good salary, benefits and hiring preference for veterans, and fostering careers that span decades. “My brother-in-law came back from Vietnam 40 years ago and went to work for the post office—he raised a family with a decent middle class job with decent benefits,” said Sal Rosselli, president of the National Union See privatization, page 10
l pasado 28 de enero tuvo lugar en San Francisco la primera de una serie de protestas planeadas para denunciar lo que trabajadores del sindicato consideran la privatización del servicio postal de los EEUU. Más de cien personas —muchas de ellas luciendo camisetas azules o rojas con el lema ‘El correo de los EEUU no está a la venta’— se congregaron en la esquina de las calles Van Ness y Sacramento en una fría mañana de aquel martes, frente a la tienda Staples Inc. La protesta estaba constituida por un variado grupo de miembros del sindicato American Postal Workers Union (APWU), empleados de correos en activo y jubilados, y simpatizantes. Con pancartas y altavoces, vinieron a mostrar su indignación ante una asociación que nació el año pasado entre el Servicio Postal de los EEUU (USPS, por sus siglas en inglés) y la tienda Staples. La asociación es el resultado de un programa piloto para ampliar los servicios de la oficina de correos en dichas tiendas de todo el país que se puso en marcha en octubre pasado. La iniciativa fue recibida con indignación por los trabajadores del sindicato de correos, que creen que están siendo suplantados por empleados no capacitados de Staples. “Estamos aquí para protestar contra la privatización de los servicios postales públicos a empresas privadas como Staples”, dijo
Paul Lew, trabajador de correos durante 28 años. “(El programa) conlleva el posible cierre de muchas de nuestras oficinas de correos —creo que correos es una entidad pública y pienso que esa es la verdadera amenaza”. El programa piloto de un año de duración ha abierto ‘ventanillas’ de correos en 82 tiendas Staples en los estados de California, Georgia, Massachusetts y Pennsylvania, con la intención de ampliar el servicio a miles de otras ubicaciones. Las nuevas unidades postales ofrecen algunos de los servicios más populares de las oficinas de correos tradicionales —venta de estampillas, correo nacional e internacional, y correo urgente y de prioridad. Para la consternación de los miembros de APWU, el plan no considera la posibilidad de emplear a trabajadores actuales de la oficina de correos, ya que los puestos de trabajo los ocuparán empleados de Staples. “Si estos servicios piloto tienen éxito con otros trabajadores que no sean los de correos... tememos que las oficinas de correos en los alrededores cierren y eso nos quitará aún más puestos de trabajo”, dijo Michael Evans, presidente de APWU. Según Omar González, Coordinador Regional de AWPU en la Costa Oeste, el servicio postal ha sufrido una pérdida de 138.000 puestos de trabajo en los últimos tres años. “El director general de correos Vea privatización, página 10