USPS Honors Workers Who Built America. What About Its Own?
The U.S. Postal Service just released a series of “Made in America: Building a Nation” first-class Forever stamps. The 12-stamp series features images of industrial workers from the early 20th century, and 11 were taken by famed photographer Lewis Hine.
While no one can argue with USPS’s decision to honor the coal miners, construction workers, textile workers and others who helped build the nation (and continue to do so), the gesture would mean a lot more if the USPS treated its current workers with the same respect.
But between its efforts to end Saturday service, and shut down post offices and mail-handling facilities, and lobbying Congress for legislation to further slash jobs and service, USPS seems more intent on dishonoring the half a million men and women who make the Postal Service run.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier this week, the heads of the four postal unions— Letter Carriers , Postal Workers , National Postal Mail Handlers Union and Rural Letter Carriers —wrote that the recently introduced so-called postal “reform” bill (S. 1486) “would facilitate the dismantling of the Postal Service’s mail processing and delivery network.”
The bill, they say, would cost more than 100,000 jobs and “give USPS tools to slash postal employees’ pension and health benefits.” Read the full letter .
Also, APWU launched a new television ad on major networks that outlines the true cause of the Postal Service’s financial crisis—a 2006 law that imposes a $5 billion annual burden on the USPS that no other agency or company bears. Watch the ad below.
See a slideshow of the Made in America stamps below:
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
