Letter carriers across the country want people to know that they’ve been working without a contract, so they’ve been taking to the streets to spread the word.
National Association of Letter Carriers NWI Southshore 580 joined many other letter carrier locals on Oct. 14 by hosting an informational picket outside the Old Lake County Courthouse to spread the word since Post Office workers by law are not allowed to strike. As of Tuesday, USPS mail carriers have been working without a contract for 513 days, 580 member and mail carrier Sharon Patterson said as the group, which swelled to about 30 picketers, wound down for the evening Monday.
It’s true that mail carriers have made wonderful careers braving the heat, rain and snow to get people their mail, Patterson said. But things have also changed exponentially — so much so that they have to speak up.
“When I walked into this job 30 years ago, I started at $12 hour, and I was able to raise four kids (on that wage),” she said. “Now, someone comes in, and the hourly rate starts at $22 an hour. You couldn’t do it.”
But even more than the money is safety, which is something Patterson never had to consider before, either.
“I used to be worried about dogs biting me, not getting assaulted or robbed,” she said. “And those assaults aren’t getting prosecuted consistently; one person got 30 days in jail, but another got eight years. I feel like it’s open season on us.”
NALC 580 President Cathy Bodnar, whose area covers as far north as Hammond, as far east as Chesterton and as far south as Lowell, said she heard that negotiators were at the table Oct. 12, and that one of the final stumbling blocks appears to be language concerning maximum hours. She wonders if that’s a hill to die on after 513 days.
“If that’s all it is, why can’t we just vote on it and worry about it for the next negotiation?” Bodnar said. “We’ve been hearing ‘soon’ so much, it’s like a broken record.
“Why this administration didn’t get rid of (Trump-appointed Postmaster General) Louis DeJoy, I’ll never understand.”
People can rest assured that their Post Office workers are making a “phenomenal effort” to make sure voting-by-mail goes smoothly, American Postal Workers Local 266 President Jose DeJesus said. Lending their to support NALC, the APWU, which covers mail sorters and customer service workers, is also going through negotiations of its own.
“The Post Office is really committed to doing a good job with the ballots, but why can’t they be committed to helping us do a good job every day?” he said.
Spokespeople for the USPS said they couldn’t comment on negotiations.
Deb Perzo, of Crown Point, said she came out to the Square to support Patterson, who delivered her mail for 19 years before Perzo moved to another area. She said she’s “tired” of hearing people yelling about the rising price of stamps.
“Stamp increases don’t go to pay for the workers,” Perzo said. “There is no other union who would be working without a contract, and who else can you trust if not the Post Office?”
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
