Don't Close Our Post Offices -- Put Them To Work! by Jim Hightower

[xchrom]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/02/26



You know what America needs? More jobs, that's what.

Not Wal-Mart-style jobettes, but real jobs — stable ones with good salary and benefits, union jobs so workers have a say in what goes on, jobs that have strong protections against discrimination. A job one can make a career, do useful work in, take pride in, earn promotions and be respected for what he or she does. Middle-class jobs that make America strong.

For 30 years, bosses and big shots have been offshoring, downsizing and otherwise destroying such jobs. Believe it or not, though, one organization still stands as a bulwark of middle-class employment: the post office. Yet, incredibly, those now in charge of this venerable American institution have gone Wal-Mart on the workers, turning postal positions that ought to be a model for our country's future job growth into just another bunch of jobettes.

Right-wing ideologues in Congress, along with the corporate executives now sitting atop the U.S. Postal Service, claim that in order to "save" this icon of Americana, they must decimate it. These geniuses are privatizing the workforce, selling off the invaluable community facilities and shrinking services. Hello — the workers, facilities and services are what make the post office iconic and give it such potential for even greater public use.

The latest privatization maneuver comes disguised as a "partnership" with Staples, the big-box office supply chain. In a pilot program, 82 Staples outlets have opened "postal units" to sell the most popular (and most profitable) mail products. Rather than being staffed by well-trained and knowledgeable postal workers, however, the mini-PO's will have an ever-changing crew of Staples' low-wage, temporary sales clerks with weak performance standards and no public accountability.

[yeoman6987]

1. Went to the post office Monday

Could not believe it. They cut the hours to 9-5 from 9-5:30. I work from 0830-5. I used to go directly after work and they always had a line from people getting off at 5. I don't understand what their thinking is. I really don't know what I will do now with the exception of going on Saturday. I just don't understand how they think anybody can go to the post office during work hours. I think they should be open from maybe 11-7 or something like that. If they want people to continue using the post office then having hours that people can use would be useful. Of course Fedex and UPS have great hours but would prefer to use USPS.