WORKING

OF AND
RELATING TO
LABOR


Junk Wages for Junk Mail
Workers and Consumers Lose Out with the Dismantling of the Postal Service

by Doug Collins
The Free Press


"The public sector has gotten a bad name because much of what passes for government today is a way to enrich the wealthy at our expense. Through government, Corporate America receives its long list of welfare in tax breaks, subsidies, and cost-plus contracts." - from A Call for Economic Justice, Labor Party platform, 1996.

A broad set of ratings changes and 'efficiency' measures at the US Postal Service (USPS) that went into effect this year means in large part the loss of many well-paid postal service jobs, and corporate welfare to private companies.

Reclassification has nationally already contracted out most mail sorting to low-wage private presort companies, which specialize in barcoded mail. Local examples are Postal Services Inc. and Mailmovers in Seattle, and Laser Direct in Kent. To ensure that such companies receive an even larger share, new postal rates that went into effect on July 1 give steep discounts to barcoded mail (both first class and bulk), and painful increases to non-barcoded bulk mail, which small publications like the Free Press are likely to use.
These private companies are also taking full advantage of millions of federal dollars spent by the USPS on developing the new automated sorting technology, which includes scanners, remote video, and software to run them.
Tax breaks are another game. Private companies gain favors from local governments by promising "new" jobs when in fact the jobs simply replace higher-paying jobs formerly within the USPS. Pennsylvania offered at least $4 million of incentives to the mail-sorting company Dyncorp, which set up its sweatshop in York, paying workers about $6 an hour, a typical rate for such facilities. According to Sonny Feliciano of the APWU (American Postal Workers Union) in Seattle, equivalent mail sorters in the USPS can make $18 an hour, but this job is due to be completely shifted to sweatshops by the end of 1997. In fact, at least one company, Envisions, has opened up shop in Mexico, paying workers there about $4 per day to sort and barcode US mail by remote video technology which was developed by the USPS at public expense.
Understandably, APWU workers are scared of the downward pressure on their own wages, and have voted to increase their dues by 20 cents a workday for a campaign to organize the private sorting houses.
The architects of the privatization scheme have been various task forces of private industry executives, from Time-Life, International Billing Services, the Advertising Mail Marketing Association, and other companies having interests in cheap mass-mailings. The reform was implemented by the Board of Governors of the USPS, which consists mostly of businessmen and includes no labor representation. The head of this body is Postmaster General Marvin Runyon, a Bush-era appointee whom the New York Times has called the "samurai manager." In previous work, Runyon cut the Tennessee Valley Authority's workforce by 30% and busted the Automobile Workers' attempt to unionize Nissan workers in Tennessee.
Given this sort of leadership, it's not surprising that one privatization plan to turn the USPS into a private employee-owned firm has repeatedly failed in congress, due to lack of support from the private sector.
Despite terrible odds, two successes have occurred in union organizing. Last December, workers at the Postal Services Inc. (PSI) sorting house in Seattle voted to join Teamsters Local 174, after a successful publicity drive led by Jobs With Justice. PSI management did not return a phone call requesting an interview.
An Envisions plant in Oakland, California was organized in September of last year by the Service Employees, despite management attempts to divide Asian and African-American workers by offering choice of shifts mostly to Asian workers. One major complaint of workers in Oakland was the high turnover rate of employees, a situation which may have been profitable for the company, since it received a $1900 government payment for each new employee hired.
The two unionized sites still face an uphill struggle. The workers at Seattle's PSI are still without a contract nearly a year after unionizing. Steve Williamson of Teamsters Local 174 explains, "When there's an industry standard, it's a lot easier to get a contract. In a newly unionizing industry, it's difficult." Although USPS sorting jobs were in the past organized by the APWU, that union has till recently been hesitant to organize the burgeoning privatized sorting operations.
In addition to its effect on workers, postal privatization also socks it to consumers. Postal Rate Commission Chairman Gleiman complained that postal reclassification didn't give a break to individuals who are mailing small amounts of first class mail. The single-piece first class rate remains at 32 cents, while five-digit barcoded presorted first class rates decreased from 25.8 to 23.8 cents per piece. So expect to see more junkmail coming to your address in the following years. The lowering in rates also risks a net loss of revenue for the USPS and increases the likelihood of a public bailout.
There's also the matter of democracy. Victor Navasky, an editor for the Nation, reminds us that George Washington himself believed that all newspapers should be delivered free of charge. Navasky also points out that only the biggest magazines, those having at least 24 subscribers in some 90 percent of the nation's zip codes, will be eligible for lower rates. Magazines that have small circulations because they are heavy in editorial content will have to pay higher per-mile rates, "reversing nearly two centuries of postal policy favoring editorial content over advertising."

Thanks to Sarah Ryan of the Seattle APWU for providing information for this article. Her report, Corporate Welfare, Sweatshops, and the Post Office is available. Call (206) 622-2163





Working Around

NORTH AMERICA. The U.S. Congress with corporate support is proposing a NAFTA Superhighway from the Great Lakes to the Rio Grande Valley to facilitate trade with Mexico. The 1,800 mile long highway would displace over 3,000 acres of farmland in Indiana alone. To learn about fighting the plan, call the Alliance for a Paving Moratorium (707) 826-7775.

ST. LOUIS. The Machinists at McDonnell Douglas returned to work in September after a three month strike, with a contract similar to that which Boeing workers gained last year. The contract includes a union security clause restricting the contracting out of work to nonunion plants, plus pension and wage increases.

SEATTLE. The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 (Metro bus drivers) has greatly expanded eligibility for its members to run for union office. Before, only 2% of workers were eligible for office due to stiff meeting attendance requirements. Now anyone with two years membership is eligible.

SEATTLE. The Seattle School District has raised salaries for administrators by an average of 8.6 percent in the 1993-95 biennium, despite a wage freeze mandated by the state legislature. Meanwhile, the Seattle School Board has voted to make an approximately 20 percent cut in custodial staffing of the schools. To help counter this situation, call the Operating Engineers at (206) 441-8544





Have a labor related story to tell? Everybody does. That's universal. Afraid your boss will fire you if he found you writing about what it's like working for him, but still want to get your story out? Contact Doug Collins, and he'll help you tell the world.



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Contents on this page were published in the November/December, 1996 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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