The wife and son of US Postal Service Portland District Manager, T. Kim Anderson, were shocked to discover protesters on the front porch of their Damascus home Tuesday evening. “Why did you come to our home?” demanded Cheryl Anderson. Explaining that they had attempted to secure a meeting with Mr. Anderson numerous times over the past ten months, Rev. John Schwiebert presented the Andersons with a petition against postal privatization, signed by over a thousand Portland residents. Although the USPS district manager was apparently unavailable, his family indicated they were aware of the protesters’ grievances. “My dad has no comment,” said Chase Anderson.
“Postal truckers are losing their jobs to a profiteering, private corporation,” declared Jamie Partridge, a retired postal worker with Portland Communities and Postal Workers United and a participant in Tuesday’s action. “We oppose the destruction of family wage, union jobs and the delay of the people’s mail. We protest the waste, fraud and abuse of our beloved postal service.”
PCPWU is demanding that postal management reveal why a padded, no-bid contract was signed with a bankrupt company, which did not have the proper equipment, which had been rejected in the past for “poor performance and equipment deficiencies”, which was recently convicted of major labor law violations, and which is costing the USPS more to move the mail than if the postal service were to use postal employees.
Portland postal truckers are being put on standby while the private, non-postal, non-union Dill Star/ LAPO trucking company takes their work.
“This privatization and union-busting is being carried out in the name of a phony financial emergency,” said Rev. John Schwiebert. “The security, safety, and timely delivery of the mail are all at risk. Rural communities, seniors and the disabled, small businesses and low-income communities are hit the hardest. Postal management needs to stop and reverse these closures, cuts, and subcontracts which are sending our beloved postal service into a death spiral.”
Portland Communities and Postal Workers United (PCPWU) has been fighting cuts and closures to the postal service for the past couple years. In May of 2012, ten activists were arrested occupying Portland’s University Station post office, which has since been closed. In April of last year, five protesters went to jail for a civil disobedience action at the Salem mail plant, which has now been dismantled. The same group has blockaded Dill’s Star Route trucks multiple times, demanding the company stop stealing family wage, union postal jobs. Seven PCPWU protesters were arrested in October, at the Portland Main Post Office, for refusing to leave when the district manager would not meet with them to discuss privatization.
140604 ltr to Kim Anderson after visit
Go ahead and privatized
wtodd: Subsidies are allocated by income. If you are laid off and have no income then you will get a subsidy to pay 100% of your premium
Dear Just Judy, If the Postal workers loose their jobs and become cover under the affordable care act, the health insurance is not FREE! The laid off employees would have to pay the premiums! Stop listening to the fix news network.
Here’s a great question to ask photo opp king Diamondstein on the next airing of the ED Show…
Mr. Diamondstein, how would you feel if dissatisfied members of the APWU picketed outside your home? Would you support such a move?
Whereas the APWU negotiated a shit contract and;
Whereas they pushed for ratification of this shit contract and;
Whereas APWU is more intent on beating corporate America than getting a better contract and;
Whereas APWU uses dues paying members money to pay the salaries of picketers outside Staples and;
Whereas APWU has a slush retirement fund that ONLY their officers can enjoy and which is funded by members dues money;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT;
APWU members unhappy with shit contracts negotiated by the APWU picket outside the home of the APWU National President be it Diamondstein or whomever and;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT;
All steps be taken to ensure that picketers are allowed entry into those exclusive areas where APWU National Presidents live.
Homeless are impersonating upper management.
I agree with you Joe. What a bunch of morons. I bet they voted for (5 day delivery) Obama too.
This is all its about with unions and its lemmings. Stage protests, yell at meetings, scream meaningless chants and mantras, picket private companies, etc. They all get paid by the unions to spend their days doing this. Get some loudmouth union official looking to deflect attention away from his/her failures and you’ve got a photo opp. Meanwhile…the poor dues paying member is left to ponder the question, “What did they accomplish for me?” Will this get me better jobs…better schedules…better work conditions…better benefits and pay? The answer is no. This is all the old magician’s trick. Divert their attention away from what is really going or what is really not going on. Take the Staples situation. A win over them resulting in pulling out of the USPS deal accomplishes nothing other than a photo opp for the young employee who hopefully will see union “power” in action and decide to join. In the case of APWU…divert attention from a contract that is the worst one ever negotiated and approved in their history. The public doesn’t give a damn. USPS will not create additional jobs as a result. Its all an effort on the part of union officials that live their well-compensated, exclusive cushy life styles to show that unions are still a viable force to be reckoned with. What have you done for me lately?
You are all a joke! End 6 day door to door delivery. You don’t get it…the public doesn’t give a damn and not on your side especially after stunts like the one in this article!
At first the family probably thought they were Jehovah’s Witnesses until they saw how fat they are and then they knew they were postal workers and thus no real threat;
What a bunch of morons! Going to a bureaurat’s home and scaring his children his neighbor’s children is not going to earn symapthy for the protesters or their cause. The result will be the opposite.
If the enemies of the Postal Service and the advocates of privitization suggested this strategy to the protesters, they are wise folks indeed and definitely have their moronic opposition out gunned strategically.
What a bunch of dopes. Did the enemies of the Postal Service pay a bunch of homeless people to impersonate employees and stage this protest?
WOW!!!
they showed up wit 1000 signature’s. Big flippin’ deal. Metro Portland has a population of 2.3 million residents (2013 figure)and had a whole 1000 people sign the petitions! Probably most of them are postal employees- not that thats a bad thing.
If they really have issues with the HCR that about to be renewed then they need to send all the proof they have to the OIG’s office or the Postal Inspection Service if they believe there is fraud involved. Grandstanding at the DM’s home wont get them anywhere with anyone and certainly wont do anything to to give him reason to meet with them any sooner. Send all the crap to their congressmen.
I’d just use it all to start my next bonfire with personally.
Well when postal workers loose their jobs hence loose their health insurance they can join Obama care. Even more people getting free health care
Failure to serve the pubic and push them off to other retailers is a disgrace.
We need to protest the PMG house as well as Issa.
The PMG should resign for not doing his job
HAHAHAHAHAH !
Love it !