August 27, 2015

Out of 5,200 postal workers in Western New York, three new employees are bad apples and The News runs a front page story titled, “Postal workers behaving badly.” You’ve got to be kidding!

I represented letter carriers on the job for nearly 30 years and I’ve never seen a more dedicated and committed group of public servants. Letter carriers routinely go above and beyond their assigned duties because they are so intent on serving the customers on their routes, making sure all the mail gets delivered. Carriers watch out for their customers and neighborhoods, get involved in community activities and collect millions of pounds of food in Western New York for the needy.

Automation has caused longer routes, the brutal Buffalo winters are very difficult and there is constant pressure to account for every minute of the work day.

The union and the letter carriers could not take the sanctity and security of the mail more seriously. We value every piece of mail and its contents. Nationwide, we deliver billions of pieces of mail every year, which includes an explosion in the parcel business. We remain the closest link from the federal government to the citizens of this country, as we have for over 200 years.

The few criminals who shamefully violated the public trust, and insulted all of their fellow postal workers, have nothing in common with the hard-working letter carriers and other postal workers who care deeply about meeting their responsibilities and are proud of the work they do for their community.

Robert J. McLennan
President Emeritus, Branch 3
National Association of Letter Carriers
Buffalo/Western New York

Source: Letter: A few bad postal workers do not represent the whole – Opinion – The Buffalo News