One thought on “Support our Long Island Area Local Union Sister – Join our Protest July 12!”

1. Union and NAME of Local/Branch
   APWU Queens Area Local 1022
   Office held, if any
   RETIREE
   Email Address
   admin@qalapwu.com

   MID ISLAND RALLY UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   For Immediate Release July 10, 2023
   Contact: Jamie Horwitz, jhdcpr@starpower.net, 202-549-4921

   The USPS Shouldn’t be A Hostile Workplace.
   Postal Workers to Protest on Long Island, Wed., July 12,
   Demand Action be Taken Against a Manager Who
   Attempted an Assault on a Postal Worker.

   Postal Workers from Westchester, Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn and New Jersey to join union members from the Long Island NY Area Local 3251and union members from all across Long Island on the picket line.

   MELVILLE, N.Y. – Members of the American Postal Workers Union will picket the USPS’s district office in Melville, NY, Wed., July 12, demanding that action be taken to hold a USPS NY-2 District Labor Relations Specialist accountable for her attempt at physically assaulting a Local union official/postal worker on May 5, in front of witnesses. The management official also used language deemed prejudicial and unacceptable in the modern workplace. It is significant that the assailant works in labor relations where her primary role is to resolve disputes, rather than create them.

   In the two months since the attempted assault, the postal service’s Area and District management has failed to take any disciplinary action against the manager. Similar conduct would not be tolerated if the offender was a non-managerial postal employee. The USPS commonly disciplines workers for seemingly minor offenses.

   WHO: American Postal Workers Union members from Long Island and the surrounding area and supporters from other unions
   WHAT: Picketing for fair treatment for Postal Workers and zero tolerance for postal management threats and assaults in the workplace
   WHERE: The USPS District Office, Mid-Island P&DC, 160 Duryea Road, Melville, NY
   WHEN: 2 p.m. – 4 p.m., Wed., July 12, 2023

   The May incident on Long Island is indicative of more widespread problems at the USPS. Reports of a toxic working environment, “a lack of respect” for workers and a confrontational approach by managers is causing large numbers of postal workers to quit their jobs, especially new-hires.

   An audit report from the USPS Office of Inspector General on turnover in “non-career” (new hire) workforce released in April found that these postal workers had a turnover rate of 58.9 percent in 2022, a dramatic increase from an already high rate of turnover of 38.5 percent in 2019. The two main reasons for turnover cited in the OIG report were “a lack of respect from supervisors” and too many hours on the job.

   Staffing issues are directly linked to slower service for customers. Postmaster General DeJoy acknowledged that the USPS is treading water when it comes to staffing when he said in his testimony before Congress: “We had a 650,000-person organization that hired 200,000 people last year, right, and the numbers didn’t go up. That was turnover because of the environment and the stress and historical lack of good tactical procedures with regard to our workforce.”

   The American Postal Workers Union represents 200,000 employees of the United States Postal Service,
   and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. For more information on APWU, visit https://www.apwu.org