postal service

What happened in Edmonton this week: an appeal for solidarity from a letter carrier in Edmonton

Submitted by Recomposition on Oct 30 2013 03:54

An appeal for solidarity from a letter carrier in Edmonton to other postal workers at Canada Post in response to creeping management disciplinary letters.

This week we have seen hundreds of letter carriers in Edmonton take a stand. They took a stand for health and safety, they took a stand for their ability to provide for those who depend on their income, and they took a stand in defense of a public institution that is under attack.

Background:

How do we fight privatisation?

Submitted by Phil on Sep 20 2013 13:20

Some quick thoughts on privatisation and how workers can effectively challenge it.

There two high profile cases of privatisation at the moment. Royal Mail is the one that’s hitting the headlines right now, but the National Health Service is also being sold off piece by piece.

The national US Postal Service wildcat strike, 1970 - Jeremy Brecher

Submitted by Steven. on Sep 13 2013 18:01

Jeremy Brecher's short history of the successful nationwide illegal wildcat strike of American postal workers: the first major strike of federal government workers.

Solidarity for workers' power #2.01

First issue of the second volume of Solidarity with a series of articles looking at on-the-job action in the workplace including working to rule, withdrawing goodwill, sabotage and more.

Contents

  • A week at the circus - on a court case of an anti-nuclear protester
  • Working to rule - an analysis of the workers-tactic of the work to rule, looking in particular at a 1961 postal workers' dispute
  • The gospel according to rule - E Morse - In the Beginning Was the Rule…

Unity: Voice of concerned postal workers

Scanned versions of Unity: voice of concerned postal workers, and anarcho-syndicalist workplace newsletter for postal workers in Australia in the 1980s produced by postal workers in the Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation.

Digitised by libcom.org, December 2012. If you have more copies of this newsletter please let us know in the comments below as we would love to expand our very small archive.

Communication Worker bulletin

Partial archive of Communication Worker, bulletin of the Communication Workers Group in the UK in the 1980s.

If you have more copies of this which could be added to the archive please contact us or let us know in the comments below.

Post office - Charles Bukowski

The job as a postal worker is a thankless one as Bukowski tries to keep his sanity delivering mail around Los Angeles. A warning, this piece is misogynistic throughout and features a rape scene.

Signed, sealed and delivered: 1978 strike against mandatory overtime, speedups and hazardous working conditions

On July 21, 1978 thousands of postal workers walked off the job, saying "No" to mandatory overtime, forced speedups and hazardous working conditions. As a result of this wildcat strike, 600,000 workers won better contracts. But 200 were arbitrarily fired by management to teach all postal workers a lesson. This documentary is the story of the struggle these postal workers waged to win back their jobs.

Who is tampering with my mail?

Submitted by working class s... on Aug 20 2012 17:22

I am not normally someone who is interested in conspiracy theories, however, there are some strange shenanigans happening with my mail…amongst other things.

First of all, there is a definite change in the time it is taking for letters to reach my house. I receive quite a lot of mail each month, and there is a noticeable slowing down. People tell me they have posted something (as they always have) yet I don’t not receive the letter or package until a couple of days later than expected.

Big deal! I hear you say…hold on, that’s not all.

The Canadian postal workers wildcat strike 1965

Submitted by working class s... on Jul 31 2012 15:33

During 1955-1965 the volume of mail posted in Canada more than doubled. The number of postal workers did not - instead, the bosses forced workers to double their speed, work extra hours without overtime pay, and often forced to work over twelve hours a day. In order to keep up such a gruelling work rate – supervisors subjected workers to constant threats, bullying, and harassment.

Workers were represented by the 'close to useless' trade union - the CPEA. The union had no collective bargaining rights, and refused to even attempt to negotiate on the workers behalf.

Workers across Montreal and Vancouver started to organise on a rank and file basis outside of the official trade union.

In July 1965, workers across more than 30 cities walked off the job in wildcat strikes. They postal workers received massive public support, and despite interference from the employers, the government, and their own union – they won a huge victory, receiving huge pay rises, and much improved working conditions. The union collapsed, and two brand new unions were formed.

This documentary is the story of the workers and their strike in 1965.