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Labor struggle in the Post Office: 1978

If you think labor relations in the USPS are not so hot these days, check out this film from 1978:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6839218636285300820

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 at 6:48 am and is filed under postal, postal history, postalnews.tv. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Responses to “Labor struggle in the Post Office: 1978”

  • 1
    dave west
    January 9th, 2007 08:49

    Great video, every steward should see this video as well as every member. A lot of Postal mindset has still not changed. Safety has gotten better,personally I think the Service would love to retutn to those days. This is why we fight we must remember and stay always vigilant.I would love to get a copy of this video to show at trainings and meetings.
    VP LOcal 301

  • 2
    j
    January 9th, 2007 11:37

    So what happened to these guys? They get their jobs back?

  • 3
    jessie
    January 9th, 2007 20:42

    THIS is why we should have the RIGHT_TO_STRIKE !!!!!!

  • 4
    D
    January 9th, 2007 20:50

    No,they hired 200 casuals.

  • 5
    brian
    January 10th, 2007 06:50

    I don’t know how many of the fired workers actually got their jobs back, but in 1982 there was a settlement that allowed the NJ workers to reapply for USPS jobs, although they couldn’t work in New Jersey- this is from the New York Times:

    Eighty-six former postal workers who, like the air traffic controllers, were discharged for taking part in an illegal strike will be allowed to reapply for new jobs in the United States Postal Service under terms of a court-approved settlement made public yesterday.

    Moe Biller, president of the American Postal Workers Union, described the settlement as an important victory for labor and said he hoped it would have an impact on the air traffic controllers’ efforts to gain reinstatement.
    …
    Mr. Biller said the agreement would serve as a model for a similar settlement seeking to reinstate the dismissed workers in California. Under terms of the settlement announced yesterday, the 86 dismissed employees and the New York Metro Area Postal Union agreed to drop all of their claims on the basis of a promise by the Postal Service that it would ”provide opportunities for the reinstatement and reemployment” of the strikers.

    Barred From Former District

    The order specifies, however, that the former employees will not be allowed to collect back pay or to apply for employment in New Jersey, which makes up the postal district in which they struck.

    In determining eligibility for reemployment, the order said, the Assistant Postmaster General for Employee Relations should initially consider whether an applicant organized and directed an illegal strike and whether an applicant engaged in acts of criminal conduct, such as destruction of property or harm to individuals.

    The applications of those found suitable will be forwarded to the appropriate regional postmaster generals, who will then make a final decision on the suitability of the applicant, based on normal factors and ”without regard to participation in strike activities.”

    David McLean, a spokesman for the Postal Service, noted that the settlement gave the 86 dismissed workers the right to apply for reemployment but did not guarantee placement.

    ”This is not amnesty,” he said. ”Each individual will be looked at individually on suitability.”