From the NALC:

During a November 18 House debate, North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-5th) engaged in an anti-union screed that lasted several minutes.

After attacking the pay and benefits of federal workers, she said that they also have too much job security. “Short of shooting up a post office,” Foxx said, “government workers rarely get fired or laid off.”

“Foxx’s statements about unions are factually wrong and her reference to workplace shootings in post offices was tasteless and demeaning to hard-working postal employees,” National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric V. Rolando said. “Her comments were morbidly disrespectful to those postal employees and their families who have been the victims of shootings.

“Also, it is a myth that poorly performing federal workers—much less those that commit crimes—never get fired,” he added. “But workers facing dismissal or discipline have every right to union representation. The unions that represent federal workers make no apologies for providing this representation and ensuring fairness in the workplace.

“I have written Representative Foxx and demanded an apology, and the NALC will engage the media in her congressional district to expose her outrageous comments,” Rolando said.

The president also encourages members who live in Rep. Foxx’s district to write and/or call her district office to express your concerns over the negative and inaccurate image of federal workers that she tried to project.

The Honorable Virginia Foxx
6000 Meadowbrook Mall, Suite 3
Clemmons, NC 27012
Toll-free (866) 677-8968

via Latest News | Tasteless comments from Rep. Foxx.

Postal Workers in Florida Can See New Documentary Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal on a Big Screen

Los Angeles, CA – August 30, 2010. A new documentary on violence in the USPS, Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal, will be screened at two Florida film festivals this September.

The film was written/produced/directed by Emil Chiaberi and produced by Oscar and Emmy winner James Moll.

Murder by Proxy will be shown at the CENFLO film festival on September 3rd at 2:55pm, At the West Orange 5, Theaters, 1575 Maguire Road Ocoee, FL. Two more screenings will take place on September 6th and 9th at Nomadic Tendencies (US branch of Strasburg International Film Festival) located at Muvico Baywalk 20, 151 2nd Ave N, St Petersburg 33701.

In July “Murder By Proxy” was screened for survivors of the 1991 postal massacre in Royal Oak, Michigan, where it was received with a strong reaction from Royal Oak postal workers. Inquiries have been pouring in from USPS employees from different parts of the country asking when they can see the film in their area. Now Florida postal workers who are based in or around St. Petersburg and Ocoee will get the chance to see the film on a big screen.

Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal is the first documentary to examine the phenomenon of workplace massacre through the lens of the growing socio-economic strains that have swept over this country—beginning in the Reagan era and extending to the present. In the face of an ever changing economy, the film follows the plight of one of America’s working class heroes’, Charlie Withers, a 39 yr. veteran letter carrier from Royal Oak, MI, the home of the films focused incident.

The analysis of work conditions at USPS is central to the film, which sheds light on the toxic postal culture through the prism of catalyst and accountability. And for good reason: the modern, stress-driven, homicidal rampage was born in the postal system—forever changing the meaning of the phrase “going postal”. The USPS presents an ideal case study because it’s been a breeding ground for the same volatile conditions that are now found in most US work environments. “In
many ways, the story of work related postal violence chronicles the erosion of America’s working class”, says director Emil Chiaberi.

Today, the USPS is under intense pressure to reduce spending. As a result, workers are once again experiencing the same volatile conditions that led to the 1991 Royal Oak shooting and other related episodes of violence. “It seems like we’ve learned little from the past,” says Charlie Withers, whose investigation of the hostile conditions in Royal Oak’s Post Office resulted in Congressional hearings. He adds: “I think this film is very timely…hopefully, it can help prevent future tragedies.” With the grassroots uprising of support, already formed by responses pouring from the postal unions, workers are eager to help educate those ignorant or dismissive of the destructive effects of volatile management practices. There is a drought of corporate responsibility for this workforce, as lives are sacrificed and the postal service becomes an increasingly exasperated and toxic culture of greed, and violence.

Following the September screenings in Florida and Germany MURDER BY PROXY: How America Went Postal will be shown in several domestic and international Film Festivals. Please visit our website form more information.

ABOUT MURDER BY PROXY: How America Went Postal
Written/Produced/Directed: Emil Chiaberi
Produced by James Moll
Edited by David A. Davidson
Running time: 76 minutes
Language: English
Release date: 2010
Official Website: www.murderbyproxyfilm.com

ABOUT EMIL CHIABERI
Emil Chiaberi grew up in the Soviet Union and now lives and works in the United States as a
filmmaker and CEO of an emerging biomedical company. From serving in the Soviet Army to
managing a 100+ employee business, his array of personal and business experiences have made
him a keen observer of the connections between cultural phenomenon, psycho-spiritual crises
and their relationship to social violence. Emil’s first film, Murder by Proxy, explores these
connections.

ABOUT JAMES MOLL
Oscar and Emmy winning filmmaker James Moll has been producing and directing non-fiction
films for more than ten years. Moll’s feature documentary credits include Running the Sahara,
Inheritance, Price for Peace, and The Last Days, which chronicles the lives of five Hungarian
Holocaust survivors.
In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Moll established and operated The Shoah Foundation
(currently the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education) with Steven
Spielberg for the express purpose of videotaping Holocaust survivor testimonies around the
world.

When the call in from Kennedy Airport Thursday afternoon reporting that someone had gone postal, it turned out to be little too close to the truth. Port Authority Police sources say a mail sorter stabbed his female supervisor 7 times in a rage during work.

The female supervisor, identified as Doris Lloyd, was rushed to Jamaica Hospital where she is treated for her stab wounds. Officials said the male suspect used scissors to attack his supervisor. He allegedly told police he was tired of her busting his chops and he decided he was not going to take it anymore.

The disgruntled worker, identified as David Barnett, 55, was allegedly stopped by a fellow worker who jumped on his back during the fight and held him down until police arrived.

Full story: Mail Sorter Charged With Stabbing Supervisor At JFK Mail Facility | NBC New York.

Arbitrator Karen H. Jacobs has ruled that a supervisor in the Bismarck, North Dakota post office must strictly limit his contact with letter carriers after he was found to have repeatedly violated the National Agreement and the Joint Statement on Violence and Behavior in the Workplace. The supervisor, Ernest Welk, has a history of problems dealing with carriers that have led to grievances, arbitration awards, and in one case, a Congressional intervention. The arbitrator summarized Welk’s history: Read the rest of this entry »

San Francisco postal workers speak about the November 28 murder-suicide. From the Labor Video Project.

Yes, ahead of Holly Golightly, Travis Bickle, and even Ralph Kramden, he’s number 12 on the list. Everyone’s favorite postal worker with the poorly developed socialization skills and intense desire to transfer to Hawaii. I have to take issue with one item in the story, though- the Memorable Quote offered is “Hello, Jerry”. Well, maybe, but as a postal worker myself, I can still hear Newman explaining that postal workers ‘go postal’…

…Because the mail never stops. It just keeps coming and coming and coming. There’s never a letup. It’s relentless. Every day it piles up more and more, but the more you get out, the more it keeps coming. And then the bar code reader breaks. And then it’s Publisher’s Clearinghouse day. 

Greatest Fictional New Yorkers #12: Newman

I enjoy Azeez Jaffer’s responses to anti-postal newspaper columns, editorials, etc., as much as anyone, but I sometimes wonder if he’s missing the Postal Service’s real PR problem. Sending off another clever letter to the editor complaining about the use of the phrase “going postal” may be satisfying, but in the long run, what difference does it really make?

Meanwhile, we seem to be either shooting ourselves in the foot when we deal with postal reform in DC, or burying our head in the sand when it comes to dealing with plant consolidations in the field. Why can KFOX in El Paso say that they’ve waited months for someone from the El Paso Post Office to talk to them? Why can Senator Harkin complain that we won’t tell him what our plans are for Sioux City? Why are we letting the mailers, unions, and politicians do all the talking?

Why are we wasting our time going postal over “going postal” when there are more important things to worry about?

Postal Police Officer may not be the most glamorous career choice you could make (speaking as a budget analyst, I know something about non-glamorous careers!). But a postal cop in Louisiana has apparently found a way to puff up his chest a bit- he’s fighting the ‘War on Terror’!

When a journalist for Germany’s Deutsche Welle network attempted to videotape people queueing up to get their mail, he was told by postal police to leave the premises. He complied, but continued taping through a fence. The cops again told him to stop taping. When the journalist objected, pointing out the lack of signs indicating the area was in any way restricted, he was told to hand over his videotape. When he refused, he was handcuffed. He wasn’t released until he finally agreed to hand over the video.

The punch line?

The reporter says that at least twice, one of the cops told him ”that in the past, I would have gotten away with [filming] but not now with the ‘war on terror’“.

U.S. Postal Service detains journalist, keeping his videotape 

It’s hard to believe an actual postal worker ever thought this was funny- but to see something like this around after last week’s events is pretty sad.

Source: Flickr

Fears that the news media would bring back the ‘going postal’ stereotype in the wake of the Goleta killings have so far not, for the most part, come true.

A Google news search for ‘going postal’ the day after the incident turned up a large number of hits, but the vast majority came from an Associated Press story that was carried on many sites, often more than once as it was updated with new developments. The AP dispatches mention, fairly deep in the story, that a series of killings in the 80′s gave rise to the phrase.

Read the rest of this entry »