Bad Mouth

Yeah, the thing with the post office is, Tom was mentioning, they dangle the carrot, but there's never any goddamn carrot. It's all stick. It's supposed to be carrot and stick. It's all stick. There's no carrot there. Management in the post office is just trying to get you to move as fast as possible and cut corners. And that erodes safety. It erodes service.

Yeah, the thing with the post office is, Tom was mentioning, they dangle the carrot, but there's never any goddamn carrot. It's all stick. It's supposed to be carrot and stick. It's all stick. There's no carrot there. Management in the post office is just trying to get you to move as fast as possible and cut corners. And that erodes safety. It erodes service.

Yeah, the thing with the post office is, Tom was mentioning, they dangle the carrot, but there's never any goddamn carrot. It's all stick. It's supposed to be carrot and stick. It's all stick. There's no carrot there. Management in the post office is just trying to get you to move as fast as possible and cut corners. And that erodes safety. It erodes service.

And it's just a toxic, horrible, horrible environment. And so back in the 70s, before the wildcat strike, it was illegal then, just like it's illegal now. The NALC, National Association of Letter Carriers, Congress called all the shots. Like we had some collective bargaining rights, but not full collective bargaining rights.

And it's just a toxic, horrible, horrible environment. And so back in the 70s, before the wildcat strike, it was illegal then, just like it's illegal now. The NALC, National Association of Letter Carriers, Congress called all the shots. Like we had some collective bargaining rights, but not full collective bargaining rights.

And it's just a toxic, horrible, horrible environment. And so back in the 70s, before the wildcat strike, it was illegal then, just like it's illegal now. The NALC, National Association of Letter Carriers, Congress called all the shots. Like we had some collective bargaining rights, but not full collective bargaining rights.

But like back then, adjusted for inflation, starting wage was $50,000 a year, roundabout. And it topped out at about $68,000 adjusted for inflation. And that took 21 years to get to that point. Jesus. Yeah. So it's pretty wild. And like very similar to today, now starting wage adjusted for inflation is just over $40,000 before taxes.

But like back then, adjusted for inflation, starting wage was $50,000 a year, roundabout. And it topped out at about $68,000 adjusted for inflation. And that took 21 years to get to that point. Jesus. Yeah. So it's pretty wild. And like very similar to today, now starting wage adjusted for inflation is just over $40,000 before taxes.

But like back then, adjusted for inflation, starting wage was $50,000 a year, roundabout. And it topped out at about $68,000 adjusted for inflation. And that took 21 years to get to that point. Jesus. Yeah. So it's pretty wild. And like very similar to today, now starting wage adjusted for inflation is just over $40,000 before taxes.

So we're making even less money now than we were before that wildcat strike, right? And a couple other real familiar things like, you know, unpopular wars, rampant inflation. You know, every time you turn on the radio or TV, there's some lunatic politician that you can't stand hearing about. Time is a flat circle.

So we're making even less money now than we were before that wildcat strike, right? And a couple other real familiar things like, you know, unpopular wars, rampant inflation. You know, every time you turn on the radio or TV, there's some lunatic politician that you can't stand hearing about. Time is a flat circle.

So we're making even less money now than we were before that wildcat strike, right? And a couple other real familiar things like, you know, unpopular wars, rampant inflation. You know, every time you turn on the radio or TV, there's some lunatic politician that you can't stand hearing about. Time is a flat circle.

But Vince Sobrato, who was an organizer out of New York City, the NLC didn't strike all over the country. It was New York and Chicago and San Francisco. It was some major hubs. Right. And Vince Sobrato came out of that. And we won in that strike one collective bargaining rights. Now, the thing we gave up and it was a tradeoff. So we have a no layoff clause. So they can't lay us off.

But Vince Sobrato, who was an organizer out of New York City, the NLC didn't strike all over the country. It was New York and Chicago and San Francisco. It was some major hubs. Right. And Vince Sobrato came out of that. And we won in that strike one collective bargaining rights. Now, the thing we gave up and it was a tradeoff. So we have a no layoff clause. So they can't lay us off.

But Vince Sobrato, who was an organizer out of New York City, the NLC didn't strike all over the country. It was New York and Chicago and San Francisco. It was some major hubs. Right. And Vince Sobrato came out of that. And we won in that strike one collective bargaining rights. Now, the thing we gave up and it was a tradeoff. So we have a no layoff clause. So they can't lay us off.

But we gave up the right to strike, making sure that there wouldn't be another wildcat strike.

But we gave up the right to strike, making sure that there wouldn't be another wildcat strike.

But we gave up the right to strike, making sure that there wouldn't be another wildcat strike.

Right. So that's kind of why our hands are tied in that sense. And now if we have an impasse with our with our negotiation and like we get a tentative agreement and we during the ratification process vote that down, now we can either try and go back to the bargaining table. Or it gets brought in front of an arbiter, basically an impartial judge, and they'll have a panel.

Right. So that's kind of why our hands are tied in that sense. And now if we have an impasse with our with our negotiation and like we get a tentative agreement and we during the ratification process vote that down, now we can either try and go back to the bargaining table. Or it gets brought in front of an arbiter, basically an impartial judge, and they'll have a panel.