The Future of the Rural Carrier – Carriers’ View – NRLCA and the Revolution Part 2

The Future of the Rural Carrier – Carriers’ View – NRLCA and the Revolution Part 2 EIE

This is how I see it! Enough is Enough

I guess the question now is “What can we do?” Bring spread out as rural carriers are, we need to do our best to bring pressure on the union to treat us fairly, not like they are doing us a favor. These items below are first steps and maybe they will help:

1. Write a letter – I am not a big letter writer but this is the first step that we must all take. We need to let the highest level of the union know that enough is enough. Write a letter! I don’t care if it is only one sentence; make it a good sentence. Show them your feelings and any solutions you may have that would benefit our carrier brothers and sisters. Very important, sign the letter with your name and the post office (city, state, zip) where you work. In this way they can’t dismiss the letters to be from anonymous sources, but see us as individuals with true grievances. The address is NRLCA 1630 Duke Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3465. You can send the letter to the president Jeannette Dwyer and while you’re at it, how about one to the vice-president Ronnie Stutts.
2. You may have count or contract meetings coming up. Wait until the end of the meeting; we don’t want to interrupt the information that is given. Get up, thank the presenters for their time and information and then let the local people know that there is a problem with the upper management of the union and many people feel that they are being ignored. There are not many opportunities for people to voice their dissatisfaction face to face and you would like them to pass the word on to those at the top that enough is enough.
3. Ruralinfo is that meeting place that allows us all to come together and exchange our ideas and views. We need to increase the membership of Ruralinfo so that more carriers can see that they are not alone and there are others that feel as they do. Print out a piece of paper that gives non-members of Ruralinfo a reason for joining the site and give it to all the carriers in your office.

Besides http://www. ruralinfo.net , you may also want to list http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/main.asp?webtag=ruralcarriers and
http://www.postalemployeenetwork.com/forums.htm as sites of interest. The more the merrier.
4. Keep posting and blogging on these sites. Keep up the pressure on the union that they feel the heat and may come to their senses and remember their responsibilities to the people who support the union with their money.
5. I am not telling you to leave the union. It would get their attention if many people leave, but it would also weaken the union’s ability to function and that would affect us all. You are an adult and you can make your own decision. But if you think you may decide to leave, you can only do it during a short window and the process is a little tedious, so start planning now in case resignation is your choice.

These are a few things that rural carriers can try. I always say that if all you can do is to throw spitballs, then throw as many as you can. If anyone has other suggestions, please put them in the comment section so that we all may take advantage of your input.

Hopefully, the NRLCA will wake up before step 5 is necessary.