FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 30, 2008


    POTENTIAL MCCAIN VP PICK FRED SMITH:
    BAD FOR AMERICA, BAD FOR WORKERS

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The following is a statement from Change to Win Chair Anna Burger regarding recent speculation that union-busting FedEx CEO Fred Smith is on presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain's short list for vice-presidential picks.

"Recent reports that FedEx CEO Fred Smith is being considered by John McCain as a potential vice-presidential pick are beyond disturbing.  As a well-known lifelong union buster, Smith has a disgraceful record of stripping workers of their most basic rights to organize and fight for a living wage.  It is disheartening, although not surprising, that John McCain would consider picking such a notorious enemy of hard working men and women to be his running mate.

"In the 35 years that Fred Smith has been the CEO of FedEx he has repeatedly fought against workers joining together to have a voice on the job, openly stating that he 'doesn't intend to recognize any unions at Federal Express.' Less than 2% of the 200,000 American workers at FedEx are in a union. In contrast, UPS unionized workers make nearly 30 percent more than they non-union counterparts at FedEx. Despite organizing efforts, FedEx has filed appeal after appeal to deny their workers the right to bargain collectively, and has sought national legislation to thwart union organizing.

"Americans have already suffered through seven years of a White House that places corporate interests before the interests of America's working families and we've seen the results - millions of homeowners facing foreclosure, gas prices at record levels, and skyrocketing health care costs. Workers cannot afford another lobbyist-dominated administration. A vice-president Fred Smith would be bad for America, and bad for workers. Working families need leadership in the White House that will help them reclaim the American Dream, not a third Bush term."

Received the following by email. Has anyone else heard about this?

"At my station we are hearing lots of talk that they are ending a whole tour at the the Dallas BMC.  All the employees have been told to stay home and wait for instructions.  Word is that they will be able to bid within 500 miles.  A clerk at my station whose husband works there says it's true. Have you heard anything?"

If you're a Lost TV fan then checkout my new website at LostFanClub.net. That's right, I'm now the FREAKIN PRESIDENT OF THE LOST FAN CLUB, besides being the owner of PostalProfiles and PostalMag. Since I've been injured with my calf tear, I've had a little extra time on my hands. I had an extra website and extra social networking software so I decided to create the Lost Fan Club.

If you are a Lost TV fan, I need your help in getting it started. Just go to LostFanClub.net and register.


At the new LostFanClub.net you can create a customized profile (see mine), blog, upload photos, discuss your favorite show and more. It's free!
Tom, Lost Fan Club President

I was talking with my wife about the VER. She is a vice president in corporate America and has viewpoints I don't always see from my position as a letter carrier and webmaster. She said that some banking firms are laying off employees, and forcing remaining employees to work longer. She told me about one of her friends who is working until 9:00 PM at night. Many of these salaried employees feel compelled to work the extra hours because they fear getting laid off. She says this is an industry-wide corporate trend, and wonders if the Postal Service is doing the same. It got me to thinking about staffing at the Postal Service.

Staffing is a multi-faceted issue, and it's not fair to boil the issue down to just a couple of points. True, the Postal Service could shed a few workers, IF mail volume continues to drop. Personally, I don't think it's time to panic about volume until we see what it's like this fall. In years past, I have seen volume drop dramatically in summer. Remember, this fall, we have elections and all the political mail that goes with it.

I'm hearing from many areas of the country that overtime is down. That's good for the Postal Service, isn't it? However, the way the Postal Service has mandated employees to work overtime while refusing to hire new help in the past suggests the Postal Service had found a "sweet spot" where it was more economical to force overtime than to carry more people on the payrolls. But perhaps that sweet spot is gone now, and the Postal Service wants it back? If 20,000 to 40,000 employees take the VER, where does that leave the remaining employees - back to forced, mandated 10 to 12 hour days, six days a week?

Well, I'm out for the summer due to a non-work-related injury. I tore my left medial gastrocnemius (calf muscle). The doctor says I'll be out 6 to 8 weeks, but an MRI on Thursday will clarify the extent of the injury.

So I call my supervisor, and you probably already know where this is going.

I imagine at many businesses in America, if you call your boss and say you have sustained a disabling injury, one would expect to get a little sympathy or concern. Ha!

There was no concern, just a short statement about me providing documentation.

Being a team player, I offered to work light duty once my doctor cleared me for that.

"OOOH, NOOOOO, THEY (MANAGEMENT) WON'T LET YOU DO ANY OF THAT!!!!"

"OK," I said, "I'll just take the summer off."

I didn't really want to work any light duty, but I will if they want me to. I'm fine just staying at home and taking the summer off. I have PLENTY of sick leave.

Anyway, I'll have coworkers be on the lookout to see if management gives any of their buddies "light duty."