AUGUST 31st

Concerned Postal Workers

Concerned Postal Workers' Message in Manhattan

(From Redbanklocal.com)

Hundreds of Concerned Postal Workers from across the country took to the streets of Manhattan on Tuesday, August 31st, in the shadows of Madison Square Garden where the Republican Party was preparing for the second night of their National Convention. The primary message of the assembled was that Universal Mail Service is under attack by corporate and political interests. As APWU North Eastern Regional Coordinator Liz Powell told ralliers, "Postal Reform might be quiet, but its not dead. We still have a fight in front of us."

Arriving from as far away as Hawaii, Postal Workers began marching and chanting shortly after 2 PM. Police presence was high--as many as 70 over a 2 block area, by one count--but there were no incidents or arrests. Indeed, as the event ended later that afternoon, police and Postal Workers thanked each other for their presence and respect. The arrest of over a thousand protesters later in the day, in a sign of the times, received the bulk of the media coverage on Tuesday.

Donned in blue, Concerned Postal Workers gave the media, police, and gathered New Yorkers the "other side" of the Postal Reform debate. Few were aware that the proposed Postal Reform bills require study of the "feasibility" of Universal Service, nor that forces pushing the issue would seek to limit citizen input into Post Office closings and consolidations. Speaking to a free-lance film maker, one marcher explained, "The only message people have heard is that the Post Office is a dying industry and its just not true. But those advancing that message are the ones with the resources to control the debate."

Postal Workers carried a more basic underlying message, as well, shared with onlookers in many one-on-one conversations. America belongs to its people and those people should not stand silently by as their rights and privileges are stripped away. Many spoke of the decidedly anti-worker direction the nation has taken in the past four years.

Boston Metro (APWU) President Moe Lepore related that those who died in the World Trade Towers were Union Brothers and Sisters. Everyone who helped put the city of New York back together after the attack, Lepore went on, was Union. And, yet, this administration determined Union Brothers and Sisters could not be trusted with Homeland Security. "We belong to each other," Lepore said. "We truly are Brother and Sister. We've got to take this country back. It belongs to all of us. Take back America! Today! Today! Today!"

APWU National Business Agent Frank Giordano spoke passionately about the state of America. "More people are living under the poverty line than ever before," he said. "More children are going to bed hungry than ever before." Giordano also addressed the war in Iraq. "They hide the body bags. They hide the coffins. People are dying in Iraq. And for what? For oil! I'll be damned if I'd send one American soldier [to die] for one drop of oil!"

As the event drew to a close, Red Bank Local (APWU) President Joe Shevlin thanked the participants for coming. "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart and soul, for coming out and being a Concerned Postal Worker. You should be proud!"

A Personal Perspective Commentary by Martin Johns

(from Redbanklocal.com)

So the big story on the news, Tuesday, August 31, was that 1000 or more protesters were arrested in New York City as the Republican Convention went on a few blocks away. Peaceful and positive Postal Workers merited nary a mention. And, certainly, turnout for the Concerned Postal Workers event should have been in the thousands, rather than the hundreds. Am I disappointed? Nah. Not a bit.

The boat ride into Manhattan was a blast. As we made our way to the Rally point, New Yorkers attentively read our t-shirts. In fact, we handed out quite a few and a lot of folks put them right on.

Reaching 30^th and 8^th, we embraced our brothers and sisters from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Ohio, North Carolina and more. We marched together, spoke to the media, the police, and onlookers. Other protesters showed up. I’m not really sure, but I think they were protesting us.

We gathered together and listened to impassioned impromptu speeches from Moe Lepore, Liz Powell, Frank Giordano and others. We shared a moment of comic relief as Frank dropped and broke the bullhorn. Such was his passion, the bullhorn wasn’t really necessary anyway.

As we began to disperse, I thanked as many police officers as I could and we joked. “I wouldn’t want your job,” I said. “Well, I wouldn’t want yours either.” Smiles and laughs all around.

Unexpectedly, one of my dearest friends happened by. We shared apple slices and memories, and caught up on life since our last get together. We sat on the roof and watched the police response to “that other protest,” without realizing that that’s what it was.

Eventually, I took the train home. Had a very nice conversation with a cab driver, and tipped him well. He thanked me profusely and said, “I hope your protest did some good.” “It didn’t do any harm,” I said.

By any standards, that was one hell of a good day.

Go ahead and believe we didn’t do enough simply because mass arrests were a better news story. Go ahead and believe we didn’t do enough because there was more that could have been done to promote or draw. Hey, we did the best we could. That’s all you can ever ask of anyone.

New Yorkers who read and/or wore our t-shirts heard a message they would not have heard otherwise. So did the police officers and others who watched us march. Even the reporters, who passed on our footage in favor of “a better story,” heard a message they hadn’t heard. And it’s a simple message, really; the Postal Service works for everybody, so let’s keep it. As Moe Lepore said, we planted some seeds in New York. Some of those seeds will grow.

Policemen were thanked, somewhere a cab driver is happier, and I had one hell of a good day (and how many of those do you get, really). It’s that simple. Take it, leave it, get it, don’t get it…I know we changed the world. And all we had to do was show up. If you want to believe we didn’t change the world enough, that’s your hang-up. Everything affects everything else. Every positive action changes the world for the better. More people can make more change. But that’s up to you.