For the unions, they want to avoid at all costs modification to collective bargaining; accelerated consolidations; 5-day delivery; release of retirement overfunding; major subcontracting, but eliminate the health care prefunding.

The Republican agenda seeks to continue the health care payment in some form, accelerate consolidations, reduce the retirement overpayment and lay the foundation for privatization.

Within these conflicting agendas and unflinching adversaries there is a possibility of legislation that does not satisfy the politicians or the unions but saves the Postal Service.  If one begins with the goal of an economically stable Postal Service as the primary objective, the legislative negatives while unacceptable become palatable.  The clock is ticking and the USPS’ financial position will not improve without major intervention. Neither camp will achieve their objectives in the current political climate, but at some point the question must be asked: postal reform or what?

Source Credit: http://www.numbersleuth.org/trends/usps/

A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus – Personally Autographed

Hard Cover $19.95 includes FREE SHIPPING

For reasons of strategic planning, the other unions have not publicized their response or acknowledged receipt of the April 16 letter but employees have a right to know the content of the unions’ responses.  It is obvious that the purpose of such reopening would be to reduce wages and benefits of employees, and having already achieved major cuts for future employees’ attention would be turned to existing employees.  It must be assumed that these factors have been considered in the unions’ responses but it is the employee’s wages and benefits that would be in play and it has been almost one month since the Donahoe request.

The APWU silence on the Donahoe request exposes the naïve boast that they would correct in future negotiations the disparity in the pay scale that restricts new hires to a top step of J making APWU represented employees the lowest salaried employees in the Postal Service over the last 25 years of their careers.  The awards of all of the other unions extend the new pay scales to O and the disparity was dismissed as easily overcome in future rounds of negotiations.  The assumed APWU rejection to reopen negotiations is an indicator that the union is not anxious to expose the wages of senior employees in this effort and it can be expected that this dilemma will prevent any positive adjustment for years to come.  The simple fact is, in negotiations the union cannot trade a benefit in one round of negotiations and then recover it in subsequent negotiations.  The Postal Service would demand a return of the exchanged benefit in this for that bargaining.

A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus – Personally Autographed

Hard Cover $19.95 includes FREE SHIPPING

The book that I was promoting, My Journey has as its background the evolution of my career as a postal employee and union leader, recording for all time the stages of my life that turned with my association with many friends and coworkers in the Cleveland office. As expressed during my presentation, it was my intent in writing the book to record for inquiring minds how I reacted to my surroundings and the multiple phases of life that I was exposed to.  I shared with those in attendance my advice that everyone reduce to writing in some form their personal experiences that can be read long after they are gone.

Everyone will not or cannot undertake the task of writing a book but personal notes or recordings can serve as records of who we were and what we did.   We are mortal and at some future date we will expire and too often the only remembrance of our complex lives are faded pictures and personal memories of siblings, children and friends.  But they too will expire with time, and without a personal record the summary of complex lives will be lost.  A written record by my great grandfather and other ancestors whom I never met would put context behind the photos that are limited to physical characteristics.  Where did he live, who were his friends, what were his habits, success and failures?  It was my intent to put context to the image that will be viewed 200 years from now.

I have made the return trip to Cleveland an average of two or three times every year since leaving so the journey across the Pennsylvania turnpike is stored in my memory.  Whenever I return, I visit my former home and neighborhood as well as the community where Ethelda matured and as can be expected, make note of the many changes.  We expect that time will stand still on the surroundings of our past and our expectation is that the Cleveland of 2013 will resemble the Cleveland of 1958, but we are met with disappointment because time brings change.

The book signing was a huge success and I was provided the opportunity to say thank you to the many friends who made the intervening years of my life so successful.

You too should consider writing a memoir that there is context behind your picture far into the future.

A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus – Personally Autographed

Hard Cover $19.95 includes FREE SHIPPING

The most recent absurd reaction is to the Boston terrorist bombing and the Republicans rush to the microphones to tell the public that the military should provide the forum for trial. Where were they when Timothy McVeigh assassinated hundreds in Oklahoma City, the killings at a military base and in the Colorado movie theatre? Each treacherous act was performed by an American citizen but in the most recent killings the Republicans demand a military trial. I guess the issue is not that innocent Americans are killed by Americans but it gives them an opportunity to oppose the president again. He says up, they say down.

Mail processing in the American postal system consists of the 400 plus plants owned and operated by the Postal Service and 35 processing plants operated by Pitney Bowes. The 35 Pitney Bowes plants process the same mail finalized in postal plants for delivery, performing the service at a cost that is determined by law to equal avoided USPS costs. The law requires that the rates set for presorted services be at the USPS’ avoided costs, so by law the USPS’ savings realized by Pitney Bowes performing a processing function is equal to the postal cost avoided. The Postal Service does not generate any savings. When initiated in the 1970s it was intended that from a financial perspective there would be no gain and no loss with the only driving factor being “space.” This is a hoax because in the real world the Postal Service is providing an economic windfall to Pitney Bowes for a service that is duplicative and could be performed by postal employees.

When combining discounts with consolidations, there is a disconnect in maximizing revenue and the productivity of the postal network. The stated purpose of consolidations is to maximize the efficiencies of postal processing and save the costs of the consolidated plants with the underlying justification that there is an excess of USPS processing capacity. Yet, the 35 Pitney Bowes plants are not included in the processing model even though their costs are directly related. It is illogical to reduce processing capacity of the postal network while continuing the subsidy to Pitney Bowes’ plants under the justification that USPS cannot process 100% of the mail volume.
The two principles conflict, justifying presort because of the inability of the Postal Service to process the reduced volume and continuing the presort relationship with Pitney Bowes. Because of alleged volume exceeding USPS capacity, this is a hoax beyond reasonable logic. It can only be assumed that there is more at play than generating savings from consolidations. The postmaster general has put his thumb on the scale in favor of presorting and postage discounts.

Pitney Bowes announces that 14 billion mail pieces are subjected to the discounted rates and every penny of revenue generated in mail processing for Pitney Bowes is a direct loss by the Postal Service. The relationship is so absurd that the Inspector General and the Attorney General should conduct investigations to determine if there is personal gain. It is painfully obvious that if there is excess capacity in the USPS’ processing network the alternate processing performed by Pitney Bowes is duplicative and should be discontinued.

The only alternative conclusion is that the American public that pays full undiscounted rates is being taxed beyond postal costs to provide profits for Pitney Bowes. This is illegal.

It was strange watching events depicted in the movie through the lens of 2013 influenced by actual memories of the period when I was 10 years old and rejoiced with the signing of Jackie Robinson as a major league baseball player. The movie leaves the impression that Jackie was alone in absorbing the taunts and mistreatment even though Larry Doby began his professional career 11 weeks after Jackie, and had the same experiences with the Cleveland Indians.

But for the perseverance of Jackie and Larry there would not have been a President Barack Obama as racial equality would have been set back another 50 years.  There would have been other heroes in time but they would have had to overcome the failures of the first and the bigots would have had the excuse that Jackie and Larry had failed.

While watching the movie, it seems I was in a time capsule – returning to 1947 when I experienced personally my life in the United States as a 10 year Colored boy.  It is difficult to express in 2013 terms the impact of a person who looks like you succeeding in a nationally celebrated sport on equal terms. Television had not yet penetrated American society so events were transmitted audible and one’s imagination completed the experience.  Like so many other boys my age, I wanted to be a baseball player and Jackie and Larry were examples that I could emulate unencumbered by laws of separation.  It would be many years of even worse atrocities and heroic examples, but the road from slavery, racial discrimination, torture and pain traveled through Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby.  My election as President of the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO and the life that I have enjoyed would have not been possible without the discipline and talent of my heroes.  Again, I recommend the movie.

A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus

Hard Cover $19.95 includes FREE SHIPPING

This constant appeal that members contact their representatives treats all Congressional Representatives as though they are the same. Just send them a letter and that will do it no matter that some do not need your letter having already pledged their support while others will vote against your interest even if they receive letters from all 500 postal employees in their District who will vote in the election. This shotgun approach treats Representatives who are not on the Postal Committees the same as members on the Committee and it ignores the fact that the chairman holds all of the cards. If he doesn’t bring postal issues to a vote, it doesn’t matter how the other members on the committee would vote. You should at least be told which representatives you are trying to convince with this barrage of contacts.

When and if it’s time to vote, the issues that will be converted into political commercials will be immigration, gun control, the deficit and jobs. I dare anyone to find a political race that turns on internal postal issues. This constant appeal that the members contact their Representatives keeps the members busy but there has to be more from leaders. What are they doing?

It reminds me of a person pushed from a twelve story building and advised to flap their arms. It won’t cushion the impact but it gives you something to do on the way down. This gives the members something to do.

To end this cycle of apathy, I ask that each APWU member make the following pledge:

I am a member of a union of employees that achieved the right to bargain for wages and benefits after 200,000 postal employees waged an illegal strike in 1970 demanding the right to have a voice.  This right to bargain collectively elevated postal employment to a decent standard of living. I and my family have personally benefitted, achieving a working life far beyond those striking employees in 1970.

Today there are negative forces in play, including a postmaster general who wants to reduce service through consolidations and service cuts, a Congress that wants to privatize universal service, oppressive supervisors and union leaders who have met the challenge or who have failed miserably in addressing the changes that confront us.   As an employee, I desperately need a voice in opposing these efforts that will destroy postal services and harm me and my family.

The only voice that I have is through the union that succeeded in making postal employment my choice of a career and I want to do more than complain.  I am a dues paying member because I believe that I must join with my fellow worker to be effective in fighting back the regressive forces and protect what has been achieved.

I recognize that as a single employee my voice will not be heard but as a union member I recognize that the elected leaders will speak for me and all future employees and I promise that I will  vote in the union elections.  This is a promise and I will not make an excuse for not voting in the 2013 union election.  I will vote because I owe it to myself and my family. 

The minimum wage laws create a floor beneath which the union cannot go even if they would be tempted to sell out the next generation even more. Cutting the salaries of existing employees is where the rubber meets the road and it is their wages and benefits that would be the subject of any renewed contract negotiations.  With the new APWU wage scale, the value of postal work has been established at top salary for Grade 6 at $42,000 per year, a reduction of $11,000 per employee.  I challenge the supporters of the existing contract to pledge their support for equal cuts for themselves and current employees in reopened negotiations. I would suggest that Donahoe save the postage on any request to reopen negotiations. If he really needs to save two billion dollars per year, a viable alternative is to eliminate discounts; that would certainly do it.

A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus

Hard Cover $19.95 includes FREE SHIPPING

PMG Donahoe attempted to call his bluff by announcing the implementation of 5-day delivery without legislation. The move has shifted the debate from reform to the authority to arbitrarily initiate 5 day but that hasn’t resulted in the Bill being called up and voted on. It is time for pressure.

The issues have been fully vetted, why not let Congress vote? The unions missed the mark in focusing exclusively on encouraging members to contact their representatives and demonstrating around buildings. After two years of publicity, the unions either have a working majority or they won’t get one. It is not the public or local representatives who are holding up legislation. They cannot vote until the Bill is called up by the Chairman. This is a one man show and the Chairman is calling the shots. What is needed? Perhaps, one thousand postal employees and their families, parked out front at his home and each of the offices in his District. American citizens must be informed that this single individual holds the future of postal services in his hands. We will never get to the issues of reform including:

• The health care payment
• Refund of the retirement overpayment
• Modification of the authority of the Rate Commission to set rates to meet service needs
• Consolidations
• 5-day delivery

There will not be meaningful debate and votes on the issues of reform until Chairman Issa elects to bring them to the floor and only then can the Lynch Bill and other alternatives get a vote.

There must be logic behind the delay, but what is certain is that it is not in the interest of postal employees or the public that relies on mail services. Chairman Issue is pursuing a limited political objective and it is obvious that he does not intend to move. The Republicans are in the majority on the Committee and they do not want to cast a vote that can be used against them in the 2014 midterm elections. The future of postal reform is not a question of convincing those friendly in Congress to vote the right way. At this stage, it’s about getting a vote and Issa is the key.

Union officials are not to blame for the turmoil, but events of the day exposes the misguided efforts to “save” the Postal Service as a priority in contract negotiations.  Despite the transfer of four billion dollars over a four year period from the pockets of employees, the USPS is in a more precarious position than pre negotiations and normalcy is a distant memory.

The heart of the financial dilemma is the reduced revenue generated.  First class volume reductions are a factor but it is the very structure of the rate schedule that is the problem.  The reduction in total volume is not as dramatic as first class single piece, and because of the subsidized rate paid by Standard mail, sufficient revenue is not generated to operate the national system.  It is not rational that a letter of the same dimension and weight will contribute only a small percentage in costs for home delivery.  The difference is not attributed to service in this day of automated processing.  Years ago when the post office did not have the capacity to process the growing volume of mail it was necessary to prioritize processing and 2^nd and 3^rd class mail was deferred to non-peak periods.  This is no longer the case and today with increased efficiencies, Standard mail receives the same attention as first class and the rates should be much more comparable.

There is a tipping point where Standard mail could be priced where it would be noncompetitive with other forms of commerce such as television, internet, radio and newspapers but presently the deck has been stacked in favor of subsidized postage rates.  The Postal Service can no longer afford to shift 70% of the total expenses to first class mail.  When the dust settles on the health care payment, the retirement overfunding and the size of the network there will still be a need to generate adequate income from all classes of mail.  These disjointed efforts to reduce expenses to fit the declining revenue will not solve the problem.  Additional revenue must be generated and Standard mail is the obvious source.  Until a proper balance is set, employees can expect that this race to the bottom will continue and they will be victimized by the continuous changes.

A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus

Hard Cover $19.00 includes FREE SHIPPING

]]> http://burrusjournal.org/2013/04/01/turmoil/feed/ 0 http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/28/be-serious/ http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/28/be-serious/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:37:58 +0000 Burrus http://burrusjournal.org/?p=1648 Continue reading →]]> The Pitney Bowes proposal to privatize all postal services except delivery is so ridiculous that it should be flatly rejected as a serious effort to address the USPS’s financial difficulties.  In an effort to satisfy the demands of panel member George Gould to exempt the letter carriers, his former employer, they settle on this cockeyed idea of continuing government mail delivery and contracting out the rest.   To the average user of postal services, this suggestion may seem reasonable but anyone who is familiar with the functions involved from the collection box to the home cannot imagine how the function of delivery can be spun off and be a totally independent service; the questions are endless.

The document that has charitably been referred to as a “white paper” did not even attempt to answer the obvious questions and had as its basic intent to put the issue of privatization in play.  We have this ongoing debate about the inability of the public sector to operate efficiently so if one intends to be taken seriously about the superiority of the private sector  over government services or to make a fair comparison you must start with a level playing field which means that the private postal entity would be required to pre fund billions of dollars in future health care cost; overpay the retirement fund; be subjected to government authority on health care for active employees; give veterans priority in employment; give local government a forum to interfere in the functioning of postal facilities; fix limitations on rate increases for the privatized services, and on and on.

Without addressing the issues that would level the playing field, this proposal would break new ground, creating a public/private partnership that has never been successfully tried under our form of government and is not deserving of serious consideration.  The only way that it could work is to require huge subsidies from the federal government which are not required under the present system.  Congress should not be distracted from the serious business of correcting previous efforts of reform including:

1. The rate schedule and artificial limitations
2. Limitations on use of the network for commercial purposes
3. Overpayment into the retirement fund
4. Rate discounts for activities that add to postal costs
5. Limiting autonomy in operational decisions
6. Imposing unique health care funding for active and retired

Time is running out on opportunities for Congress to fix its past mistakes in reforming the Postal Service.  Each of the impediments to postal financial stability was previously imposed by legislation called reform so all that is needed is to undue previous mistakes.  The very last thing that needs to be considered is a public/private partnership.

A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus

]]> http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/28/be-serious/feed/ 0 http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/25/in-solidarity/ http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/25/in-solidarity/#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 14:36:44 +0000 Burrus http://burrusjournal.org/?p=1619 Continue reading →]]> On Sunday, I joined in the national picket and rally held to preserve six-day delivery. Presidents Ken Lerch NALC and Tom Dodge of the APWU forwarded an invitation that I gladly accepted. The rally was held at the Gaithersburg Mail Facility in Suburban Maryland. It was attended by more than 100 activists protesting five day delivery, consolidations and denial of service for rural offices. I was honored as a speaker and expressed my support for their cause. I reminded the participants that 43 years ago on March 24, 1970, two hundred thousand postal employees were concluding their seven day strike that culminated in an independent Postal Service; significant pay increases; collective bargaining rights, and amnesty. The numbers of veterans of the 1970 strike are dwindling as active employees but the struggle continues.

Among others joining me as speakers at the rally were dear friends, Dena Briscoe,  President, Nations’ Capital APWU Local, Nanette Corley, President, Montgomery County APWU Local, and Josh Williams, President of Metropolitan Washington  AFL-CIO Council – all of whom brought solidarity from their membership. It was cold, but festive and the voices of the participants were loud and clear “5 Day – No Way.”

President Ken Lerch of the NALC is commended for his leadership in organizing the event. In private conversation, I was exposed to the heart and soul of the labor movement, leaders at the grass roots level.

A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus

]]> http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/25/in-solidarity/feed/ 0 http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/18/predictions-come-true/ http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/18/predictions-come-true/#comments Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:57:11 +0000 Burrus http://burrusjournal.org/?p=1590 Continue reading →]]> As I predicted, the National Academy of Public Administration, a think tank sponsored by Pitney Bowes concluded that “the Postal Service should consider keeping door-to-door delivery while privatizing the rest of its operations.”  Halleluiah, the skies have opened and wisdom has been shared with the masses.  It is only coincidental that Pitney Bowes which does $30 million in business annually through the post office and operates 41 processing plants would be a major bidder for the extension of its postal network and what is good for Pitney Bowes stockholders is good for America.  I am kidding of course; this paper released by paid spokesman for large mailers could be expected to be in the interest of large mailers.

David Walker, former head of the Government Accountability Office has never been a fan of the Postal Service and was a strong supporter of the 2006 PAE and its disastrous impact on USPS finances; George Gould, former legislative director of NALC was a coconspirator.  Any product on postal matters bearing their signatures must be suspect given their recent track record.  But maybe there is logic to their behavior.  First, they advocate saddling the USPS with $55 billion in artificial debt under the guise of future health care payments and then they use the resulting financial deficit as justification for privatization.   One must ask if the original goal in the 2006 PAEA was a 2013 privatization proposal or do I give them too much credit for advance planning?

Conspicuously absent from the paper is a proposal  that the private entity assuming postal activities will inherit this $55 billion future health care liability with required payments of five billion dollars plus each  year over an 11 year period.  The paper is also silent on discounts or will the new entity be permitted to charge fixed rates for each class of mail?  What about local, state and federal taxes?

This paper is no more than a capitalist dream of hijacking a national service for private profit.  They would buy the postal network at firestorm discount and added to the cost of service would be shareholder profits achieved through reduced employee wages and benefits.  In the interim, the privatization proposals would  remove all of the obstacles to a financially stable postal service, including future health care payments, rate discounts, restrictions on adjusting rates, use of the network, offering competitive services and a host of government sanctioned limitations that restrict USPS initiatives.  I expected no less from David Walker who was never a friend of the postal service and whose only contribution at public forums was displaying his cell phone as evidence that mail was in decline.  But George Gould collected pay checks from employee wages and one has reason to expect that he would not sell out completely.

This report has no credibility and should not be taken seriously in addressing the changes occurring in the communications industry and postal finances.

One can expect that legislators who do not believe in public service will quote liberally from this report as justification to deny positive reform that will sustain the Postal Service in a changing environment.  But the authors of the report have no credibility and their product should be discarded to the bins of irrelevancy.

]]> http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/18/predictions-come-true/feed/ 2 http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/15/history/ http://burrusjournal.org/2013/03/15/history/#comments Fri, 15 Mar 2013 08:46:27 +0000 Burrus http://burrusjournal.org/?p=1581 Continue reading →]]> A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus 

Randy Zelznick is commended for posting the Postal Museum event honoring the 40^th anniversary of the1970 postal strike.  It is exceptional that a video and verbal record has been distributed recording the only successful labor strike of the US government by participants of the strike.   Unfortunately, similar footage does not exist for other moments of labor history. Vince is now deceased, but fortunately his testimony has not been lost.  As time progresses, details of the strike will be lost or distorted with memory but the video will exist forever.

I was privileged to be a member of the panel with Vince and George Gould to share what happened, the contributing factors and the outcome.  I will treasure the video and the fact that it will be viewed hundreds of years from now.

Postal activists who desire the true history of the strike are advised to burn a copy and use it as a training tool to tell future generations that these were participants of the strike that changed history.

As civilization progresses and it will, the response by workers must be with increased union density that the new technologies generate equal job opportunities, wages and benefits. Over the past decades of reduced postal complement, communications have magnified but the increased communications have gravitated to other forms.  People communicate many times more in 2013 than they did 50 years ago but the union employees facilitating those communications have been reduced dramatically. Go to any public gathering and observe how many people are communicating as compared to 40 years ago when such exchanges were limited to a land line phone and mail. Communications have grown while the number of postal and telephone workers has declined.

The unions of tomorrow must have a vision beyond the specific activity performed by specific workers and focus on the broader activity.   Over time, most of the functions that we engage in will be performed more efficiently with computer related efficiencies. Mail is merely a means of communicating and while hard copy will continue far into the future, its share of the market will progressively diminish as a share of the total exchanges.

Discussions within the union among the technicians, stewards and officers’ focus on problems of the moment, the resolution of issues of today, but long range focus must receive equal attention. Seniority grievances or other issues of contract enforcement pale in comparison to the structure of the communication industry 10 years from now.  An APWU of 80,000 members cannot and will not represent as effectively.

Some will suggest that in an effort to broaden the base, the union chase the remaining segments of hard copy processing and delivery but those segments will also in time fall victim to technology. There will not be sufficient numbers of manual activities remaining in total to return to the pre computer complements so focus must expand beyond the specific tasks now performed.

Andy Stern, former president of SEIU, had a vision of segmenting unions along functional lines, but became frustrated in convincing fellow union presidents and withdrew from the AFL to form a separate entity that has floundered and failed to pursue his vision. The mindset of union officials must expand beyond the narrow confines of activities that will not survive the innovative changes of the future. It can be expected that there will be resistance because the issues of the day are here and now and demand attention but there is no alternative. Union memberships that rely on physical activity that can be modified by technology will continue to suffer losses similar to the Postal Service and APWU. We must do more than fight yesterday’s battles because technology is eating our lunch.

We tried in the late 1980s to address the impact of technology with the organization and retreat of all national officers to the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.  The agenda was to look into the future and project changes necessary to remain viable as a labor union.  The union mindset at the time, as now, was contract interpretation and enforcement and we were unsuccessful in changing the focus even though we invited the postmaster general, President AFL and other decision makers who knew the future plans of employment.  We did succeed in establishing a ‘Committee of The Future’ that met periodically over the following years but we were unable to change the focus from now, today, to tomorrow.  From that period forward, we have ridden the horse of representation to the point of continuous erosion and the result has been a membership base that has dwindled from 300,000 to 150,000 and dropping.

There will be cries for worker solidarity to stop change but there is not sufficient appetite for revolution and a revolution for what? To do what, put workers in charge to stop change? Such a strategy is doomed to failure because change will happen and those ill prepared will suffer the consequences. With its ever expanding officer and staff structure, APWU has baked into its future tens of millions of dollars in legacy costs factored on a membership base of 200,000 members so there is no alternative except to shape the future. Restructuring at this late date will not relieve the vesting obligations to retired and eligible recipients.  Exclusively focusing on the problem of the day will not leave time for preparation for tomorrow, and tomorrow will come. It’s just a matter of time.

March/April 2003 

This was the struggle 10 years ago and it is repeated today.

Together, we increased the difference between the lowest paid employees, Custodians, and the highest paid ETs from $10,000 to more than $30,000, providing an incentive for employees to gain new skills. We installed air conditioning in all vehicles and increased the drivers from Grade 5 and 6 to Grades 7 and 8. We eliminated all PTFs in offices; restricted the use of casuals; changed the promotional system so that employees would always receive more after being promoted; redesigned the keying operations in BMCs; designed a smoking policy, and permitted Locals to control their grievance procedure. These and scores of other positive changes were made with the concurrence of postal management and my constant partner was Tony Vegliante.

As representatives of labor and management we were natural adversaries but Tony and I represented our constituents with respect. The most respected trait in a management official is that he/she is true to their word and I could trust his commitment. We applied the labor management’s relationship to the most significant changes in the history of the Postal Service. From manual distribution to mechanical to automation to computer controlled, we eliminated smoking in postal facilities; created rules for the transition of replacing nearly every mail processing facility, and we changed the basic relationship between employees and management.

Over the course of the relationship we had our disagreements, but we elevated postal employment. In Tony, I had a partner to explore new and innovative ways to continue the USPS as the most efficient and cheapest postal service in the world while making postal employment a destination for careers. On behalf of the millions of postal employees and their families that were impacted from these decisions, I expressed appreciation and wished him well in any future endeavor.

“This review is from: My Journey: A Postal and Unique American Experience (Hardcover)”

“First is forever and that’s the way it goes down in the history books. Who cares who does it better, faster, or longer? Bill Burrus is the first African American to reach the top of the APWU presidency and talk about it (automatic 5-stars.) “My Journey” is packed with tons of valuable and informative information about personal and postal Union challenges over the past half century (Fifty Cent).

Mr. Burrus is a proven labor leader who has fought long and hard for better working conditions in the American workplace. Membership is a critical component of the group dynamics and although there are many free-riders who refuse to pay their fair share of representational services, its leaders like Bill Burrus who prove that a rising tide does lift all boats. The free-riders would be greatly informed about the Union struggle if they would take the time to seclude themselves and read this hardcover book and learn what the past has done for the present, and what postal employees need to do collectively to carry the torch into the future.

Buy & Read this book to:

- Find out some in-depth history of the postal strike from a real activist on site.

- Find out his contributions to collective bargaining, joint bargaining, and various contract  negotiations.

- Understand why he rejected the notion of going into postal management.

- Relate to his experiences as Local President and Executive Vice President on the way up.

- Understand what he has done for safety, ergonomics, and FMLA in the workplace.

- Acknowledge him for employees on the plant workroom floor not having to wear dressy clothes and able to wear headphones to keep down the atmosphere of “Boring.”

- Find out about a group called P.O.P.

- Check out some “old School” photos.

- To understand “if there is no struggle there is not progress,” and “power concedes nothing without a demand.”

His memoir is loaded with his love for family and friends that kept him grounded in his life and Union affairs. Get a good laugh when he talks about taking a bullet for President Bill Clinton.

This book is a must-read for all craft Union representatives to compare the cross craft issues and opportunities to work together as it benefits the membership. I did detect a little “hater-raid” towards Mail Handlers (smallest but best craft on the planet – I know the truth hurts, just relax).

Mr. Burrus is an outstanding communicator as seen in videos and from reading his opinion through various formats. He is indeed a postal icon who will take you on a journey through the civil rights era into this new millennium! He and the many others mentioned in his book practically built the house of labor, and he damn sure knows his way around it.

You need this book in your professional development library regardless of your Union or Management affiliation. This hardcover writing will give you a lot of ideas to prepare for battle by circling the wagon and defending your position.

Like my title to this review “first is forever..,” and I’m the first kid to review this book on Amazon.com.  I don’t personally know him, I just know about him. He autographed my copy of the book. YEAH BOY! I easily ordered it from burrusjournal.org, and as one of first customers I also received a complimentary copy of the 2010 Burrus Journal packed with great photos.

GET IT NOW!”

A Postal and Unique American Experience “MY JOURNEY” by William Burrus from –

The soul of the democratic form of government purported to have been fashioned in the New World required the inclusion of the governed, yet for over 300 years slaves and former slaves were excluded. The United States was not a true democracy and the retroactive romanticizing of the founding fathers distorts the brutality of their decisions. They were slave owners and Article 1, Section 9 of the founding constitution was an act of surrender to the evil practice of slavery. Government was established by and for the white community that resisted each step intended to level the playing field and afford equal opportunity and rights. The 1964 and 1965 laws completed the legal journey, from slavery to discrimination to equality.

American slaves had survived and had made contributions in every respectful field of endeavor. From the bowels of sailing vessels in chains for the long and perilous trip from Africa to hostile surroundings and conditions, they were delivered to experience hangings, beatings rape and the indignity of public sale where grown men, women and children had been put on display to determine who would own them.

The modern era brought new and different challenges to overcome, including discrimination in housing, education, medical treatment and many other social activities. The barriers erected were equally as daunting as the earlier challenges, but the slaves were free. The daily struggle of existence was compounded by the continual fight for equality. They were forced to contend with separate accommodations, restricted education facilities, racist law enforcements, the pettiness of being refused the opportunity to try on clothes in clothing stores before purchase, and relegated to sit in designated areas on public transportation. These and numerous other slights were daily reminders that they were not yet full citizens in their country.

Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, John Lewis, Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton and countless other vocal leaders championed equality and articulated the injustices and demands for relief. Stone by stone, the descendants of these slaves built on the sacrifices of those who went before them. They moved our country to which we had given so much closer and closer to its promise that all men are created equal. Even though included in the Declaration of Independence the framers of the constitution applied a strange definition of “men.”

Slowly but surely, each day, each month, each year brought progress with examples of people of color who did big things. Entrepreneurs, sports’ figures, politicians, entertainers, business, doctors and engineers, labor executives and just ordinary people who lived with dignity and instilled in their children a pride of having come this far. Through the darkness of the past, our ancestors could see the sun and with their faith, they knew that brighter days would come.

 Chapter 12

The last bastion of resistance was full integration in the political system where progress was achieved incrementally slow. During the period of Reconstruction scores of former slaves were elected to office but after the northern occupation was terminated, blacks were stripped of the right to vote and hold office throughout the former slave holding states; in northern states achieving elective office was limited to gerrymandered districts populated by people of color.

The road to political inclusion began in the urban areas where black mayors were elected to office and spread to the US House of Representatives, the US Senate and the governorships of Virginia and Massachusetts. Inclusion in the national political process was tenuous until 2008 with the success of Barack Obama as President of the United States of America. His candidacy for president as a legitimate contender was the light at the end of a long tunnel. When he emerged as the Democrat Party nominee, achieved victory and then reelected, the equal status that had been so elusive was in sight. White voters who eschewed the stereotypes of their ancestors and black voters standing on the shoulders of those tortured souls who preceded them reveled in his success. The former slaves had come far from those dark and lonely days with no future in sight to the single most important position in the greatest country in the history of mankind.

The journey that covered over 400 years of torture and exclusion based on skin color had been overcome. We had validated the struggle of those many millions of human beings who built the progress, one step at a time. From capture in their native land through the long and difficult journey, the centuries of inhumane treatment and the denial of human rights, they struggled and they won. The journey is not yet completed but the challenges from here pale in comparison to where we have been and even though too many continue as victims of an unforgiving system and benign neglect, the barriers to their skin color have been removed.

 We celebrate Black History Month as a continuing reminder of the road that we traveled and pay tribute to the struggles endured, the lives lost prematurely, the pain and suffering and the indignities. So the month of February each year is the reminder that we have not forgotten. Black History Month is our acknowledgement of how far we have come.

Copyright © 2013 William Burrus – All Rights Reserved.

If in unusual situations there are insufficient residual vacancies available for placement within fifty (50) miles, the parties will determine what steps may be taken.

This is not language that would be used to ban excessing beyond 50 miles and employees should not be under the impression that there is a 50 mile limit.

Over the following years until passage of the Civil Rights Acts in 1957, 1960, 1964, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the freed former slaves were subjected to state sponsored terrorism and individual white animosity.  The viscous plantation overseers were replaced by sheriffs who were equally abusive in the enforcement of racist laws. Political recourse was denied through exclusion from voting eligibility and service on juries. Ingenious restrictions were placed on their right to register and vote, including a sadistic test to predict the number of bubbles in a bar of soap.  National laws were replaced with state to state, city to city, neighborhood to neighborhood, school to school, employment to employment discrimination policies where color determined the former slaves’ access, treatment and equality.  The enforcement of these laws became so absurd that Colored soldiers returning from war were denied admittance to venues that welcomed prisoners of war.

Throughout the period of legal and state sponsored slavery, the disposed human beings bound together and created institutions mirroring those existing in the white world. Schools, churches, businesses and organizations were established to serve the excluded population.  Through their determination and perseverance leaders came forward, including Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver, Adam Clayton Powell, Roy Wilkins, and thousands more who contributed to the evolution from slavery to freedom. The success of Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson and Sugar Rae Robinson in the sports arena propelled the self-respect of these millions of citizens on the edge of American society who needed symbols of their equality.

Chapter 10

The ensuing years brought challenges as daunting as the period of enslavement, but incremental victories were achieved including the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education overturning the 1896 Plessey vs. Ferguson ruling that separate but equal satisfied the constitutional protections.  Over this journey, American slaves had changed their name of reference from Nigger – Negro – Colored – Black to African American and had achieved status through their contributions in every respected field of endeavor. From the bowels of sailing vessels in chains on the long and perilous trip from Africa to hostile surroundings and conditions, they were delivered to survive hangings, beatings rape and the indignity of public sale. They had endured the horror of grown men, women and children being put on display to determine who would own them.  And even with the freedom of Emancipation, they were forced to overcome over 100 years of collective resistance by the white community. Vigilante organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and other White Supremacy organizations were formed and flourished, demanding their return to servitude. With determination and faith, these human beings in a strange land survived and moved forward.

Following the Law of 1850, the slave trade continued; however, if caught on the high seas with the illegal cargo, ship masters would jettison the human beings in chains to the ocean floor. It is estimated that as many as one million prospective slaves were drowned or eaten by sharks in transit from Africa. This was in addition to the many that contracted disease or died from thirst or malnutrition over the long journey. The treatment was so horrific that in 2008, the international community found the United States had been guilty of “crimes against humanity.”

Slavery had become so intertwined with the economy of many Southern states that they resisted abolition and the northern states that had abolished the practice benefited enormously from the economics of slavery.   Trading on Wall Street was dominated by the ownership of human beings.  In response to the introduction of the free western states into the union, the Confederacy declared war against the union. The economies of the southern states had enjoyed a competitive advantage in the use of free labor so when it became clear that Congress would make the practice illegal they separated from the Union. The war proceeded to a stalemate and concerned that the northern armies could not be sustained on the principle of slavery, President Lincoln elevated the war’s justification to preserving the union as the primary goal.

On January 1, 1863, following a decisive northern victory at Antietam, as a tactic of war he issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all slaves in the Confederacy “now and forever more free.”   Lincoln abhorred slavery but he was a politician and resisted his personal opposition until events were ripe for abolition.   Fearful that the Emancipation that was issued as an Executive Order as opposed to Congressional law might be found to be unconstitutional, he feverishly worked to pass the 13^th Constitutional Amendment and upon its adoption, millions of human beings who had been the property of others were declared free.    

Chapter 8 

Freedom did not bring instant fulfillment to former slaves with no education, no resources and no access to any means of support or mobility. The suddenly freed slaves were set adrift with no means of substance, but after 150 years of total subjugation and more to follow they had passed a major milestone in their journey, they were free!

Following the war in 1865, the government imposed reconstruction on the defeated states during which former slaves were afforded all rights of citizenship; however, after two years of onsite supervision and control the northern armies abandoned the south and the regressive forces reinstituted the Black Codes in state laws for the purpose of depriving former slaves’ equality. Slavery was replaced with sharecropping, discrimination in public facilities with markings of “Colored” and “White, separate seating, inferior education and many other restricted public services financed with black and white tax dollars.  These separations were codified in state laws to be enforced by armed agents at every level of society.

Freed slaves were thrust into a society that identified citizens by their last name, yet slaves were not afforded last names and were often assigned names unrelated to civil community. In a rush to assimilate, they often assumed the name of the plantation on which they were constrained, the community or some other arbitrary selection unrelated to their ancestors.  To continue the practice of human bondage, former slaves were entrapped in government sanctioned sharecropping agreements in which former slaves were held bondage to land owned by white tenants.   For all chapters click here.

As a result of the 2010 negotiations/arbitrations the following are the wages paid to employees represented by the four bargaining unions:

Over a 35 year career, an employee’s salary differences can be measured by the 23 years of employment after reaching the top step.  Factoring in the expected lifetime of employee and spouse after retirement, the difference in salary continues in the annuity.  APWU represented employees in the Grade occupied by a majority (Grade 6) will receive the lowest postal salary of similarly compensate employees and any transfer to non-APWU crafts will be a promotion.

These comparisons are based on NALC CC 1 – Mail Handler Grade 5 – Rural Carrier 40 hours, and APWU Grade 6 (Retail/Dist. Clerks/MVS Drivers).

Within this environment, the female slaves were regular victims of the daily sexual urges of these licensed beasts who were free to engage in forced sex at will. Impregnation was not a concern as the pregnancy of female slaves was welcomed as the offspring would be obtained at no cost as compared to the cost of an imported adult. Overseers and slave owners assumed license to engage in forced sexual activities with slave women and given the perception among whites of the inhumanity of the slaves, the women became no more than sex objects to be ravished at the discretion of the white male. Through this non-consensual sexual behavior the genetic physical characteristics of the African slave was modified over the period of slavery to the extent that African Americans in the 21^st century contain few characteristics of the gene pool in the originating country.

Because the slaves were not afforded any sense of humanity they assumed natural resistance to work and often to escape the inhumane treatment, they would run to freedom. Because of their value they were pursued and the hunt for escaped slaves became a regular occupation with trained canine and horsemen who followed the scent of runaways and tracked them down like hunted animals. Those who were caught would be used as examples. To apprehend runaways, the owners had teams of specially trained canine to track the escapees to capture. When caught, as a disincentive for flight, special forms of punishment were initiated. In Georgia, the punishment was lashes from a whip for the first attempt, the branding of the letter R on the cheek for the second attempt, branding on the other cheek for the third attempt, and for male escapees, castration for the fourth. The progressive punishment was reflective of the continuing desire of slaves to escape their condition and be free. Tens of thousands succeeded in escape to non- slave states and Harriett Tubman became renowned for her skills in leading slaves to freedom.

The number of escaping slaves became so numerous that at the urging of southern legislators, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act In 1850. The original legislative effort to address the growing problem was adopted in 1793, but it was ineffective and led to the 1850 law that empowered any Federal Marshall to apprehend an escaped slave. As a reverse incentive, any Marshall who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave was liable to a fine of $1,000 (About $26,600 in current dollars (2011). Law-enforcement officials were assigned the official duty to arrest anyone suspected of being a runaway slave on no more evidence than a sworn testimony of ownership. The suspected slave could not demand a jury trial or testify on his or her own behalf. In addition, any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter was subject to six months’ imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Officers who captured a fugitive slave were entitled to an incentive of a bonus or promotion for the return of an escapee. To initiate a search, slave owners only needed to supply a sworn statement to a Federal Marshall. And, since any suspected slave was not eligible for a trial even in states that had abolished slavery this led to many free blacks being conscripted into slavery as they had no rights in court and could not defend themselves against accusations. This was the only occasion in the history of the United States when a law official of a different state was deputized by law to exercise full police authority in another state. 

Chapter 6

The price of imported slaves was far beyond the resources of the average white person, but for those who could afford the purchase there was a strong desire to protect the investment so beatings and other punishments were designed to hurt severely – not to incapacitate so that the investment could be recovered. One of the common  forms of punishment was “smoking” the slave by tying him/her to a stake in the smokehouse and setting fire to tobacco stalks, exposing them to hours of suffocating smoke.  It was rare for a slave to be permanently injured to the extent that he/she would be unproductive except in those circumstances when the slave’s action threatened the supremacy of the white establishment. Accusations of improper sexual behavior against white women headed this list but arson and poisoning were regular means of retaliation and were responded to viscously with beheadings, burning at the stake, branding and hangings.

The number of slaves increased substantially with the introduction of the cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. The machine revolutionized the separation of the cotton seeds from the plant and facilitated the growth of the industry many folds. The new nation became the cotton supplier of the world in the conversion to wearable garments. The annexation of the Southern states into the United States paralleled the introduction of cotton and the use of imported African slaves. The slave trade, including capture, transport, sale and use dominated the American economy and their production enabled the United States to become the largest supplier for the English clothing industry that clothed the world.

Copyright © 2013 William Burrus – All Rights Reserved.

These objectives are misplaced and the officers do not know where they went wrong. Isn’t saving the Postal Service fundamental to future employment? The problem is – that is not the responsibility of union officials and they fail to understand the magnitude of “saving” the Postal Service. A recent reminder is the latest USPS financial report which shows that for the first quarter, the USPS suffered a deficit of $1.5 billion. The shifting of this underfunding to APWU represented employees would require a reduction in pay and benefits for each APWU represented employee in the amount of $3,000 over this fiscal quarter. And, if the same results are experienced over the remaining three quarters, APWU represented employees’ wages and benefits would have to be reduced by an additional $9,000 or a total of $12.000 per employee for the year. Instead of receiving $55,000 annually, the salary would be reduced to $43,000 per year. Not just for new employees, but for every employee a reduction of $500 each biweekly pay or $250 a week. If you assume the responsibility of saving the Postal Service this is the cost, and employees should prepare for this eventuality if the same officers applying the same rationale negotiate future contracts. This is the cost of saving the Postal Service.

Rather than imposing the obligation on employees, Congress decided that the government would legislate the postal rate structure that determines total revenue and that employees would be paid comparable to workers performing similar work in the private sector. Congress made no link between employee pay and deficits or surpluses/deficits and it was wrong for union officials to voluntarily connect the two. If saving the Postal Service is a priority, employees should be prepared for serious future reductions because why should Congress do its job if the union is willing to assume the responsibility?

The second stated objective of creating jobs would be laughable, if it weren’t so serious. A labor union cannot create jobs unless it buys the company. A comparison of the jobs created by the contract as compared to those lost demonstrates that fallacy of the conclusion. Two years after the contract was signed there are 25,000 fewer net jobs in the APWU bargaining units than existed on the date of the contract; of those continuing to exist there are 25,000 non career employees. The boast of adding more Motor Vehicle jobs in the history of APWU has met the reality of far fewer jobs today than existed when the contract was signed, and the entire state of California is threatened for subcontracting. You just cannot create jobs by contract, if the employer retains the right to determine the complement.

These two objectives of saving the Postal Service and creating jobs have been dismal failures and expose the mixing of priorities. A union’s job is to improve conditions of its members and anything else is an abandonment of this responsibility.

 The colonies were secured and inhabited by pioneers, including the 11 men of African descent who enjoyed the same rights and privileges of the white settlers. It was common at the time for travelers to the New World to contract to serve for a defined period of time in exchange for passage, but at the conclusion of the period of servitude they would be free citizens of the community. The earliest record of slavery in the New World was the year 1619, when captives from Africa were brought to Jamestown Virginia with the designation of slaves.

As the population of the discovered territories expanded, the policy of official lifetime enslavement of Africans was deferred for over 100 years (early 1500s to 1619) during which time people of color were integrated among the growing population with no formal separation. The earliest record of identified individuals of African descent to be designated as lifetime slaves on the basis of color was in Virginia in 1640 when three indentured servants escaped and when returned where found guilty by the courts. James Gregory and Victor who were white were sentenced to floggings and an extended period of servitude, but John Punch, the third member of the group of escapees was of African descent and he was sentenced to serve as a slave for life. This designation of ‘slave for life’ would expand in the ensuing years, and the slave trade would include millions of Africans who were relocated to America.

The cost of exploring the new land required significant investments by the sponsoring countries (ships, crew, food, water, gifts for encountered hostile forces and arms) for which it was expected that there would be returns in  profits so each exhibition was expected to generate exports to the host country far exceeding the investment. Castile that would become Spain financed the Columbus expeditions and the new settlers were expected to generate value beyond their immediate needs as compensation. Silver and gold discoveries led the list, but in time rice, tobacco, indigo and cotton became the primary exports and they were labor intensive. There were insufficient numbers of white volunteers to make the perilous and uncertain journey far beyond the horizon so the financiers searched the globe for a cheap source of labor.

I have been unable to research the architect of the African policy, but conditions were ripe because the African tribes of the region were in constant conflict and there was no dominant governing body inhabiting the coastal areas. It was targeted as a manpower source for supplying the bodies to generate exports of rice, tobacco, indigo and cotton. The crops were native to the African homeland so the natives taken hostage were familiar with the planting and harvesting activities of the New World. By 1793, with the invention of the cotton gin, the new country expanded from Georgia to Texas with African slaves serving as the primary source of labor. This introduction of millions of slaves changed the population mix, and in many states the newly arrived dark skinned Africans outnumbered the white citizens.

The expansion of the new communities through the introduction of slaves created social conflicts as holding people from another continent against their will under intolerable conditions required a process of control. For self-protection, white communities enacted Black Codes to segregate and control the growing number of slaves who did not understand the language, customs or religions. The white settlers felt threatened by the physical presence of a growing number of slaves, and in South Carolina where the slaves were a majority, the paranoia of the slave masters resulted in the passage of laws requiring the carrying of firearms to church because Sunday was a day of rest from work activities and it was feared that an uprising of slaves would be initiated. They were required to bring their guns to church that they would be prepared for any revolt.  Despite efforts of self-protection, there were repeated uprisings including fires, mass murders of slave owning families, and continuous efforts to run to freedom. In special circumstances, personal relationships developed between slaves and some masters, but in most instances they were suppressed because laws were enacted forbidding such relationships.

Chapter 4

To install a social system that reduced the humanity of human beings based on their skin color it was necessary to dehumanize the slaves to justify their treatment and they became property, no different than livestock or pets. The psychological adjustment occurred over time that slaves were perceived as inhuman, an object used to achieve an objective. In the efforts of making them less than human and to ratify the policies, slaves were reduced in status to no more than a horse or dog. Laws were passed making it illegal for slaves to receive formal education so they were prohibited by laws from learning to read and write.  Religious services were prohibited because it was feared that congregations would lead to revolts. The intent was to confirm the perception that slaves were unworthy of equality, thus justifying the inhumane treatment. This dehumanization became so effective that it was generally accepted that they could not be trusted to own their own bodies or their children so daily abuses were justified, considering only the benefit to the master. Since family members, including children were the property of the owners to dispense with at their pleasure, it was a normal and regular occurrence for a child, a parent or a sibling to be sold at public auction while the slave looked on hopelessly. The separations were no different than the removal of kittens from a liter. Laws were passed prohibiting sex between the races and public hangings were the standard verdict for any sense of impropriety between a male slave and a white woman.

To achieve the desired obedience from slaves in such intolerable conditions it was necessary that slave owners employ overseers whose responsibility was to exact maximum productivity from resistant workers. These individuals were among the most sadistic inhumane beings and were held responsible to exact maximum effort and adherence to the rules of submission. They were generally uneducated, and just one step above indentured servitude and were provided a horse, a whip, billy club and gun to enforce their standards of productivity. Most often the means of control was physical beatings with a whip or club that was morally perceived as akin to the abuse of a mongrel dog.  These beatings would be administered by the overseers, male plantation owners and even women of the household.  It was a common occurrence for white women to beat slaves with any object at hand for real or imagined transgressions.   For all chapters thus far – click here.

Copyright © 2013 William Burrus – All Rights Reserved.

Given the USPS’ financial position with little or zero reserves something has to give or there will not be full paychecks in the not too distant future; saying no to five day delivery while Congress sits on its hands is a path to insolvency.  So, if as expected five day delivery is a nonstarter, the available option is to pressure Congress to take up reform and get it done.  The current House Bill includes unacceptable features and that is the challenge to successfully achieve amendments, get it to a vote and soon.  Pat Donahoe has made the first move and it is now up to the other players to do something that adds revenue to the Service ‘big time’ and cancellation of the health care payment will not get it done.  We can engage in what ifs forever, but the immediate question is five day delivery or what.