It’s day 3 of the America’s Work Force Union Podcast’s “Best of 2023” coverage. Today we’ll feature the May 8 conversation with the President of the American Postal Workers Union, Mark Dimondstein. Dimondstein spoke on how the American Postal Workers Union was dealing with staffing issues on the retail and delivery side of postal work. He also discussed some of the fundamental issues that needed to be fixed in order to improve working conditions and ways the Post Office could improve banking access for millions of Americans.
Postal workers across America have been facing a major staffing issue. Despite efforts from management to alleviate the shortage, the retail and delivery sides of postal work have been unable to fill the open positions. With a turnover rate of 60 percent for new hires, Dimondstein pointed to hostile work environments and safety issues as the primary causes.
To improve the situation, Dimondstein believes management needed to consider making changes at the fundamental level. Complaints against supervisors for bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment had increased. However, Dimondstein said the way these complaints were handled was to relocate the supervisor. Changing the punishment to a zero-tolerance policy would be an example of a fundamental change Dimondstein believes could make the workplace better.
Finally, Dimondstein talked about issues with the financial system in America and why individuals were looking for other options. With between 60 million and 80 million Americans with no access to banks or limited access to basic banking services, Dimondstein and the APWU wanted to bring back a system similar to the United States Postal Savings System. This system would provide basic banking services to all Americans without the predatory rates of the private sector. It’s a process that would take time, Dimondstein said. Still, he hoped there would be a pilot program available to test the services available before legislation is needed for full-scale implementation.
Listen to the entire episode above to learn more.
America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.
America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, American Alliance for Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North America, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Survey and Ballot Systems, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.
