The Post Office may close down?  Really?  Seems they’re running out of money.  Well you heard it here first.  The Postal Service WILL NOT be shutting down.  Not going to happen, not in an election year with a failed Democrat trying to keep his lease on the White House.  Unions.  Union votes are critical, and Obama will do what he has to do (legal or not) to keep the Postal service running.  We’ve all heard anecdotal stories about union violence and the shoddy work ethic of union members.  This isn’t anecdotal … this is my personal experience working for the Postal Service.

Thirty-five or so years ago talk radio wasn’t paying all that well.  The Queen and I BOTH needed to work two jobs to make ends meet, so we applied to the United States Postal Service to work together at the bulk mail facility in Atlanta.  We were hired to work the overnight shift.

While Donna was working in one area of the facility I was sorting packages – this was back in the era when people actually sent packages through the mail.  I stood on a high platform.  A conveyor belt would send packages up to me.  I would read the zip code and send the packages down the appropriate chute and into a bin for loading on a truck to be delivered.  It took me a few days to get into the rhythm of things – but in no time I had those boxes flying.  The conveyor belt could barely keep up.

One night as I was sending packages on the way the conveyor suddenly stopped.  I turned around to see some rather large guy – much bigger than me -- climbing the package to my perch.  He told me he was a union official.  Here was the conversation:

“You need to slow down.”

“Why?”

You’re clearing these packages too fast.”

“I thought that was the point!  We can get more packages cleared this way.  Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing?”

“Christmas is coming.”

“What?  What does Christmas have to do with this?”

“Overtime.”

“Overtime?”
“At Christmas we get to work overtime to get all the Christmas packages through.  If they know we can get the job done this fast we won’t be able to get overtime.”

He then leaned over and got nose to nose with me ….

“So slow down.”

“Yessir!”

Just another day in a typical union shop.