Classes of Mail

Joshua Shrum (Parcels of Knowledge) joins me via Zoom for this joint episode about delayed mail. We talk about how management got us into this mess, and what we should be doing to hold them accountable and serve our customers.

Today I'm joined by Derek Liemohn, Chair of Build a Fighting NALC (BFN), and Michael Still, a previous guest on Classes of Mail and a member of the BFN organizing committee. They talk about their new podcast, a must-read book (or must-listen) "Undelivered," and what BFN is fighting for these days.

Check out BFN and get connected: https://www.fightingnalc.org

BFN Podcast The Relay Box, on Podbean (https://buildafightingnalc.podbean.com/page/1), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5n93qMaAJN9RDn2mqqDq77), Apple Music (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-relay-box/id6818376730), and Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMEXcf4br9hE)!

Undelivered Reading Group this week 10/22: https://www.fightingnalc.org/undelivered2

Secrets of A Successful Organizer Training 11/17: https://www.fightingnalc.org/undelivered2

In this episode, I talk about Enhanced Carrier Routing (the way mailers put our bundled mail in sequence), and how to deal with it when the routing is wrong. I also go over a recent conflict I had with a supervisor, and that leads to a discussion about malicious compliance.

Chris Persampieri (Next Generation Carriers) and I had a wide-ranging discussion about the fight of organized labor to achieve the 8-hour workday. There were riots, strikes, and social movements that gave workers a share of the wealth being created by industrialization and automation. In the intervening century, we've given most of those gains back.

Michael and I go over PS Form 4588 in detail, so you know what management is looking for, and how you can protect yourself.

*** WARNING: This episode include frank discussions about substance abuse and self harm. *** Austin and I have a VERY candid conversation about mental health, including telling our own stories about struggles with substances and self harm.

Michael and I dive DEEP into a letter of warning for attendance. We talk about how to protect yourself day in and day out, during the investigative interview, and when discipline is issued.

We go over the rest of the recommendations, and management's response.

On September 20, 2026, the OIG released a report of their investigation into the Post Office's acceptance of fraudulent shipping labels. It found that 97% of parcels with fraudulent labels are being... DELIVERED! And it cost the Post Office $1.6 BILLION in just one year! In this episode, I get through the first half of the report.

I didn't want to make this episode, but Michael was insistent. In the end, I'm glad he bullied me into it. We are both CLC endorsers, and we're broadly voting for the CLC, particularly at the top of the ticket. But it's not universal. You may disagree with our choices. In a few cases, we disagreed with each other! In the end, this is what union democracy looks like.