------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the Dec. 20, 2001 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
NEW YORK CITY: POSTAL WORKERS RALLY AGAINST ANTHRAX DANGERS By G. Dunkel New York Eight hundred whistle-tooting postal workers demonstrated after work in front of Manhattan's main post office on Dec. 8. They demanded equal treatment with senators and Supreme Court justices and a new, decent contract. The workers feel that they're up against a double standard. After anthrax spores were detected on the premises, the government kept a Senate office building closed for months and shut down the Supreme Court building for weeks so they could be totally and thoroughly disinfected. But when, at the same time, anthrax was found at Morgan Station, the mail processing center for Manhattan, the bosses just covered the contaminated machines with plastic wrap and ordered workers to keep the mail moving. A leaflet handed out at the Dec. 8 protest reported that at least one postal employee who worked near the contaminated machinery at Morgan Station--Juan Mercado--has been hospitalized with anthrax-like symptoms. Will Smith, president of the Metro New York Area Postal Union that called the demonstration, said: "It is wrong for the U.S. Postal Service and the [Centers for Disease Control] to have postal workers exposed to this bacteria while they are closing down" legislative and judicial offices in Washington, D.C. Postal workers at the rally compared the treatment they're getting from their bosses regarding the health risks of anthrax to the disregard management displays to the union in the struggle for a new and decent contract. Other postal unions, some public service unions, a Delta flight attendant, the textile-garment union UNITE, and a spokesperson for the New York Central Labor Council gave messages of solidarity. - END - (Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For subscription info send message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web: http://www.workers.org) ------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
