hi comrades I’ve been on this site with various accounts since it was a subreddit and I’ve just returned after deleting my last account a few months back
some time ago I posted about being unemployed for a long time and lacking the motivation to find work and just generally being alienated and having no direction in life. a lot of kind people had great advice, and shout out to the person in particular who suggested postal work, whoever you are! that planted the seed in my brain and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me. and now I’ve just received a job offer to become a mail carrier! I will be out in the real world, serving the public, getting exercise, and most importantly, not having to work for porky
it will be a difficult road ahead, this is a radical change in lifestyle but that’s exactly what I needed and I’m looking forward to accepting the challenge
PS any advice from other postal worker comrades is very much welcome, as this line of work is very much new to me!
You’re probably aware, but just in case, these guys seem solid: www.fightingnalc.com
Other advice, from a similar-ish union job: calibrate your militancy based on your circumstances. Find the other militants and see what they’re doing. Be aware that even in a union job, mgmt can still force you out if they really decide to, especially if your local also decides you’re a hassle or a threat. Shop-floor power is your most reliable defense, and that takes a long time to build.
It sucks, but studying the contract is really worth it. If you know your shit, your coworkers will notice, helping to build leadership.
Seniority has a bad reputation, and it’s annoying to have none, but it’s an important way to prevent mgmt from choosing favorites for everything. It’s also nice to give the arthritis demographic easier jobs instead of just disposing of them like Amazon. Related to that: jobs like this keep you fit but also permanently wear you out, find the right balance, don’t work harder than you need to, but also don’t give mgmt easy ways to get rid of you.
I actually wasn’t aware, so thanks for the link. I’m still pretty ignorant when it comes to the union stuff but I will read up on it as much as I can. glad to know there’s an org out there fighting
it’s wild to me that CCA’s start at $20/hr regardless of location. that might actually be livable (if not great) in some places but unfortunately I’m in a very HCOL area so that’s a poverty wage. $30 would be a huge improvement but still barely livable here