Terry Jones Tells the Northwest Arkansas Times

Editorial On Unions Cheap Shot

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Your recent editorial blaming unions for the troubles of the U.S. Postal Service (March 5) is another conservative cheap shot.

In the early years, providing health care benefits instead of giving deserved increases in salaries was regarded as a benefit to companies - not to the workers. Companies like the Postal Service also started providing pensions instead of raises because it was cheaper. Now health care prices have skyrocketed due to free enterprise. Interest rates are almost at zero in an attemptby the feds to bail out failing corporations, so pensions are also suffering on corporate books.

Now just what is it that the postal union has done? It accepted the cheap benefits provided by its contract with the U.S. Postal Service instead of fighting for fairer wages. Now you conservative-Republicanfree-enterprisers would like to rob the postal workers of both medical insurance and pensions so the service won’t have to raise the price of stamps.

How Enron-ic of you. Unions did not hijack the Postal Service.

Stupid management, greed and lack of foresight on the part ofexecutives hijacked the Postal Service. But that is the American way. Blaming unions for the failure of corporations and blaming the victims of medical malpractice for the cost of health insurance are just lame excuses for corporate mismanagement.

There are hundreds of things the Postal Service can do - like closing small post office branches - to reduce costs and meet its commitments.

When did it become popular for this newspaper to kick the little guys?

TERRY JONES / Fayetteville

Northwest Arkansas Times, Opinion, Page 5 on 03/23/2010