DES MOINES, Iowa — Central Iowa postal workers and letter carriers rallied outside the Des Moines Post Office as contract negations continue.
‘We are just trying to show our support so that our leadership in the bargaining table can go out, go in there with their head held high, knowing that they have our support for a strong, fair contract,” said Margo O’Neill, a letter carrier.
O’Neill helped organize the event and says employees want to see multiple changes during this contract renegotiation. Higher wages, an all-career workforce, and stable hours are the main goal.
“They’ll work you 50, 60, 70, 80 hours a week sometimes, and they start you off at wages where people don’t want to stick around,” said O’Neill. “That becomes a really big problem with staffing, which then causes everyone to have to pitch in so much overtime that it’s really hard to maintain a work life balance.”