Lieberman
Pays Tribute to Postal Workers
Commends Union Employees at APWU Convention
Blasts Bush Economic
Summit
As “More Like a
Valley”
August 13, 2002
MINNEAPOLIS
,
Minn.
- Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe
Lieberman, D-Conn., told the 16th biannual national
convention of the American Postal Workers Union Tuesday that
because they are on the frontlines of the war against
terrorism, they deserve the respect and support of the
American public.
“It is your hard work and devotion that is leading
the Postal Service through some tumultuous times,” Lieberman
said. “The men
and women of the USPS not only keep one of the world's most
important communications backbones strong, but you're now on
the frontlines in the war against terrorism.
It can never be said enough:
you are heroes... That’s
why you deserve our gratitude, our cooperation, and our
support.”
President
Bush has attacked provisions in the homeland security
legislation Lieberman is spearheading in Congress for the
protections it provides employees.
The President wants the authority to strip union
members transferred into the new department of their
protections, even if their jobs do not involve national
security.
“I know there are a lot of people in
Washington
who like to bash unions,” Lieberman said.
“But let me remind them that the police officers and
firefighters who ran up into the World Trade Center towers,
and the postal workers who were exposed to anthrax, and still
got the mail out and kept our system running - they are all
proud union members. I
know I'll never forget that.
And
America
won't forget that. All
of you at the APWU deserve our respect and our support.”
Lieberman also paid tribute to
APWU members Thomas Morris and Joseph Curseen, who were among
the casualties of the anthrax attack through the mail last
fall. Their loss
was compounded by the confusing and contradictory signals sent
to the workers at the
Brentwood
facility in
Washington
,
D.C.
, as they learned of the contamination.
“In the event of another
attack,” Lieberman said, “officials must quickly
communicate the facts, the risks, and the results to everybody
- especially to those who are directly affected.”
He has requested a General
Accounting Office investigation to determine if there were
misrepresentations made to postal workers about the level of
contamination of the
Wallingford
,
Conn.
, processing and distribution center last December.
On a separate topic, Lieberman
dismissed President Bush’s economic summit in
Waco
,
Texas
, as “more like a valley... Instead of being a platform for
progress, it seems to me to be nothing but a new stage for the
same tired, old ideas,” he said.
“What's happening in
Waco
today looks less like a summit and more like a valley to me.
Let's hope it doesn't become a valley of despair for
the American economy.
“We need real leadership and we
need it now. We
need to postpone the most expensive and least progressive
parts of the Bush tax cut that have yet to go into effect.
With the money we save, we should reduce the deficit.
We should make targeted, high-return investments in
education and job creation.
We should shore up Social Security.
And at the same time, we should cut some federal
spending, including unwarranted corporate subsidies.”
Senator Joe Lieberman
Speech
American Postal Workers
Union
National Convention
|