U.S. Sen. Tina Smith highlighted recent picketing at the Bemidji Post Office in a letter to the U.S. Postmaster General relating to service agreements with the online retail giant Amazon.
Bemidji postal workers picketed in the early morning hours Nov. 13 and 14 to protest working conditions. These conditions, according to the Bemidji Pioneer, include 12-hour workdays, six-day schedules, and paid leave requests repeatedly denied.
Smith pressed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on these issues, arguing the service agreements with Amazon are “interfering with timely deliveries and stretching the agency’s already-overburdened workers too thin.”
Smith said millions of Minnesotans rely on the U.S. Postal Service to pay bills, receive prescriptions and conduct essential businesses. In the letter to DeJoy, Smith wrote that “entering into contracts that your system cannot support is a breach of your responsibilities.”
The Brainerd Post Office experienced similar delays after an Amazon service agreement was implemented last holiday season and continues to struggle to maintain staff.
Smith also recently pressed the postmaster on issues relating to mail and payroll delays within the Postal Service.
The situation in rural Northern Minnesota caught the attention of the Washington Post, which published a story Tuesday featuring the Bemidji Post Office.
Listen to our KAXE Morning Show conversation on the topic above.
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Contributed/Erin HaefeleWhen the garden or farmers market gives you everything at once, the best way to handle it is to return to the fundamentals: roast, grill, bake, pickle, can, dry, freeze and sauté. These aren’t just methods, they’re survival tools during harvest season. Especially grilling. Because it’s summer. And everything tastes better with a little char and a lot of butter.This week, Amy and Heidi talked to Erin Haefele of Green Scene in Walker, Minnesota, "a charming food haven nestled in the heart of rural northern Minnesota where small-town warmth meets big-city sophistication." Erin inspires us with simple preparations to deliciously fresh garden ingredients. And we hear from Amy's friend Beth Friedrichson from Wisconsin, who gushes about dilly beans and life on the farm with chickens and alpacas.Lots of folks phoned in to talk about their harvests, whether it was peonies in Stillwater, garlic near Detroit Lakes, urban front yard CSAs in Minneapolis, potato varieties in Deer River or stuffed grape leaves in Chicago, you had a story to tell. Share yours! This week's community recipe to cook along with us is Onion Pie: kaxe.org/community-recipe-onion-pie-ham-radio-amy-thielen. Give it a try and send us your reactions and photos at comments@kaxe.org!Ham Radio Features original licensed music — "You Know How I Like It" by Jeremy Messersmith.Made possible by the Minnesota Arts & Culture Heritage Fund. Support KAXE by becoming a member today: https://donate.nprstations.org/kaxe/donate
