New York, N.Y., Dr. Julia M. Willebrand, the Green Party Candidate for Mayor of New York City, today asked New Yorkers to support the New York Metro Area Postal Workers Union who are going to court to close down Morgan Station, New York City's largest mail sorting center. Despite the fact that anthrax spores were found in four sorting machines at Morgan Station, the United States Postal Service has not closed the building to decontaminate it.
"When the Capital was infected, members of Congress stopped work and left the building. Longworth House Office Building has been closed for a week. Several sealed tractor-trailers full of Congressional mail have been shipped to a private company in Ohio for decontamination. The State Department shut down its twelve mail distribution sites to seal and test them. The C.I.A. has closed its mailroom in Langley, Va. The mailroom at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research has been closed for further testing. Aren't postal workers in New York City entitled to equal protection", Dr. Willebrand asked.
In order to pressure the USPS to clean Morgan Station, William Smith, president of the New York Metro Area Postal Union, advised 5,500 members not to report to work there. While federal employees do not have a legal right to strike, they do, Mr. Smith said, have the legal right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions.
Mr. Smith said that the Union needs all the support it can get. USPS has not developed a response plan if workers test positive for anthrax. Instead, he said, "The USPS lies to us. Our lawyer has met with the government and they have developed no response plan if a worker tests positive. We want testing; we want a response plan; and we want the USPS to be truthful with us."
Dr. Willebrand, the Green Party candidate for Mayor, said that she and members of New York City Greens, a confederation of 27 Green Party locals in the five boroughs, support the Union's requests. She called on all New Yorkers to contact Senators Clinton and Shumer to insure equal protection for New York City's postal workers. (Schumer: 212-486-4430; Clinton: 212-688-6262)
