Post Office Massacre

The tragedy at the Edmond Post Office in Oklahoma and at the Department of Employment Office in South Gate may just be the tip of the iceberg if present trends continue.

To get out the work management presently assumes that employees should work harder (as the slave), be more committed (by being more loyal), or by asserting workers’ dependence on management (by being more obsequious).

To obtain this end, employers are trying to discourage employees from using mechanisms already in place such as grievance-arbitration by resorting to intimidation, discipline, suspension and removal.

All of this could be eliminated if employers would seek solutions to the problems that cause the unrest in the first place. Working with employees to redesign the tasks themselves, to create new technologies, and use whatever methods to ease the workload will create a harmonious workplace and eliminate the conditions that now exist are the only sure-fire way to prevent these unfortunate tragedies from repeating themselves.

JERRY MOORE

Oxnard