This episode of From A to Arbitration serves as a year-end review, offering a summary of the past year’s activities and a preview of the upcoming year’s focus. Corey expresses gratitude to Discord members for audio improvements, while acknowledging a technical difficulty during the recording.
The episode begins by highlighting the podcast’s impressive download figures and reiterates Walton’s commitment to factual accuracy. He stresses the importance of the podcast’s role in educating and informing letter carriers.
The discussion then turns to a review of the ongoing arbitration cases, with particular focus on the ongoing charges against the union president. Corey critiques the union leadership’s handling of these situations, citing instances of questionable tactics, lack of transparency, and potentially questionable behavior by union officials. He emphasizes the importance of the city letter carriers being placed first and foremost in union priorities, arguing that the current leadership has not done so. He directly criticizes the union’s leaders for enabling what he perceives as problematic management behaviors, contrasting this with his own advocacy.
The episode examines several incidents, including a private Christmas party attended by the postmaster general and other union officials, which Corey criticizes as an instance of potential favoritism and lack of transparency.
Corey advocates for a stronger union stance, outlining plans to combat management tactics, particularly regarding the hour office time, redline policies, and stationary event issues. He emphasizes the union’s obligation to protect its members from harassment and abuse and his plans to aggressively pursue these issues through the grievance process.
Corey previews a series of episodes dedicated to the Memphis case’s full testimony, focusing on the detailed questioning and challenges involved, and expresses his intention to help fellow advocates prepare for similar cases. The episode closes with a strong call to action, urging listeners to maintain their engagement and support a new, more militant union leadership. The episode’s overarching themes are advocacy, holding leadership accountable, and the need for a more aggressive and united stance by the union against management’s perceived abuses.