num_pages: 240
description: Investigating the essential role that the postal system plays in American democracy and how the corporate sector has attempted to destroy it. With First The U.S. Postal Service Democracy and the Corporate Threat  Christopher Shaw makes a brilliant case for polishing the USPS up and letting it shine in the 21st century. John Nichols  national affairs correspondent for The Nation and author of Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis  First Class is essential reading for all postal workers and for our allies who seek to defend and strengthen our public Postal Service. Mark Dimondstein President American Postal Workers Union AFL-CIO The fight over the future of the U.S. Postal Service is on. For years corporate interests and political ideologues have pushed to remake the USPS turning it from a public institution into a private businessand now with mail-in voting playing a key role in local state and federal elections the attacks have escalated. Leadership at the USPS has been handed over to special interests whose plan for the future includes higher postage costs slower delivery times and fewer post offices policies that will inevitably weaken this invaluable public service and source of employment. Despite the general shift to digital communication the vast majority of the American peopleand small businessesstill rely heavily on the U.S. postal system and many are rallying to defend it. First Class brings readers to the front lines of the struggle explaining the various forces at work for and against a strong postal system and presenting reasonable ideas for strengthening and expanding its capacity services and workforce. Emphasizing the essential role the USPS has played ever since Benjamin Franklin served as our first Postmaster General author Christopher Shaw warns of the consequences for the countryand for our democracyif we dont win this fight. Praise for First Class : Piece by piece an essential national infrastructure is being dismantled without our consent. Shaw makes an eloquent case for why the post office is worth saving and why for the sake of American democracy it must be saved. Steve Hutkins  founder/editor of Save the Post Office and Professor of English at New York University The USPS is essential for a democratic American society; thank goodness we have this new book from Christopher W. Shaw explaining why. Danny Caine  author of Save the USPS and owner of the Raven Book Store Lawrence KS Shaw's excellent analysis of the Postal Service and its vital role in American Democracy couldn't be more timely.  First Class should serve as a clarion call for Americans to halt the dismantling and to instead preserve and enhance the institution that can bind the nation together. Ruth Y. Goldway  Retired Chair and Commissioner U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission responsible for the Forever Stamps In a time of community fracture and corporate predation Shaw argues a first-class post office of the future can bring communities together and offer exploitation-free banking and other services. Robert Weissman  president of Public Citizen
language: English
title: First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat
publisher: City Lights Publishers