Union Songs
Ghost Postie
A song by Robert D. Stubbs©Robert D. Stubbs 2006
- [play]
When they did the last restructure here they didn't mess around
They sharpened up the hatchets and really went to town
We thought we'd gain a half a walk--they cut one out instead
And a colleague transferred in here who was only slightly dead
There's a ghost postie that you can't see
Sluffing off his letters onto you and me
You can't see him because he's not there
But his work-load is real and we've all got our share
The corporation chortles with plutocratic glee
They cut the staff down ten percent from what it ought to be
They saved two hundred thousand by not paying you and me
For the work that ought to have been done by the ghost postie
There's a ghost postie that you can't see
Helping pick the pockets of you and me
You can't see him because he's not there
But the cash he's worth is real and we don't get our share
This job will get you in the knees, the ankles, and the back
And sometimes I catch myself a-wishing for a heart attack
To lay me out flat on my back so I can rest my feet
And let the old ghost postie wander up and down my streets
There's a ghost postie that you can't see
Sucking out the joy of life from you and me
You can't see him because he's not there
But his injuries are real and we've all got our share
Don't tell me I should cheer up, I'm not really in the mood
Us posties here in Nelson have all royally been screwed
We tried to tell the man, the man was deaf as any post
We are getting sick and tired from working with a goddam ghost
There's a ghost postie that you can't see
The corporation likes him more than you and me
You can't see him because he's not there
But he's haunting you and haunting me--we all get our share
Notes
Many thanks to Bob Stubbs for permission to add this song to the Union Songs collection. The mp3 of the song was emailed to me by Bob's fellow letter-carrier Cameron.
Bob writes:
"Ghost Postie addresses the general issue of cutting production costs by understaffing the shop floor. Our particular case is as follows. Several years ago we had 11 full-time and 3 part-time carriers here. When management assessed the work loads with a view to re-structuring the routes we expected that one of the part-time routes would be made up to a full-time position--the city had grown and the amount of mail had increased as well. To our intense disgruntlement (North American postal workers are always said to be disgruntled) we lost a full-time position instead. Was it bad luck, bad management, or a dastardly plot? No one can tell.I am not a union activist by any means, just a rank-and-filer. And I'm pretty much of a back-porch musician, my public appearances rare and nerve-racking. Ghost Postie has been performed once on the shop floor (backed up by Bruce on the spoons--yes, we have Bruces in Canada as well, two in our shop alone) and is posted on our Local's site http://cupwnelson.kics.bc.ca/ "
union songs..........a selection by mark gregory