As the U.S. Postal Service increasingly turns to privatization, including contracted trucking companies to haul the mail, a union victory at a contract hauler in West Dallas raises questions about whether this will start a trend.

American Postal Workers Union organizer Bobbie Patience worked doggedly for two years to unionize the Dallas hub of Pat Salmon and Sons, one of the nation's largest Postal Service contractors. According to a report in the Dallas Observer, Patience endured the sound of gunshots in nearby neighborhoods and company officials reporting her to police as a prostitute.
The facility's about 300 drivers voted for union representation in September, but the votes were sealed until recently while the company unsuccessfully contested APWU's involvement in private-sector organization. When they were finally unsealed, the votes showed the union won 88 percent of the vote.
The Dallas unit joins APWU locals at four other Pat Salmon terminals, which together make up about 900 of the company's 1,200 workers. Employees at the company's two Florida hubs have been organized by the Teamsters, while two others remain non-union.
National union officials are excited about the high percentage of votes in their favor in the Dallas election. They see potential in 2 million truckers, corporate direct-mail pre-sorters and maintenance workers working in private companies contracted to the post office.
"This is one of the largest units we have organized," said APWU Organization Director Frank Romero, "and the campaign was a tremendous undertaking."
However, some APWU members fear organizing private-sector postal truckers will erode public-sector jobs. In Dallas, the long-standing APWU local declined to officially support the Pat Salmon effort, reported the paper.