First Class

The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat

Open Media Series

by Christopher W. Shaw

Foreword by Ralph Nader

Published by: City Lights Publishers

Imprint: City Lights Publishers

240 Pages, 5.50 x 8.25 in

Paperback
9780872868779
Published: November 2021

$16.95

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Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

Investigating the essential role that the postal system plays in American democracy and how the corporate sector has attempted to destroy it.

"With First Class: 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 Profiteers: 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 business—and 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 people—and small businesses—still 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 country—and for our democracy—if we don’t 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

Christopher W. Shaw is an author, historian, and policy analyst. He has a Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and is the author of Money, Power, and the People: The American Struggle to Make Banking Democratic (University of Chicago Press, 2019) and Preserving the People’s Post Office (Essential Books, 2006). His research on the history of banking, money, labor, agriculture, social movements, and the postal system has been published in the following academic journals: Journal of Policy History, Journal of Social History, Agricultural History, Enterprise & Society, Kansas History, and Journalism History. Shaw was formerly a project director at the Center for Study of Responsive Law. He has worked on a number of policy issues, including the privatization of government services, health and safety regulations, and electoral reform. He has appeared in such media outlets as the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, New York Post,Village Voice, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Buffalo News, among others. He lives in Berkeley, CA.

Named by The Atlantic as one of the hundred most influential figures in American history, and by Time and Life magazines as one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century, Ralph Nader has helped us drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments for more than four decades. Nader was instrumental in the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC), and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). Many lives have been saved by Nader's involvement in the recall of millions of unsafe consumer products, including defective motor vehicles, and in the protection of laborers and the environment. By starting dozens of citizen groups, Ralph Nader has created an atmosphere of corporate and governmental accountability. Nader's recent books include Breaking Through Power with City Lights, Unstoppable, and The Good Fight. His Animal Envy, A Parable was published by Seven Stories Press in the fall of 2016. Nader writes a syndicated column, has his own radio show, and gives lectures and interviews year round.

RALPH NADER first made headlines as a young lawyer in 1965 with his book Unsafe at Any Speed, a scathing indictment that lambasted the auto industry for producing unsafe vehicles. The book led to congressional hearings and the passage of a series of automobile safety laws in 1966. Nader also went on to found a wide variety of organizations, all aimed at advancing corporate and government accountability. An author, lecturer, attorney, and political activist, Nader was cited by the Atlantic in 2006 as one of the one hundred most influential figures in American history; Time magazine has called him the "US's toughest customer"; and in 1974, a survey conducted by U.S. News & World Report rated him as the fourth most influential person in the United States.

Praise for First Class:
"The United States Postal Service has been targeted for privatization (read: dismantlement) by conservative Republicans for decades. In his new book, Shaw convincingly explains why this would have tragic consequences for the future of democracy itself. … Shaw’s prose is fresh and accessible, and his arguments are cogent and convincing. Reading this book will give readers a new appreciation for the value of the humble post office."—Booklist
"Shaw’s First Class comes at a time when integral institutions are under attack. It is perhaps the most powerful call to save the USPS that this author has ever seen. The book is about what many might consider a mundane subject (postage) but is a crucial read for anyone interested in fighting for democracy, decency, and egalitarianism."—Countercurrents
"Selling off valuable properties, buildings that the taxpayers paid for, is just one of the ways corporate interests and political ideologues are dismantling the Postal Service, Christopher W. Shaw argues in First Class. The push to take the Postal Service from public to private hands is steady and unrelenting and has serious implications for democracy. … Shaw traces the essential role of the Post Office ever since Benjamin Franklin served as the country’s first postmaster general. He details the fights to preserve it and to ensure it remains an essential component of democracy."—Berkeleyside
"Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, First Class is an essential and unreservedly recommended addition to community, college, and university library Political Science and Contemporary Social Issues collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in protecting our U.S. Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic—the latter especially with specific reference to our postal system."—Midwest Book Review
"The Postal Service is the crown jewel of the American experiment, our most efficient, trusted and beloved public service. With First Class: 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 Profiteers: 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
"Christopher Shaw makes the case for the importance of the Postal Service to democracy in the United States. He argues compellingly that we should be looking to rebuild it, rather than tear it down and privatize it."—Dean Baker, co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and author of Rigged
"The 'Save the Post Office' movement has long needed a definitive manifesto, and now it has one. Christopher Shaw's First Class shows how special interests and anti-government, anti-union ideologues have promoted a scarcity myth—the country can’t afford a first-class postal system—to justify cost-cutting measures like outsourcing, closing post offices and slowing down the mail. 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
"Christopher W. Shaw's First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat makes a passionate but well-argued case for a healthy USPS. Shaw organizes his methodical argument around decades of attacks on the USPS; in doing so, he effectively refutes the flawed (and often anti-democratic) cases for privatization and deregulation. 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. As the current postmaster general is about to implement a ten-year plan that will eliminate all airmail service, greatly reduce delivery times, and cut hours and available services at post offices, it is important to be reminded that a fully functional postal service is essential for elections, for delivery of life-saving medicines, for assistance when communities are dislocated in times of disaster and for rural community identity 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 Stamp
"In gripping detail, Christopher W. Shaw's First Class tells you who's trying to sabotage the national treasure that is the U.S. Postal Service and why (hint: corporate greed). Shaw's clarion call to protect the postal service explains what's at stake for our communities, our democracy, and our economy. While he celebrates USPS history, Shaw's gaze is primarily forward-looking. In a time of community fracture and corporate predation, he 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
"Christopher Shaw reveals the U.S. Postal Service's historic contributions to the welfare of all Americans, from operating an essential communication and transportation network, to pioneering public banking, to functioning as a linchpin of elections. While the Postal Service's enemies assert its inevitable demise, Shaw presents hope for a rejuvenated public service that plays an integral part of a democratic future."—RoseAnn DeMoro, former Executive Director of National Nurses United
"Democracy in action … government that literally delivers … a service that puts the 'united' in the United States. These aren't throw-away cliches—they're the essence of our U.S. Postal Service. 'So we must kill it!' That's the perverse intent of a handful of corporate profiteers and their corrupt congressional enablers. How do we stop them and expand the beneficial work of this extraordinary public service? Christopher Shaw shows us the way. Read on … and act!"—Jim Hightower, syndicated columnist and radio commentator