Inland Valley
This article is from the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
February 14, 1998
by Alexandra Lin

UPLAND--Motorists passing through the intersection of Arrow Highway and Third Avenue in Upland furiously honked their horns.
It wasn't a case of road rage, but rather a show of support for picketing postal workers lining the streets outside the Upland Post Office on Friday.
About 75 postal workers from the Inland Valley and others from as far away as Apple Valley rallied behind Dennis Binder, a 20-year postal employee fired on Jan. 12 for "unauthorized absence from the work area."
Co-workers claim that Binder, who was president of a union representing 150 letter carriers, was unfairly disciplined by postal management for what they said was a minor offense.
Binder drove postal carrier Angel Pimental to the hospital after Pimental suffered an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Binder said he did so on his lunch hour.
Several picketers carried signs that read "No More Postal Shootings." That slogan called attention to dozens of shooting incidents involving postal workers. Binder maintained that the term "going postal" accurately depicts employees who have been pushed over the edge by management.
"It's prompted by how employees treat employees," Binder said. "There's evidence of that."
Postal officials could not be reached for comment Friday. A day earlier, Upland Postmaster Bob Cajigas declined comment on the protest or to talk about Binder's resignation.
The protest began at about noon with about 30 postal workers, most from the Upland office and a few from Rialto, Rancho cucamonga and Fontana post offices. They carried signs with message "Honk for Justice" and "Bees, Bombs, Bonuses." By 5 p.m., the crowd had grown to 75 and dominated all four corners of the intersection.
Manuak Meza, a postal worker from Rialto, conceded that he was embarrassed that the Binder incident had forced them to seek public support.
"Any time you have to do your laundry out in public, it really doesn't help the organization at all," he said.
Several public supporters went beyond honking their horns.
Upland resident Fran Matsalia, 41, who saw the picketers on a local broadcast, immediately drove to the site to lend a hand with the protest.
"I just knew that being a postal worker was a hard job," she said.
Sharon Miles, 58, also an Upland resident, said she was so outraged by Binder's story that she also joined the raucous crowd, urging motorists to honk.
"Here we have postal workers across the country going berserk, shooting management," Miles said. "This is a microcosm of what's happening across the country."
Pimental, 53, was upset by Binder's termination because he felt that he had put his co-worker "in a situation where he lost his job."
"He had the guts to take me for immediate medical treatment," Pimental said. "I feel bad because he has a family."

COMMENT - by Mark Lesch (Branch 1439)

For those of you that do not know Brother Binder, let me tell you that Dennis is a 20-year veteran of the USPS, president of Branch 2168 in Upland, and a Step 3 advocate fro Region 1. Dennis was the creator of PUBBS (Postal Users Bulletin Board System). a BBS for postal workers that could be considered the forerunner of Postal-Talk.
I was honored to help with the picket, along with members from NALC Branches 2168, 3982, 411, and 24. I hope that this demonstration will be helpful in getting Dennis his job back. As of this writing he is off the clock and waiting disposition of his case.
I too am allergic to bee stings, and I know that time is of the essence when you suffer this kind of an injury. Management dawdled while Brother Pimental suffered, and was trying to find directions to the Postal Contract Clinic (10 miles away) while a state of the art emergency room was literally less than 1/2 mile away. Brother Binder took Brother Pimental to the local hospital and clocked back in 12 minutes later. For this he was fired!
It is a sad day when someone is punished severely for making an effort to possibly save the life of a co-worker.

UPDATE

Dennis has been put back on the clock. USPS is trying to get him to serve a 21 day suspension, but that is being arbitrated and we are very confident that Dennis will prevail and be made whole. Welcome back brother!
Branch 2168 had a picket planned for April 15 in front of the Upland PO to once again bring this case to the public. I understand that the media was going to be out in force for this, and the Postal Service got wind of it and was eager to make some sort of deal.