Mennonite in Supreme Court Case?

[Valerie]

There are zero reasons (0) for the post office to be requiring anyone to work on Sundays. We get junk mail delivered 6 days a week. We can wait until Monday for the weekend's batch.

Amen. It's a "last of the Last Days" scenario where the Lord's day doesn't matter to the general population. So they will treat it like any other day. Chalk one up
for the enemy of our soul

[Josh]

I'm willing to bet that when he does his Sunday postal deliveries in Lancaster County he passes hundreds of Mennonite and Amish dairy farms where Amish and Mennonite farmers are busy at work feeding and milking cows 2 or 3 times per day including Sundays.

Dairy farms milk twice a day, typically 4am and 4pm. A schedule like that doesn't interfere with church attendance. It is also directly addressed in scripture - taking care of one's livestock on the Sabbath has always been acceptable.

And I'm willing to bet that those same Amish and Mennonite farmers, if they have a farm accident or car accident or family member in labor, they won't wait until Monday morning but instead will rush to the local hospital and expect that there are doctors and nurses working there on Sunday to take care of them.

The Bible makes it very clear that you can break the Sabbath for an emergency like your ox falling in a ditch.

Many Mennonites (and Amish) who work in emergency roles, volunteer fire department, etc. are glad to do so on Sundays because they understand the essential nature of what they are doing.

No one really wants to work on Sunday. I know that I don't. But it is unfair to expect others to pick up your slack if you are in a job for which it is a requirement. My wife has Sunday call once a month. She would be extremely unhappy if that went up to twice a month because she had co-workers who didn't want to work on Sunday. If an employer is going to make Sunday work optional, then it should be equally optional for everyone, not just those who cite a religious reason.

That doesn't make any sense at all, Ken. Sabbath observance is not some kind of preference. It is a deeply held religious belief that some people will organise their entire lives around.

You seem to have a deep contempt for religious freedom including our nation's religious non-discrimination laws.

The single mother who's kids are home and not at school in Sunday. The dad who wants to coach and attend his kid's games on Sunday. The pro-football fan who wants to watch the NFL on Sunday. The golfer who's friends have a regular Sunday golf game. The equitable First Amendment approach would be to give all workers the same equitable treatment and not to expect one group to pick up the slack for another, regardless of the reason.

In Ken's world, the following is equivalent to a Jewish person keeping the Sabbath holy or a Christian attending church services on Sunday:

- Watching football on TV
- Golfing
- Coaching games which the coach schedules on a Sunday

We can see Ken's contempt for religion very cleary.

Also Sunday mail delivery is not actually a completely new thing. It was the norm for the first 100 years in this country. Canceling mail delivery on Sundays came in the late 19th Century as part of a wave of Protestant anti-Catholic legislation that did things like implement Blue Laws across the country targeted at Catholics. Ending Sunday mail delivery itself came about as sort of a one-time alliance between organized labor (who wanted a 6-day work week) and Protestant ministers: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/ ... 12/281370/

Are you arguing that a 7-day work week is somehow a good thing, Ken?

[Neto]

I thought that postal workers must swear an oath to "uphold and protect the constitution of the United States". That is, in my opinion, just as great an issue Sunday work.

[justme]

i worked sundays, in nursing and in ems.

however, my opinion at the time was,
1. it is taking care of people, and it is necessary, possibly even for their survival.
2. i will not apply for a job that requires working sundays if that job is not necessary, eg a store.

postal delivery is not necessary, in my opinion.
but on the other hand, earlier in the thread, the comment was made that the terms of employment changed on him after he was employed. that changes things, in my opinion.

[Ken]

There are zero reasons (0) for the post office to be requiring anyone to work on Sundays. We get junk mail delivered 6 days a week. We can wait until Monday for the weekend's batch.

The actual reason is so that they can earn additional money and stay solvent without having to increase rates. They aren't making Amazon deliveries for free.

The Post Office actually benefits rural people much more than urban people. In densely populated urban and suburban areas there are a wealth of delivery options. Not so much in the far-flung rural stretches of the country.

[RZehr]

I can’t see why they need to work on Sunday either. Not that long ago, I thought they were talking about eliminating Saturday delivery.

[Ken]

I can’t see why they need to work on Sunday either. Not that long ago, I thought they were talking about eliminating Saturday delivery.

It is about revenues. They already have the entire delivery infrastructure in-place with sorting facilities, delivery trucks, and staff. The only real incremental cost of adding an additional day of delivery is wages. So they can make money off of Amazon and other package deliveries. And since they are out delivering Amazon packages anyway, they can also deliver priority mail and express mail packages shipped via USPS and make those services more competitive with FedEx and UPS. I assume they aren't doing this to lose money. Americans demand overnight delivery, even on Sundays.

I'm personally in favor of the USPS doing whatever it needs to in order to stay solvent and keep mail rates down so we don't need to have a taxpayer bailout. The USPS is actually the only government agency that is specifically authorized and mandated in the Constitution.

[Valerie]

I can’t see why they need to work on Sunday either. Not that long ago, I thought they were talking about eliminating Saturday delivery.

It is about revenues. They already have the entire delivery infrastructure in-place with sorting facilities, delivery trucks, and staff. The only real incremental cost of adding an additional day of delivery is wages. So they can make money off of Amazon and other package deliveries. And since they are out delivering Amazon packages anyway, they can also deliver priority mail and express mail packages shipped via USPS and make those services more competitive with FedEx and UPS. I assume they aren't doing this to lose money. Americans demand overnight delivery, even on Sundays.

I'm personally in favor of the USPS doing whatever it needs to in order to stay solvent and keep mail rates down so we don't need to have a taxpayer bailout. The USPS is actually the only government agency that is specifically authorized and mandated in the Constitution.

Yet they're frequently raising rates! So if this was to help keep them from doing that it sure isn't working

[Soloist]

I thought that postal workers must swear an oath to "uphold and protect the constitution of the United States". That is, in my opinion, just as great an issue Sunday work.

To my knowledge any federal employee does. I looked into the medical core and working for the VA and basically determined they wouldn’t work for the oath.

[Valerie]

I thought that postal workers must swear an oath to "uphold and protect the constitution of the United States". That is, in my opinion, just as great an issue Sunday work.

To my knowledge any federal employee does. I looked into the medical core and working for the VA and basically determined they wouldn’t work for the oath.

"Before entering upon their duties and before receiving any salary, all officers and employees of the Postal Service shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: ''I, llllllll, do solemnly swear (or af- firm) that I will support and defend the Con- stitution of the United States against all en- emies, ."

Perhaps they allow you to say a firm as in the above statement instead of swear, sounds like they make an allowance for people who don't want to swear..