{"product_id":"first-class-the-u-s-postal-service-democracy-and-the-corporate-threat","title":"First Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInvestigating the essential role that the postal system plays in American democracy and how the corporate sector has attempted to destroy it.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"With \u003cem\u003eFirst Class: The U.S. Postal Service, Democracy, and the Corporate Threat\u003c\/em\u003e, Christopher Shaw makes a brilliant case for polishing the USPS up and letting it shine in the 21st century.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eJohn Nichols\u003c\/strong\u003e, national affairs correspondent for \u003cem\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/em\u003e and author of \u003cem\u003eCoronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eFirst Class\u003c\/i\u003e is essential reading for all postal workers and for our allies who seek to defend and strengthen our public Postal Service.\"--\u003cb\u003eMark Dimondstein, President, American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite 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. \u003cem\u003eFirst Class\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eFirst Class\u003c\/em\u003e: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"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.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eSteve Hutkins\u003c\/strong\u003e, founder\/editor of Save the Post Office and Professor of English at New York University\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The USPS is essential for a democratic American society; thank goodness we have this new book from Christopher W. Shaw explaining why.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eDanny Caine\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eSave the USPS \u003c\/em\u003eand owner of the Raven Book Store, Lawrence, KS\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Shaw's excellent analysis of the Postal Service and its vital role in American Democracy couldn't be more timely. ... \u003cem\u003eFirst Class\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eRuth Y. Goldway\u003c\/strong\u003e, Retired Chair and Commissioner, U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission, responsible for the Forever Stamps\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"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.\"--\u003cstrong\u003eRobert Weissman\u003c\/strong\u003e, president of Public Citizen\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChristopher W. Shaw\u003c\/strong\u003e 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 \u003cem\u003eMoney, Power, and the People: The American Struggle to Make Banking Democratic \u003c\/em\u003e(University of Chicago Press, 2019) and \u003cem\u003ePreserving the People's Post Office \u003c\/em\u003e(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: \u003cem\u003eJournal of Policy History\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eJournal of Social History\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eAgricultural History\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eEnterprise \u0026amp; Society\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eKansas History\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eJournalism History\u003c\/em\u003e. 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, \u003cem\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eChristian Science Monitor\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eNew York Post\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eVillage Voice\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePhiladelphia Inquirer\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eBuffalo News\u003c\/em\u003e, among others. He lives in Berkeley, CA.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNamed by \u003cem\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/em\u003e as one of the hundred most influential figures in American history, and by \u003cem\u003eTime\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eLife\u003c\/em\u003e magazines as one of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century, \u003cstrong\u003eRalph Nader\u003c\/strong\u003e 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 \u003cem\u003eBreaking Through Power\u003c\/em\u003e with City Lights, \u003cem\u003eUnstoppable, \u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Good Fight\u003c\/em\u003e. His \u003cem\u003eAnimal Envy, A Parable\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"City Lights Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50380279873810,"sku":"9780872868779","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_eff18da6-e1c0-4558-9634-71043232ee28.jpg?v=1728679501","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/first-class-the-u-s-postal-service-democracy-and-the-corporate-threat","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}