Editor's Notebook: Locking Mailboxes, What Fleet Farm Protestors Want

Protestors Seeking Talks with Mills Fleet Farm: Protestors out with a giant rat atop a wedge of cheese near the entrance to Oakdale’s Monday said their goal is to get company officials to talk with representatives from their union—the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 563. Mike Connelly, a union concrete worker out protesting, said the company has hired low-paid temporary workers to do work at the site of a new store in Carver. Another member of the group protesting in Oakdale, Richard Maggiefield, said he was one of those temporary workers, hired at $7.25 per hour. It’s tough for union firms to compete with such low wages, Connelly said. A contractor for Mills Fleet Farm has acknowledged using a temp firm to hire workers, but said he cut off dealings with the company after learning how little they were paying workers, according to a Star Tribune post. A representative from Mills Fleet Farm did not return a phone call for comment on the issue.

Tips For Buying a Locked Mailbox: After a rash of mail theft and tampering that started over the Thanksgiving holiday, the supervisor at Oakdale’s , Dan Binman, said he’s been receiving inquiries about purchasing locking mailboxes. Binman said residents should look for mailboxes that have been approved by the U.S. Postal Service. All the boxes sold at stores like Home Depot, Menards or Mills Fleet Farm have likely been approved, he said. The main thing to look for is a box large enough to fit all your mail inside, he said. Many people get prescriptions in the mail, and the openings on a lot of the locking mailboxes aren’t large enough for them, he said. Reports of mail theft and tampering in Oakdale have been slowing down, said Oakdale Police Department community affairs officer Michelle Stark.