Workers Rally to Preserve & Protect the People’s Postal Service

[Jamie Partridge]

Immediate Release

(contact Jamie Partridge, Communities and Postal Workers United, 503-752-5112)

Photos by Jamie Partridge, permission to use w/ credit

 

Workers Rally to

Preserve & Protect the People’s Postal Service

 

Top union leaders - from the Oregon AFL-CIO and NW Oregon Labor Council – plus representatives of nurses, educators, laborers and teamsters – rallied a crowd of a couple dozen postal workers and community allies at the East Portland Post Office today.  At the same time, in Washington, DC, hundreds rallied as part of a national day of action, coinciding with the quarterly meeting of the Postal Board of Governors.

 

Speakers declared it's past time for the Postal Board of Governors to reign in and replace Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who has been responsible for accelerating cuts, closures, and delay of the mail.  DeJoy has understaffed, overworked, and created a hostile environment for the postal workforce.

 

DeJoy’s “Delivering for America” plan now includes consolidating letter carriers into massive Sorting and Delivery Center hubs, forcing long commutes and travel times while eliminating clerk, trucker and supervisor positions and reducing service or closing local post offices.  Most rural carriers have just had their pay cut.

 

For five months, President Biden has declined to nominate new members of the Postal Board of Governors.  Retired Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence, a former postal employee and staunch defender of the public postal service, is a candidate preferred by Save the Post Office, a coalition of over 300 advocacy groups, including Communities and Postal Workers United and the American Postal Workers Union.

 

Union leaders declared that it is critical that President Biden nominates someone who has extensive knowledge of both postal operations and the workforce.  Two of the current nine governors’ terms have now expired. They remain in position until another governor is appointed or for a period of one year, whichever comes first.

 Congresswoman Lawrence understands the Post Office in a way only few can due to her unique experience at the Postal Service. Before joining Congress, she served as a postal employee for over 30 years, including time as a clerk and a letter carrier.  Prior to her retirement from Congress, she served on committees with jurisdiction over the USPS, where she skillfully defended the public Postal Service from privatization.

Congresswoman Lawrence was the only member of Congress to have been a member of the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers. She understands the commitment and dedication each postal worker provides to the nation.

 

Sponsor:  Communities and Postal Workers United

Endorsed by: American Postal Workers Union, local 128, Portland Jobs with Justice, Portland Democratic Socialists of America.

Speakers:

           Daniel Cortez, Oregon Postal Workers Union, political director

           Jamie Partridge -- Communities and Postal Workers United, organizer

           Joe Cogan – American Postal Workers Union, local president

           Laurie Wimmer – NW Oregon Labor Council, Executive Secretary Treasurer

           Sarah Kowaleski- Jobs with Justice, organizer

           Hannah Winchester – Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Professional  & Portland Democratic Socialists of America

          Graham Trainor – Oregon AFL-CIO, president

          Ana del Rocio – past David Douglas School Board and Color PAC director

          Bryan Hawes – Teamsters 162

          Jim McEchron – Laborers 483