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How to Fight Station, Branch Closings
(This article first appeared in the November/December 2009 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
Locals have been fighting back in response to the Postal Service’s nationwide plan to close hundreds of retail stations and branches. The USPS says it is an attempt to cut costs in the face of a severe economic recession, but it seems to us that management’s goal is to eliminate public access to postal goods and services and, along with that, thousands of Tour 2 duty assignments: The goal clearly is to drive customers to contract stations (Contract Postal Units, or CPUs) that offer fewer services and very little security for the mail.
It is important that APWU locals learn from each others’ experiences and set up guidelines for combating this threat to our livelihood and our customers’ services. To assist in these efforts, the national union has developed a toolkit [PDF - Members Only] to help locals with stations and branches that are likely to be targeted by management.
If the stations and branches in your area were lucky enough to be spared in the first round, be forewarned: We firmly believe the USPS will re-evaluate retail units and that they will be looking at smaller installations as well. That is why it is critical we keep our local committees in place to spring into action at a moment’s notice.
Building Alliances
The locals that have been able to mount the best challenges to station and branch closings are those that have established alliances with organizations representing the affected community, city and state politicians, members of Congress, as well as other unions and central labor bodies. If your local has not already done so, develop an outreach campaign that indentifies possible partners, and work to cultivate those relationships. Successful locals also have consistently notified the media of their efforts.
Building alliances means identifying individuals and organizations that are our natural allies, such as churches, small-business interests, senior citizens, the handicapped, etc. Identify all groups representing those who will suffer the most if postal services are reduced at stations and branches. Alert them well in advance of the potential closings so they will be easier to mobilize when the time comes for public comment and activism.
Remember: If the media and legislators hear only from postal workers, they are likely to disregard our concerns as being part of a narrow self-interest. If, on the other hand, we are able to persuade business groups, senior citizens, residents of the affected communities, community activists, residents of poor neighborhoods and others that they have a strong stake in this fight, we have a great chance at continued success.
Reach out — don’t dig in: Don’t waste time trying to convince local USPS managers to reverse the station closings. The decisions on closings probably were not theirs in the first place. Political pressure on the Postal Service is the most effective way to reverse a decision to close a station or branch.
If you have taken proactive steps, you will find that when the next challenge comes you are better prepared to mobilize quickly and effectively. The framework is in place, but we need to build on it: We need to be ready whenever and wherever the privatizers within postal management decide to act.
This is likely only the first battle in what we expect to be a constant fight to protect both the service that the citizens of our nation expect and also the livelihood of our members.
Support H.R. 658
On Jan. 22, Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) introduced the “Access to Postal Services Act” (H.R. 658), which would alter the statutory process for closing Postal Service branches and stations.
If the bill were to become law, it would curtail the Postal Service’s discretionary authority to close retail postal facilities.
In effect, H.R. 658 requires the Postal Service to apply the Postal Operation Manual (Section 123.6, which covers Post Office discontinuances) process to station and branch closings as well. The measure also would expand the public notification process by requiring the USPS to notify affected public communities by both news media and mail, and would invite public comment for 90 days.
We call on our members to contact their U.S. Representatives to ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 658. Sample letters are available on the “Contact Your Legislators” page.
