‘Save the Postal Service’

They chanted. They cheered. Donning red, white and blue “Save America’s Postal Service” t-shirts, postal workers and concerned citizens carried signs and marched in front of congressional offices across the country to tell the real story about the Postal Service’s financial crisis and to build support for legislation that would restore stability to the USPS.

“We don’t need a bailout! We just want to get the mail out,” postal workers chanted. Ralliers encouraged people to sign petitions while passing motorists honked and waved to show support.

The scene was repeated in cities across the country as the American Postal Workers Union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association marked Sept. 27 as a national day of action to “Save America’s Postal Service.”

The unions asked legislators to co-sponsor a bill introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA). H.R. 1351 would allow the Postal Service to use the billions of dollars in USPS pension overpayments to meet its financial obligations. It would address the cause of the USPS financial crisis without cutting pay, reducing benefits, eliminating collective bargaining rights, or slashing service. Where lawmakers had already signed on, the rallies thanked them for their support and asked them to pledge to do everything in their power to ensure its passage.

Reports have come in from all over the country about the success of the rallies as well as the energy and ex­citement they generated among APWU members. Ken France, President of the APWU Kansas Kaw Valley Area Local reported, “We had 115 people show up for the rally in Rep. Kevin Yoder’s district (KS-3) and we were very well represented by all four of the unions. I am proud of every one of them for standing up for the cause and I look forward to using this as a springboard to other rallies.”

APWU member Lilybett Martir said, “We joined the rally in Morristown, NJ and made our voices heard. I had a great experience and would do it again 100 times. Viva la Post Office!”

Union members were also successful in persuading additional House members to sign on as co-sponsors of H.R. 1351, bringing the total to 220, more than half of the members of the House of Representatives.

At the rally in Annandale VA, APWU President Cliff Guffey spoke passionately about our struggle and urged union members to stay involved. “Thank you to every APWU member who rallied to get our message out to Congress and the nation. If we stand strong, I believe we can defeat any plans to destroy the Postal Service, to lay us off, to take away our health benefits program, or to undermine our retirement,” he said.