Locals Rally to Save Saturday Service

As part of a nationwide campaign, local union members across the country have ramped up the fight to Save Saturday Service, taking action to alert the public to the dangers of the Postal Service’s plans to eliminate Saturday delivery.

Armed with colorful signs and flyers produced by the national APWU, locals have organized informational pickets and attended town hall meetings to inform communities about how ending Saturday delivery would harm American citizens, businesses, and the USPS itself.

“Eliminating Saturday delivery would be the beginning of the demise of the Postal Service,” APWU President William Burrus said. “We ask our members and their families to continue the fight to Save Saturday Service.”

Making a Statement in Montana

APWU members in Billings, MT, hit the streets on July 20 to protest USPS plans to eliminate Saturday delivery. Union activists waved signs and attached banners to their vehicles parked outside the main post office in downtown Billings, urging the public to “Keep Service in the U.S. Postal Service.” 

Saving Saturday Delivery in St. Louis

On July 12, APWU members in St. Louis picketed outside the main downtown post office to encourage postal customers to support efforts to save Saturday mail delivery.

“To eliminate Saturday service would destroy the Postal Service,” said Tony Harris, president of the St. Louis Gateway District Area Local.“You cannot eliminate service and expect to grow.”

Displaying signs produced by the APWU and urging the public to “Save Our Service,” members were joined in the picket line by community leaders, members of the St. Louis Labor Council, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

Opposition in Oregon

Three APWU locals in Oregon organized informational pickets at post offices across the state on July 1 to draw attention to the fight to Save Saturday Service.

Members of the Portland Area Local, the Medford Area Local, and the Salem Area Local gathered in front of postal facilities in each city to spread the word about the APWU’s efforts to save six-day delivery, and postcards signed by members and community activists to mail to the PRC encouraging the commission to oppose the elimination of Saturday delivery.

“Neither rain, which it did, snow, sleet, dead of night, or Potter’s plan will keep us from our appointed duty, which is to serve the public and bind the nation together,” said Patty Olson, Legislative Director of the Portland Area Local.

Postal employees at the facility joined the picket line during their lunch breaks and after their shifts to help spread the message “Your mail, your service — six days a week.”

Demonstrations in Detroit

Members of the Detroit District Area Local and the 480-481 Area Local joined forces on June 24 in front of the main post office in Detroit for an informational picket. The June 24 rally was one of several events the locals have hosted recently in their opposition to five-day delivery.

On June 15, the locals participated in a town hall meeting at which Paul Felton of the 480-481 Area Local gave a presentation with a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers to discuss the negative impacts of the Postal Service’s plans.

“In a show of solidarity, the postal viewpoint was presented jointly,” Felton said. “There is now a broader coalition of public employee union support in the Metro Detroit area.”

Members also distributed copies of a letter to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) urging the commission to protect six-day delivery. The locals encouraged postal employees and community residents to sign the letters and mail them to Washington, DC.

Building Support in the Big Apple

On June 23, members of the New York Metro Area Local and the Brooklyn Local gathered in front of a downtown New York City post office to warn postal customers and passers-by of the dangers of the Postal Service’s plans. Armed with APWU signs that read “Don’t Let Our Mail Service Fall Apart!” members lined the street in front of the facility for the informational picket.

“The general public is entitled to six-day delivery,” Clarice Torrence, president of the New York Metro Area Local, told The Epoch Times. “We know how important mail is to so many people, and this is a guaranteed right of the Constitution. This is not a gift.”

Members of other local unions, including the New York City Central Labor Council, the AFT, and the Professional Staff Congress also joined the demonstration, picketing in solidarity with the APWU to keep Saturday delivery.

Union Urges Members: Contact Congress

The cost of excessive “worksharing” postage discounts for giant corporate and advertising mailers has led the Postal Service to curtail services — including its plan to end Saturday delivery — to citizens and small businesses across the nation, APWU Executive Vice President Cliff Guffey said in a June 18 interview on a Tulsa, OK TV station.

Guffey urged viewers to contact their U.S. Representatives and ask them to help stop the Postal Service from eliminating Saturday delivery.

He also reminded viewers that the USPS could easily balance its books if Congress removes an onerous provision of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) that unfairly forces the Postal Service to “pre-pay” the cost of future retiree health care benefits, a mandate that is not imposed on other government agencies. Click here to watch the interview.

House Resolution 173

Union members have also been contacting their U.S. Representatives and urging them to support House Resolution 173, which says “The Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of its six-day mail delivery service.” This “sense of the House” resolution, which now has more than 230 co-sponsors, will send a strong signal that lawmakers oppose the elimination of Saturday delivery.

Burrus encouraged APWU members to continue to contact their U.S. Representatives and ask them to Save Saturday Service. “If they are already co-sponsors, thank them. If they have not yet signed on, please encourage them to do so.”

Continuing the Fight

Locals are urged to continue the fight to Save Saturday Service. The union has prepared a fact sheet that sets the record straight about the Postal Service’s financial predicament, a flyer, posters, and other material. Members are encouraged to visit the Saving Saturday Service pages at www.apwu.org for this material and for updated information on the union’s fight to save Saturday delivery.

Local officers who wish to conduct informational picketing or other activities can request copies of the material by contacting Sally Davidow, APWU Communications Department senior manager, at sdavidow@apwu.org.

Support H. Res. 173! 
Click here to urge your U.S. Representative to support legislation that would ensure the continuation of its six-day mail delivery service.

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