Actor-Activist Danny Glover, Supporters To Join Postal Workers To Protest Slowdown of U.S. Mail TODAY May 14, 10 a.m., Downtown D.C.

Actor-Activist Danny Glover, Supporters To Join Postal Workers To Protest Slowdown of U.S. Mail TODAY May 14, 10 a.m., Downtown D.C.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Sally Davidow

202-842-4250

sdavidow@apwu.org

WASHINGTON – Members of the American Postal Workers Union will gather at the U.S Post Office located at 14th and L Streets N.W. on May 14.  The event is part of a National Day of Action by APWU members and supporters across the country to demand improved postal services and to protect good, living-wage jobs. Protests are planned in 85 cities across 42 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Thursday.

Actor Danny Glover, the son of postal workers, will join American Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein at the Washington event, make brief remarks, and, along with other supporters, hand out material to postal customers.

Who: Actor Danny Glover, APWU President Mark Dimondstein,                             

APWU members and community supporters

What: Protest USPS cutbacks and delays in mail service

Where: 14th and L Streets N.W., Washington, DC 20005

When: 10 a.m., Thursday, May 14

The nationwide protests will take place one week before the APWU contract with the U.S. Postal Service is set to expire (on May 20) – amid new reports of severe delays in mail delivery. Postal workers will urge customers to sign postcards to the Postmaster General declaring, “I Stand with Postal Workers,” and in support of improved postal services.

“U.S. Postal Service executives and the agency’s Board of Governors are using a manufactured financial crisis to justify their strategy of reducing service, delaying mail delivery, and dismantling a great national treasure,” said national APWU President Mark Dimondstein.

“Postal workers are fighting for a vibrant, public Postal Service that expands hours, offers new services, and gives quality service to people across the country – no matter who they are, where they live or how much money they have,” Dimondstein said.

During contract negotiations, the APWU has made the unprecedented move of bringing consumer issues to the bargaining table, insisting that quality service is crucial to creating a strong public postal service.

In addition to proposals that would protect good, stable jobs, postal workers are demanding extended hours at post offices, shorter wait time in line for customers, an end to the closure of mail sorting centers, restoration of prompt mail delivery, and the addition of new services, including postal banking.

According to an April 27 Washington Post article titled, “It’s not just you: Letters really are taking longer to get delivered:”

  • A decision this past January by USPS to abandon overnight delivery in local communities is causing sharp delays in mail delivery.
  • “Preliminary internal data shows that the Postal Service did not meet even its lower targets for first-class mail during the first seven weeks of 2015, with letters that are supposed to take three days … arriving on time just 54 percent to 63 percent of the time.”

The Postal Service, which isn’t funded by taxpayers, earned an operating profit in fiscal years 2013 and 2014 and is on track to earn a substantial operating profit again in 2015. Although revenue from first-class mail has been declining, package volume – largely due to the growth of e-commerce – has been rapidly expanding.  

For a complete list of protests at U.S. Post Offices on May 14, visit www.apwu.org/may-14-national-day-action.

For additional background on the threats to a strong, public Postal Service, visit www.apwu.org/sites/apwu/files/resource-files/In-Depth%20BrochureV2.pdf.

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The American Postal Workers Union represents 200,000 employees of the United States Postal Service, and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. For more information about the APWU, visit www.apwu.org.