[WASHINGTON, D.C.] The Amiercan Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein issued the following statement today:

The United States Postal Service and postal workers provide an essential service to 157 million addresses in ordinary times and in times of extraordinary need.

Our union’s priority during this pandemic is ensuring the safety of our members and postal customers.  As millions of Americans seek shelter in their homes, postal workers continue to carry out their vital work and deliver for the United States of America every day, but the White House has failed to support these efforts. In the recent negotiations over the stimulus package, the administration wouldn’t spare a dime to ensure that this essential service continues in the months ahead. It’s outrageous that the stimulus bill passed by Congress doesn’t include any financial support for the USPS, including needed funds to provide for the safety of workers and the mailing public.

After years of being drained of cash by an unfair congressional mandate to prefund retiree health care benefits, the USPS faces a liquidity crisis as mail volumes plummet in response to the economic effects of the pandemic.

The relief package passed today hands out $500 billion dollars to corporations but ignores the USPS, an essential public service that binds the country together and delivers vital public health information, food, medicine and needed supplies to every American household.  Only the USPS can do this. And, its important role continues to grow as our elections move to vote-by-mail.

There is talk of a fourth stimulus package. It’s absolutely necessary that it include funds – as House proposals earlier this week did – to keep the mail and ecommerce moving until the economy begins to recover. Simply having access to more debt from the Treasury – at the Secretary’s discretion – as included in the third stimulus is an inadequate solution. 

We do our job. Congress and the administration need to do theirs and ensure that postal workers can safely and reliably deliver for the people of the country.