Mourn the Dead and Fight to Save the Postal Service

On Tuesday, April 28 at 10:00 a.m., postal service representatives will hold a press conference and demonstration at the East Portland Post Office located at 1020 SE 7th Ave. Attending will be speakers representing Communities and Postal Workers United, American Postal Workers Union, Oregon Association of Letter Carriers, Rev. John Schwiebert,  and messages from Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Earl Blumenauer will be presented.

(courtesy of Communities and Postal Workers United)April 28 is Workers Memorial Day, a day that the labor movement mourns the workers who have died on the job in the previous year and vows to fight on for health and safety at work. This year is especially painful for frontline, essential workers like postal workers. 45 postal workers, nationwide, have died of Covid-19, just in the past month. 1,800 are confirmed with the disease. 9,000 are in quarantine.

Oregon has not been spared, with postal workers, and their families, around the state experiencing quarantine and infections. Postal workers, across the country, continue to struggle for Personal Protective Equipment, social distancing, testing, paid leave, and hazard pay. In New York City, where 15 have died of Covid-19, some postal facilities have closed. In some NYC neighborhoods, the mail is not being delivered. Across the country, some postal facilities are experiencing 50-75% loss of personnel due to infection and quarantine.

At the same time, the Covid-19 economic collapse has caused a 30% drop in mail volume with an expected 50% drop by summer. Postal revenues are falling precipitously. The Postmaster General predicts that the USPS will run out of money by September. The postal service needs to be unburdened from the catastrophic pre-funding requirement and must receive a big infusion of funds to continue serving the American people, as it has since 1775.

From medications to stimulus checks, from census forms to ballots, from medical supplies (including test kits and the coming vaccine) to online orders, the postal service is indispensable to the American people, especially veterans, seniors, small businesses, and those in rural areas.

The Postal Board of Governors, the postal service’s bi-partisan governing body, has called on Congress to appropriate $25 billion immediately and sufficient additional funds over time to sustain the service.

Yet, the Trump administration has threatened to veto any stimulus package that provides genuine support to the postal service. This administration is on record pushing for privatization of the USPS, which would result in big profits for the private owners, but higher prices and less service for the public. Allowing the USPS to go broke would be a set-up to sell it off.

For more information, go to USMailNotForSale.org.

A video of a postal funeral caravan in Exton, PA can be viewed here.