Like AFSCME members, America’s postal workers have also been serving nonstop on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. Like the states, cities and towns that AFSCME members serve, the U.S. Postal Service is also facing a financial emergency caused by the pandemic: plummeting revenue and skyrocketing costs.
The USPS desperately needs federal funding – $25 billion to reverse the toll the pandemic has taken. It may soon fail if it doesn’t receive the aid.
AFSCME stands with the USPS and the dedicated postal workers who serve communities across the country in their fight to #SavethePostOffice.
“Rain or shine, the Post Office delivers on its promise every day,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders, who shared a video message of solidarity with the postal service. “That’s because their mission and values are rooted in public service.”
Despite the huge volume of mail the post office delivers, 472.1 million mail pieces a day, to 157 million different addresses, and the vital role it plays in American life, the White House doesn’t seem to recognize its importance. Instead, President Donald Trump, who has called the postal service “a joke,” wants to privatize an American institution.
AFSCME couldn’t disagree more.
“The Post Office is truly part of our shared national heritage,” Saunders said. “It should not be auctioned off to Wall Street or the lowest bidder.”
In cities all across America, thousands of union members, including members of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), took collective action Tuesday to demand the federal government save the USPS. Union members held a caravan in Washington, D.C., where union members delivered millions of petition signatures to the Senate demanding emergency funding to keep USPS solvent.
The USPS has an imprint on American life that many people don’t realize. Its mail carriers deliver lifesaving medications, crucial census forms, vote-by-mail ballots, as well as cherished letters.
For many rural communities, the postal service is the only conduit many of its customers have to the rest of the world. The postal service also employs hundreds of thousands of Americans, who are dedicated to their communities and would be might be left jobless if the USPS doesn’t receive aid.
AFSCME stands with the USPS during this unprecedented time, and is calling on Trump and Congress to deliver the relief it needs to survive.
Join the fight for one of America’s most important institutions. Help #SavethePostOffice.