United States Postal Service employees across the country will participate in a series of protests today, April 12. “Save America’s Postal Service,” set up by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), has been organized in opposition of The 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2012 (S. 1789), the bill that would overhaul many aspects of the USPS including retirement payments and Saturday mail service.
Protests are scheduled in all 50 states, and are to be held at federal buildings in major cities across the country starting at 5 p.m. (some states, such as California, have scheduled protests at different times). The NALC, the postal workers’ union, has organized what it calls a “day of action” to raise awareness of the pending bill. Postal workers oppose the legislation, claiming it will hinder mail delivery, impact employees’ retirement funds and eliminate 150,000 jobs.
“In its present form, it really doesn’t help the postal service. It ends up dismantling it,” Scott Van Derven of the Wisconsin Association of Letter Carriers said to ABC 12 in Wisconsin. “We are certain that six days delivery is a much better business advantage for USPS.”
While postal workers have been against the drastic postal reforms, many members of Congress and the government have been in favor or reviewing the organization’s structure, including President Obama and Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. In September 2011, Obama announced a $3 trillion dollar U.S. debt reduction proposal, and in it endorsed ending Saturday mail and reducing the postal service’s reliance on Congress to act, moves suggested by Donahoe earlier in the year.
For a full list of participating offices and protest locations, visit the NALC’s website.
