Letter Carriers Turn Out to Save Saturday Delivery
Over 200 protesters came to the Dallas main post office on Sunday, March 24. The Letter Carriers Union (NALC) had called a national day because Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe has said publicly that he will end Saturday mail delivery beginning Aug. 5. Congress has spoken, but it isn't clear what they said. They may keep all Saturday delivery, but they may also let it die except for certain priority packages and items. American Postal Workers Union leader Lewis Fulbright told my KNON audience last week that he expected 20% layoffs from the mail service if Saturday delivery goes away!
The turnout for the Dallas action was far better than we had last summer when management was threatening to close the main post office. It was better than just about any union-led public protest in recent memory. On the downside, there were very few people there from outside the postal workers unions. The Transport Workers showed up in solidarity. They have an action of their own at Love Field Thursday March 28. Leah Witherspoon of the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans came and, of course, Jobs with Justice was there.
Reports from the national AFL-CIO indicate good turnout in cities across the nation. The AFL-CIO has coverage on their web site.
--Gene Lantz