Sunday, August 16, 2020

NEXT Saturday, Aug. 22 at 11 a.m. SAVE THE POST OFFICE, part 2




On Saturday, August 14, four local activists spent a bit of time near the La Crosse Post Office waving signs and educating visitors about the in-plain-sight strangling of the U.S. Postal Service. Citizen action CAN make a difference. Citizen pushback stopped a PO drop box purge in Montana. Citizens have been protesting outside Postmeister General DeJoy's home demanding that he halt the purges and slowdowns. DeJoy, a top GOP fundraiser, holds millions of dollars worth of stocks in XPO Logistics, a USPS contractor with a history of labor violations.

Pressure is mounting on Speaker Pelosi to reconvene Congress and hold hearings. Friday, VICE reported that internal USPS documents showed that the PO planned to remove more than 500 high speed sorting machines  Earlier in August Kimberly Karol of the Iowa Postal Workers Union blew the whistle on new policies that banned overtime. She also noted that some sorting machines were being removed. People around the country noticed that mail drop boxes were being removed (the USPS said this was routine). Last week, Trump admitted that he wanted to make it harder for people to vote (against him) using the U.S. Postal Service.

The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to establish a postal service and "postal roads" (mail routes). In addition, U.S. Criminal Code says, "Whoever knowingly and willfully obstructs or retards the passage of the mail, or any carrier or conveyance carrying the mail, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both." 

Read more about it. Tell others. Understand that the Postal Service is a SERVICE not a business. Saying that it's losing money is like saying that the elementary school is losing money. And the reason, they need more money from Congress to provide service is because of an earlier assault led by Republicans called the pre-funding mandate which requires the Postal Service to sit on more than $40 BILLION to pre-fund retiree benefits for the next 75 years. 

New reports indicate Congress may call an "urgent" hearing and require DeJoy to testify on August 24. Speaker Pelosi and other Democratic Congressional leaders are calling on DeJoy to testify and giving an August 21 deadline to produce documents relating to "postal service sabotage."

Trump and his cronies aren't just trying to kill off an effective, egalitarian, accessible voting system. They are also denying the timely delivery of medicines, checks, legal documents, drivers' licenses, and much more. 

PLAN TO ATTEND - WEAR A MASK - BRING A SIGN
BRING A FRIEND - SAVE THE USPS!

In the meantime, contact our Congressional representatives, call the White House, and email and call these men who make up the USPS Board of Governors.



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