Seattle, WA – Seattle union members and community activists joined a National Day of Protest on March 23 led by the National Association of Letter Carriers, saying “Hell No!” to dismantling the postal service. 300 people attended the rally in front of a Seattle post office, one of several rallies in the region in solidarity with 200,000 letter carriers and 640,000 postal workers who are fighting against President Trump’s attempt to restructure or privatize the U.S. Postal Service.

The Trump administration threatened to reorganize the independent, self-sufficient USPS under the Department of Commerce. Elon Musk recently stated, “We should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized.”

Speakers emphasized the universal, trusted, public service of the USPS and were representative of the breadth and depth of solidarity for letter carriers across the labor movement.

David Yao from the American Postal Workers Union said, “Trump and his evil henchman Elon Musk have come for our public services and that is because the billionaires don’t need those services, the people do! What do they want? Higher prices, less services! But we are going to fight, and we are going to win!”

C Moline, rally emcee, NALC shop steward and delegate, stirred the crowd, stating, “Why was there a 1970 strike? Because we had no collective bargaining, we only had collective begging. Letter carriers deserve fair pay, and fair work.”

Katie Garrow, executive secretary treasurer of the MLK Labor Council, continued the theme, “In 50 years, we will look back on this moment and your children and your grandchildren will ask you: where were you then? You will be able to tell them that you stood in the rain to fight back!”

To close out the rally, the Seattle Labor Chorus sang Solidarity Forever and the union letter carriers led the crowd on a march around the block, situated in a popular strip mall. Workers chanted, “Yes to unionization! No to privatization!” and “When union rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

While this action was at an urban postal office, the NALC has emphasized that while everyone benefits from the widely trusted USPS that delivers 376 million pieces of mail and packages, rural residents benefit the most. USPS letter carriers deliver mail to 51.5 million rural households and businesses where private carriers do not deliver.

A reorganization or privatization of USPS could have a devastating impact, not only jeopardizing the 7.9 million jobs in the mailing industry, but it could also reduce or end services to rural households and raise shipping costs. In this scenario, working-class households are hit the hardest, while a tiny number of bureaucrats and billionaires profit.

The Seattle rally was one of many across the country, demonstrating the desire of letter carriers and postal services workers to fight against Trump’s attacks, and the broad community support for their universal public service.

#SeattleWA #WA #Labor #Postal #APWU #NALC #Privatization #Trump

St. Petersburg, FL – On March 23, 300 postal workers and community members came out with the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) union to stand against the privatization of the post office. With recent talk of President Trump transferring USPS to the department of commerce and privatizing it, union members are ready to stand up for the future of the public service.

Attendees held signs and stood at all corners of a busy intersection to bring awareness to the current uncertainty. The privatization of the post office could mean an estimated cut of 10,000 jobs, an increase in shipping costs, and an end to rural service.

All eyes are on Trump as he has continued to gut public services, including the Department of Education, national parks and library services. This action was one of hundreds around the country and the American Postal Workers Union and NALC will both continue to be holding actions to defend the postal service.

#StPetersburgFL #FL #Labor #Postal #NALC #APWU

Tampa, FL – On March 20, over 60 workers with the American Postal Worker Union (APWU) held a public demonstration in Tampa, Florida to bring awareness to attacks on the postal service. The Tampa APWU action was one of over 250 held across the country.

“The post office is not for sale, and it never will be!” chanted workers as they marched up and down the road handing out informational flyers to passing cars to raise awareness about the issue.

The right to a federal mail service is protected in the constitution, which means that its privatization would be illegal. Despite this, President Trump has been considering transferring U.S. Postal Service to the Department of Commerce and privatizing it, which would have the effect of cutting jobs and raising shipping costs. Privatizing the post office is only one of many attempts the president has made on public services, including his attacks on the Department of Education.

Postal workers with the National Association of Letter Carriers will be holding a similar national day of action to fight against privatization this Sunday, March 23.

#TampaFL #FL #Labor #APWU #USPS #Postal

Tampa, FL – On October 1, over 40 United States Postal Services workers and members of the American Postal Workers' Union rallied in front of the Carrollwood USPS office in Tampa, Florida for the national APWU Day of Action to demand a good contract. They lined the sidewalks along Dale Mabry Highway, held signs, and chanted their demands for better staffing, modernized facilities and better working conditions.

Tampa was one of 90 cities set to have rallies in response to this call to action.

“Better staffing, better service” and “I stand with Postal Workers” read the signs that protesting workers held all along the street. Prominent among the APWU's demands is for management to hire more permanent staff and expand the clerks' staffing apparatus, to which management has been staunchly resistant.

Despite major increases in mail and delivery volume, the number of clerks has declined drastically.

“Moving the mail is in the DNA of postal employees,” said Michael Searle, the retired former president of APWU Local 259. “The union has had to advocate for better service standards. While the USPS continues to reduce staffing and slow down service to our customers on a daily basis, the union fights for the jobs that will provide service. The union fights to prevent the delay of First-Class mail and parcels. APWU members have dedicated their careers to providing the service that the customers deserve.”

The APWU has also been fighting the recent USPS decisions to move mail from distant processing centers, which will delay mail for people who live in rural counties.

“No one is more embarrassed for the company than the union members when they can't provide service,” Searle continued, “when customers are forced to wait in line for extended periods of time, when products are not available to be sold over-the-counter, and when mail is delayed for no good reason.”

#TampaFL #FL #Labor #Postal #APWU