National Day of Action Generates Extensive Media Coverage

Updated 11/19/2014 - The Nov. 14 National Day of Action to send a message to the Postmaster General and the USPS Board of Governors to Stop Delaying America's Mail! generated extensive media coverage. The events were sponsored by the four postal unions: the American Postal Workers Union, the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association.

Below is a sampling of media reports. Did we miss coverage of your event? Send a link to: photos@apwu.org.

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National Wire Services
AP: Next Postmaster General to Inherit Thorny Problems - Epoch Times
America’s new postmaster general will face the same daunting problems as the man she will succeed: budget losses in the billions and battles with Congress over cost-cutting.  The U.S. Postal Service’s Board of Governors on Friday named Megan Brennan, now the agency’s chief operating officer, to the top post in early 2015 when Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe retires.  …  Postal-worker unions welcomed the change of command. “We hope that the next postmaster general will reverse Donahoe’s policies of lowering standards, reducing hours, outsourcing work and diminishing a great American institution,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union. Said Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers: “We hope that in addition to a new name, this change also involves a vision for the future that will enable the Postal Service to continue to adapt and to serve Americans and their businesses.”

Postal Union Protests Lower Standards - Bloomberg Businessweek
The changing of the leadership at the Postal Service was played out against a backdrop of unionized Post Office employees picketing a proposed change in service standards that is scheduled to take effect Jan. 5, 2015. One such protest occurred at the Stamford mail processing facility.

The American Union of Postal Workers has expressed concern that the change of standards would mean that mail which now takes a day to reach its intended recipient would take two days, and materials that now arrive in two days could take four or five.

“Medicines, checks, packages from companies like Amazon, they’re all delivered in a timely manner right now,” said John Dirzius, regional coordinator for the Northeast region of the American Postal Workers Union. He said slower delivery of packages and letters could have a significant impact on the nation’s health and economic well being. A total of 82 processing centers are scheduled to close in January, although none of them are in Connecticut. But that may only a temporary reprieve for the Southern Connecticut Distribution and Processing Center on Research Drive in Wallingford and a similar facility in Stamford, said Dirzius. “Right now, they tentatively scheduled to close on Tax Day, April 15th,” Dirzius said.

“We’re hoping that the change in leadership, combined with the lame duck Congress, will be seen as an opportunity for everyone to save face.” But if lawmakers in Washington are unable to agree on reform to the postal system and the way it does business, he said union leaders are hoping to convince political leaders to declare a one-year moratorium on facility closings and service standards reductions, Dirzius said. “It will be very hard to reverse course once that happens,” he said of the proposed change.

It’s the People’s Mail That Will be Slowed, Workers Say - Labor Notes
The clock is ticking on phase two of the postmaster general’s draconian cuts plan. Unless Congress passes the moratorium postal unions are seeking, we’re looking at slower delivery standards January 5—and 82 mail plant closures next year. That would mean worse service for the public, and thousands of job losses. “It’s just a bad deal for everybody,” said Darcy Wood, chief steward and legislative director of Postal Workers (APWU) Local 67 in Kansas City. Postal workers from all four unions joined a national day of action Friday, timed to coincide with a Washington, D.C., meeting of the postal board of governors.

Postmaster General Donahoe to Retire in February - USA Today
The American Postal Workers Union, which has been critical of Donahoe, is hoping for change in under Brennan. "We hope that the next Postmaster General will reverse Donahoe's policies of lowering standards, reducing hours, outsourcing work and diminishing a great American institution," union president Mark Dimondstein said in a statement. Dimondstein called on USPS' board of governors to "immediately freeze Donahoe's policies now and to do no more harm."

Postmaster General to Retire Next Year - The Hill
The chief’s decisions also often drew criticism from postal unions and their allies on Capitol Hill. The four postal unions, for instance, are protesting the Postal Service’s decision to shutter dozens of mail processing centers early next year, and have generally thought Donahoe’s tenure was too focused on cost-cutting. Donahoe has already pushed through an earlier round of processing center consolidations, and has led the charge for knocking off Saturday letter delivery. “We hope that the next Postmaster General will reverse Donahoe’s policies of lowering standards, reducing hours, outsourcing work and diminishing a great American institution,” Mark Dimondstein, the president of the American Postal Workers Union, said in a statement.

Amid Nationwide Employee Protests, Postal Service Announces $5 Billion Loss in 2014 - Government Executive
Labor groups on Friday reiterated their stance that legislation to remove the onerous prefunding requirements, and to cancel scheduled consolidations, would bring the Postal Service back to profitability. “Today’s annual USPS financial report reinforces the point that the postal networks are thriving,” said Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. “Dismantling the networks is precisely the wrong thing to do.” NALC and others planned their “national day of action” to rally against 82 processing plant closures scheduled for 2015. The Postal Service already consolidated 141 plants since 2012 as part of its “network rationalization” plan. A Government Executive analysis found USPS will shed more than 7,000 jobs because of the new round of closures, while thousands more will be offered positions at a new location. The unions highlighted revenue opportunities the Postal Service has harnessed from e-commerce as evidence the agency needs to grow its network, not shrink it. USPS grew package revenue 9.1 percent in fiscal 2014, after it jumped 8 percent in 2013.

Is the Postal Service Struggling? It Depends on Who You Ask - Federal Times
The rapid growth in package delivery –driven by Internet purchasing – and the uptic in regular mail means the Postal Service network is thriving, said Fredric Roland, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. “Proposals that involve slowing the mail by closing processing plants, and degrading service by ending Saturday and door-to-door delivery or reducing post office hours, are nonsensical,” Rolando said. “Dismantling postal networks that have returned to profitability and that provide Americans and their businesses with the worlds most efficient and affordable delivery service would hurt the public.” He said instead of focusing on ways to cut the Postal Service lawmakers should address the pre-funding of retiree health benefits, which he said produces the red ink. “Today’s news, including the continued financial improvement, provides an opportunity to move forward with constructive reform that all stakeholders can buy into,” Rolando said.

AL
U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe Announces Resignation as Postal Workers Protest Proposed Cuts - AL.com
Postal workers protesting planned changes by the U.S. Postal Service in Birmingham Friday were happy to hear Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe is resigning. "He resigned today, effective Feb. 1," said Harry James, legislative director for the American Postal Workers Union in Birmingham. "What he wants to do is close like 223 distributing and processing centers around the nation, he's already closed 141 and wants to close 82 more in January. This would devastate the postal service. It would devastate about 37 states and about 15,000 employees and it would also devastate the customer

CA
Postal union fights to keep local processing center open - The Windsor Times
On Friday, Nov. 14, members of the American Postal Workers Union joined together to protest the changes in outgoing mail and the possibility of the Petaluma facility closing altogether. That same day, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced his retirement. “We hope to get someone in there with an open mind,” said Valerie Schropp, Executive Vice President of Redwood Empire Area Local American Postal Workers Union. “With this news, we have our fingers crossed that the plant closures will stop.” The “National Day of Action” was executed by postal workers across the country, including a march on Washington D.C. The outrage is in response to the United States Postal Services National Rationalization Process, a two-phase plan to close and consolidate 225 Area Mail Processing Centers nationwide. The plan was approved by the Postal Service Board of Governors in 2011 and is expected to hit Northern California during Phase 2, beginning January of 2015.

Postal Workers Protest Service Cuts, Closures - Mountain View Voice
United States Postal Service workers in the Bay Area are speaking out today against looming cutbacks, processing center closings and cuts in service. Postal workers in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose are holding rallies today to protest the Jan. 5 changes. Alan Menjivar, a postal worker for 31 years and a lead organizer for today's American Postal Workers Union rally in San Francisco, said the proposed cutbacks, the closure of 82 processing centers nationwide and the elimination of overnight delivery service will be devastating for workers and for customers who rely on getting their mail.

Postal Workers Protest Looming Facility Closure - The Press Democrat
About a half-dozen postal employees and supporters handed out leaflets at the main Santa Rosa post office Friday afternoon. They urged consumers to write members of Congress to stop plans they said would result in slower mail service starting Jan. 5. David Swaney, president of the Redwood Empire Area Local of the American Postal Workers Union, one of four postal unions involved in the process, acknowledged that first-class mail has declined 53 percent in the past decade. But he said the Postal Service’s plans, including the intended closure of Petaluma’s North Bay mail processing center and 81 similar facilities, will only drive away more customers. “They’ll start looking for alternatives,” Swaney said.

CT
Postal Union Resisting Lower Service Standard - New Haven Register
A total of 82 processing centers are scheduled to close in January, although none of them are in Connecticut. But that may only a temporary reprieve for the Southern Connecticut Distribution and Processing Center on Research Drive in Wallingford and a similar facility in Stamford, said Dirizius. “Right now, they tentatively scheduled to close on Tax Day, April 15th,” Dirizius said. “We’re hoping that the change in leadership, combined with the lame duck Congress, will be seen as an opportunity for everyone to save face.”

DC
Postal Service Lost $5.5 Billion in 2014, Despite More Gains in Operating Revenue - The Washington Post
Postal unions oppose that plan because of the service cuts it would involve. “Lawmakers should strengthen the networks while addressing the onerous pre-funding of future retiree health benefits imposed by a lame-duck Congress imposed in 2006,” National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando said during a conference call with reporters. The Postal Service is scheduled to close and consolidate 82 mail processing and distribution centers nationwide in January as part of a plan to cut costs by $20 billion over the next several years. The agency has already shuttered 300 plants since 2006. The USPS also reduced its service standards in 2012 to save money, increasing the targeted number of days it takes to haul mail to a given destination. Postal workers and their unions protested the plant closings and reduced service standards throughout the nation on Friday, including at the USPS Board of Governors meeting that morning in Washington, D.C. “The cuts would cause hardships for the public and small businesses, eliminate jobs and destroy the world’s most efficient and affordable delivery network by driving away mail and revenue,” the American Postal Workers Union said in a statement earlier this week.

Postmaster General to Retire in February; First Woman Poised to Take the Reins - The Washington Post
Donahoe oversaw aggressive cuts to the heavily unionized postal workforce of clerks, letter carriers and other employees, losing about 220,000 through attrition and buyouts rather than layoffs. He grew the agency’s reliance on part-time and contract workers, who get lower pay and benefits than the career employees they replaced. He closed mail-sorting plants and some post offices and reduced hours at thousands of others. Package delivery has seen double-digit growth in recent years. These moves angered postal unions and many lawmakers in Congress, who complained of cuts to jobs and service. Postal unions, which have largely disagreed with many of his decisions, welcomed news of his retirement Friday and expressed cautious optimism about working with Brennan. “We look forward to working with her,” said National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando during a conference call with reporters. “We hope that in addition to a new name, this change also involves a vision for the future that will enable the Postal Service to continue to adapt and to serve Americans and their businesses.”

Arise! With Bill Fletcher – Nov. 14, 2014 [Audio] -WPFW 89.3 FM 

IA
Maintain Postal Services, Protesters Says - Forest City Summit
Keep overnight delivery and Saturday service. Eliminate the requirement to prefund future retirement benefits. Stop office closures. That’s the message dozens of postal workers, union leaders and other supporters hoped to get across during a public protest at a central Des Moines Post Office on Nov. 14. Similar protests were held across the country Friday as part of an organized day of action.

ID
Postal Workers Protest Pocatello Closure - Local News 8
Dozens of postal workers, joined by Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad and Chubbuck Mayor Kevin England, protested outside the Flandro Drive post office and processing center in Pocatello Friday afternoon. The protests was part of a nationwide day of protests as the U.S. Postal Service prepares to close 82 processing centers, including the one in Pocatello. “That's unacceptable for the people across the United States,” said LaNae Parkin, who works at the Pocatello center.

IL
Area Postal Workers Protest ‘Devastating Cuts in Service’ - Journal Star 
About 30 postal workers gathered in front of the city’s main post office Friday afternoon to register their opposition to plans by the U.S. Postmaster General to close 82 plants across the country while eliminating service standards…  “Now it will take two days for a first-class letter mailed in Peoria to be delivered in the city. There’ll be no more overnight delivery,” said Gunter.

IN
Postal Workers Rally Against USPS Service Cuts - WLFI 18
About 100 Indiana postal workers are meeting in Kokomo Friday evening to rally against service cuts in the United States Postal Service. The United State Postal Service Board of Governors had its last public meeting of the year on Friday as well, causing postal workers around the United States to rally. American Postal Workers Union Lafayette Area President Roger Phillips said it is known as the National Day of Action. He said they are trying to stop distribution centers from closing around the country and at the local level.

Postal Workers Protest Consolidation Plans - Seattlepi.com
Postal workers in four Indiana cities joined colleagues around the nation Friday in protesting the U.S. Postal Service's plans to close dozens of mail-sorting centers, including six in Indiana. About 40 postal workers rallied Friday in downtown Indianapolis, holding aloft signs reading "Stop Delaying America's Mail" and shouting slogans as they marched outside the city's main post office. Protests were also planned Friday in Gary, Kokomo and Mishawaka.

Postal Unions: 'Stop Delaying America's Mail' - Nwi.com
Neither snow nor cold nor windy conditions on Friday could keep members of the American Postal Workers Union and their supporters from protesting proposed cuts in U.S. Postal Service outside the once bustling Gary Processing and Distribution Center.

South Bend Postal Workers Rally Against Sorting Center Closure - WNDU 16
A group of local postal workers and concerned residents rallied in Mishawaka Friday as part of the nationwide protest. “You'll no longer be able to plan, like if I have to pay a bill, if I mail it today they'll have it tomorrow,” said South Bend Post Office employee Debbie Spillman, who said the move would virtually eliminate overnight delivery. “You won’t really know.” While collective bargaining will ensure the employment for many employees, North Central Indiana AFL-CIO President Tony Flora said temporary jobs will be threatened. “There's a whole class of employees that are temporary employees that have been hired that will eventually become career employees,” Flora said. “They would eventually lose their employment because there would be no need for them.” Community members with no connection to the USPS also came out to show their support.

KY
Postal Protesters Urge Keeping Faster Mail, Lexington Processing Plant - Kentucky.com
About 50 postal employees gathered Friday afternoon outside Lexington's main post office on Nandino Boulevard to protest upcoming changes in delivery times and, next summer, the closing of post offices and mail-processing centers.

LA
New Orleans Postal Worker Union Members to Protest Outside City Hall - 6 WDSU News 
Local postal workers are gathering outside city offices Friday evening in New Orleans to protest proposed plant reductions, among other complaints...But the APWU believes that the cuts will cause "hardships for the public and small businesses," in addition to eliminating jobs. According to their website, the cuts are unnecessary because postal operations are profitable. "The Postal Service, which isn't funded by taxpayers, has earned an operating profits so far this year of more than $1 billion," the APWU said. According to its website, one of the reasons is that package delivery has been rapidly expanding due to the growth of e-commerce.

MD
Local Postal Service Workers Protest Cost-Cutting Changes - CBS Baltimore
Postal workers are making their call for action loud and clear, demanding the U.S. Postal Service to stop delaying America’s mail. “It will affect every single resident that has a mail box at their home. Their mail will be delayed,” said George Askew, Baltimore union president..."I think that sucks, to be honest. To speak frankly with you, I think it sucks and effects families in general. If I have to travel an extra 50 miles to get to work, that hurts my pockets and time I could spend with my family,” said Courtney Jenkins, postal worker. Postal workers in Baltimore are asking the public to join their fight, arguing these closures and reductions are unnecessary and will hurt everyone.

ME
Postal Workers Rally Against Proposed Cuts - WCSH 6
Postal workers around the country are rallying against proposed changes to mail delivery service. Local postal workers rallied at the post office on Forest Ave Friday afternoon. They are raising awareness about the proposed changes, which primarily affect First Class Mail. Instead of local mail being delivered overnight, it will take up to two days, and three days for longer distances.

Postal Workers Protest in Portland [Video] - WMTW 8 

MI
Postal Workers Protest Planned Mail Facility Closings - Lansing State Journal
Dozens of union members rallied at the state Capitol on Friday to protest the U.S. Postal Service's plan to close 82 mail processing centers, including the Collins Road facility in Lansing. U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mi., state Rep. Theresa Abed, D-Grand Ledge, and Michigan AFL-CIO President Karla Swift joined protesters on the east Capitol steps, calling the planned cuts bad for both workers and the citizens and businesses who rely on the Postal Service.

Postal Workers Protest in Kalamazoo County Friday - WWMT 3 
More than a dozen postal workers held protests Friday in Kalamazoo County. Kalamazoo's postal sorting center on 9th Street in Oshtemo Township is slated to close in the new year. Postal workers say this will lead to delays in mail delivery and the loss of local jobs. Workers from three different locations around Kalamazoo were out until 1 p.m. Friday, spreading awareness about the issue. "We've been doing really good down here. For quarter 3 and quarter 4 of the last fiscal year, we were number one as far as processing in Kalamazoo for the district, Michigan district, which is the west part of the state," said postal worker Bill McKinney. "So we're doing a great job doing this, but they don't seem to want to let us do it."

MN
Northland Unions Say Management is Destroying Mail Service - Workday Minnesota
Members of the Greater Northland Area Local 142 of the American Postal Workers Union joined postal employees across the United States Friday, Nov. 14, in another National Day of Action against their employer, the U.S. Postal Service. Leafleting at Duluth’s Main Post Office, the workers’ action was to tell Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and the USPS Board of Governors: Stop Delaying America’s Mail! Donahoe, who is said to be close to retiring, is poised to make devastating cuts in service to the American people – cuts so severe that they will forever damage the U.S. Postal Service say postal unions.

MO
It’s the People’s Mail That Will be Slowed, Workers Say - Labor Notes
The clock is ticking on phase two of the postmaster general’s draconian cuts plan. Unless Congress passes the moratorium postal unions are seeking, we’re looking at slower delivery standards January 5—and 82 mail plant closures next year. That would mean worse service for the public, and thousands of job losses. “It’s just a bad deal for everybody,” said Darcy Wood, chief steward and legislative director of Postal Workers (APWU) Local 67 in Kansas City. Postal workers from all four unions joined a national day of action Friday, timed to coincide with a Washington, D.C., meeting of the postal board of governors.

Postal Service to Close 82 More Centers, Slowing Some Mail Delivery - The Kansas City Star
Union officials contend that even in cities that retain a plant, such as Kansas City, delivery times for all classes of mail are likely to increase. The Postal Service says it has no choice.... But from the point of view of the four large postal labor unions, it’s a step in the wrong direction. “Slowing down the mail is the last thing to do to help the Postal Service,” said Chris Bentley, president of National Postal Mail Handlers Union Local 297 in Kansas City. “It’s like a business that isn’t making the profits it used to, but instead of providing better service it starts cutting services and hours. You’re not going to attract business that way.” Postal employees rallied against the closure plan Friday in Kansas City and elsewhere as the Postal Service Board of Governors was holding its last meeting of the year. But the decision to close the processing centers had already been made in 2011. The Postal Service has closed more than 350 processing centers since 2005 and in January will begin closing more. Also on the list are centers in Salina, Kan., and Cape Girardeau, Mo. The closings come on top of other cutbacks that have inconvenienced the public, such as the shuttering of local post offices. Three in Kansas City’s old Northeast area are now open only a couple of hours a day. “That’s what I hear about from the public,” said Antoinette Robinson, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 67 in Kansas City. “These are post offices that the inner-city people rely on. The post office said you can go to James Crews station on Truman Road, but one lady said she would have to take two bus transfers.”

Postal Workers Object to Mail Delay Proposal - CBS St. Louis
Postal service workers in St. Louis and around the country are rallying against postal center closings and mail delays. Chants of, “They say cut back. We say fight back,” could be heard outside the main post office downtown, Friday afternoon. Local postal service union President Fred Wolfmeyer says cuts are scheduled to take place January 5, 2015.

St. Louis Postal Workers Protest Possible Increase in Mail Delivery Time - St. Louis Public Radio
Carrying signs that read “Save Our Service,” dozens of postal workers braved the cold to march in front of the main post office in downtown St. Louis Friday.  They’re afraid that overnight mail delivery will cease to exist next year when up to 82 mail processing centers are scheduled to close nationwide, including those in Cape Girardeau and Springfield, Mo. “If you mail something even in the same town or city it’s going to take two, three days. Two to three day mail is going to take four to six days for delivery. We believe that is not right for the American public. We deserve better service,” said Fred Wolfmeyer, the president of the St. Louis chapter of the postal worker union.

NC
Postal Worker Protest - WLOS 13
Asheville postal workers fear many could become jobless and mail will be delayed if the city's processing center closes... Workers protested outside the Downtown Station Post Office Friday afternoon. “You're next day delivery will be cut. We think that doesn't need to be done,” he says.

Postal Workers Urge National Moratorium on Cuts, Privatization - The Charlotte Post
Charlotte postal workers rallied last week to protest the proposed closure of 82 mail processing facilities around the U.S., including three in North Carolina. They also want the government to cancel privatization efforts. “The Postal Service is about as American as apple pie,” said Eugene Horton, president of National Postal Mail Handlers Union 305 in Charlotte. .”…“They have to stop those cuts because it deteriorates the service,” Parrish said. “We’re already having to pay a lot of money for postage. We need to keep the rates down, but they need to get rid of that $5.6 billion charge-back they’re taking from the Postal Service so we can operate.”

NH
Postal Workers in New Hampshire Protest Service Cuts - New England Cable News
Protesters in Manchester, New Hampshire, held what they're calling a candlelight vigil and funeral procession…for the U.S. Postal Service. The USPS is not dead, but these postal workers, retirees and supporters say cuts planned for January 2015 are going to kill the service. shua postal worker Deb Smith said, "I don't think the public realizes the steps that the postmaster general is taking to downsize the postal service and privatize it." USPS plans to close 82 mail processing and distribution centers nationwide and first class mail will take a day longer to be delivered. Postal worker Jim Breen said, "What they're calling network consolidation isn't going to work, it's going to destroy the service, it's going to reduce our service standards, and it's going to cost good paying jobs."

NH USPS Union Vigil: 'Cuts Would Destroy Mail Service' - ManchesterInkLink.com
Janice Kelble, of Franklin, a retired postal worker and legal director for the NH Postal Workers Union, said the main thrust of the two-hour vigil was to get the word out to the public that mail service standards will be reduced if the U.S. Postal Service proposed changes go into effect. “It’s going to take longer and longer to get your mail. So, even though there’s been a decline in first-class mail delivery, there’s been a huge increase in package delivery – but people want their packages quickly. What we’re going to do is lose a great business opportunity that would really help the postal service out. They’re just trying to drive it into the ground,” Kelble said.

NV
Union Workers Say "Stop Delaying America's Mail" - News 4 
Dozens of Reno postal workers lined Vassar Street to send a message to the Postmaster General and the United State Postal Service Board of Governor’s today, Nov. 14, 2014. The protests coincided with the USPS Board of Governor’s last public meeting of 2014. During the meeting the USPS Board of Governor’s reported an overall revenue increase, but under a 2006 law the USPS must make a multi-billion dollar payment to the Retiree Health Benefits Fund, causing a net loss for the fiscal year. “This year we actually made .6 billion dollars in profit, but because of prefunding we actually were $5.5 billion in the hole,” says Paul Maille, President of the Reno chapter of the American Postal Workers Union.

Protesters at U.S. Post Office in Reno - Reno Gazette-Journal
Protesters gathered outside the U.S. Post Office along Vassar Street on Friday, showing their opposition to proposed changes to the U.S. Postal Service. The protest was part of the "National Day of Action," the American Postal Workers Union/AFL-CIO reports. "The postmaster general is poised to make devastating cuts in service to the American people – cuts so severe that they will forever damage the U.S. Postal Service," the national union said on its website Friday. The group cited concerns about mail delays and closing of mail processing and distribution standards. "These cuts will cause hardships for customers, drive away business, cause irreparable harm to the U.S. Postal Service, and lead to massive schedule changes and reassignments for employees," the group also said.

NY 
Postal Workers in Buffalo, Nationwide Picket Cuts - WIVB 4
It’s not just happening in Buffalo; protests are popping up across the nation for postal workers who are upset about planned service and job cuts. The cuts, planned for early next year, would close 82 postal sorting facilities across the nation. Workers in Buffalo took to the main post office on William Street Friday to show solidarity. Buffalo isn’t on the list of locations to be shut down, but workers in the area are still concerned about the Jan. 5 cuts which will slash service standards — eliminating overnight delivery for first class mail. One postal worker said the overnight delivery service isn’t just important for newspapers and everyday mail, but it helps customers who need medicines. He said customers are accustomed to the service. Union leaders in Washington, D.C. are urging lawmakers to do whatever is necessary to avoid the cuts.

Postal Workers Rally Nationwide Over Pending Cuts - Buffalo Business First
Postal workers across the country — including those at the 1200 William Street processing center in Buffalo — are holding rallies today to send a message to federal leaders to reconsider service cuts and facility shutdowns. … A spokeswoman for rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, said the Postal Service wouldn't close the William Street site unless the new standards were implemented. … Higgins believes lowering service standards is a step backwards in a competitive mail and shipping market. His office has heard from several businesses and non-profits rely on next day mail.

Union Postal Members Protest Outside USPS Facility on William Street - Time Warner Cable News Buffalo 
About 300 postal union members protested Friday outside of the U.S. Postal Service's William Street facility. The "Stop Delaying America's Mail" demonstration was part of a national day of action. … ."We hope to let the public know the danger and we hope the public will respond and let the postal service that they enjoy their service the way it is and they want the postal service to continue next day delivery," said Frank Resetarits, American Postal Workers Union.

Protest Against Post Office Closure - Queens Crap
About 100 U.S. Postal Service workers delivered a message with picket signs and bullhorns last Friday on the sidewalks outside the Whitestone Processing and Distribution Center. They were protesting the planned downsizing of the facility’s operations and consolidation by next April with a Brooklyn center. The move would be part of a national facilities consolidation the financially beleaguered Postal Service plans, one that union officials say is being forced by unreasonable health plan pre-funding requirements. “This is one of the few processing centers that works even above expectations, so it doesn’t make any sense to close this facility,” said City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside). Vallone, who was out supporting the picketers, noting that the facility provides 600 to 1,000 local jobs, depending on the time of year. Vallone said all the area’s local, state and federal elected representatives are united in wanting the Whitestone facility to stay open. “They should keep it open,” said Ron Suslak, president of the Queens area local of the American Postal Workers Union. “The only reason they’re closing it is they’re reducing service standards come Jan. 5.” With the consolidation plan, locally mailed letters would be delivered within two days instead of one.

Postal Workers Protest Plan to Stop Processing First-Class Mail in Flushing - Time Warner Cable News All Boroughs
Postal workers marched outside a mail distribution center in Queens Friday to protest a change planned for next year.

Postal Workers Protest Potential Layoffs - Time Warner Cable News Central NY
"We believe these service cuts will be devastating to the community, small business and they're not necessary," said Landry.U SPS leaders and their employees are calling for a change, asking Congress for a one year moratorium and to consider eliminating the need for multi-billion dollar pre-funding and reform the postal services compensation programs.

U.S. Postal Service Workers Will Protest is Syracuse Over Plans to End Local Next-Day Delivery - Syracuse.com
Mike Landry, president of the Central New York local of the American Postal Workers Union, said the protests will coincide with a meeting Friday in Washington, D.C., of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors. The board oversees the Postal Service and has to approve the cutbacks planned for Jan. 5. "Starting Jan. 5, if you mail a letter in Syracuse it's possible it will not be delivered the next day to an address just across town," Landry said. Instead it could take two days for a first-class letter to be delivered from Liverpool to Manlius. Landry said the postal workers want Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and the Postal Service Board of Governors to honor a request from Congress for a one-year moratorium on the cutbacks.

Postal Workers Processing A Multitude of Concerns - Now Chelsea
Postal workers gathered in front of the stately James A. Farley Post Office in Chelsea on Nov. 14 to rally against mail delays and the shuttering of mail processing centers.Cold could not deter the unions that joined for what was termed a “National Day of Action” as similar assemblies were happening concurrently across the country. Nov. 14 coincided with the last public meeting of the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service (USPS). On the steps of the Farley building, between W. 31st and 33rd Sts. on Eighth Ave., the workers, union representatives and supporters wore bright blue shirts that read “Stop Delaying America’s Mail” over their winter jackets.

Postal Workers Union Warns of Longer Delivery Times with Cuts at Newburgh Processing Facility - Daily Freeman 
Everything feeds out of the (Newburgh) plant,” said Diana Cline, the union’s legislative director, who works at the Hurley Post Office… The changes, which will reduce use of the Newburgh plant starting in February, will include eliminating service standards that have local mail delivered in one to two days. “On Jan. 5, the Postmaster General wants that service standard to be two or three days, so nothing in the country would go overnight again,” Cline said.

Postal Workers Union Protests Planned Closure of Newburgh Sorting Facility - New Paltz Times
Nearly two dozen members of the American Postal Workers Local 3722 — Mid-Hudson Area participated in a National Day of Action Rally at the New Paltz Post Office on Friday, November 14….“We’re just trying to keep the plant open and keep the mail being processed locally, so that we don’t delay the mail any further than it already has been,” said Christine Lawlor Roth, president of Mid-Hudson Area Local 3722.

Postal Workers Protest Decision to Stop Processing First-Class Mail in College Point - Times Ledger
In light of U.S. Postal Service Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe’s announcement he will retire Feb. 1, postal workers protested against his decision to stop processing first-class mail at the USPS facility in College Point Friday afternoon before it goes into effect….“The mail’s not going anywhere, so two to three days will probably take three to four days, if you’re lucky,” said Robert J. Yaccarino, president of the Flushing Local 2286 chapter of the American Postal Workers Union. Six hundred workers will be excessed out of this facility, and there’s no guarantee that they’re going to get a job in the area.”

OH
Covelli Rally Targets USPS Cuts - The Vindicator
On Friday, the American Postal Workers Union Local 443, National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 385, the Ohio Rural Letter Carriers Association and Mail Handlers Local 304 joined with others at the Covelli Centre for the APWU’s National Day of Action to tell Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to stop eliminating postal services. 

National Day of Action [Video] - Daily Buzz

Postal Workers Around Country to Protest Consolidation Plan - Cleveland.com
Postal workers are staging nationwide protests today in hopes of scuttling a U.S. Postal Service plan to shut as many as 82 mail sorting plants around the country, including facilities in Akron, Toledo, Dayton and Youngstown, and lengthen first class mail delivery times.

Postal Workers Continue Fight Against Downsizing - WYTV 33
In July, 82 processing centers around the country, including Youngstown, will close. The closure will mean the loss of about 150 jobs. But union leaders worry the cuts will eventually work their way down to neighborhood carriers. “Ultimately, what is happening is we are going to lose more business by the closing of the plant,” said Henry Gomez, National Association of Letter Carriers. “It is something that doesn’t have to happen.” Workers were using this event and others like it around the country to call for a one-year moratorium on the downsizing, claiming the system made $1 billion last year after a string of losses.

Study Looks At Impact Of Youngstown Postal Center Closing - WFMJ
As the proposed shutdown of Youngstown's postal processing center draws closer, local postal unions are raising new concerns over the economic impact of the closing. Under phase two of the United States postal services downsizing plan, the Youngstown sorting center would close in July of 2015.  At a news conference on Friday, postal union leaders released an economic and community impact study completed by the Fiscal Policy Institute. In summary, the study found that the economic impact on the Youngstown area will be devastating. While the postal service projects that the closing and moving of all mail processing to Cleveland would save an estimated $7.5 million, the institute study looked at the total impact of losing 151 good paying jobs, plus the associated buying power and taxes. 

Toledo Postal Workers Hit the Streets to Protest - WTVG 13
Postal workers nationwide staged protests Friday in hopes of stopping the US Postal Service's plans to close mailing sort plants across the country. More than 30 workers protested here in Toledo. Toledo workers are protesting cost-cutting measures they say will reduce and slow mail delivery. Postal worker Joseph Burks may be forced to leave. "It wouldn't only just affect my family, but it will affect the whole community. I was born and raised here in Toledo Ohio and they are trying to take all our processing away from us and slow down our delivering standards," he says.

Will processing center closure plans delay holiday mail? - WDTN 2
With mail delivery picking up for the holidays, 2 NEWS takes a look at the impact one center’s closure could have on it.You likely saw the commercials over the holiday weekend. Workers protested a few weeks ago that the Dayton Postal Processing Center is among those slated to close around the country. The closure would mean the loss of about 400 jobs. Those with the American Postal Workers Union say the consolidations will impact your mail delivery.

OK
Tulsa Postal Workers Protest Local Mail Center Closing - News On 6
Postal workers, like Cynthia McNeilance, protested the scheduled closing of the Tulsa Processing and Distribution Center. "We will lose about 400 jobs. They will be absorbed by Oklahoma City. That takes about $20 million out of the Tulsa economy."

OR
Postal Workers Cheer Postmasters General's Resignation - nwLaborPress.org
 In Oregon, rallies were held in the three towns scheduled to lose their mail plants — Springfield, Bend, and Pendleton — plus Medford. A rally and march took place in Portland on Veterans Day with U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon). Merkley and 50 other U.S. senators (including Ron Wyden of Oregon),   and 160 U.S. House members (including Earl Blumenauer and Peter DeFazio of Oregon) have called for a one-year moratorium on the reduction in service and the closure of the mail processing centers, to allow Congress time to enact postal legislation that would improve postal service. “The mail has already been slowed down. We’re trying to keep it from being slowed down even more,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU).  “Two days will become three days and four days. It will be a slowing down of the mail throughout the country.”

Postal Workers Protest Mail Delays - KEZI 9
Washington, D.C., postal workers are packing the U.S. Postal Service’s board of governor’s meeting, calling on a moratorium on plant closures. Local postal workers are taking action. Postal workers and members of the community will be protesting again Friday as part of a national day of action. Their message, like their previous protests, is stop delaying America’s mail. The Eugene/Springfield facility is one of 82 mail processing and distribution centers scheduled to close...Mark Dimondstein, President of the American Postal Workers Union, joined us on KEZI 9 News Midday. Click on the video to watch the interview.

Springfield Postal Workers Protest Closure - KLCC 89.7
Braden Pelky is with the local postal workers union. He says a letter mailed from downtown to a location across the street could actually take longer, because there will be earlier entry times in Portland: Pelky: “They’ll cut off their times there for following day, process it, and then bring it back down here. So it would take ultimately three days for you to mail that letter downtown.” The postal service is not funded by tax dollars, but is regulated by Congress. If the Board of Governors doesn’t change its mind, the union hopes congress will postpone the closures another year.

Bend Postal Workers Protest Planned Service Cuts - KTVZ
The USPS is cutting about 80 mail processing location across the country, including here in Bend. That means about 20 or so people could lose their job by April of next year. And while the organization said there won't be layoffs -- that workers are transfered to other jobs -- they say it's not the right direction for them or the nation's mail service. "People have to think about selling houses, uprooting their whole families," said Linda O’Donnell, a postal worker for 10 years. But change is on the way, and not the kind of change O'Donnell is looking forward to. This will change the way your mail could be handled. "(The mail) being trucked over a mountain pass, especially in this kind of weather, and then being trucked back -- it's going to cause delays," O'Donnell said. "So let's sit down at the table and come up with better solutions to the crisis that's at hand."

SD
Postal Changes Could Delay Mail Services - KOTA Territory News
Members of the American Postal Workers Union spent the morning outside the post office handing out flyers and encouraging customers to call their congressional representatives to support of a one-year moratorium on the closures. ... According to Local 760 Union President Jason Beert, those changes will have a profound effect on mail delivery times and degrading the overnight first class mail delivery standard. "The postal service says it will save money. The inspector general has done numerous reports on closings and consolidations and has shown it cost money and it does delay the mail. So people who are waiting for medicine, it could take an extra two or three days for them to get it", said Beert. Beert says all three of South Dakota representatives in Washington have come out in support of delaying the closures for one more year.

TN
Chattanooga Postal Workers Rally to Save Jobs and Mail Services - WRCB 3
The United States Postal Service is facing cutbacks, consolidations and closures. And in Chattanooga, the workers union estimates that could mean hundreds of jobs here lost and about $5 million taken from the local economy. The groups, Chattanooga for Workers and the American Postal Workers Union, are teaming up to fight back. Leaders of the rally are asking people to write to their state legislators and ask them to support legislation that would allow USPS to use money from pension over-payments to keep their business running to the fullest...About 100 protestors were out braving the cold, fighting for their jobs, and speaking against the upcoming Service Standard Change. The post office is doing this to cut costs and create a savings, but postal workers say it will slow down the mail and push customers away. 

VA
Norfolk Postal Workers - 13 News Now
Around 25 Hampton Roads postal workers gathered inside a Norfolk church Monday night to discuss how to save nearly 500 jobs. The workers are trying to come up with ways to keep the Norfolk Mail Processing Plant open. Plans are in the work to move the mail processing plant to Sandston, Virginia which is near Richmond. Norfolk postal workers said moving the jobs to the Richmond area would take a toll on service in Hampton Roads. "The community can immediately begin to see slower mail delivery. A letter from Norfolk to Norfolk will not be delivered next day, it would be delivered the second day. That will have a ripple effect because then customers will start losing confidence in our ability to deliver and then start using other services," said Reverend Charles Leavell, the President of Norfolk's American Postal Workers Union. The postal service is scheduled to move the processing jobs to the Richmond area by the summer of 2015. According to Leavell, closing the plant would not only have a ripple effect in Norfolk, but in the entire Hampton Roads community.

Postal Workers Protest in Roanoke - WDBJ 7
“It outrages me because it's going to affect all of our customers, people that U.S. mail for shipping; eCommerce,” said Cooper. Friday was a national day of action for postal work. It prompted protests all over the country. Protestors say this is a way to attack unions that protect workers. “You have an American dream, but a postal service is a public service and now the postal service is looked at as a piece of the money that they want to divvy it up and figure how they can make it a public sector environment,” said protestor Pamela Richardson.

WI
Postal Workers Protest Service Cuts - LaCrosseTribune.com
Postal worker unions say the cuts will cause hardships for the American people, drive away business and irreparably harm the Postal Service. “The price for service will not drop,” local union president John Shea wrote. “Just the service.” The move will also eliminate 17 jobs in La Crosse, on top of the 11 lost in the 2013 reorganization. The Post Office says starting in 2015, first-class letters will be delivered to addresses in the lower 48 states within two to three days. Under the old system, a letter sent to another address in the same ZIP area would be delivered the next day. “If you mail it on Monday,” Danielson said, “it won’t be delivered until Wednesday.”

Postal Workers Protest Plant Closures [Slideshow] - Save the Post Office