WASHINGTON – As the nation observes Labor Day, more than 200,000 members of the American Postal Workers Union are fighting for a good contract and improved service for postal customers – more than three months after their collective bargaining agreement with the U.S. Postal Service expired.

“The Postal Service is in the grips of a manufactured financial crisis that is being used to justify an all-out assault on postal workers, on service to the people, and on the USPS as a great public institution,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “We are fighting to keep good jobs in our communities, improve service for our customers, and keep the U.S. Postal Service in the hands of the people.”

In addition to proposals to protect good, stable jobs, the APWU has brought consumer issues to the negotiating table. Postal workers are seeking the restoration of prompt mail delivery, expanded hours at post offices, and an end to the mass closure of mail sorting centers. A decision by the USPS in January to reduce service standards has created long delays in mail delivery across the country, as reported in The Washington Post.  The APWU is also proposing the addition of new services, such as postal banking.

“As we celebrate Labor Day and everything that working people have achieved, we also recognize that throughout the nation employers are forcing workers – especially young workers – into second- and third-class jobs. Management’s contract proposals would perpetuate this destructive trend,” Dimondstein said. USPS proposals would lower pay for new employees; replace career workers with temporary employees; weaken job security, and increase workers’ healthcare costs.

 “USPS managers can afford to stop closing offices, reducing service, cutting jobs, and lowering pay; the Postal Service can afford to provide better service to customers and treat workers fairly,” Dimondstein said. “Our goal is a fair agreement that helps build a strong, vital, public Postal Service for generations to come.”

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The American Postal Workers Union represents 200,000 employees of the United States Postal Service, and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. For more information on the APWU, visit www.apwu.org.