NEW YORK — Some 50 members of the American Postal Workers Union and their supporters rallied at the James A. Farley Post Office here July 28.
Joseph Martir, president of the New York Metro Area APWU, told the crowd that the postal bosses are “closing the Bryant Park post office in New York without giving the 60-day notice required,” an example of the kinds of moves the bosses are looking to make across the country. He emphasized the need for solidarity and thanked all those who participated.
“I’m looking to the future, where postal workers who retire will be taken care of like I was, not what is happening now,” Betty, a retiree, told the crowd. Amid claims that the U.S. Postal Service will run out of money next year, the Postal Service suspended its employer contributions towards the retirement fund in April. It said there will be no “immediate” cut to the pensions, but the funds are being “temporarily withheld.”
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CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. — American Postal Workers Union members with signs saying, “USPS is a service, not a business” lined both sides of the streets near the postal processing and distribution center here July 28. “One of the things I learned from the 1970 postal workers strike is that we did what we had to do to make a difference,” Grace B. Jenkins, a retired member of Nation’s Capital-Southern Maryland Area Local 140 APWU and veteran of the strike, told the Militant. “I was new on the job, but I learned a lesson. Believe in the union. It will not work without all of us. In the world we live in this lesson is needed today.”
James Harris, Socialist Workers Party candidate for Washington, D.C., delegate to Congress, joined the protest and spoke at a short rally chaired by Ray Robinson, president of the local.
“I’m proud to be here, and my father would be proud of me, too,” Harris said. “He was a postal worker and part of the historic 1970 strike. This fight deserves the support of the labor movement. While the U.S. government finds money to fund its wars, they say there is nothing there when it comes to workers.”
— Arlene Rubinstein
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FORT WORTH, Texas — Drivers in passing cars and trucks honked in solidarity with a spirited 22-person picket line organized by American Postal Workers Union Local 098 at the main post office here July 28. Retirees, postal workers and supporters joined the action, one of many called by the union all across the country to defend public postal services, their jobs and the union.
Ben Martinez, president of the local, told the Militant that workers there face injuries because of job cuts and insufficient training. “And if postal services are privatized, the rural communities will suffer the most,” he said.
— Josefina Otero