For two hundred years, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has provided the essential communication services to bind our Nation together through some of its most trying times – including our current pandemic.
However, recent changes in overtime and the removal of sorting equipment are adding unnecessary burdens on our postal system. And, a 2006 law that forces the postal service to pre-fund 70 years of retiree benefits - a demand that is not made of any other federal agency nor the private sector -- is bankrupting one of the Nation’s oldest and most reliable services.
Postal Workers need urgent support - let's show them the Steelworkers have their backs.
Here are a few things you should know about one of the oldest and very few government agencies specifically mentioned (and authorized) in the Constitution:
- Veterans: the Postal Service employs more than 97,000 military veterans and is one of the largest employers of veterans in the country.
- Heroes: Postal employees regularly go beyond the call of duty to protect the lives of customers they serve, including older and disabled customers. These workers are part of our communities – we know them by name – they are an integral part of the middle class.
- Greener than you think: the paper for free Priority Mail boxes comes from well-managed forests and include at least 30-percent recycled content. Another bonus? Those boxes are made in USW facilities by our members.
- Dependable: the Postal Service is the only organization in the country that has the resources, network infrastructure, and logistical capability to regularly deliver to every residential and business address in the nation.
- Security: U.S. Mail is protected by more than 200 federal laws enforced by the Postal Inspection Service, one of the nation's oldest law enforcement agencies.
- Zero tax dollars used: the Postal Service receives NO tax dollars for operating expenses. Because of this, it is mandated to run much like a private business, generating its income from the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations.
You can also contact your Representative by dialing 866-202-5409 and your Senators by dialing 877-607-0785.
NOTE: Your zip code will direct you to your Member of Congress. Tell the office who you are and where you are from, and ask them to step in and provide the postal funding that our communities need. Be sure to make a second call to the Senate number so you can speak to both.