Postal workers rally to keep services

Postal workers during a rally dubbed as a Day of Action to Save America's Postal Service, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011, in Toledo, Ohio. The postal workers say they are trying to rally in every congressional district in the country with two aims: 1) to inform the public about the actual financial situation in the U.S. Postal Service and waht's at stake for residents and businesses throughout the country and 2) to explain how the the problems can be resolved, including by supporting House Bill 1351.

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), speaking at a “Save America’s Postal Service” rally, Tuesday called postal workers “the thread that holds the country together” and urged the U.S. Postal Service to retain six-day-a-week mail delivery.

Miss Kaptur spoke outside One Maritime Plaza downtown, where about 100 people had gathered as part of a simultaneous nationwide rally organized by postal employees and various labor groups.

“It isn’t just a job, it is a responsibility to our republic,” she told cheering postal workers who gathered in a parking lot.

The U.S. Postal Service is considering closing 287 mail processing facilities across the country, including Toledo’s on South St. Clair Street, that would affect 35,000 workers. In addition 3,700 post offices are under review for closure. In Toledo, five post offices are on the list.

George Tucker, executive secretary of the Greater Northwest Ohio AFL-CIO labor council, which covers Lucas, Fulton, Wood, Defiance, and Henry counties, decried the move to close Toledo post offices on Manhattan Boulevard and Lagrange Street, saying the move would hurt inner city residents who can’t drive to other locations.

“Closing the post offices in those neighborhoods is a travesty,” Mr. Tucker said before the rally.

The Postal Service is moving toward eliminating Saturday delivery, although a measure in the U.S. House would forestall that move. The Postal Service, which lost $8.5 billion last year, is dropping its 24-hour benchmark for delivering letters.

The Postal Service said closings and service changes could save $3 billion annually and are part of an effort to reduce annual costs by $6.5 billion.

The agency asked Congress to allow it to eliminate mail delivery on Saturdays, citing declining volume of first-class mail and a corresponding drop in revenue.