Members of of the U.S. Postal Service’s largest union will take a break Tuesday from their national convention in Detroit to rally in support of continued six-day-a week mail service.
In a news release, the American Postal Workers Union said that more than 3,000 members will gather at a downtown park where President William Burrus and others will deliver “a spirited denunciation” of USPS plans to end most Saturday delivery. The Rev. Jesse Jackson will also speak, according to a union spokesman.
That plan, which is supposed to take effect Oct. 1 if Congress doesn’t block it, is what the Postal Service calls one of its best cost-cutting options as mail use slides.
But in the release, Burrus said it “would lead to the demise of the world’s most efficient, affordable and trusted postal system” and called on lawmakers to eliminate the 2006 requirement for the Postal Service to pre-fund retiree health care benefits to the tune of more than $5 billion per year.
The Postal Service is also asking for relief, so on that point, at least, labor and management can agree.
