Hitting The Street for the Postal Service

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)With streets barricaded by police for blocks around the "Save America’s Postal Service" protest site at 14th & F NW, Michael Wilson declared “It’s clear that a crime is being committed.” The crime Wilson – Executive Director of Americans for Democratic Action – referred to was the hijacking of billions of dollars in postal worker pensions under the guise of a manufactured “crisis.” Dozens of postal workers and their supporters rallied outside DC Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s office to thank her for supporting legislation that would restore financial stability to the Postal Service and oppose a bill that would strip union rights and dismantle collective bargaining agreements between USPS management and postal unions. As police, fire and emergency services workers handled a bomb threat a few blocks away – the real cause of the barricades – AFSCME’s Paul Booth pointed out that “Public services are what America is built on, and we’re going to win this fight!” Added Metro Council President Jos Williams, “You are the hand that touches America, and we’ll be with you today, tomorrow and as long as it takes.” The 14th & F rally was just one of dozens across the region and hundreds across the country, demonstrating support for the postal service.