Take a look at this assortment of pictures to recollect all of the work we did collectively in 2020 to avoid wasting the submit workplace
This win—which is in no small half because of the greater than 1.5 million MoveOn members who signed petitions, rallied, known as Congress, hung indicators and stickers, and extra—will save the USPS roughly $50 billion over the subsequent decade and safe family-sustaining union jobs for 550,000 public servants!2 And it comes from years of grassroots strain to make sure the important providers offered by the USPS that assist everybody, regardless of their ZIP code, stick round, delivering our drugs, our ballots, and a lot extra with out interruption, even throughout a worldwide pandemic. It’s a proof level that folks energy can produce outcomes!
The flexibility to vote by mail was important for the 2020 elections throughout the pandemic. Trump appointed Louis DeJoy, a political donor and crony, to the place of postmaster basic, the place DeJoy led blatant efforts to undermine the submit workplace and affect the election by slowing mail, eradicating mail-sorting machines, and warning states to not depend on the submit workplace to ship ballots.3
However MoveOn members spoke out and took motion alongside our allies. At greater than 800 submit places of work throughout the nation, MoveOn members confirmed up—masked and socially distanced—in solidarity with postal staff in all places and to defend the important public establishment and our democracy from Trump and Postmaster Common DeJoy. This strain compelled DeJoy to cease a few of his operational adjustments of their tracks. And in October, mere weeks earlier than Election Day, the USPS lastly agreed to reverse most of the harmful selections.4 Collectively, we ensured each vote was counted. MoveOn partnered with a broad spectrum of progressive and voting rights allies to demand state and native officers increase entry to voting rights.
Collectively, MoveOn members:
- Collected almost 1.5 million petition signatures.
- Led over 800 rallies with allies at submit places of work throughout the nation. Cher even attended one!
- Made 1000’s of telephone calls to elected officers.
- Put up over 330,000 “We ❤️ Postal Staff” stickers on mailboxes.
The primary success was blocking DeJoy’s sinister plot to intrude with our election. This week marks a second victory, with Congress and President Biden delivering long-term stability to the Postal Service to make sure it might proceed to offer service throughout the nation, particularly as we head into the subsequent election season.
We powered this victory not solely with strain on lawmakers but in addition by turning out in file numbers to create Democratic majorities within the Home and Senate, which have delivered to safe the way forward for USPS.
Subsequent up: We want these elected officers to proceed to ship and maintain everybody concerned in Trump’s disastrous administration accountable. And for the USPS, there are such a lot of methods they’ll increase their providers, reminiscent of postal banking. Submit places of work—already in almost each group within the U.S.— used to offer low-cost banking providers. Over 100 million folks don’t at the moment have entry to reasonably priced monetary providers, and this resolution would ease the burden whereas we proceed to emerge from the pandemic.5
On the similar time, we’ll additionally preserve working to push the USPS to impress its fleet—which might be a big transfer in decreasing our carbon air pollution.
This victory reminds us of what’s doable after we work collectively to create a greater future for everybody. All of us have an opportunity to make use of our energy once more this November to elect individuals who will ship for our communities and preserve advocating for what we consider in. This whole marketing campaign began as a result of somebody began a petition, and it gave individuals who agreed a possibility to have their voices heard. You can begin a petition right here anytime on a problem in your neighborhood or on one thing that impacts everybody nationwide.
Thanks for all you do.
Sources:
1. Tweet by President Biden, April 6, 2022
https://twitter.com/POTUS/standing/1511805701827579906
2. “U.S. Home to Vote to Present Postal Service With $50 Billion in Aid,” U.S. Information & World Report, February 7, 2022
https://www.usnews.com/information/top-news/articles/2022-02-07/u-s-house-to-vote-to-provide-postal-service-with-50-billion-in-relief
3. “Postal chief defends adjustments, denies ‘sabotaging’ election,” The Related Press, August 24, 2020
https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-election-2020-ap-top-news-politics-us-news-dc647214b5fc91cc29e776d8f4a4accf
4. “Postal Service Agrees To Reverse Service Cutbacks Forward Of Election,” Nationwide Public Radio, October 15, 2020
https://www.npr.org/2020/10/15/923960405/postal-service-agrees-to-reverse-service-cutbacks-ahead-of-election
5. “Postal Banking,” American Postal Staff Union, accessed April 4, 2022
https://apwu.org/postal-banking
