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Charlotte Rallies to Cause of Saving Saturday Mail Delivery (3/24)

Jeremy Sprinkle
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Press Advisory for March 24, 2013

Contact: Alyssa Ostrander, NALC 2659, 704-984-3363; or Jeremy Sprinkle, Communications Director, [email protected], 336-255-2711

LETTER CARRIERS RALLY SUPPORT IN CHARLOTTE FOR SAVING SATURDAY MAIL DELIVERY

If neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night can stop mail delivery, neither should the Post Master General

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Letter carriers, other postal employees, and their families will rally in front of the Carmel Post Office this Sunday against an unlawful edict by the Post Master General that would end Saturday mail delivery and add thousands more Americans to unemployment rolls at a time when our fragile economic recovery is not secured.

Rally goers will encourage U.S. Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr and Charlotte-area Representatives Hudson, McHenry, Pittenger, and Watt to co-sponsor three bills in Congress - S.316, H.R.630, and H.Res.30 - that would keep six-day mail delivery.

At stake are over 35,000 good-paying, family sustaining union jobs and the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to deliver for millions of customers, including businesses large and small.

In early February, U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe announced he would take unilateral action to end Saturday mail delivery, despite Congress having adopted legislation to the contrary. “It will be disastrous,” says Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers. “Slowing mail service and degrading our unmatchable last-mile delivery network are not the answers to the Postal Service’s financial problems.”

That network is the reason Postal Service rivals UPS and FedEx also happen to be its biggest clients. In fact, 80 percent of the USPS’ annual deficit has nothing to do with mail volume. The Postal Service, which receives zero tax dollars, has been required by law since 2006 to prefund its employees’ retirement 75 years in advance at a cost of $5.5 billion a year.

“Putting 35,000 people in unemployment lines should be a measure of last resort,” says Kannapolis letter carrier Fred Vance. “Fix the mandate first because cutting services drives away business, and that’s the opposite of what we need right now.”

The rally will begin at 2 PM and feature speakers from three Charlotte-area letter carrier branches and state AFL-CIO president James Andrews.  Similar rallies are being held in Raleigh and elsewhere across the United States as part of a national day of action to save Saturday mail delivery.

Who: Charlotte letter carriers, state AFL-CIO
What: Rally to save six-day mail delivery
When: Sunday, March 24, 2013 from 2-5 P.M.
Where: Carmel Post Office, 6300 Carmel Rd, Charlotte, NC 28226
Why: Congress must intervene to reverse an edict by the Postmaster General that would end Saturday mail delivery, put 35,000 people out of work, and still fails to fix root the cause of the USPS’ annual deficits.

Interview opportunities:
Leaders of Charlotte-area branches of the National Association of Letter Carriers
AFL-CIO state president James Andrews
Community members in Charlotte who care about preserving postal services

Photo opportunities:
A hundred or more letter carriers and other postal employees and their friends, family, and community members rallying, carrying signs, and marching for a good cause

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The North Carolina State AFL-CIO is the largest association of local unions and union councils in North Carolina, representing over one-hundred thousand union members, fighting for good jobs, safe workplaces, workers’ rights, consumer protections, and quality public services on behalf of ALL working families. PO Box 10805, Raleigh, NC 27605.

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