DENVER (KDVR) — Community members around the Front Range gathered at several different rallies Saturday to take a stand for USPS.
“The mail shapes our lives and livelihoods, it’s how millions get our medicines,” Lakewood activist Sarah Nelson said, adding “In this pandemic, the mail is how millions of us will deliver our democracy.”
In Denver and Lakewood, community members came together with signs in hands and masks on their faces, displaying messages intended for our President, lawmakers and the Postmaster General.
“We need to restore all the processing machines, the sorting machines they took out of the Denver,” Colorado Mail Handler’s Local 321 Union President Tony Wilson said, adding “There’s a total of five of them right now. They’re slated to take 11.”
Wilson fears recent policy changes of removing blue collection boxes, mail sorting machinery and cutting overtime are hurting his institution and the people USPS serves.
“It is putting the post office on the path for privatization, we don’t want privatization, we want the people’s post office,” he said.
The Postmaster General Louis Dejoy recently testified to the US senate. He said the removal of boxes isn’t unusual and has been happening for the last few years.
“I was made aware when everybody else was made aware,” Dejoy said, adding “This has been going on in every election year and every year for that matter.”
Dejoy did announce USPS will stop removing letter collection boxes in Western states until after the election.
However, Front Range community members worry about the boxes and machines that have already been removed.
“This is a transparent attempt at voter suppression to try to make it harder for ballots to be counted and to scare people away from voting,” Nelson said.
Dejoy is expected to testify Monday before the House Oversight Committee.