PORTLAND, Ore. – Postal workers gathered at Pioneer Courthouse Square Sunday afternoon to rally for their jobs and to try to a preserve a system they believe works best just the way it is.
The group of about 400 marched from the square to Portland’s main post office at Northwest Broadway and Hoyt just before 3 p.m.
The United States Postal Service was forecast to lose $14.1 Billion in 2012, but the plan to cut services and jobs has been put off until the middle of May, to give congress time to consider cost-saving legislation.
One of the biggest cuts discussed was dropping Saturday deliveries. Marchers in Portland said that would be a big step in the wrong direction.
“It’s the death-spiral of the post office, downsizing service in a service industry. To me it’s just nuts,” said postal worker Cathy Hulse, of Vancouver.
Hulse and the other marchers said they also had a message for Congress and the President: Work against legislation that would cuts postal service, and jobs.
“I want to be a productive member of society, and if House Resolution 2309 and Senate Bill 1789 pass, we won’t have a job. I tell you, I can’t do that if I’m standing in the unemployment line,” said postal worker Ken Wilson, of Portland.
Postal workers marching on Sunday were also joined by another group supporting organized labor, including a small contingent from Occupy Portland.
