- Occupy Ontario says, “Return to Sender!”
- Occupy Corvallis and Occupy Oregon State University in front of the Corvallis Post Office!
Today the “Return to Sender” campaign kicked off! Eight communities across the state are rallying and passing out postcards addressed to the Postmaster General, Congress, and the Oregonian. Many more communities are organizing for the next big steps in the Return to Sender campaign! Check out the press release below for more details!
It’s not too late to join in!
– Here are the postcards folks across the state are collecting: for Senators, Representatives, and the Oregonian and for the Postmaster General and Oregon USPS Representative
– Here is more information about the big next steps with the Return to Sender campaign!
Warmly,
Jessica
Oregonians to Tell Postmaster General RETURN TO SENDER
Scappoose, OR – On Monday, July 9, Oregonians will rally in 8 towns and cities to tell the Postmaster General and Congress that they support their local postal workers and reject their plan to cut hours at one-third of Oregon’s post offices.
Monday’s actions will kick off a two-month “Return to Sender” campaign across rural Oregon. Dozens of communities will be participating over the next few months holding actions and talking with postal patrons. From Baker County to Coos Bay, the message from rural Oregonians is clear: we want our Constitutionally-mandated postal service.
Communities will be sending postcards to Congress and the Postmaster General demanding that Congress fix the core funding issue, the mandate that the USPS must prefund benefits 75 years in advance, instead of sweeping rural America under the rug.
After mounting pressure from rural America, the United States Postal Service scrapped its original plans to immediately close rural post offices, and in mid-May announced that they will cut hours at 124 rural Oregon post offices – nearly one-third of Oregon’s post offices. This new plan, the POStPlan, not only goes after rural post offices but also mail processing centers and will eliminate 28,000 jobs, including pushing 12,500 Postmasters out of their career positions.
“We understand that the Postal Service is strapped for cash, but eliminating another good paying job at this level is not going to solve the problem,” says Dale Chiono of Summer Lake. “That is why we are going to participate – this is personal.”
“Our voices from across rural America were heard loud and clear, which is why the USPS has changed their tactic and adopted our language, calling for the ‘preservation of rural identity,’” says Jessica Campbell, an organizer with the Rural Organizing Project, which coordinated a statewide day of action to save the post office in December with 23 participating communities. “We have seen incredible success, but when the Postmaster General released this new plan calling for rural post office hour cuts and impacting good jobs, we need to “Return to Sender! We need a plan that addresses the real funding crisis, not another attempt to destabilize the postal service.”
The Preserve Our Postal Service working group, a coalition of rural community organizers, union organizers, community advocates, and the Rural Organizing Project, has developed this Return to Sender campaign. Participating communities include towns in Baker, Benton, Coos, Crook, Douglas, Klamath, Lake, Lane, Linn, Malheur, Marion, Multnomah, Sherman and Union Counties with new communities joining in daily.