Five protesters arrested at Salem mail processing facility
SALEM — Five people were ar-
rested for trespassing at the Salem mail
processing plant April 17. The “occu-
piers” were protesting the scheduled
June closure of the facility, which will
eliminate approximately 100 union
jobs and delay mid-Willamette Valley
mail delivery.
About 40 protesters held a noon-
time rally at the front entrance to
Salem’s main post office at 1050 25th
Street, SE. They carried signs and
chanted “Save Salem’s mail, or go to
jail.” Among the protesters were State
Reps. Brian Clem of Salem and Val
Hoyle of Eugene. Clem’s father was a
letter carrier in Coos Bay for more than
40 years.
“Postal management needs to stop
and reverse these closures and cuts
which are sending our beloved postal
service into a death spiral,” said Rev.
John Schwiebert, one of five protesters
who went inside the sorting plant and
unfurled banners reading: “No closures!
No cuts!” and “Save Salem’s Mail!”
The five protesters demanded that
acting-manager Rick DeWolfe suspend
the closure and allow Congress to fix
postal finances. DeWolfe said the clo-
sure was not his decision. When they
refused to leave, DeWolfe had them ar-
rested for trespassing.
In addition to Schwiebert, those ar-
rested were retired letter carrier Jamie
Partridge, Rosalie Pedrosa of the Serv-
ice Employees International Union, AF-
SCME retiree Jack Herbert, and Fer-
nando Gapsin, an organizer for the
Retired letter carrier Jamie Partridge was among five people arrested April
17 for refusing to leave a mail processing plant in Salem that is slated for
closure in June. The five were taken to the Marion County jail and cited for
trespassing. (Photo courtesy of Greg Zurbrugg)
DeFazio files bill to save USPS; starts ‘We The People’ petition
Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio
has filed a bill (H.R. 630) to end the re-
quirement that the U.S. Postal Service
(USPS) pre-fund 75 years of retiree
health care benefits. The mandate,
passed by Congress in 2006, is un-
precedented, as no other private or pub-
lic entity has to meet such a standard. It
is the key factor driving Postal Service
deficits and defaults and has led to pro-
posals to end Saturday service, close ru-
ral post offices, and lay off postal work-
ers.
DeFazio met with supporters at a
rally April 30 at the State Capitol in
Salem, where he asked the crowd to
sign a “We the People” petition to the
White House.
The petition: “Save the Postal Serv-
ice — Save American Jobs,” must ob-
tain 100,000 signatures in order to be
reviewed by officials in the Obama Ad-
ministration and have an official re-
sponse issued. (Obama favors ending
Saturday mail delivery.)
The petition reads:
“About 80% of USPS financial
losses since 2007 are due to a Congres-
sional mandate to prefund 75 years of
future retiree health benefits over 10
years. In 2012 USPS lost a record $15.9
billion, but $11.1 billion of that loss
went to prefund healthcare. This must
change.
“USPS shouldn’t move to 5-day de-
livery. This would only save 3%, risk
further revenue losses, and slow mail
delivery.
“USPS needs to re-establish
overnight delivery standards to ensure
the timely delivery of mail and prevent
the closure of mail plants.
“USPS needs to generate more rev-
enue by ending a 2006 ban prohibiting
USPS from offering new products and
services.
“Does the Administration support
HR 630 and S 316 to make these
changes, save American jobs, and allow
USPS to remain competitive?”
The petition was created on April 24.
As of press time it had 13,333 signa-
tures. It must reach 100,000 signatures
by May 24 to qualify for a response.
Go to http://wh.gov/t95i and follow
the instructions to sign the petition.
Oregon School Employees Association.
Since July, the USPS has closed 114
mail sortation facilities, one third of the
nation’s mail processing capacity. The
agency announced in March that it was
accelerating plans to close even more
mail processing facilities. The USPS
said it will consolidate 71 plants this
year that were originally scheduled for
possible closure in 2014. Salem, Bend
and Pendleton plants are on that list.
(Editor’s Note: State Reps. Hoyle
and Clem introduced House Joint Me-
morial 15, with 30 co-sponsors, urging
Congress to pass the Postal Service
Protection Act of 2013.)
Letter Carriers Food Drive May 11
Letter carriers in the Portland met-
ropolitan area and in Clark County,
Washington will help “Stamp Out
Hunger” on Saturday, May 11, part of
the 21st annual National Association of
Letter Carriers and U.S. Postal Service
Food Drive.
Prior to May 11, plastic bags will be
delivered to every household, along
with a postcard reminder. All you have
to do is fill the bag with nonperishable
food items such as canned meat, fish
and soup, cereals, pasta and rice, and
leave it at your mailbox on the morn-
ing of Saturday, May 11. (Please do not
include glass items, homemade items
or previously opened containers.)
Letter Carriers will collect the bags
and deliver them to drop points, where
volunteers will sort the donations and
forward them to the Oregon Food
Bank. Food collected in Clark County
will benefit Clark County hunger-relief
agencies.
The Food Drive is the largest one-
day food collection of the year in Ore-
gon — and across the nation.
12-31-2013.
2013
PAGE 12
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
MAY 3, 2013