Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s charge under the Trump administration was to get the USPS ready to sell off to an oligarch donor, using the same arguments that tricked other countries into killing their national postal services. His methodology – closing locations, cutting staff, raising prices and slowing service enough to threaten the 2020 election – was, as Noam Chomsky observed, “…the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don’t work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital.”
Continue reading “The Postal Service Reform Act passed, but the biggest risk to the USPS is still in charge. Write to Biden!”Tag: USPS
Tues 1/26: Three Quick Actions!
These 3 actions will take you less than 10 minutes…
#1 – Tell your legislators to support the American Rescue Plan.
(5calls.org) The new Biden-Harris administration has put forth a 1.9 trillion dollar package, the American Rescue Plan, aimed at economic aid for struggling families, relief for small businesses, and a national vaccination program to increase testing and vaccine distribution. (White House fact sheet here.) (Comparison between previous COVID relief plans and this one here.)
The American Rescue Plan would:
- provide $1,400 in direct payments to most Americans,
- increase the federal per-week unemployment benefit to $400 until September 31st,
- increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour,
- extend the eviction and foreclosure moratoriums until September 31st,
- increase the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 per child ($3,600 for children under 6), which would reduce child poverty by at least 50%,
- give $170 billion for K-12 schools and institutions of higher education,
- provide $350 billion in state and local government aid,
- add an additional $50 billion toward Covid-19 testing, and
- provide $20 billion toward a national vaccination program.
Minimal Script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep./Sen. [___] to support the American Rescue Plan. [you can point out issues from the list above that are especially important to you and your family.] People have been kept waiting for this too long and there is true suffering in our country. Please move this through quickly.
Continue reading “Tues 1/26: Three Quick Actions!”Wed. 9/2: DeJoy has the power to destroy the election. And after the election, win-or-lose, he will gut the U.S. Postal Service.
“The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people.“ – 39 U.S. Code § 101(a)
This post is a scratchpad to keep track of what’s happening legislatively to our USPS in recent days. We also have two related posts:
- Actions to take: Regular people talking to their legislators EVERY DAY is why our crooked Postmaster General is getting roasted in a hearing right now. Keep it up, everyone, and we’ll keep you supplied with new scripts and contacts for the people in power you should be making miserable.
- Sabotage to privatize: Win or lose the 2020 election, the GOP has time to gut the USPS, a goal of theirs for decades. But first they need to get you used to slower delivery, fewer delivery days per week, fewer post offices and rural routes, along with higher prices for hard-to-get-to addresses, so you’ll be too dispirited to protest when they sell it off to their corporate friends. Hahaha. THAT’S NOT HAPPENING!
- UPDATE 9/1: USPS Board of Governor Chairman Mike Duncan tied to Senator Mitch McConnell super PAC is also the force behind GOP voter suppression efforts from 2002.
Wed 4/22: “A Peoples’ Bailout” – Part 2.
Action – Call your legislator and demand that funding to put people first be added to this COVID-19 stimulus bill.
The Senate passed a new $484 billion coronavirus relief package yesterday. The bill includes another $310 billion bail out of small- and medium-sized businesses for the PPP program (see corruption issues below in “Deeper Dive”), $60 billion for emergency SMB grants and loans, $75 billion for hospitals and $25 billion to fund a new coronavirus testing program. However, it’s still missing some important values:
- No money to save the US Postal System
- No money for protections to frontline workers.
- No money for secure elections.
- No money for immigrants.
- No money for additional economic support to an out-of-work population
- There was no money for health care for newly unemployed workers.
- No rules to make sure companies maintain payroll.
- No money for states and cities.
Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] and I want Rep. [___] to vote “NO” on any bill that neglects to include funding for the US Postal System, secure elections, protections for frontline workers, continuing aid to out-of-work people, access to health care, and rules to make sure companies maintain payroll.
More script if you want it: I specifically want Rep. [___] to include the ABC Act, the Health Care Emergency Guarentee Act, the Vote/Safe Act, Elizabeth Warren’s Election Protection Plan, the Paycheck Guarantee Act, S. 3565 – Small Business and Consumer Debt Collection Emergency Relief Act and provide our postal system the cash grants and loans it needs. Continue reading “Wed 4/22: “A Peoples’ Bailout” – Part 2.”
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 