Latest news with #FightLikeHell
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Fight like hell': Postal workers rally again, continue push back on privatization talk
Protesters opposing any plans to privatize the U.S. Postal Service formed a red wedge along a downtown Raleigh street corner Sunday, many of them wearing T-shirts saying 'Fight Like Hell.' The protest was one of many held at post offices across the country at a time when President Donald Trump and billionaire industrialist Elon Musk are making cuts in many federal agencies. It was sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, a union representing carriers in more populated areas. 'There are those who say that we should wait and see what happens,' Melvin Anderson, president of the NALC's Roanoke Rapids branch, told a crowd of 250 postal employees and their supporters gathered at New Bern Avenue and Person Street. 'I say nonsense. We don't wait to see what happens, we make things happen by being proactive.' Exactly what Trump and Musk's plan for the postal service is unclear. It operates independent of any federal agencies, and is largely supported through service charges and the sale of postage and other products. But NPR recently reported Trump administration discussions to bring the postal service under the Commerce Department, and potentially adding Census work. 'We want to have a post office that works well and doesn't lose massive amounts of money,' Trump said last month. 'We're thinking about doing that. And it'll be a form of a merger, but it'll remain the Postal Service, and I think it'll operate a lot better.' Trump has also suggested privatizing the service, which employs roughly 630,000 people, including 3,750 in North Carolina. Many at the protest work for the postal service, but the crowd was dotted with supporters who worried any plans to change the service would hurt the people who depend on it. Many motorists also showed their support by honking horns as they drove by. Charlotte Jones-Roe of Raleigh, a retired state employee, said she had lived in rural areas in Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. In those places the postal service is a lifeline. For some, it's the only contact they may have with the outside world, she said. 'I think it was meant as a service rather than a profitable institution and it needs to continue,' Jones-Roe said. 'It's just really important not to sell out to privatization.' She and others at the protest said they opposed Trump handing over budget decisions to Musk, who spent $288 million in the past election to support the president and other Republican candidates, The Washington Post reported. Trump put Musk in charge of a new Department of Governmental Efficiency, a role that did not require Senate confirmation. Much of DOGE's actions are being challenged in federal courts. 'We need to get rid of waste, I think everyone thinks that, but there's a process for it,' said Kathy Rausch of Raleigh, who came to the protest to support her postal carrier. 'There just has to be a better process than someone like Elon Musk who's coming in who we didn't elect.'
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Portland postal workers to rally, march downtown
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — As part of an ongoing nationwide effort to rally support, United States postal workers in Portland are holding a march Sunday to decry any potential move to privatize the mail service. Postal workers, union officials and community leaders are expected to take part in the rally that begins at 12:30 p.m. at Salmon Street Springs in downtown Portland. They're expected to march to Pioneer Courthouse Square as part of the rally. This is at least the second time in a month that Portland postal workers have held a very visible rally. Portland postal workers, union leaders and local politicians joined a nationwide 'Fight Like Hell' rally to demand fair wages and protest proposed changes to the USPS by President Trump. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library of Washington in 'jeopardy' without state funds This past Thursday, the thousands of workers in all sections of the country held rallies in more than 250 locations in what they called the 'National Day of Action to Defend the Public Postal Service.' On March 14, the and billions of dollars from the U.S. Postal Service budget and he'll do that working with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, according to a letter sent to members of Congress. DOGE will assist USPS with addressing 'big problems' at the $78 billion-a-year agency, which has sometimes struggled in recent years to stay afloat. The agreement also includes the General Services Administration in an effort to help the Postal Service identify and achieve 'further efficiencies.' Critics of the agreement fear negative effects of the cuts will be felt across America. Democratic U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia, who was sent the letter, said turning over the Postal Service to DOGE would result in it being undermined and privatized. 'This capitulation will have catastrophic consequences for all Americans — especially those in rural and hard-to-reach areas — who rely on the Postal Service every day to deliver mail, medications, ballots, and more,' he said in a statement. tasked with making deliveries from inner cities to rural areas and even far-flung islands. KOIN 6 News will have more information later in the day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Portland postal workers to rally against Trump USPS changes, ‘degraded' conditions
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland postal workers, union leaders and local politicians are joining others in a nationwide rally Sunday to demand fair wages and protest proposed changes to the United States Postal Service by President Trump. The rally, titled 'Fight Like Hell,' will call for living wages and an end to mandatory overtime, as well as the two-tier workforce system. Providence nurses begin 2-day ratification vote Elana Pirtle-Guiney and Tiffany Koyama Lane, the President and Vice President of the Portland City Council, will also be among the speakers at the event. According to the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), the current conditions have caused post offices to close, a reduction in delivery days and mail delays. They further claim workers compensation and conditions are 'degraded.' 'Mail carriers are overworked and underpaid. Turnover of new hires is close to 50%. Service is suffering,' they noted. Paramedics hurt when unconscious driver awakes in Northeast Portland The 200,000 postal workers in the NALC recently rejected a 1.3% wage increase offer from the postal service and Sunday's rallies aim to pressure the arbitrator for a fair contract. The rally will take place at the USPS East Portland Post Office at 1 p.m., where attendees will also protest against President Donald Trump's intent to fire the Postal Board of Governors, who are responsible for directing an independent USPS. Trump's announcement also came after the resignation of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Monday. The President further added he may put USPS under the control of the Commerce Department in what would be an executive branch takeover of the agency, which has operated as an independent entity since 1970. He called the move a way to stop losses at the $78 billion-a-year agency, which has struggled to balance the books with the decline of first-class mail. 'If this reporting is true, it would be an outrageous, unlawful attack on a storied national treasure, enshrined in the Constitution and created by Congress to serve every American home and business equally,' The American Postal Workers Union president said in a statement. 'Any attack on the Postal Service would be part of the billionaire oligarch coup, directed not just at the postal workers our union represents, but the millions of Americans who rely on the critical public service our members provide every single day.' The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
