Postal unions were quick to condemn today’s news that the Postal Service has decided to eliminate Saturday delivery in an effort to cut costs and slow the organization’s financial struggles.
American Postal Workers Union President Cliff Guffey said in a statement that the move will only worsen the situation which he blames on Congress.
Part of Guffey’s statement said:
The USPS has already begun slashing mail service by closing 13,000 post offices or drastically reducing hours of operation, shutting hundreds of mail processing facilities, and downgrading standards for mail delivery to America’s homes and businesses. The effects are being felt in cities and towns across the country.
USPS executives cannot save the Postal Service by tearing it apart. These across-the-board cutbacks will weaken the nation’s mail system and put it on a path to privatization.
Congress has the power to restore the USPS to financial stability. To do so, it must repeal provisions of the 2006 law that created the Postal Service’s financial crisis.
Another union took their efforts a step further and has called for Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe to be fired. The National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA) voted unanimously for his dismissal after the announcement of ending Saturday delivery.