Boston Rally with American Postal Workers Union Comes as Postal Service Deteriorates Across Massachusetts

Video (YouTube)

BOSTON – This week, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) joined postal workers from the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) for a rally in Boston to sound the alarm about the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) substandard performance and service to communities. The rally was part of APWU’s “Day of Action,” with similar rallies taking place in 90 cities nationwide, including Boston, Atlanta, New York, Detroit, Denver, Seattle, and Honolulu.

In her remarks, Rep. Pressley discussed the vital role USPS plays in our communities and our elections, and criticized Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for working to diminish services and consolidating processing plants – which has resulted in lost jobs, delayed deliveries, and frustrated customers. Rep. Pressley echoed APWU’s calls for reliable and consistent postal service, an end to the two-tier wage system for postal workers, the hiring of more staff, and more.

A full transcript of the Congresswoman’s remarks is available below, and the full video is available here.

Transcript: Pressley Rallies with Postal Workers, Demands First-Class Service Year-Round
October 1, 2024
Boston, MA

Good afternoon, family, labor siblings!

As I say every time we come together, I love that in the labor movement we greet each other as brothers and as sisters, because we recognize that we are one human family and that our destinies are tied.

And I agree you need to demand more because you deserve more, and we don’t put service first by putting workers last, okay?

It’s good to be here with all of you.

I want to start by acknowledging all of the APWU locals here today. It’s great to be in Boston.

Thank you to my colleagues in government on the municipal level, the state level, the federal level, who are here as well to support these hardworking men and women.

We are here because we all know that the USPS is one of the most vital resources in our communities.

It connects us to our families and our friends.

It is essential for people to receive life-saving daily medications.

It supports our small businesses.

It ensures that our nonprofits, our community-based organizations, are able to meet payroll.

It ensures that people can receive their veterans benefits, their Social Security checks.

In a word, it is everything.

And USPS is playing a larger role, increasingly so, in our elections, because so many voters are choosing to vote by mail.

And all of that is not possible without you, the people that show up every day and do the work.

Whether you are greeting and assisting customers or making sure that vehicles are serviced and able to reach every neighborhood, every resident, you. I know some people like to say this city runs on Dunkin, this city runs on you.

You are what makes the postal service run and this city run.

And the efforts of Postmaster [General] DeJoy and his team to diminish services and consolidate processing plants puts all of that at risk.

Jobs are lost, deliveries delayed, and customers who are able become frustrated and look for alternatives.

I want to say this is especially meaningful to me to be here today, because I come from a long line of Letter Carriers.

And for my grandfather, in that generation, being a letter carrier, it was their path to the middle class.

It was how they were able to send their kids to college and to have a meaningful life and to make a contribution.

So, I know that not only is your labor essential, and that’s why I’m here, but I’m not just here because I give a damn about your labor.

I’m here because I give a damn about your lives and that of your families and that of the communities that you call home.

But I know you’re clapping, because the other part of this that they don’t talk about enough, is I know how much you love your job.

I know the pride that you take and the contribution that you make every single day.

Now, right now, too many people are having difficulty with the USPS.

Daily, my office, my district office, hears from constituents that there are mail delays, or it’s not even delivered at all for weeks, having to stand in line at their local branch and sometimes showing up to mail a letter and the office is just closed with no explanation.

Say, that ain’t right.

We all need and deserve reliable and consistent service.

The USPS has had trouble hiring and retaining talented staff to fill all of their open positions.

Putting an end to the two-tier wage system would be a great place to start and ensure folks can have a sustainable career here serving their community.

Simply put, more staff is needed.

Postal workers are handling more packages than ever before with fewer clerks.

That’s right, honk on brother.

I am encouraged and heartened by the turnout here today and across the country for today’s day of action.

The advocacy of APWU and concerned constituents has ensured that DeJoy’s efforts to undermine this public good will not go unchallenged.

The Postal Service is indeed a service.

And wherever you live, this is a matter of equity.

Wherever you live in the Massachusetts Seventh, which I have the honor of representing, whether you live in Roxbury, whether you live in Dorchester, whether you live in Brighton, whether you live in Somerville, you deserve the same quality and access enjoyed by everyone else.

So, know that your Congresswoman, who is proudly your sister in solidarity and in the struggle, values your labor and gives a damn about your lives.

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In August, Congresswoman Pressley joined Senator Edward J. Markey and her colleagues in the Massachusetts congressional delegation in sending a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy expressing concern over the deterioration of postal service in communities across the Commonwealth, including in communities where postal operations may be consolidated and in rural areas where mail delivery may be slowed. 

With the exception of the special provisions being applied to election mail, mail service has been noticeably slower for millions of customers due to postal management’s poor implementation of its plan to modernize mail facilities and its move to ship much of the nation’s mail and packages to distant processing centers. Pressure from members of Congress and the collective efforts of postal workers has caused a rethinking of elements of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s “Delivering for America” plan. But it isn’t just postal management that is at fault; the Postal Board of Governors has limited public comments in its meetings and has made many of its decisions that slow service behind closed doors, including a recent decision that will further slow rural mail beginning in 2025 if allowed to take effect. The APWU is demanding greater transparency.

Throughout her time in Congress, Congresswoman Pressley has championed for federal resources to support the United States Postal Service and its employees.

• In August 2024, Rep. Pressley joined Senator Markey on a letter urging USPS to re-open postal facilities and improve service, spotlighting a larger statewide problem with postal service in Massachusetts.
• On December 16, 2022, Rep. Pressley joined Reps. Lynch and Raskin in leading their colleagues on a letter urging the extension of COVID-19 workers’ compensation benefits for postal workers.
• On February 25, 2021, Rep. Pressley called for postal banking to advance racial and economic justice during a House Committee on Oversight hearing.
• On February 19, 2021, Rep. Pressley urged President Biden in a letter to replace Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and appoint a diverse United States Postal Service Board of Governors.
• On August 22, 2020, Rep. Pressley delivered remarks on the House floor slamming Republican attacks on the United States Postal Service and shared constituent stories.
• On August 21, 2020, Rep. Pressley and Rep. Payne lead their colleagues in a letter pushing party leadership to stand firm on postal service funding.
• On August 25, 2020, Rep. Pressley questioned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the United States Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Robert Duncan about the harmful impact policy changes at USPS had on the workforce during a House Committee on Oversight hearing.
• On August 6, 2020, Rep. Pressley, and her colleagues sent a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy expressing deep concerns about operational changes at the U.S. Postal Service that could have negative impacts on service standards and cause significant delays in mail delivery.
• On May 29, 2020, Rep. Pressley joined progressive Members of Congress in a letter urging House and Senate leadership to include public banking in COVID-19 response.

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