DALLAS – The main post office in this top-rung American city is slated to be closed.
Union members and North Texas Jobs with Justice rallied outside the main post office here the morning of Nov. 7. Yared Wonde, President Area Local 732 APWU, brought a group to the rally as did Sid Simmons, President Dallas NALC.
Response from post office customers and thousands of passers-by on Highway 30 was generous and positive.
The Nov. 7 rally represents only a link in a chain of public activities initiated by the APWU. Wonde and his staff have worked hard to build unity among four main unions (APWU, NALC, Mail Handlers and Rural Letter Carriers) and the community at large to defend the main post office and several smaller facilities from closure. The Dallas AFL-CIO has called for an all-out effort.
Several public figures including Eddie Bernice Johnson, North Texas’ only Democratic Congressperson, have responded. Rep. Johnson and State Senator Royce West were credited with saving the main post from the last effort to close it down. They point out that affluent whites from North Dallas might use the Internet more and the post office less, but people of color in South Dallas need their mail service.
The AFL-CIO is backing a national petition drive to save the U.S. postal service from shutdowns and other plans to curtail service. You can join by signing a petition to your senators and representatives to preserve the nation’s mail service, here. The petition is part of the Save America’s Postal Service campaign, a joint effort of the Postal Workers (APWU), Letter Carriers (NALC), Mail Handlers, an affiliate of the Laborers (LIUNA), and the Rural Letter Carriers.
Photo: In front of Dallas main post office Nov. 7, Jim Lane/PW
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