American Postal Workers Union Executive Board Endorses Bernie Sanders for President
The APWU National Executive Board voted on Nov. 5 to endorse Bernie Sanders for president. “Politics as usual has not worked,” said President Mark Dimondstein. “Enough is enough!” The endorsement follows Sanders’ rousing speech before 2,000 activists at the union’s All-Craft Conference in late October.
“We should judge candidates not by their political party, not by what they say, not by what we think they stand for, but by what they do,” Dimondstein said.
“Applying that criteria, Sen. Bernie Sanders stands above all others as a true champion of postal workers and other workers throughout the country,” he said.
I don’t know how many Americans spend time thinking about the U.S. Mail and how it is delivered to us in every nook and cranny of this nation, but I have long thought it’s an institution which gets far too little respect from the American public. Citizens in other countries take pride in the government organizations upon which they depend to keep them current with the world around them.
All of us are served by the egalitarianism of the U.S. Postal Service. Think about it — rates are the VERY SAME whether one is posting a letter across the street or across the nation. There is no extra cost or tax to mail a letter way up into the Rockies or to Alaska or Hawaii (packages do have extra fees, but letters do not). If the Postal Service were sold off, how long would you guess private carriers would keep similarly uniform rates to areas far from airports?
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Senator Bernie Sanders has long been committed to maintaining and supporting the integrity of the U.S. Mail Service — here’s some of what he’s done this year (from May 2015):
Bernie Sanders Scores A Win As The Postal Service Backs Off Plan To Close Plants
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) won another victory in the battle against privatizing mail delivery as the Postal Service has quietly backed off of a plan to close 82 mail processing plants.
As the world becomes increasingly paper-less, the temptation increases to down-play the importance of the physical transport of communication and commerce. For decades now, Republicans have been salivating to privatize this national asset and treasure, to sell it to the highest bidder.
If you think the Postal Service is going broke, think again — it’s an illusion constructed in 2006 by Congress by requiring the organization to pay for retiree benefits SEVENTY-FIVE years into the future:
A Congressionally-manufactured crisis:
A lame-duck Congress manufactured the current “postal crisis.”
Two-thirds of the $15.9 billion “loss” involved what the Times referred to as “accounting expenses of $11.1 billion related to two payments that the agency was supposed to make into its future retiree health benefits fund.”
Those accounting expenses were imposed not by necessity but by Congress. And the imposition can be lifted, along with restrictions on the ability of the service to compete.
In 2006, a Republican Congress—acting at the behest of the Bush-Cheney administration—enacted a law that required the postal service to “pre-fund” retiree health benefits seventy-five years into the future. No major private-sector corporation or public-sector agency could do that. It’s an untenable demand.
and
From Comments — Hat Tip to JVolvo:
Every Sept 30 USPS must pay $5.5 billion to US Treasury for those future employee benefits (75 year’s worth). That’s the only reason USPS isn’t in the black.
From The Atlantic, more on Sanders’ advocacy for the Postal Service to make it more responsive to the needs of middle America:
Bernie Sanders's Highly Sensible Plan to Turn Post Offices Into Banks
In fact, Sanders’s idea is quite sensible. “Postal banking”—which just means that post offices run savings accounts, cash checks, and perform other basic financial services—is common in most of Asia and Europe, and only about 7 percent of the world’s national postal systems don’t offer some bank-like services. Postal banking is a really good way to reach people who haven’t had access to standard savings accounts. One estimate figures that more than 1 billion people have used post offices for making deposits.
The reason why this would be so useful in the U.S. is that somewhere between 20 and 40 percent of the population has to rely on check-cashing or payday-lending services, which in some places charge usurious rates that send people into spirals of recurring debt.
There has been push-back against dismantling the Postal Service:
Civil Rights Group Slams House Republicans for Attempting to Privatize the US Postal Service
From ColorOfChange.org, “the nation’s largest online civil rights organization”.
Privatization means massive loss in crucial public services and living-wage jobs for Black families: ColorOfChange.org launches petition, issues statement from Executive Director Rashad Robinson:
(snip)
“The United States Postal Service is a critical service for Black and low-income communities, and it must be protected. The end of Saturday mail delivery would create delays for Veterans’ and Social Security checks, putting people who are already struggling to make it to the end of the month at even greater risk. And a full 46% of Black Americans, who lack access to high-speed Internet in their homes, rely on the post office for basic communication with the outside world.”
More on this general topic:
WAPO: Should the Postal Service be sold to save it?
Fun fact listed in this article: Benjamin Franklin was our first postmaster general.
Bernie Sanders wants this country to work for those of us who live here - for people as opposed to for corporations or those who want to benefit by selling off valuable public resources. I stand with him in supporting the U.S. Postal Service and I stand with the U.S. Postal Service in supporting Bernie Sanders for President.
Hat Tip to EllenN for this info in comments — looks like the Postal Service is protected under the Constitution:
www.usconstitution.net/...
Article 1 - The Legislative Branch
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; …
…To establish Post Offices and Post Roads; …
USPS Fun Facts
Postal Service superlatives — everything you’ve ever wanted to know — and more.
Post Office Fun Facts
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Highest — Alma, CO (80420) — 10,578 feet above sea level
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Lowest — Death Valley, CA (92328) — 282 feet below sea level
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Coldest — North Slope of Alaska: Barrow (99723) and Wainwright (99782)
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Hottest — Death Valley, CA (92328)
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Wettest — Mt. Waialeale, near the Kapaa Post Office (96746) in Hawaii
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Driest — Death Valley, CA (92328)
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Westernmost — 48 contiguous — La Push, WA (98350)
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Westernmost — 50 states — Adak, AK (99546)
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Easternmost — 48 contiguous — Lubec, ME (04652)
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Easternmost — 50 states — Lubec, ME (04652)
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Southernmost — 48 contiguous — Key West, FL (33040)
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Southernmost — 50 states — Naalehu, HI (96772)
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Northernmost — 48 contiguous — Sumas, WA (98295)
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Northernmost — 50 states — Barrow, AK (99723)
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Most Centered (all 50) — closest to the geographical center of the 50 states — Belle Fourche, SD
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Most Centered (48) — closest to geographical center of the 48 contiguous states — Lebanon, KS
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Smallest Post Office — Ochopee Post Office, Ochopee, FL — 61.3 square feet
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Largest Retail Space — James A. New York, NY — 393,000 square feet
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Oldest in same building — Hinsdale, NH, since 1816
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2nd oldest — Castine, ME, since 1833
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Most Extraordinary— Peach Springs, AZ, Post Office has walk-in freezers for food destined for delivery to the bottom of the Grand Canyon by mule train.
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Most Needing a Bridge — the Point Roberts, WA, Post Office can be reached by car only by driving through British Columbia, Canada. Only a boat or float plane can travel directly there.
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Most Subterranean Facility — Stamp Fulfillment Services, located in Kansas City, MO, is located in a limestone cave 150 feet under-ground. It is the Postal Service’s only facility located in such an under-ground environment. The consistent, year-round temperatures and humidity levels in the caves allow the stamps to be maintained in mint-quality condition. The underground facility also keeps the inventory and employees safe from snow, flooding, winds and tornadic activity common in the Midwest.
Just the Fun Facts
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Most Common Post Office Names — Clinton is the most common Post Office name with 26 locations. Madison is second with 25. Franklin and Washington are third with 24. Chester and Marion are next with 23 each.
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Most Common City Names — Franklin is the most common city name with 31 locations. Clinton and Washington are second, with 29 each. Arlington is third with 28. Chester, Georgetown, Madison and Salem are next with 27 each.
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Most Common Street Names — the five most common street names in the country are Main, 2nd, Maple, Oak and Park — in that order.
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Longest Main Street — the longest Main Street in America is located in Island Park, ID (83429) — it’s 33 miles long.
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Most Unusual Delivery Method—Mule train delivery in AZ. Each mule carries about 130 pounds of mail, food, supplies and furniture down the 8-mile trail to the Havasupai Indians at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, averaging 4,000 pounds per day.
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Another Unusual Delivery Method — boat delivery on the Detroit River in Michigan. The JW Westcott is a 45-foot contract mail boat out of Detroit that delivers mail to passing ships. The JW Westcott has its own ZIP Code — 48222.
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Another Unusual Delivery Method — dock-to-dock delivery on the Magnolia River in Alabama. A 15-foot contract mail boat delivers to 176 dock-side mailboxes on a 31-mile stretch of the river.
- There are nearly 42,000 ZIP Codes in the country.
- The lowest ZIP Code is 00501, a unique ZIP Code for the Internal Revenue Service in Holtsville, NY.
- The highest ZIP Code is 99950 in Ketchikan, AK.
- The easiest ZIP Code to remember is 12345, a unique ZIP Code for General Electric in Schenectady, NY.
- The longest rural delivery route is in Mangum, OK. The carrier travels 187.6 miles daily and delivers to 240 boxes.
- The shortest rural delivery route is in Carrollton, TX. The carrier travels 1.2 miles daily and delivers to 312 central delivery boxes.
- The Postal Service moves mail using planes, trains, trucks, cars, boats, ferries, helicopters, subways, float planes, hovercraft, mules, bicycles and feet.
- There is an entire publication dedicated to Postal Service history which can be found at about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/welcome.htm.