Postal union pickets National Center for Employee Development
By Althea Peterson
Transcript Staff Writer
They came from Hawaii, New York, Illinois and Oklahoma, but they were all united in calling for awareness.
Just off State Highway 9, flag-waving and sign-holding employees and community members called for awareness of proposed changes to the United States Postal Service Thursday evening. The picketing was in front of the USPS' National Center for Employee Development on State Highway 9.
Jane Duggan, a maintenance craft director for the Michigan Postal Workers Union from Detroit, said the picketing in Norman was just one of many protests across the country. She said many towns would lose their ZIP codes and post offices, as well as having postal service delayed.
"Small towns are going to be hit very hard," Duggan said. "Citizens are upset that they will not have their own postmark. It's like losing the identification of the town."
According to the USPS Web site, "Strategic Transformation Plan 2006-2010" involves "focusing on major cost drivers, especially delivery operations." According to the American Postal Workers Union Web site, this involves "consolidating mail sorting facilities without proper public input."
"People will have to travel a lot farther to mail packages," Duggan said. "People are concerned that this will affect the travel time, taking two more days for mail to arrive."
More than 30 picketers showed up at the event, some of whom walked over to Highway 9 directly from the National Center for Employee Development. The signs people marched with said "Don't let our mail service fall apart. The U.S. Postal Service is proposing to close part of our local post office, which will reduce service for individual citizens and small business. The USPS was founded to serve all Americans, yet the plans to downsize were developed behind closed doors, without community input and without concern for community impact. Save Our Service."
"They say cut back, we say fight back," the picketers shouted.
A notice on the USPS site from James C. Miller III and Postmaster General and CEO John E. Potter reads: "We will promote growth by creating more value for every customer. We will continue to reduce costs by improving efficiency in all our operations and business processes... We will achieve all this with an energized, customer-focused workforce."
Joe Frega, electronics technician from Syracuse, N.Y., said protesters picketed not just because they are concerned about employees losing jobs, but also about USPS service cutting back in communities.
"We're talking about potentially tens of thousands of employees packing up and relocating," Frega said. "We're not cattle that can be pointed in a different direction. We have families and friends we don't want to leave."
Frega said their goal was not to change the mind of the USPS, but rather, inform local elected officials about the proposed changes, so that they can act on their behalf to stop the changes.
"We are over 300,000 strong," Frega said. "That's a pretty effective voting block. We want to send a message that when someone hurts the public through the postal service, that somebody notices, and that's us."
Wallace Collins, Democratic nominee for House District 45, was among the local picketers. He said he supports the picketers, because of the importance of the National Center for Employee Development to Norman and the state of Oklahoma.
"As a citizen of Norman, I am interested in keeping this facility here," Collins said. "I think it would be a detriment to the area to lose this facility."
For more inforamtion, visit usps.com or apwu.org.
Althea Peterson 366-3539 apeterson@normantranscript.com
Local news
Employees protest USPS changes
- Local news
-
-
Sequoyah students tour OU
Native American high school students from Tahlequah’s boarding school, Sequoyah Schools, visited the University of Oklahoma campus yesterday as part of a special recruitment program sponsored and organized by Sooner Engineering Education ...
-
Audit leads to arrest
A Norman woman has been charged with embezzlement after her employer alleged she made payments to herself and others, in the amount of $14,286.08, using unauthorized checks....
-
All about the birds
MOORE — There was some squawking and ruffled feathers Friday at Moore Central Junior High school....
-
Veterans give lesson in flag etiquette
MOORE — Veterans continuing to serve Old Glory through the Veterans School Flag Program presented a flag etiquette class to students at Moore High School on Friday....
-
Norman man convicted of rape
A Cleveland County jury has convicted a Norman man on one count of first-degree rape and one count of second-degree rape by instrumentation....
-
City candidates discuss balance of funding
By Joy Hampton Transcript Staff Writer Local Democrats have been hosting city council candidates at their weekly Cornbread and Beans luncheon held Fridays at Norman’s new events center, Catering Creations, 3750 W. Main. The meal is served ...
-
Norman Meals on Wheels receives grant as recognition for “Share The Love” event
Meals on Wheels of Norman, Inc. has been awarded a $2,000 grant from Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) in recognition of its participation in MOWAA's “Share The Love” Most Meals Contest. As part of Subaru of America, Inc.'s ...
-
Weekend to see wintry mix
Winter weather has finally arrived. Although Norman is not likely to see a heavy accumulation of precipitation, the National Weather Service predicts that the area is in for a messy Monday morning commute....
-
Company aims to aid growth
A new company to join the Noble and Norman Chambers of Commerce is in the business of helping merchants build their clientele through client retention and contact management. Dawn McNutt, executive director of the Noble Chamber of ...
-
Union members protest GCI at new OU dorm site
Members of Carpenters Local Union No. 329 conducted a protest Thursday morning in front of the construction site of a new dormitory on the University of Oklahoma campus....
- More Local news Headlines
-
