C. Oregon Postal Workers Rally for Jobs

With the U.S. Postal Service losing billions of dollars a year, it’s fighting for survival and has drafted plans to lay off 35,000 employees and close thousands of post offices, possibly the one in Sunriver.

On Tuesday, local postal workers plan to rally. They will hold a “Day of Action” in every congressional district in the country, including outside Rep. Greg Walden’s office in downtown Bend.

“We want the public to come out and hear the issues the post office is facing,” Linda O’Donnell, president of the Local 555 of the American Postal Workers Union, said Monday.

Union workers, postmasters and employees are ready for a rally to ask for help. The post office is not funded by taxpayers. Its profit comes from stamps and shipping services.

They want Congress to repeal a bill passed in 2007 that “requires the Postal Service to pre-fund the federal retirement system 75 years out,” O’Donnell said.

The Postal Service was mandated by Congress to pay out of its operating budget for the health benefits of future retirees, some who haven’t even been born yet.

As workers rally, residents are signing petitions to stop the agency from closing their local post Office in Sunriver.

“I just signed one over at the hardware store,” said one Sunriver resident. “It’s just a petition for people that are opposed to having the Post Office closed.”

Residents would have to drive to Bend or La Pine to mail a package through the Postal Service at a flat rate.

“We don’t have home delivery, like people do in the cities,” said one Sunriver resident. “This would be just a huge imposition on us.”

For many, the post office is more than just a place to pick up mail. It’s a staple in their community.

“I still has a home town feel to it, ” said one resident. “We like the people that work here, and we like having the Postal Service here.”

“These little post offices are the heart of America,” added another resident. “They are the community. This is where a lot of people meet, and they are just wiping out a complete part of our society.”

USPS is holding a public meeting for the residents of Sunriver, on Monday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at the Three Rivers Elementary School. The meeting will give residents a chance to convince USPS officials to keep the doors open on their local post office.

Postal workers will be rallying at Walden’s office at at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Walden said during a visit Monday to NewsChannel 21 that it’s possible to that the GOP House will allow legislation to provide breathing room about the next pension pre-payment, providing time to figure out a way that Postal Service officials and Congress can find a middle ground.