'Grand Alliance' wants to preserve USPS

[annabanana]

http://federalsoup.com/articles/2015/02/17/grand-alliance-wants-to-preserve-usps.aspx

Sixty-four national organizations joined together last week to launch a new organization aimed at preserving the U.S. Postal Service.

By FederalSoup Staff
FEB 17, 2015
Sixty-four national organizations joined together last week to launch a new organization aimed at preserving the U.S. Postal Service.

The new group, dubbed A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service, includes a broad range of religious, labor and public interest organizations—including the National Council of Churches, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, Greenpeace USA and the AFL-CIO.

Postal labor groups in the alliance include the American Postal Workers Union—which spearheaded the initiative—the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association.

At his installation as leader of his union in 2013, APWU President Mark Dimonstein first called for a "grand alliance" to save USPS as a public postal service and to protect postal jobs.

“It’s hard to kill a service the people support,” he said at another labor event last summer. “Building the grand alliance is the only way we will ensure that a vibrant, public Postal Service exists for many years to come.”

To mark the launch of the new group Feb. 12, the alliance also released a video on the effort featuring actor Danny Glover, and announced the creation of a new website.

Related

Banking Goes Postal
http://inthesetimes.com/article/17633/banking_goes_postal

Sixty-four unions and community groups are demanding a banking public option—at the post office.

American Postal Workers Union (APWU) president Mark Dimondstein has an offer that should be hard to refuse, especially for the 10 million American households, mostly low-income, that do not have a checking account or other basic banking services.

Through its network of 30,000 post offices and other outlets, the United States Postal Service (USPS) could readily and cheaply provide many banking services (just as it now provides money orders), no matter where you live or what you earn. This could save people without bank access from paying the exorbitant interest and fees at currency exchanges, payday lenders, rent-to-own dealers, pawn shops and other subprime financial institutions.

I'm a big fan of our Post Office and it's founder! (can you tell?)

[freshwest]

1. Huge fan of the USPS. May it survive the Koch GOP machinations!

[Enthusiast]

2. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!

[annabanana]

3. self kick (shameless I know) but it's important. . . n/t