It’s a National Day of Action for Postal Workers Union — Save the Hillcrest Post Office on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 10am to 1pm

By Mat Wahlstrom

Across the country today, October 1, a National Day of Action is being held by the U.S. Postal Workers Union. The sole event for this in San Diego will be at the Hillcrest Post Office, 3911 Cleveland Ave, from 10:00-1:00. This event and this location are significant, and the public is encouraged to sign their petition and to attend to show their support.

Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1775, the USPS is the oldest continuous federal government agency. It was vital to uniting the colonies during the Revolution and in forging the new nation, providing fast, reliable and inexpensive means to communicate. And today it remains the world’s largest carrier of packages and correspondence — handling a whopping 472 million pieces a day from 31,000 post offices.

But for years, the United States Postal Service has been the whipping boy of the political right, which has worked relentlessly to cripple it in favor of private carriers. Among other burdens, the USPS is the only government agency required to overfund their employee retirement fund. The result has been to needlessly increase costs relative to operating expenses, demoralizing postal workers while maligning the People’s Post Office in the eyes of the public.

Understandably, postal workers have had enough:

“For too long, postal workers have been stretched thin, making miracles happen in understaffed facilities. This has taken a toll on our health, our safety, and our ability to provide the service the public deserves. The Postal Service needs to listen to and heed the overwhelming voices of postal workers on the job and at the bargaining table, as well as the needs of the American people.”

And the choice to hold their San Diego protest at the Hillcrest Station is emblematic of their concerns.

As noted in news stories last year, the USPS has been involved in negotiations on their use of this location. The most recent property owners want to cash in on the new upzoning; and word is that negotiations for renewing the long-term lease or allowing its sale have broken down completely.

But rather than fight the greedy owner trying to extort them, the USPS under Trump-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and our local electeds are so far inclined to close this branch and let the owners win either way by putting in an overpriced high-rise in its place.

This will leave the 40,000 current residents (as well as the planned extra 50,000 new people under Plan Hillcrest) in neighborhoods from Hillcrest to Bankers Hill to Mission Hills to University Heights to have to drive to the Midway, Mission Valley or Normal Heights locations

It’s time to join postal workers in saying we’ve had enough. It’s time to demand our political appointees and electeds work for us not against us. Otherwise, it will be neither weather nor gloom of night that stays our couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, but sabotage.