Colorado Rallies Call For Fair Practices At USPS Offices
DENVER (CBS4) - As part of a national "Save The Post Office Saturday" protest, two separate rallies in the Denver metro took place Saturday to support the United States Postal Service; one in Denver at 9:45 a.m. and another in Lakewood at 11 a.m. The protests called for Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to resign amid national controversy surrounding the postal service.
Mail handlers rallied outside the post office on Marion Street near 16th Avenue in Denver. Organizers say numerous mail sorting machines were dismantled at various post offices across the country, and dozens of blue post office collection boxes were removed in Colorado.
They say Postmaster General Louis DeJoy delayed mail and "denigrated our collective bargaining standard."
"I'm concerned by anyone who is making efforts that may risk our ability to process mail," said Malachi Dray, a letter carrier.
However, the U.S. Postal Service tells CBS4 the removal of collection boxes is a "decades-old protocol," and approximately 3,500 boxes are removed every year.
The postal service also says DeJoy is confident the post office will deliver election mail on time, because ballots only make up 2% of the post office's total mail volume.
But some mail carriers believe more funding needs to be provided to the USPS to ensure its services are protected.
"The public has to call their representatives in Congress, and has to be ready to really make it clear to them that we stand with our postal service, and we want it to be able to continue to provide the universal goods and services that it has for centuries," Dray said.
Earlier this week, Colorado Democrats denounced efforts to hamper mail-in voting in the upcoming November election.
RELATED: Colorado Leaders To Address Growing Concerns With USPS & Upcoming Election
Mail-in voting is expected to play a significant role in the election as coronavirus-prevention efforts continue to ask Americans stay six feet apart.
President Donald Trump has said mail-in voting has a history of fraud, but says he doesn't want to slow down the mail.
The second rally was held at the Federal Center Post Office Branch on West Alameda Avenue in Lakewood. It is one of several events organized by groups including Indivisible, the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights and MoveOn.
"We rely on the postal service to vote here in Colorado and we need that to continue to be safe and reliable," said the event's organizer, Sarah Nelson. "I'm calling on the Postmaster General to restore the equipment that has been taken away."
