A coalition of activists, led by MoveOn.org, has declared Saturday a "day of action" aimed at saving the U.S. Postal system with nearly 700 rallies planned nationwide -- including the San Diego area.
The rallies began at 11 a.m. local time outside various postal facilities.
"...we will show up at local post offices across the country for "Save the Post Office Saturday" to save the post office from (President Donald) Trump and declare that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy must resign," said a statement on the MoveOn.org website.
DeJoy, who became Postmaster General on June 16, has been accused of tampering with the nation's postal service by banning overtime, removing mail sorting equipment and prohibiting extra trips by postal workers to collect mail and parcels that arrive later in the day. to cut costs.
The U.S. Postal Service lost $8.8 billion in fiscal 2019, more than twice what it lost the previous year, and DeJoy has said the changes are necessary to save money.
On Saturday, Congressmembers voted 257-150 in a rare Saturday session on a bill to give $25 billion in emergency funds to the service and to reverse operational changes that were recently placed. The bill will move on to the GOP-led Senate, where it may face opposition.
Critics have said the changes have slowed mail delivery at a time when more people are relying on the service amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and to vote by mail ahead of the Nov. 3 General Election.
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DeJoy defended his leadership during a hearing Friday before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and said operational changes would be put on hold until after the election. He also vowed post offices will be able to handle mail-in ballots.
He is expected to testify Monday before the House Oversight Committee
Here are some of the "Save the Post Office" rallies scheduled today in San Diego County.
- Oceanside - 1895 Avenida del Oro. (parking lot south of the Post Office, at the northwest corner of Avenida del Oro and Avenida de la Plata);
- Carlsbad - 1700 Aviara Parkway;
- Vista - 960 Postal Way;
- Encinitas - 1150 Garden View Road (corner of El Camino Real and Gardenview Road);
- Pacific Beach - 4640 Cass St.;
- Hillcrest - 3911 Cleveland Ave.;
- Carmel Mountain - 11251 Rancho Carmel Drive;
- Lakeside -12515 Woodside Ave.;
- University City - 3298 Governor Drive;
- College Grove - 3426 College Ave.;
- Ocean Beach - 4833 Santa Monica Ave.;
- Normal Heights - 3288 Adams Ave.
