Trump and his cronies have undertaken a shocking sabotage of the Post Office in the midst of the pandemic, with the aim of undermining the election in November. The Postal Service is in the process of removing 671 high-speed mail-sorting machines nationwide this month, reducing the agency’s processing capacity by 21.4 million items per hour.
On Thursday and Friday, the USPS began removing public collection boxes in parts of California, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Montana. After massive outcry, the agency said Friday that it would stop mailbox removals, which it said were routine, until after the election.
Sustained outrage by Americans has prompted Speaker Pelosi to bring House members back early to hold hearings, but we need to make sure our representatives follow through on saving the USPS and our elections. Read the blog post for the most up-to-date information and actions.
Here’s what you can do to help protect the USPS.
Keep pressuring your elected officials. The immediate impacts of delayed mail have driven Americans across the board to reach out to their Members of Congress—and it’s working. But we don’t want our elected officials to say they care—we want them to take action.
Contact your Members of Congress and tell them to follow through on protecting the USPS and our elections.
Contact your State Attorney General. State officials are taking notice of the Post Office chaos, and while Trump’s fixers at the DoJ could potentially interfere in any federal legal actions, they have no such authority or control over state legal actions.
Contact the Office of the CA State Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who announced yesterday that he is joining Pennsylvania and a coalition of other states in a lawsuit against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to stop this de facto attack on a free and fair election. Urge Becerra to continue pursuing legal action to prevent any further delays or disruption of mail service. You can submit your comments via the CA AG’s public comment website.
Share your story. The power of personal stories enabled us to save the Affordable Care Act. We can replicate that success today. Fortunately, there are several places where you can submit your own story (besides your own MOC’s website, that is, of course!)
- Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, is conducting an investigation into the harm being done to Americans by the intentional slowdown at the USPS. You can submit your personal story directly at his website, and you should also send your story to your own senators.
- The Postal Workers’ Union has also established a website where you can submit your story: https://stories.usmailnotforsale.org/tell-your-story.
- And finally, our very own Indivisible Northridge (in southern CA) has set up a website where you can very quickly and easily record a video to tell your tale. The submitted videos will then be compiled as part of a viral social media campaign. Visit the site at https://flipgrid.com/saveusps.
- You can also contact the United States Postal Service Board of Governors, which has the authority to hire and fire the Postmaster General, as well as to reverse the destructive policies he has implemented. Tell the board members what you think of their Postmaster General and the significant harm he has caused by emailing them:
Hit the Streets with MoveOn.
MoveOn has announced a nationwide day of action to save the post office, on Saturday, August 22, at 11 AM local time. This event is co-sponsored by RuralOrganizing.org, the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, SEIU, and the Working Families Party. You can find their tweet announcing the mobilization here.
People are invited to show up at local post offices around the country to protest Trump’s attack on the Postal Service Trump and demand that Louis DeJoy resign. If you're interested in joining this action, please fill out this form ASAP.
Work to Win in 2020
TODAY at noon: Don’t miss National’s text banking training webinar. Register here for it.
If that date doesn't work for you, look for “Indivisible Text Banking Training” events on Indivisible National’s frequently updated texting schedule.
For more information on how you can plug into electoral work, check out our Voter Outreach page.
Drumbeat to protect elections
We’re asking our members to contact their Members of Congress every day to ask them to publicly and vocally commit to securing our elections and to follow through with every power they have.
We’re focusing on the USPS issues this week. Did you know that many people don’t know what’s behind the USPS woes? Tell a friend or three, and then contact your representatives.
Check out our action script for sample messages to call in, email, or tweet to your members of Congress.
Let everyone know you contacted your MoC. We’re counting (and we’re counting on you)! If you’re on Twitter, tweet a link to our webpage, and tag @IndivisibleSF and your Member of Congress.
Have you started electoral work?
Indivisible National’s text banking initiative is picking up steam, and we need more people to get trained and become texting experts.
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ISF General Meeting: Sunday, September 6, 1–3 PM via Zoom. Register here to join our online meeting. The meeting is open to anyone interested in resisting Trump's radical agenda of hate, division, and greed.
TODAY: Wednesday, August 19, 3:30 PM via Zoom: ISF Coffee Talk. Things are dire and scary, and many of us are isolated and need a little pick-me-up. Hop into our coffee talk meeting to chat, commiserate, and build community with us. Join the Zoom meeting here at 3:30 PM.
Saturday, August 22, 12–2 PM: Central Valley Phone Bank with DemAction SF. Please join us from home to call voters together via our new virtual phone bank. Add your voice! RSVP here.
Saturday, August 22, 3–5 PM: US Senate Phone Bank with DemAction SF. Please join us to make calls for competitive U.S. Senate races nationwide. This work is more crucial than ever. RSVP here.
Sunday, August 23, 12–2 PM: Sundays with Biden and Harris with DemAction SF. Join us in a phone bank for Biden for President. RSVP here.
Monday, August 24, 5:30–7 PM: Manny’s Monday Phone Bank for Biden. You will join the legion of volunteers working to take back the White House, Flip the Senate, and Hold the House – all by helping to elect Joe Biden on Election Day. RSVP here.
Tuesday, August 25, 3–5 PM: Tuesdays with Biden and Harris with DemAction SF. Join us in a phone bank for Biden for President. RSVP here.
Ongoing Events
As the election approaches, several organizations are running ongoing events daily or weekly until election day. Sign up for a shift on the dates below:
6 days a week: Virtual Phone Banks with Flip the West. Flip the West and Commit to Flip Blue jointly host a virtual phone bank focused on flipping U.S. Senate seats, six days a week, right up until November 3. Sign up for a shift here.
Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays: Spanish Language Phone Banks with Flip the West. If you are fluent in Spanish, you are needed to call Spanish-speaking voters about electing Democrats to the Senate and White House. Sign up for a shift here.
Wednesdays and Thursdays: Pennsylvania Stands Up/Seed the Vote Phone Bank training. PASU will train you to phone bank to help support general election work between now and November. Sign up for a shift here.
Wednesdays: Sister District SF, Swing Left SF, and DemAction SF Phone Banks for Joanna and Celina. Join every Wednesday from 4–6 PM to get Texas candidates Joanna Cattanach and Celina Montoya elected and flip the Texas State House blue. Sign up for a shift here.
Sundays at 4 PM: Phone Bank for AZ with Sister District, Swing Left SF, and DemAction SF. Join Sister District SF, Swing Left SF, and Democracy Action SF every Sunday, starting Sunday, August 2, from 4–6 PM to get Arizona candidates Felicia French and Coral Evans elected and flip Arizona blue. Sign up for a shift here.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
If you'd like to support our all-volunteer team:
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