Dear MoveOn member,
Yesterday, at more than 800 post offices across the country, MoveOn members and our allies stood—masked and socially distanced—in solidarity with postal workers everywhere and to defend an essential public institution and our democracy from Donald Trump and Louis DeJoy.
This massive national day of action made headlines in The Washington Post and came in response to Trump and DeJoy's blatant efforts to undermine the post office, including slowing mail, removing mail-sorting machines, and warning states not to count on the post office to deliver ballots.1
The pressure has forced DeJoy to stall some of his operational changes—but our work is far from done. DeJoy is not restoring mail-sorting machines or otherwise repairing damage already done, nor is he resuming adequate overtime pay, which has long ensured the timely delivery of the mail.2 And we must keep fighting until every single vote is counted this November.
Let's keep up the pressure—and continue to publicly proclaim our commitment to save the post office. Get your free "We <3 Mail Carriers" sticker to show support for the post office—and our democracy!
Last month, Trump's hand-picked postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a Republican megadonor who gave $1.5 million to support Trump's campaign, instituted operational changes—like cancelling overtime and instructing mail carriers to leave mail at distribution centers overnight—that watchdog groups are calling deliberate efforts to slow down the mail and bankrupt the post office in advance of November's elections.3 And then DeJoy reassigned or replaced at least 23 top-level Postal Service employees, with hundreds of years of experience between them.4 Hundreds of mail-sorting machines—which would be used to sort ballots—have already been removed from Postal Service facilities around the country and in some cases thrown in dumpsters.5,6
Our advocacy is working. We made the headlines in The Washington Post, and we've pressured Trump and DeJoy to stop some of these destructive changes. But we're not done yet.6
We won't stop until the post office is fully protected, all sorting machines and collection boxes that disappeared under DeJoy's watch are replaced, and every vote is counted.
Ever since 1775, when Benjamin Franklin was appointed as the country's first postmaster general, the post office has provided prompt, reliable, and efficient services to every corner of our country.
That tradition of dutiful service to our nation has continued even in the midst of this pandemic, when mail carriers have been risking their lives to deliver letters, food, unemployment checks, and lifesaving medicine to over 135 million households.
Soon, they will be charged with the task of quite literally delivering democracy.
We must show our solidarity with postal workers. We must defend the post office. We must protect our democracy. We must ensure every vote is counted.
Click here to get your FREE "We <3 Mail Carriers" sticker today!
Thanks for all you do.
–Jenn, Kelly, Sandra, Oscar, and the rest of the team
P.S. We've also printed special envelopes to mail the stickers, so postal workers will know we are standing with them during these uncertain times. Take a look:
Sources:
1. "'Save the Post Office Saturday' draws thousands of protesters nationwide," The Washington Post, August 22, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/142077?t=6&akid=272057%2E40999114%2ECJftT-
2. "House passes bill to boost U.S. Postal Service amid Trump attacks," The Washington Post, August 22, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/142072?t=8&akid=272057%2E40999114%2ECJftT-
3. "Mail Delays Fuel Concern Trump Is Undercutting Postal System Ahead of Voting," The New York Times, July 31, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141668?t=10&akid=272057%2E40999114%2ECJftT-
4. "Critics of Trump White House decry latest 'Friday night massacre' as postmaster general sidelines two dozen USPS officials," MarketWatch, August 10, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141901?t=12&akid=272057%2E40999114%2ECJftT-
5. "Postal Service removes some mail-sorting machines, sparking concerns ahead of election," CNN, August 13, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141964?t=14&akid=272057%2E40999114%2ECJftT-
6. "These are the sorting machines USPS removed that would handle mail and election ballots," CNN, August 21, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/142073?t=16&akid=272057%2E40999114%2ECJftT-
Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us?
Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
This email was sent to John xxxxxx on August 24, 2020. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. MoveOn's privacy policy was recently updated. To read our new privacy policy, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.