Postal service workers held rallies outside several U.S. Postal Service locations across Texas on Tuesday. The demonstrations were part of the American Postal Workers Union's "Day of Action."
At a rally outside the main post office along Interstate 30 in Dallas, workers carried signs with messages including, "When the people are heard, they say faster mail," and "better staffing is better service."
"We are a service. We provide a service. People and the public have a right to know what's happening with their service," Local 732 President Jonathan Cage said.
Cage said mail is sent up to 300 miles away to be sorted and then shipped back to be delivered, leading to a drop in efficiency and a greater likelihood of mistakes. He said mail service has been slowed for millions of people and could slow service for rural customers starting next year.
"When you delay the mail, or you slow down or reduce the workforce, it has a hindrance on the public," he said.
Cage said the U.S. Postal Service is doing an "excellent job" protecting mail-in ballots and other election material this fall. He said the same principles should apply to all mail.
"We want the public to know election mail will be delivered on time as it always has been and will continue to be," he said.
The U.S. Postal Service launched its "Delivering for America" plan in 2021. The plan focused on a shift in demand from letters to package delivery and improving processing operations and transportation networks.
Cage said some mail is sent more than 200 miles away to be sorted and then shipped back for delivery.
"That's an automatic slowdown. I don't care what type of business you're in," he said.
For the North Texas region, the U.S. Postal Service said its on-time rate in the second week of September was 89.37% and 96.25% within one additional day. Its on-time rate the same week last year was 92.11%.
The average time from collection to delivery is 2.7 days, up from 2.6 days for the same week last year.
Tuesday, union members planned rallies in 90 cities across the United States including Beaumont, Corpus Christi, McAllen, and San Antonio in Texas.
"Through our Delivering for America investments, we have built capacity into our processing, logistics, and delivery infrastructure to meet customers' evolving mail and package needs," the U.S. Postal Service said in a statement. "We are executing strategies to pull together the people, technology, transportation, equipment, and facilities into a well-integrated and streamlined mail and package network. We have worked hard in the past three years to stabilize our workforce. We have converted more than 191,000 pre-career employees to career status since January 2021."
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube