Postal workers protest facility closures

Postal workers held a rally Tuesday in Pasadena outside the office of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), protesting a proposal to end Saturday deliveries and close thousands of postal facilities.

The rally was part of a national effort protesting plans to close about 250 of the Postal Service’s 487 mail centers and shutter about 3,700 post offices. The closures would impact more than 35,000 employees nationwide. Two post offices in Pasadena are on the closure list.

The cuts are being made as the Postal Service reports losing about $8.5 billion in revenues last year. According to postal officials, the agency is expected to lose even more this year.

Postal workers are calling for the passage of House Resolution 1351, co-sponsored by Schiff. It would allow the Postal Service to shift money from its pension fund to operations.

“Independent audits have demonstrated that USPS has in the past overpaid into other federal retirement programs by more than $50 billion,” Schiff said in a written statement. “HR 1351 would allow those surplus funds to meet the requirement that USPS prefund its retirement program, putting USPS on much sounder financial ground, which in turn would allow for the preservation of high-quality postal service, a close and convenient post office and continued Saturday delivery.”