The United States Postal Service is required to hold a public meeting to close a P & D.C. If your P & D.C. is on the list to be closed, watch for date & time to be posted for this meeting at your P & D.C.
What to do next:
- Study all current information: Be prepared to explain the real reasons why the postal service is in trouble (link). Why people still need the postal service (link). The consequences to the economy & our country.
- Contact all politicians: Senators, Congressman, Mayor, City Council, County Commissioners , etc. A phone call or letter might work, but more effective is a personal visit to their main local office by at least several people.
- Contact Local Organizations: Homeowners, community associations, veterans groups, senior citizen organizations, business associations, chambers of commerce. Postal Workers & the effect on their jobs by itself will not keep a P & D.C. open. Testimony by citizens, business owners, how the closing will effect their community & the local businesses carry far more weight.
- Record the Meeting: Video camera is the best, but you can use a cell phone, voice recorder, etc & at the very least, have somebody takes notes during the meeting.
- Don’t Believe the Postal Officials: Very few have any experience with the procedure to close a P & D.C. The meeting is conducted using a scripted PowerPoint presentation from Washington, DC. Postal Officials will tell you this is just a study, there are no plans to close your P & D.C., there will be no change in service. Don’t believe a word. I don’t know of one instance where service was not disrupted. Statistically over 90% of P & D.C.’s studied, were determined to be closed in 2011.
- Notify the Press: Write press a release (link) & send to all radio, TV stations, newspapers and any other media. The postal officials don’t like media coverage. They want to keep closings quiet so there is little or no opposition. Call all TV & Newspapers to line up live coverage.
- Petitions / Letters: Write a petition and / or letter to you politicians. (samples are here & here, change the address and / or wording to fit your local area) Make copies to hand out to the public at all meetings, door to door, etc.
- Commission a Study: Solicit a public information request, then use this to conduct your own study of the Postal Service facts and figures from a company that specializes in analysis (Sage Policy Group, Baltimore, Maryland).
Manuals to Fight a P & D.C. Closing
U.S.P.S. Discontinuance Guide PO-101
League Closing Package August 2011 ver 4a (2)
CPWU ® Administrator: Robert T. Dodge © 2012
