‘Deliver for us.’ Postal workers rally in USPS leader’s Kentucky hometown

In Mike Duncan’s hometown of Inez, postal workers and protesters had a message to deliver to the chairman of the U.S. Postal Service’s board of governors on behalf of the American people.

Organized by the Kentucky Postal Workers Union and Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, protesters demanded that Duncan and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, provide $25 billion to support the postal service, stop the mail-slowdown policies introduced by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and provide resources to assist in the delivery of absentee ballots.

On Saturday, protesters rallied in Lexington.

Clyde Trent, secretary of the Kentucky Postal Workers Union, said postal workers have delivered ballots and tax forms for the IRS, and “we’re asking now for you to deliver for us.”

Trent said Democrats and Republicans are using the postal service as “a chess game for political agendas,” and it’s causing unprecedented delays. COVID-19 has put a financial burden on post offices nationally, without any relief in the form of a stimulus package, he said.

Bill Frank, vice president of the local post office union in Louisville, said the post office is being treated like a business even though other critical federal departments, such as transportation and the military, are not.

“We’re a service,” Frank said. “We are not a business. Business models do not work on services. Never has, never will.”

Protesters decorated their cars with signs stating “Don’t mess with the USPS,” “Tell Mitch no” and “Mike D knows better” before driving around downtown Inez to pass by Inez Deposit Bank, which is owned by Duncan, his home, and the post office.

McConnell said in an interview last week the post office is not in trouble and will be able to handle mail-in ballots, even with the increase.

Mickey McCoy, an activist and resident of Inez, said Duncan knows better, because he lives in a rural area and sees people come into his bank to cash checks they get in the mail.

Kathy Curtis, a Kentuckians for the Commonwealth member from Floyd County, said she initially ignored the problems of the postal service because she thought it was a hoax until she saw a post from a friend about veterans who are having problems receiving their prescriptions by mail.

“In the mountains, the post office is a gathering place,” she said. “It’s a place where you get your chickens. It’s a place where you get your money orders to pay your bills. It’s a place where the people know your face and know who you are, know when your ma dies, know your favorite chicken dumpling recipe. It’s real people at the postal service.”

McConnell said the post office will not go under, but there needs to be a postal reform bill, which will be “particularly important for rural and small town America.”

“For many communities it’s their identity, the fact that they have a post office and we’re not going to let them all disappear,” McConnell said.

Despite the postal service’s problems, Trent said the post office can handle mail-in ballots for November’s election.

“A lot of people right now are thinking this has something to do with the election coming up,” Trent said. “People are thinking the post office can’t handle the ballots, but we can because every year we handle Christmas cards. I promise you there are more Christmas cards going out in the mail than ballots being returned in the mail.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 5:15 PM.