Originally published in the Winter 2024 edition of the Virginia Defender, issue 74, printed February 21. Reproduced here for accessibility and archival purposes. To find other stories in the Winter 2024 issue or to download the full PDF, see this post. For other issues dating back to 2012, see the Full Issues page.

Editor’s note: On Feb. 16, The Virginia Defender received the following email from Team AFL-CIO.

For more than 52 years, U.S. Postal Service (USPS) workers have unfairly had their retirement funds raided by the U.S. Government – resulting in more than $90 billion in unjust expenses to the USPS.

We need your help to send a message to the Biden administration to do the right thing for postal workers.

By directing the accounting experts at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to stop the raid on the Postal Service pension fund and implement overdue reforms, the president can safeguard the USPS’s financial stability and honor his promise to the dedicated postal workers who have tirelessly served the nation.

President Biden is the most pro-union president in history – it’s time for him to be a champion for postal workers, too.

Send a Letter Now:

Letter carriers deliver mail to 152 million U.S. businesses and households. Postal letter carriers exemplify an unwavering commitment to service so you can get your mail. Our postal workers are vital community members. And as wonky as this issue might sound, OPM’s valuation of the Postal Service pension obligations jeopardizes the financial stability of the USPS – and raises the prices for anyone who uses the Postal Service.

Please help us tell President Biden and his administration to address this historic injustice, fortify the Postal Service’s vital role in our communities and honor the administration’s promise to letter carriers.

This is the right thing to do, for postal workers and for all Americans. Thanks for speaking out.

In Solidarity,

Team AFL-CIO