Rallies at Post Offices all over the country today, March 23
Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but they work out just fine anyways.
We were notified last week that today there would be rallies at Post Offices all over the country today, March 23. Hell no! to dismantling the Postal Service! The rallies were being hosted by the National Association of Letter Carriers AFL-CIO. This was a call we really wanted to answer, knowing how crucial a role labor unions will play in organizing and unifying Americans around building a better democracy and defending workers’ rights. The nearest rally to us in Ashland was being held at the Post Office in Superior. So we did what we do; we organized! A caravan from Ashland to Superior was planned to depart from Ashland at 10:30 am.
As important as all of that is, the weather doesn’t care. It is Northern Wisconsin, after all. About an hour before the caravan was supposed to leave, we checked the weather and road conditions. It had been raining for a bit, and the roads between Ashland and Superior were either mostly icy or completely icy. Some folks are braver than others, but when we’re asking people to ride along with us, we will err on the side of caution. We cancelled the caravan. The rally in Superior went on without us. Some of our friends made it safely there and back. They reported a good attendance, lots of union support (and free signs and tee shirts) and a good media presence.
Those of us who stayed at home decided that, even if we weren’t the Letter Carrier’s Union, we would throw our own little rally right here in Ashland. About 9 of us showed up, holding signs and walking the sidewalk. We waved at passersby and got a lot of honks, waves and drive-by gratitude from our community. Nine people coming together on an hour’s notice in a town of 8,000 people from a group that’s only been organized for a little over a month? I think it was a pretty special day. Much love to all of you who came out in the cold, grey, windy, isitspringorisitwinter weather today to show support for the USPS, our Letter Carriers, and organized labor.
