4/30/23 – On Workers Memorial Day, April 28th, postal employees across the nation began protesting. Their demand? They state they are protesting for dignity, respect, and adequate staffing to get the job done. It is our belief that the APWU, American Postal Workers Union, officers/members sought volunteers in major cities to take part in this protest. Media coverage in major cities regarding the protests started soon after. Some media state that the protest is a strike – well, USPS employees cannot strike. Please USPS ELM, Employee and Labor Relations, below and here:

Here are some of the media reports:

• ABC 4: Salt Lake City postal workers’ strike, ‘absent of anything based in reality,’ USPS said.
  “Postal Workers on strike held signs up that said, “Respect at work, safer conditions,” and “Better postal staffing, better postal service.” They stood right next to a USPS “now hiring” sign. You could hear them chanting, “What do we want? Dignity. Why do we want it? Respect.””

  “The protest was put on by the leadership of the American Postal Workers Union. According to Rod Spurgeon, a spokesperson for USPS, “The position being presented here by the leadership of the APWU is absent of anything based in reality.” Spurgeon said that over the past two years, USPS has worked diligently with their union and management associations to address shared goals. He said this included employee recruitment and retention, workplace safety, and career training and advancement. “We have focused steadily on stabilizing our workforce resulting in employee availability and overtime requirements being at the most favorable levels in many years,” Sturgeon said. USPS said they have converted 125,000 pre-career workers to full-time career employees since October 2020, including 50,000 conversions between April 2022 and March 2023.” Also see APWU: Speak Up for Safe Jobs
  
  

• ABC KSTP: Twin Cities, MN postal workers rally alleging hostile working conditions, USPS denies claims
  Dozens of Twin Cities postal workers rallied at the Eagan postal service as part of a two-day, nationwide demonstration to sound the alarm about staffing shortages and poor working conditions. Members of the American Postal Workers Union are calling for the public’s support in demanding more postal workers and better service. “It’s unacceptable to make our rural carriers, inner city carriers work 12 plus hours a day. That’s unacceptable,” said Kimberly Maurer, Vice President of Twin Cities PDC Local 7019. “The toxic work environment that our brothers and sisters out in the plant are dealing with is astronomical.”
  USPS full statement:

  “The position being presented here by the leadership of the APWU is absent of anything based in reality. The facts are… that over the past two years, we have worked diligently with our union and management associations to address our shared goals of employee recruitment and retention, workplace safety, and career training and advancement. We have focused steadily on stabilizing our workforce resulting in employee availability and overtime requirements being at the most favorable levels in many years. We have converted 125,000 pre-career workers to full-time career employees since October 2020, including 50,000 conversions between April 2022 and March 2023. We have already reversed years of declining service reliability and now 98 percent of the nation’s population receives their mail and packages in less than three days, and we are working hard to correct service-related issues in the other limited areas.

  By developing the high-performing operation envisioned by our Delivering for America 10-year plan, we will create the safest and healthiest environment possible for our employees. For additional details on our progress, please see our Delivering for America.”

• Iowa: Union members protest over United States Postal Service work conditions

Below is a copy of the USPS Employee and Labor Relations section addressing strike and disloyalty.

USPS ELM

660 Conduct
661 Statutory Provisions
661.1 Laws Referenced in This Manual
The laws mentioned in this manual are listed for information only. Nothing in this manual constitutes an interpretation or construction of these laws which might be construed as binding the United States Postal Service or the United States.

Failure to mention a statute does not excuse any person from complying with the statute.

661.2 Application to Postal Employees
In addition to the statutes listed in Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 2635.901–902, the following statutes and regulations are applicable to all employees in the Postal Service.

• Prohibition against proscribed political activities (Title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.), subchapter III of chapter 73, and 18 U.S.C. 602, 603, 607, and 608).
• Prohibition against appointing or promoting a relative or advocating such an appointment or promotion (5 U.S.C. 3110).

• Prohibition against disloyalty and striking (5 U.S.C. 7311; 18 U.S.C. 1918).

• Prohibition against bribery, graft, and conflicts of interest (18 U.S.C. 201, 203, 205, 208, and 209).
• Prohibition against acting as the agent for a foreign principal registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (18 U.S.C. 219).
• Prohibition against unauthorized taking or use of documents relating to claims against or by the government (18 U.S.C. 285).
• Prohibition against postal employees becoming interested in any contract for carrying the mail (18 U.S.C. 440).
• Prohibition against counterfeiting and forging transportation requests (18 U.S.C. 508).
• Prohibition against deprivation of employment or other benefit for political activity (18 U.S.C. 601).
• Prohibition against:
• Embezzlement of government money or property (18 U.S.C. 641).
• Failing to account for public money (18 U.S.C. 643).
• Embezzlement of money or property of another person in the possession of an employee by reason of his or her employment (18 U.S.C. 641).
• Prohibition against:
• Disclosure of classified information (18 U.S.C. 798).
• Disclosure of confidential information (18 U.S.C. 1905).
• Prohibition against fraud or false statements in a government matter (18 U.S.C. 1001).
• Prohibition against participation in lottery enterprises (18 U.S.C. 1303).
• Prohibition against carriage of mail contrary to law (18 U.S.C. 1693).
• Prohibition against desertion of mail (18 U.S.C. 1700).
• Prohibition against obstruction of correspondence (18 U.S.C. 1702).
• Prohibition against delay or destruction of mail or newspapers (18 U.S.C. 1703).
• Prohibition against theft of property (18 U.S.C. 1707).
• Prohibition against theft of mail (18 U.S.C. 1709).
• Prohibition against theft of newspapers (18 U.S.C. 1710).
• Prohibition against misappropriation of Postal Service funds (18 U.S.C. 1711).
• Prohibition against falsification of postal returns (18 U.S.C. 1712).
• Prohibition against improper issuance of money orders (18 U.S.C. 1713).
• Prohibition against misuse of the franking privilege (18 U.S.C. 1719).
• Prohibition against the unlawful sale or pledge of stamps (18 U.S.C. 1721).
• Prohibition against unlawful collection of postage (18 U.S.C. 1726).
• Prohibition against improper approval of bond or sureties (18 U.S.C. 1732).
• Prohibition against lobbying with appropriated funds (18 U.S.C. 1913).
• Prohibition against the use of deceit in an examination or personnel action in connection with government employment (18 U.S.C. 1917).
• Prohibition against mutilating or destroying a public record (18 U.S.C. 2071).
• Prohibition against disclosure of lists of names and addresses (39 U.S.C. 412).
• Prohibition against making or receiving political recommendations for appointment or promotion (39 U.S.C. 1002).
• Prohibition against receipt of unauthorized fees (39 U.S.C. 1009).
• Prohibition against opening First–Class Mail® (39 U.S.C. 3623).
• Oath of office required for all postal employees (39 U.S.C. 1011)
• Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a).