435 rallies to support postal service workers today

They're about to begin: rallies in every congressional district in the country to support Postal Service workers, prevent 120,000 layoffs and preserve America's middle class.

The rally pictured above began already in Catonsville, Md.

And in New York City, a loud, energetic march has gotten started.

Here's the AFL-CIO Now blog on what the rallies are all about:

Under the guise of a “budgetary crisis,” some in Congress are going after the USPS, proposing massive cuts and layoffs—including laying off 120,000 workers, closing thousands of post offices, eliminating Saturday mail service and closing mail processing facilities.

Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch introduced a bill to solve the Postal Service's financial crisis.

Crushing postal workers and slashing service will not solve the U.S. Postal Service’s financial crisis, APWU President Cliff Guffey said.

Congress created this mess and Congress can fix it.

The USPS economic crisis is the result of a provision of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 that requires the Postal Service to pre-fund the health care benefits of future retirees—a burden no other government agency or private company bears.

From the Postal Service we learn:

On Tuesday, September 27, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (local time), members of the four employee unions of the United States Postal Service—

• American Postal Workers Union

• National Association of Letter Carriers

• National Postal Mail Handlers Union
• National Rural Letter Carriers' Association
—will join forces with members of our communities to send a message to the nation and its Congress.