Union workers raise awareness in Cape Coral to save U.S. Postal Service

Chris Strang began his career with the United States Postal Service not long after it had been defunded and gutted in the early 1990s.

Now, it is being threatened to have all its public funding cut by President Donald Trump and new postmaster general Louis DeJoy, a Trump campaign donor with no post office experience.

Strang joined about 25 others from the Florida AFL-CIO to demonstrate Wednesday afternoon their passion for the U.S. Postal Service. They waved signs as they drove laps around the Mid Cape Coral Post Office at 1030 SE 9th Ave. The AFL-CIO stands for American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

"It's unfortunate that the U.S. Postal Service is on the chopping block," said Strang, who is celebrating his 25th anniversary with the service this year. He greets and unloads mail delivery trucks at the dock in Fort Myers for processing and distribution.

Workers from other area unions participated in a rally that had nothing to do with the marches for racial injustice that have sprang up since the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But this was a cause the organizers hoped the public would deem important anyway, said Laura Griffin, who organized the rally.

The health threat of COVID-19 was all the more reason to rally in support of U.S. postal workers, she said, and it played a part in deciding to rally while parading in cars rather than marching on foot.

"Our post office workers are essential workers," Griffin said. "Our essential workers absolutely still need to be protected. When people drive by, we hope they see our message."

Mark Potter, a Cape Coral resident, has spent 19 years with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Technicians, a unionized group that sets up for concerts, plays and events at venues across Southwest Florida. He, too, supported Strang's efforts to preserve the postal service.

"The postal service doesn't need to be privatized," Potter said. "We want to stop that from happening. The people who work there are real heroes. They're the ones who get to us our refund checks and unemployment checks, and they're the ones delivering personal protection equipment to our hospitals and medical care providers.

"You don't have to be a union worker to care about this. We're all about the working class."

Connect with this reporter: David Dorsey (Facebook), @DavidADorsey (Twitter).