Small Rally To Be Held At Cranford Post Office Tuesday

CRANFORD, NJ — A small rally will be held at the Cranford post office at 3 Miln St. at noon on Tuesday, said an organizer, Mary Heller.

Earlier this month, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said that every registered New Jersey voter will be mailed a ballot several weeks before the presidential election, and should get it in by late October. They can vote in person too. (Read more: Here's How NJ's Mail-In General Election Will Work.)

Many voters are concerned about how recent slowdowns at the post office will affect their votes.

"The Cranford event is part of a National Day of Action to preserve the U.S. Postal Service from the disabling actions of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy," said Heller, "who has been dismantling and dumping sorting machines, and cutting back on worker overtime. The mail has already been slowed down, with huge backlogs in some parts of the country."

DeJoy recently eliminated overtime for most postal workers, reduced the quantity and use of mail-processing equipment, and restricted transportation. People have reported mailboxes being removed from the street. DeJoy said the measures were an effort to make the money-losing agency more efficient, but seemed to come at an odd time.

Last Tuesday, DeJoy's office announced it will halt the changes until after the election, but some are still concerned, particularly since not all equipment was restored.

Pres. Donald Trump is now suing the state of New Jersey regarding the option of voting by mail.

"We are worried that the November 3rd election will be in jeopardy, because many voters don't want to risk going to the polls during the pandemic, and have been planning to vote by mail," Heller said. "The debilitating actions by DeJoy are threatening the vote-by-mail process, and thus threatening the integrity of the election itself."

Rallies and demonstrations are planned across the country for Tuesday. The Day of Action is sponsored in part by the APWU, American Postal Workers' Union: https://usmailnotforsale.org/

Heller is part of another local union that supports the action, she said. The Cranford rally will last about a half hour.

Attendees should observe pandemic protocols (social distancing, wearing a mask).

"Bring a sign, wear a mask, carry hand sanitizer, be prepared to keep your distance," Heller wrote.

Last Friday, another local group, SOMA action, held a rally at the Maplewood post office.

The movement apparently has some supporters in the area. Last Tuesday, a resident of Westfield posted in a community Facebook group, "Does anyone know if there are local rallies planned at any post offices?"

Someone replied, with a smiley face emoticon, "With this one post you could have sent out 100 letters to people in Westfield with 100 stamps that you bought from the post office. But you decided to use free social media."

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