Postal workers protest end to Saturday delivery across country

SOUTHFIELD (AP) -- Hundreds of postal workers who oppose plans to cut home delivery from six days to five picketed Sunday outside U.S. Postal Service offices in Michigan. About 600 U.S. Postal Service employees and their supporters marched in protest at a post office in Southfield while about 100 from around the state demonstrated in Grand Rapids. "It's about saving lot of jobs," letter carrier Henry Jaracz told The Detroit News from Southfield. "I have a customer on my route. He has his own business and he gets payroll checks on Saturday. ... A lot of businesses are open on Saturday and depend on us to deliver on Saturdays." Flo Smith of Walled Lake resident said she came to the Southfield rally to show her support for keeping six days of delivery. "I think the post office has done a terrific job. The Saturday mail getting stopped is the first step of getting rid of them altogether and that's wrong," she said. At the Grand Rapids protest, pickets carried signs and waved at passing cars. The signs included the messages "Save America's Postal Service" and "5-Day Is the Wrong Way to Save the Postal Service." "We're trying to alert the public and increase their awareness that Saturday delivery has not stopped," Gary Smith, 50, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers' Grand Rapids chapter, told MLive.com. He said six-day delivery is "important for the success of the post office. It's not a dead issue." Picketing also was planned at post offices around the country. The Postal Service has been facing rising deficits. Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe last month announced plans to cut Saturday delivery, saying it would save $2 billion a year. Last week, the U.S. House passed a short-term budget measure that mandates six-day mail service. Postal Service officials have said they will await final action on the budget bill. Published: Tue, Mar 26, 2013