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A postal worker gives a thumbs-up to demonstrators protesting the Trump administration's sabotage of the U.S. Postal Service on August 22, 2020 in Los Angeles. (Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images for MoveOn)
Dems Join Climate Groups Outside Postal Service HQ to Demand Fleet Electrification
"We can act now to protect our planet and our Postal Service by tearing up Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's gas-guzzling deal and putting a forever stamp on a fleet of all-electric postal trucks," said Sen. Ed Markey.
Apr 06, 2022
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday joined with labor leaders and climate action advocates outside the U.S. Postal Service headquarters, where they demanded that the Louis DeJoy-led agency rethink its plan to buy new gas-powered delivery trucks and instead commit to a union-made, electric fleet.
"Postmaster DeJoy's contract for thousands of gas-guzzling vehicles cannot go forward."
"A zero-emission fleet would save money and combat the climate crisis," said the BlueGreen Alliance, one of the groups behind the "Build it union, deliver it emission-free" rally in Washington, D.C.
At issue is the USPS contract with Oshkosh Defense to replace its existing vehicles.
The initial order of the 10-year plan for the next generation delivery vehicles (NGDVs) is for 50,000 vehicles, about 10,000 of which will be electric. The whole contract only calls for a minimum of 10% of the vehicles to be electric over the decade period.
Beyond climate and public health concerns--which sparked demands for an inspector general probe into the contract--the revelation that Oshkosh plans to build the trucks not in Wisconsin, where it is based, but in anti-union South Carolina has drawn criticism as well.
Event organizers called the plan to build the trucks "in a newly purchased warehouse in South Carolina... a blatant move by Oshkosh to evade a decades-old contract with UAW workers in Wisconsin who are ready and eager to build the delivery vehicles of the future."
Speakers at the rally--where over 150,000 petitions to the USPS Board of Governors were symbolically delivered--included Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Sierra Club president Ramon Cruz, and UAW vice president Cindy Estrada.
"Outside USPS headquarters this morning to keep up the fight for a new fleet of delivery vehicles that's at least 75% electric," tweeted Connolly, who has proposed a bill to require that. "Postmaster DeJoy's contract for thousands of gas-guzzling vehicles cannot go forward."
The rally came a day after a U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing focused on the environmental and cost benefits of the postal fleet switching to electric.
House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who also spoke at Wednesday's rally, pointed in her opening remarks to the hearing to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report out this week underscoring the need to transition away from fossil fuels.
"This Congress must help the world avert a climate disaster by moving from gas guzzlers to electric vehicles now," she said.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
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Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday joined with labor leaders and climate action advocates outside the U.S. Postal Service headquarters, where they demanded that the Louis DeJoy-led agency rethink its plan to buy new gas-powered delivery trucks and instead commit to a union-made, electric fleet.
"Postmaster DeJoy's contract for thousands of gas-guzzling vehicles cannot go forward."
"A zero-emission fleet would save money and combat the climate crisis," said the BlueGreen Alliance, one of the groups behind the "Build it union, deliver it emission-free" rally in Washington, D.C.
At issue is the USPS contract with Oshkosh Defense to replace its existing vehicles.
The initial order of the 10-year plan for the next generation delivery vehicles (NGDVs) is for 50,000 vehicles, about 10,000 of which will be electric. The whole contract only calls for a minimum of 10% of the vehicles to be electric over the decade period.
Beyond climate and public health concerns--which sparked demands for an inspector general probe into the contract--the revelation that Oshkosh plans to build the trucks not in Wisconsin, where it is based, but in anti-union South Carolina has drawn criticism as well.
Event organizers called the plan to build the trucks "in a newly purchased warehouse in South Carolina... a blatant move by Oshkosh to evade a decades-old contract with UAW workers in Wisconsin who are ready and eager to build the delivery vehicles of the future."
Speakers at the rally--where over 150,000 petitions to the USPS Board of Governors were symbolically delivered--included Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Sierra Club president Ramon Cruz, and UAW vice president Cindy Estrada.
"Outside USPS headquarters this morning to keep up the fight for a new fleet of delivery vehicles that's at least 75% electric," tweeted Connolly, who has proposed a bill to require that. "Postmaster DeJoy's contract for thousands of gas-guzzling vehicles cannot go forward."
The rally came a day after a U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing focused on the environmental and cost benefits of the postal fleet switching to electric.
House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who also spoke at Wednesday's rally, pointed in her opening remarks to the hearing to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report out this week underscoring the need to transition away from fossil fuels.
"This Congress must help the world avert a climate disaster by moving from gas guzzlers to electric vehicles now," she said.
Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday joined with labor leaders and climate action advocates outside the U.S. Postal Service headquarters, where they demanded that the Louis DeJoy-led agency rethink its plan to buy new gas-powered delivery trucks and instead commit to a union-made, electric fleet.
"Postmaster DeJoy's contract for thousands of gas-guzzling vehicles cannot go forward."
"A zero-emission fleet would save money and combat the climate crisis," said the BlueGreen Alliance, one of the groups behind the "Build it union, deliver it emission-free" rally in Washington, D.C.
At issue is the USPS contract with Oshkosh Defense to replace its existing vehicles.
The initial order of the 10-year plan for the next generation delivery vehicles (NGDVs) is for 50,000 vehicles, about 10,000 of which will be electric. The whole contract only calls for a minimum of 10% of the vehicles to be electric over the decade period.
Beyond climate and public health concerns--which sparked demands for an inspector general probe into the contract--the revelation that Oshkosh plans to build the trucks not in Wisconsin, where it is based, but in anti-union South Carolina has drawn criticism as well.
Event organizers called the plan to build the trucks "in a newly purchased warehouse in South Carolina... a blatant move by Oshkosh to evade a decades-old contract with UAW workers in Wisconsin who are ready and eager to build the delivery vehicles of the future."
Speakers at the rally--where over 150,000 petitions to the USPS Board of Governors were symbolically delivered--included Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Sierra Club president Ramon Cruz, and UAW vice president Cindy Estrada.
"Outside USPS headquarters this morning to keep up the fight for a new fleet of delivery vehicles that's at least 75% electric," tweeted Connolly, who has proposed a bill to require that. "Postmaster DeJoy's contract for thousands of gas-guzzling vehicles cannot go forward."
The rally came a day after a U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing focused on the environmental and cost benefits of the postal fleet switching to electric.
House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who also spoke at Wednesday's rally, pointed in her opening remarks to the hearing to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report out this week underscoring the need to transition away from fossil fuels.
"This Congress must help the world avert a climate disaster by moving from gas guzzlers to electric vehicles now," she said.
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