U.S. Postal Service workers and supporters raise signs at Vogel Plaza in downtown Medford in early August.

Dozens of U.S. Postal Service workers from around the state joined Rogue Valley citizens Saturday for a rally at downtown Medford’s Vogel Plaza to protest ongoing postal consolidation and the potential effects on the election process.

Sign-wavers of all ages shouted to passing cars mid-morning, yelled through a bullhorn and offered up battle cries about what they claim is postal integrity in jeopardy.

With the November election just months away, members of the American Postal Workers Union 342 hosted Saturday’s rally to raise awareness and continue a fight they began last summer, union president Jeremy Schilling said. 

Schilling has spearheaded protests and worked with state leaders on the issue. U.S. Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, both Democrats, have worked with senators from around the country, collaborating on a bipartisan letter in May that resulted in U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat who chairs of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, calling for a pause in changes to the USPS processing and delivery network.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy paused some aspects of his 10-year “Delivering For America” plan, but local postal workers say consolidation has been ongoing in Medford and Eugene with the loss of important equipment — including a sorting machine and postal-cancellation machines in Medford — and reduced truck routes around the region, resulting in mail being left overnight at post office locations.

Postal workers said Saturday that during the primary election in May, they realized they were unable to affix a postal cancellation to vote-by-mail ballots. This resulted in ballots not being counted, they claimed at the rally. Postal workers also said they held ballots from going to Portland for sorting, transporting ballots themselves to Jackson County election drop boxes.

Merkley gave a presentation this past week calling on his Senate colleagues’ continued opposition to DeJoy’s plan, noting it was “imperative that the Postal Service uphold its obligation to the people of Oregon in ensuring all ballots are … processed and delivered within the timelines of the election.”

Schilling read a letter of support from Medford Mayor Randy Sparacino Saturday and told protesters that the fight would be a long one. He said consolidation efforts were still actively ongoing despite “continued fallout.”

“Since the primary election has come and gone, we were able to uncover many discrepancies that came to light because of the removal of these machines” Schilling said. “We had ballots that were properly postmarked, but they did not arrive back to Medford for over a week after the election, because all mail now has to go to Portland before it comes back.

“Because of the shortsighted plan, we started receiving calls during the primary election that supervisors and managers were taking ballots out of the post office in their personal vehicles after close of business and dropping them at unmanned election drop boxes, breaking the chain of custody and destroying the sanctity of our mail,” he continued. “We’re here today because we believe in our democracy, we believe in this republic, and we know that the Postal Service is a safeguard to democracy in Oregon.”

Morning Dunn, national business agent for the Oregon APWU who was on hand Saturday, said postal workers had a responsibility to fight for postal integrity.

“We’re here to be a public service, and we’re not given that opportunity to offer our services to the public. They are taking away machines and delaying the mail,” Dunn said.

“The president of the United States doesn’t have the power to fire the postmaster general, so we need to raise awareness and get the Postal Board of Governors on our side,” Dunn said. “Definitely, DeJoy has got to go so that we can get back to our service standards and be providing the American people the service that they expect.”

Retired postal worker John Lucas, who left his job in October after 22 years, said he worried about the integrity of the election process with ongoing mail delays. 

“When you get people in power that don’t care about anything but themselves, this is what happens,” Lucas said.

“We have a postmaster general who owns companies that are slated to walk in and take over in case the post office fails. That’s not a conflict of interest at all, right?,” Lucas asserted. “DeJoy is deliberately undermining the integrity of the Postal Service, and something has to be done.”

Medford resident Angela Osborn-Brown was one of numerous citizens who attended the downtown rally Saturday and said she was concerned about postal delays, overall, but she is especially concerned with election ballots being impacted by recent changes. 

“It angered me to realize that my vote might not count and that it might not count because of a government decision. It’s frustrating, in general, but especially when it comes to the election ballots,” she said. “I can follow all the rules, and my vote still might not get counted — the fact a government agency’s decision can affect not just my vote but a whole community’s.”

Grants Pass resident Sharon Small, who waved a sign alongside Riverside Avenue during the mid-morning rally, said delays to time-sensitive mail, medications and election mail was unacceptable.

“I love that Oregon has had vote-by-mail for 25, 30 years. I love that they register people when they get their driver’s license,” she said. “I don’t love that I have to now be strategical about when I mail my ballot and my IRS paperwork and other time-sensitive mail.”

Small said officials would “certainly take notice when everybody is lined up in front of the post office to make sure we buy one of their electric stamps, because I’m not putting a regular stamp on anything but a personal letter.”

Schilling said it was encouraging to have not only postal workers but also local community members turn out to wave signs and show support. He admitted continued frustration with ongoing consolidation despite strong opposition.

“It’s extremely frustrating to have unelected political appointees making decisions that affect the general population,” he said. “I’m not a big fan of that to begin with, and then to, like, take into account that the public has spoken out and they’re still not listening.

“It’s not just Southern Oregon, it’s across the whole country at this point,” Schilling continued. “Constituencies have spoken out, and said, ‘We don’t like this.’ Elected representatives have spoken out on the behalf of their constituents and, yet again, unelected political appointees are telling us to pound sand and they’re going to do what they’re gonna do.”

Schilling added, “What is our recourse? We’re gonna keeping getting out here and trying to raise awareness.”