Ashland postal workers and supporters joined Thursday in a “Day of Action” coordinated by the U.S. Postal Service workers union, gathering at the Ashland Post Office to wave signs and hand out information.
Jeremy Schilling had to raise his voice to speak over the supportive honking of passing cars as he referred to the dozen or so people holding signs outside the Ashland Post Office Thursday morning as “absolute grassroots.”
“This is a group of people who learned about it this morning,” he said.
Around 8 a.m. Schilling sent a text to a friend and local activist letting her know he and a friend would be handing out flyers protesting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) changes to the postal service, potentially including privatization.
When he and his friend Zane Longden first arrived to hand out flyers, four or five demonstrators were there. Within a half an hour, it had grown to roughly a dozen people.
Schilling said he and Londgen returned from Washington, D.C., yesterday ready to “not be a union rep for a day.”
As president of the local chapter of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Schilling — with Longden as vice-president — came home with stories. One person told him they were invited to a Friday afternoon Zoom call including hundreds of others only to find a pre-recorded message, “You’re fired.”
Flyers were handed out during an APWU-organized rally at the Ashland Post Office on Thursday.
When American Postal Service Union members in Washington D.C. declared that March 20 be a national day of action, Schilling intended to keep it small. As far as he knew, everyone else who arrived last minute to protest were not active postal workers but everyday people showing support for the postal service and its workers.
The union website’s page for the protest talks about a federal threat to the USPS, which is a Congressionally created, independent government agency.
“The Postal Service is facing one of the most serious threats in our history. Reports indicate that the new presidential administration is preparing an illegal and hostile takeover of the USPS, threatening the stability of our jobs, our workplaces, and the public service we proudly provide,” the webpage said.
Flyers were handed out handed out during the APWU-organized rally at the Ashland Post Office . To see a PDF version of the flyer, click here. To go to the petition form linked to from the QR code, click here.
Until working with USPS, Schilling said he didn’t realize how much small businesses in small towns can rely on the postal service. Businesses such as Fern Valley Farms or Castille Armory produce a product that may have a large enough national demand to support their business but may struggle to survive or expand if they relied on local buyers.
“People use USPS to take products to market because of the rates we offer. … The postal service has a larger market share that allows us to anchor prices,” he said.
If the federal government determined to “increase efficiency” at the USPS, it would mean privatization which would result in shutdowns of rural offices that can’tproduce as much revenue.
“My buddy just drove by in his goofy little Rav4 to go up Dead Indian (Memorial Road),” he said, referring to the rural carriers operating around the Rogue Valley.
The little protest in Ashland is one of hundreds around the country, Schilling said. He was proud that this one, though small, was evidence of people willing to drop whatever they had intended to do and protest.
A second rally, by the National Association of Letter Carriers, will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at Vogel Plaza in downtown Medford.
Email Ashland.news reporter Morgan Rothborne at morganr@ashland.news.
