The USPS proposes to sell Berkeley’s beautiful Main Post Office, constructed in 1914. Our grandparents and great-grandparents paid for this building and countless others in this country that are on the USPS hit list. Over 3700 post offices are in danger of sale or closure.
The USPS was established by Article I of the Constitution. Benjamin Franklin was our first Postmaster General. Until 1971 the Post Office was under Congress and funded by taxpayers.
The media reports that the USPS has defaulted on their annual payments. But no one reports that as of September, 2012, the Treasury held 45.3 billion in the Postal Service Retiree Health Fund, a one year increase of $1.5 billion. In four years the USPS has cut the number of career employees by nearly 20%, reducing the workforce from 669,000 to 540,000, a loss of 129,000 jobs.
The giant real estate company CBRE advises the USPS on what post offices to sell and then profits as the listing agent. UC Regent Richard Blum is the chairman of CBRE and the husband of California Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Richard Blum’s real estate firm CBRE has the exclusive contract to sell off Berkeley’s historic Main Post Office and some 70 other post offices nationally – our national treasures put on the auction block for private profit. The Post Office is not the only public institution that Richard Blum is helping to privatize. He’s also been pursuing a privatization agenda in his capacity as regent of the University of California, and stands to make billions more out of his post office deals.
What You Can Do.
Rally on Monday in San Francisco at Blum’s office, 909 Montgomery. March to Feinstein’s office.
Strategy meeting Thursday, December 13th, 7:00 PM, 2133 University, Berkeley, CA.
Read more at the Save The Post Office website.
Email Savetheberkeleypostoffice@gmail.com to join the local email list.
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