Save Saturday Delivery

Thousands of jobs in Rhode Island would be in jeopardy if conservative forces in Congress successfully shut down Saturday delivery of the mail, said local post office employees at a  recent rally at Garden City in Cranston to call attention to the issue.

Postmaster General Peter Donahoe is trying to cut costs by scaling back service, even though the Postal Service’s problems aren’t stemming so much from a lack of mail but rather some very difficult accounting regulations. In 2007, Congress forced the Post Office to over-fund its pension obligation by $5 billion every year.

“I think there are alternatives to eliminating Saturday service,” said Congressman Jim Langevin on Sunday. “I think this is an action of last resort … but some members of Congress seem to think it’s an option of first resort. I disagree. I think that is a backwards approach.”