PORTLAND, Maine — Maine postal workers are taking to the streets of Portland and Augusta today to protest the U.S. Postal Service's cuts to the regular mail service.
It's part of a national day of action in response to changes announced in January by the cash-strapped USPS: overnight first class local mail delivery was eliminated to save money, while dozens of processing facilities are being consolidated.
Tim Doughty of the American Postal Workers Union Portland local, says his members oppose this shift.
"We feel that delayed the delivery of mail is a self-induced death spiral for the postal office, in which the public will have less reason to use the postal service than more," he says.
The USPS meanwhile says it's responding to changing consumer habits, as more people use electronic mail and pay bills online.