{"id":50090,"date":"2021-02-23T08:46:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T08:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.counterpunch.org\/?p=133392"},"modified":"2021-02-23T08:46:16","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T08:46:16","slug":"black-families-have-a-vital-stake-in-the-future-of-the-postal-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/23\/black-families-have-a-vital-stake-in-the-future-of-the-postal-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Families Have a Vital Stake in the Future of the Postal Service"},"content":{"rendered":"
The United States Postal Service is under strong pressure to make deep spending cuts that would be devastating for customers and employees across the country. Black families have a particularly large stake in the debate over the future of this vital public service. USPS has long been a major source of good middle-class jobs for Black workers. Post offices are also well-positioned to address the needs of the disproportionate share of African Americans who currently lack access to affordable financial services.<\/p>\n
The Postal Service began employing African Americans shortly after the Civil War. It became a major source of good, middle class jobs for African Americans in the early 20th\u00a0century<\/a>. During the 1940s, civil rights advocacy, combined with wartime needs, created even more opportunities for Black postal workers. By the mid-1960s, African American leadership had increased significantly, with the three biggest post offices in the country \u2014 New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles \u2014 all headed by Black postmasters. By the end of the 20th century, African Americans comprised 21 percent of all U.S. postal employees.<\/p>\n In 2020, Black workers made up nearly a quarter<\/a> of the Postal Service workforce \u2014 more than double their share of the total U.S. labor force. According to Institute for Policy Studies analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, postal workers have the highest average annual wage ($51,740) and the highest median hourly wage ($25.03) among the 10 occupations with the heaviest representation of Black workers. Four of these 10 occupations have median hourly wages below $15 per hour. Of the 10 most heavily African American occupations, the Postal Service employed the fifth-largest number of workers (see Table).<\/p>\n The Center for Economic and Policy Research notes<\/a> that the wage gap between white and Black workers is narrower among postal workers than among private sector employees. The Economic Policy Institute has found<\/a> that Black workers\u2019 share of USPS jobs is significantly higher than their share of all public sector jobs.<\/p>\n