Honoring the U.S. Postal Service and its mail carriers and inspectors, both locally and nationally, for their service to our region and country.

WHEREAS, The United States Postal Service has 12,000 full time employees and another 2,000 part-time employees in the City of Philadelphia, thus serving as a critical engine for our region’s economy, providing essential middle-class jobs for our residents; and

WHEREAS, In the last two months the Postal Service and the rest of the country has been struggling to adjust to the national anthrax outbreak tragedy, which has resulted in numerous injuries and several fatalities so far, including two postal workers; and

WHEREAS, This anthrax outbreak has caused a decrease in the amount of mail being sent by Americans, and has disrupted the Postal Service in many ways, including 320 postal facilities that have been evacuated for varying amounts of time, largely because of more than 7,000 hoaxes, threats and suspicious mailings; and

WHEREAS, Thus far, the regional processing and distribution facility at 30th and Market Streets has experienced no major disruption, and has in fact seen an increase in activity because of mail being re-routed from the Bellmawr, N.J., processing facility where several anthrax outbreaks have been traced to; and

WHEREAS, The postal workers nationally and especially in our region have performed their duties admirably in the face of much public fear and very real concerns for their own personal health, implementing tighter security measures and more inspectors without an increase in absences or a disruption in services, because all of our country’s postal employees are committed to making sure that the nation’s mail is delivered on time; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council honor the U.S. Postal Service and its mail carriers and inspectors, both locally and nationally, for their service to our region and country.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of the resolution be presented to the U.S. Postal Service’s Philadelphia District Manager Lead Executive as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

End