USPS hosts celebration of mission critical employees
Essential workers from across the Portland area gathered earlier this month after Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a proclamation declaring July 1-7 Essential Workers Week. At the center of it all was the United States Postal Service whose employees inspired the proclamation and later hosted a celebration at the mail processing facility in Portland. .
“It was a wonderful event, it was absolutely amazing,” said Halfway, OR, Postmaster Krista Dennis, who attended the event.
Essential workers from a variety of industries including food bank workers, grocery store employees, first responders, military members and postal employees all gathered to represent the thousands of others who kept Oregon strong through the COVID-19 crisis. The representative format was chosen in order to respect the state’s social distancing guidelines, which restricts gatherings of more than 25 people but it still kept the celebratory nature.
The Proclamation honoring essential workers across Oregon came after USPS’s Portland District Manager Bill Schwartz contacted the governor’s office asking for the proclamation. He kicked off the event reading the proclamation and handing out copies to attendees. Julie Peterman, a spokesperson for the Oregon Food Bank, said she was impressed with the event.
“We feel the proclamation was very important for all of our workers,” Peterman said. “They serve a critical role as we move through this pandemic.”
In her speech, Peterman shared the challenges food bank employees have endured throughout the pandemic.
“One in five Oregonians are unemployed, and one in five are facing food insecurity. We are seeing more people struggle to put food on the table than in the Great Depression,” Peterman said. “We are determined that hunger will not be a symptom of COVID-19.”
Peterman recalled one food pantry served a total of 42,000 people in 2019. That same food pantry served more than 47,000 people just in the month of April of this year. Peterman said serving that many people in a month took dedication from its partners.
This is just one example of the 1,300 Oregon Food Bank partners who have stepped up in an incredible way to make sure folks in our community are getting the nutritious food they need,” she said.
Peterman praised the Postal Service as a partner and for being instrumental in securing the Essential Workers Week Proclamation.
Oregon’s Essential Workers Week first started in January, before the threat of COVID-19 was realized. Dennis simply wanted to celebrate USPS employees for their hard work.
“I told myself I was going to do something,” she said. “As COVID-19 became a growing concern, it became even more important that we do something to honor our employees,” Dennis said.
Dennis’ idea gained traction and evolved into a plan to honor all essential workers.
“The way it came together was perfect,” Dennis said. “I was glad to be part of it.”
