HELENA, Mont. -- Social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted many services of everyday life, including restricting hours at some banks. Postal workers see this as further proof that offering financial services at post offices is a good idea.

Banking already is limited in many parts of the country, especially rural areas, and nearly 60% of the country's 30,000 post offices are located in ZIP codes with one bank branch or none. Stephen DeMatteo, who leads the Campaign for Postal Banking at the American Postal Workers Union, said that's a problem for millions of Americans awaiting their coronavirus-relief stimulus checks.

"If we had a postal financial system set up in a real way in this country," he said, "that would be one way that people could be able to access money from the federal government."

Nearly one in four Americans doesn't have regular access to a bank or other financial services. People will get their $1,200 government stimulus checks through direct deposit if they've filed income-tax returns for 2018 or 2019, starting as early as this week. But it could take two months for those waiting on a check by mail.

Across the United States, postal workers are considered essential and are continuing their duties. DeMatteo said postal banking would bring in additional funds to the U.S. Postal Service.

"But we're also cognizant of the fact that we don't want to replicate some of the worst practices in the commercial banking industry right now, at the post office," he said. "So, we don't want to be ripping people off with high-interest loans; we don't want to be charging people high fees for saving or spending accounts."

DeMatteo noted that money orders and a limited wire-transfer system already run through post offices and could be expanded. He said he believes the Postal Service already has the legal authority to do this, as well as provide other services, such as offering paycheck cashing and installing ATMs, without the need for approval from Congress.

UPDATE: This story from 4/6 has been updated to reflect that a last-minute agreement was reached, averting a strike. (08:15 a.m. CST, April 7, 2023)


Grocery store workers in the Twin Cities area say they've made plenty of sacrifices in the past few
years, but claimed leadership at a regional chain wasn't giving them their due. Union workers at dozens of stores threatened a strike this week before reaching a last-minute deal, averting a walkout.

On Friday and Saturday, Cub Foods workers at more than 30 metro-area stores had planned to walk the picket line. They are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 663. Higher wages were a key issue, along with some working conditions.

Prior to the agreement, Kris Foslien, a deli lead at a local Cub store, said they are still reminded of the challenges of being on the front lines during the pandemic.

"Some of us couldn't partake in any type of holiday thing or birthdays, because we're scared that we're going to get our families sick," Foslien recounted. "That was a big wear on people."

The union says the tentative agreement provides raises of $2.50 to $3.50 an hour by spring of 2024 and establishes a landmark safety committee. Ahead of Friday's announcement, Cub's parent company, United Natural Foods, said it has proposed "historic" wage increases and agreed to ongoing union health and pension plans, on terms requested by the union. It added it had contingency plans to ensure the continued availability of products and services had there been a walkout.

During a news conference earlier this week, Rena Wong, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 663, said they were also fighting for part-time workers, noting the company's initial proposal included what she calls a "regressive" wage structure.

"Our 15-hour-a-week part-timers, which is quite common, would have to work almost 140 weeks before they see a raise. That is not respectful," Wong contended.

The workers had been without a contract since early March. They claimed the company and its leadership have benefited financially in recent years, but any profits did not reach those who could not work remotely.


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Ohio's child care providers said they are struggling to stay in business due to drops in attendance with no help in sight from the state or federal government.

A report published earlier this year by Ready Nation found Ohio's economy loses nearly $4 billion per year due to child care issues.

Tarrezz Thompson, a child care provider in Columbus, explained her small program, which primarily serves children of color and their families, has operated the past few years without sustainable reimbursement from the state.

"Our funding doesn't match the needs of the families in our community," Thompson asserted. "It also doesn't match the services we need to provide. All of the state funding that comes in goes back into the program we're running."

According to a poll released last year by Groundwork Ohio, nearly half of Ohio parents with children under the age of five say they have had serious problems affording child care or big challenges with child care that have impacted their work.

Will Petrik, budget researcher for Policy Matters Ohio, explained infant care can cost families upwards of $10,000 a year, rivaling in-state public college tuition. He added because most families cannot afford quality child care without increasing subsidies, more providers will likely shut their doors.

"And despite these enormous costs, many child care providers, particularly those that accept publicly funded child care -- the public child care subsidy -- they're struggling to keep their doors open," Petrik reported.

According to the First Five Years Fund, nationwide communities have lost nearly 80,000 child care workers since the pandemic.


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The New York State Public Employees Federation is launching a campaign to improve publicly employed social workers' conditions.

The "Respect Us, Protect Us, and Pay Us" campaign aims to address challenges social workers are facing such as noncompetitive salaries and short staffing.

A report from the Public Employees Federation found almost 90% of the nearly 1,200 social workers surveyed said they were considering leaving their job with the state. Most people cited low pay.

Randi DiAntonio, vice president of the New York State Public Employees Federation, is a state social worker of 26 years who also said social workers do not feel safe at work.

"Part of it is related to short staffing," DiAntonio outlined. "Social workers are being asked to cover on units where they don't have enough direct-care staff, they're on units where there's not enough medical staff, they are going out into the field often by themselves when historically maybe they would be partnered with somebody."

She noted the situations social workers are facing and the people they are serving have changed the working environment. DiAntonio hopes to see raises come from the state soon, although it may take some time. Others want to see part of the $1.1 billion allocated to mental-health programs in the 2024 New York State budget used to help retain mental health staff through salary and staffing increases.

The trend of low pay has been occurring across the field of social work. A report from the National Association of Social Workers New York State Chapter noted 34% of social workers surveyed are at the same salary when they started their job, which on average began one to five years ago.

DiAntonio described what she hears from social workers about the current state of their field.

"They're doing a lot more with a lot less," DiAntonio observed. "What I mean by that is that their caseloads, in some instances, have tripled. We have social workers that their caseloads were capped at 40 that are now at 80. We have social workers in corrections that have caseloads of upwards of 200 people."

She added the effect of the increases are diminished quality of care from social workers. According to the Public Employees Federation report, more than 80% of social workers have found their caseloads increased substantially.


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