Across SoCal, Protesters Gather to #SaveThePostOffice, Demand Postmaster Resign

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Facing an intense backlash over his cost-cutting measures at the Postal Service, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has said he will suspend further reductions until after the November election, and he insists ensuring the timely delivery of mail-in ballots is his "sacred duty."

But that was cold comfort to Samantha Follows of Silver Lake, who stood in 96 degree heat this morning to call for DeJoy's resignation.

"It's way too little, way too late," Samantha Follows said. "This administration has just proven to me that they're not really trustworthy."

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Follows and about two dozen others protested outside their local post office -- Griffith Station in Atwater Village -- one of hundreds of demonstrations across the country Saturday against DeJoy and the Trump administration.

Protesters turned up outside post offices across Southern California bearing signs of support for the USPS. In Hollywood, residents cheered on their mail carrier as he drove out of the parking lot.

Woke up early to show support for postal workers and the @USPS. #SavethePostOffice #USPSProtests #Votebymail pic.twitter.com/qZ86hEhtxI

Hundreds of mail-sorters and public collection boxes have been removed as part of DeJoy's trims, and in Congressional testimony Friday he said they won't be returned to use, insisting, "they're not needed."

Critics fear those moves will slow the processing of mail-in ballots for an election only 73 days away.

Follows said she was protesting for her 20-year-old daughter, who she feels stands to be among the people potentially affected by DeJoy's policies. Her daughter depends on the mail to get medications for cystic fibrosis, and because of her chronic illness, she will also need a mail-in ballot to take part in her first election.

"This kind of thing to be taken away from everyday citizens is truly sad," Follows said.

Samantha Follows of Silver Lake said she was protesting on behalf of her daughter, who depends on the mail for her cystic fibrosis medication and will be casting her first-ever vote by mail. (Josie Huang/LAist)

The protests were organized by MoveOn, the NAACP, SEIU, and other groups.

The protest in Atwater Village was led in part by Brigid LaBonge of Silver Lake, the wife of former City Councilman Tom LaBonge.

LaBonge, who said she's the daughter of a 25-year mail carrier, called the postal service "an institution." Steeped in politics for decades because of her husband's career, LaBonge said the cutbacks to the postal service are unlike anything she's ever witnessed.

"I've never been more passionate about what's right for our country and this is wrong, this is absolutely wrong," she said.

LaBonge said she has already noticed delays in service. A poster she ordered from Kentucky took five weeks to arrive, and "our mail came at 8:15 last night, the latest our mail's ever come," she said.

Protester Chloe Hoffman. (Josie Huang/LAist)

Another protester Chloe Hoffman, 17, said she was too young to vote.

"But what I also can't do is stand by and watch the president of our country, who is supposed to protect our democracy, dismantle a way [to vote] for people who wouldn't otherwise be able to vote," she said.

Throughout Southern California, protesters tweeted photos from outside their post offices.

In Irvine:

In Santa Ana:

And San Pedro: