Stagnant wages. Mandatory overtime. Cost-of-living increases that aren’t keeping up with inflation. Postal workers say they are tired, overworked and underpaid.

Hoping for a better deal when negotiations begin this week, about two dozen postal workers gathered Sunday outside the Peru Post Office. They wore T-shirts reading “Fight like hell!” and waved signs clamoring for support from the public.

“We’re standing in solidarity to get everybody, across the board, better wages and working conditions at the post office,” said Candis Brands, a resident of Bureau but also a steward at the Spring Valley Post Office for Branch 219 at the National Association of Letter Carriers.

Brands and other postal workers responded to an appeal by the NALC to hold “Fight Like Hell!” rallies calling before the NALC opens contract negotiations with the U.S. Postal Service on Feb. 25.

“Our wages, they just haven’t kept up with inflation in the past contract cycles,” said Devin Broderick, vice president of NALC Branch 219. “We’re out here every day, so we think we deserve it.”

“I feel like a lot of us really need a more livable wage,” said Sue O’Brien, a Peru resident and Branch 219 steward for the La Salle Post Office. “They’re starting off around $20 an hour and that’s just not a wage that you can live on anymore. So we are fighting for a higher starting wage.”

O’Brien said NALC members also are seeking better working conditions, including a 40-hour work week.

“There’s a lot of people who are forced to work overtime that don’t want to work overtime,” she said. “That’s a big issue.”

It’s an issue that’s driving turnover, as well. As Sarah LaFranzo explained it, 60-hour workweeks are causing burnout, particularly among the newer hires who quit and drive down retention rates.

LaFranzo is president of Branch 219, which serves a broad cross-section of local post offices, including Mendota, Amboy, Princeton and Oglesby. Most of Branch 219’s offices are small (except L-P), so Sunday’s rally was partly to bring awareness to issues affecting all postal workers, no matter the size of their postal stations.

While wages and hours are the top issues, LaFranzo said there are ancillary issues that are chipping into the workers’ income.

“The cost of our uniforms is very high and our allowance is not very high,” she said. “We get like $400 a year, and a pair of pants is $150.”

Response from passersby appeared strong. LaFranzo and other picketers waved in appreciation each time a motorist honked or gave a thumbs-up.

LaFranzo isn’t sure the Postal Service will be as supportive when negotiations commence.

“I think it’s gonna be tough sledding.” workers