Why Danny Glover Is Trying To Save The Postal Service

— -- An unlikely candidate has volunteered his services to help save what has been called the dying U.S. Postal Service.

Danny Glover is an actor, producer and activist who has been a part of Hollywood for over two decades. He is well-known for his role in "The Color Purple" and costarring with Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon series.

Glover’s ties to USPS run deep. The video shows that his father, mother, brother and sister were postal workers. As a teenager, Glover worked for USPS during winter breaks from school.

Contract negotiations began Thursday between USPS and leaders from the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C. The night before the union hosted a pep rally featuring a Glover endorsement video and the movie star in person.

Over a montage of family photos, Glover reflects, “Working for the Postal Service enabled my parents to buy their first home. They took great pride in their work.”

Several unions -- including the APWU -- strongly oppose USPS’s efforts to privatize transactions, consolidate facilities and drop day of delivery services.

APWU President Mark Dimondstin has made the APWU’s battle even bigger by galvanizing 64 national organizations to form “A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service.”