Postal Workers and Allies Rally to Oppose USPS Privatization Efforts

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, a coalition of labor unions, progressive organizations and concerned citizens took part in a day of action to voice opposition to proposals that could radically reshape the U.S. Postal Service. 

The event, organized by Our Revolution, the American Postal Workers Union, and others, highlighted growing concerns about the future of the USPS under the Trump administration’s privatization proposals.

Postal workers and community members held banners declaring, “The U.S. Mail Is Not For Sale” and “Stop Trump & the Oligarchs” outside the Curseen-Morris Processing & Distribution Center in Washington, D.C., as leaders called for the USPS to remain independent, publicly funded, and free from corporate interests. Similar protests took place across the country.

Protestors argued that any attempt to privatize the USPS would disproportionately affect working-class Americans, especially in rural communities where mail delivery is often a lifeline for essential goods and services.

“The U.S. Post Office is the only service in rural America that many people can rely on to deliver packages,” one postal worker in attendance said. “We know what happens when public goods and public services get privatized. The price goes up, it becomes unaffordable, and we know that is not what we want for the Post Office and not what we want for the postal service.” 

Protestors attempted to speak directly to the administration’s proposed changes to the USPS and privatization, which they argue could undermine the service’s ability to function effectively as a public institution. 

The Trump administration has pushed for changes within the Postal Board of Governors, with reports suggesting that the president could look to remove current leadership, including Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and place the service under the control of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a businessman with extensive ties to the private sector.

Supporters of these changes argue that the USPS is in financial distress and needs structural reform to ensure its long-term viability. Opponents, however, believe that privatization would lead to reduced services, higher prices, and the potential loss of tens of thousands of jobs, including positions held by military veterans and workers in communities that rely on the USPS for vital services.

“This is a service of the American public to the people — to the people who rely on it,” Charlie Cash, APWU Industrial Relations director, said. “I personally grew up in a very small town in Northeastern Nevada; We relied everyday on the postal service for everything we had … I never saw a FedEx truck or a UPS truck drive down my two miles of dirt road to get to my house. It was always the postal service who came there.”

Responding to rumors that facilities may close if they cannot turn a profit, he added, “This is a public service for everybody, no matter what the cost is. A public service delivers for the people no matter the cost.”

This is not the first time postal workers have campaigned against proposed changes.

Aarion Brown, APWU national support services director, reminded rally-goers that this month marks 55 years since the postal strike of 1970 and over a decade since the Stop Staples campaign, which sought to outsource postal work to Staples workers. 

“We stood up and we won,” Brown said. “And moving on to 2020, during the midst of the pandemic, we stood up to the postmaster general who would not ensure that ballots would be mailed for the election during the middle of the pandemic.

“Now we are in 2025, we have another fight on our hands. We have an administration that is more or less rogue … We have seen what they have done for the last two months, and a month ago we got word that this might be coming to the postal service. We got word that the postal service might be put under the Department of Commerce, illegally — because the postal service is an independent agency.”

Supporters of the Trump administration’s current proposed reforms argue that restructuring the USPS could help address long-term financial challenges. The USPS, like many public services, faces significant financial hurdles, partly due to mandated pension obligations and increased competition from private carriers. Some believe that the introduction of private sector management could provide the necessary innovation and financial efficiency to ensure the service’s continued success.

Those who oppose privatization, however, argue that it could lead to the loss of essential services and significant job cuts, with higher rates for consumers and diminished access to mail services in rural and underserved areas. Critics worry that turning over control to private interests would prioritize profits over public service, undermining a vital piece of American infrastructure.

“The Post Office is a 270 year institution that has served the American public since the invention of it by our brother Ben Franklin,” Daleo Freeman, APWU’s Human Relations director, said. “So when somebody goes in to attack this public institution, what do we have to do? Fight back! We have a message for [Postmaster] DeJoy and Elon Musk and the administration that wants to sit at the table and discuss what they want to do with our Post Office, but don’t want to have us … the invested parties at the table: Hands off our public postal service!”