US Postal Service workers and advocates are holding a day of action today in more than 150 cities as they brace for the Trump administration to launch an “illegal hostile takeover” which they warn will slash jobs, boost prices and shut down post offices.
Donald Trump’s officials are weighing plans to transfer the USPS to the Department of Commerce, stripping it of its independence. The president and his allies have also signaled they are willing to privatize the service.
“This is the people’s postal service, emphasis on ‘service’,” said Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, in a statement on Thursday’s demonstrations. “If this administration succeeds in taking over the USPS, it will lead to higher prices and reduced service, especially in rural areas.”
Harrison Fields, White House principal deputy press secretary, said: “The American people depend on the United States Postal Service, and it’s unacceptable for political interference to disrupt its operations. President Trump supports the hard work of these individuals and is solely working to make the entire federal government more efficient and uproot waste, fraud and abuse.”
The USPS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“This administration wanted to sell off the postal service for parts the last time they were in power, and it was deeply unpopular. This time is no different,” said Porter McConnell of the Save the Post Office Coalition, a network of 300 public interest groups. “Members of Congress have been hearing from their constituents by the thousands that the mail is getting slower and less reliable, all because back in 1970, Congress forced this public institution to turn a profit, even as its purpose in the constitution was to bind the nation together through communication.”
Cities where actions are being held include Atlanta, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington DC.
A flyer in support of the day of action notes privatization would result in higher prices and eliminated services, especially for rural areas that rely on the USPS.
“It belongs to the people on Main Street, it shouldn’t be handed over to Wall Street, Dimondstein said. “The US mail is not for sale.”
Trump told reporters at a press conference last December that he was open to privatizing the USPS. In February, reports surfaced that the president was considering firing the postal board of governors, taking over the USPS and rolling it into the executive branch under control of the commerce department.
Ruth Rhoades, who is involved with the local American Postal Workers Union protest in Redding, California, told the Redding Record Searchlight: “They are threatening your services here locally. They want to shut down the smaller post offices.”
Earlier this month, the USPS reached a deal with billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge), permitting it to search for “further efficiencies” as the service plans to cut 10,000 jobs through a voluntary retirement program within the next 30 days.
At a tech conference shortly before the deal was announced, Musk said he thinks the USPS should be privatized.
The US postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a fundraiser and prolific donor to Trump who was appointed by the president in 2020, had faced significant criticism over consolidation efforts under his 10-year austerity plan. He announced plans to resign last month.
