‘The Postal Service is not for sale.’
Conversations about privatizing the USPS have been ongoing and floated by President Donald Trump previously.
Charlotte , NC – Charlotte postal workers held another rally Sunday, speaking out against a proposal to privatize the U.S. Postal Service.
Sunday’s rally was held at the post office in Ballantyne and led by the local branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers. Leaders said it’s all about protecting rural communities that rely on the Postal Service. Conversations about privatizing the USPS have been ongoing and floated by President Donald Trump previously.
“The NALC and all postal employees what the postal workers to know, and the president to know, that the Postal Service is not for sale,” NALC Branch President Sylvin Stevens said. “They’re only going to sell out the big cities. The small rural communities are not going to get service and that’s not good for any community.”
Sunday’s rally was part of a nationwide day of action by NALC branches across the U.S.
Earlier this month, United States Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress the USPS and DOGE made a deal to cut costs and employees over the next month. DeJoy reportedly wrote a letter to Congress detailing the agency’s plans to cut its workforce by 10,000 workers with the help of a voluntary retirement program that was announced in January.
“It has long been known that the Postal Service has a broken business model that was not financially sustainable without critically necessary and fundamental core change,” he wrote. “Last night I signed an agreement with the General Services Administration and DOGE representatives to assist us in identifying and achieving further efficiencies.”
The letter goes on to say the USPS is projected to lose $200 billion. It didn’t state when the projected loss would have hit, but USPS lost an estimated $9.5 billion last year..
What is the USPS? Can it be privatized?
The USPS in its current form was established by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970.
That law clearly states that the mail has to be delivered by the federal government, not private companies: “The United States Postal Service shall be operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the people by the Government of the United States, authorized by the Constitution, created by Act of Congress, and supported by the people.”
The law also lays out the fundamental requirements of that service, such as delivering six days a week and delivering to every address in the country, no matter how remote and expensive it is to reach.
Because these functions are enshrined in federal law, the president cannot change them with executive orders.