John,

We are two years into Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10 year plan to privatize the United States Postal Service (USPS) and things are going about as terribly as you would expect. Recent reports show that the agency will have a net loss of $6.5 billion for this year, postal employees at the new sorting and delivery centers are being forced to use port-a-potties indefinitely, and on November 14 the public was told the board would no longer allow public comments at its quarterly “open session” meetings.^1,2,3

The Postal Service is one of America’s most revered—and popular—institutions. 77% of adults surveyed in March of this year have a favorable view of the USPS—the only agency that is more popular is the National Park Service.⁴

Only the USPS Board of Governors can rein in DeJoy and—with the expiration of the terms of two Trump appointees—it’s essential that President Biden appoint strong, diverse, and reform-oriented candidates to replace them.

Many civic-minded organizations have called on President Biden to nominate former U.S. Representative Brenda Lawrence and policy expert Sarah Anderson to the USPS Board of Governors. These are two public servants who will bring critical perspectives and expertise to the USPS Board of Governors—exactly when the Postal Service needs it the most.

Join us in calling on President Biden to nominate Rep. Brenda Lawrence and Sarah Anderson to the USPS Board of Governors today.

Rep. Brenda Lawrence worked as a USPS employee for 30 years before she served in Congress, representing southeast Michigan, including parts of Detroit, until January, 2023. As a member of Congress, she valiantly defended the Postal Service against privatization attempts, and was the only member of Congress who was a member of the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers.⁵ Sarah Anderson is a policy expert who has written extensively on USPS and economic and financial issues at CHN’s partner organization, the Institute for Policy Studies, and comes from a family of letter carriers.

We deserve a strong, diverse, and reform-oriented Board of Governors to hold the Postmaster General to the true mission and public service goals of the USPS.

We also need leadership with enthusiasm towards building the Postal Service of the future, who will think creatively about opportunities to expand services that will bring in new revenue like postal banking and other products, instead of narrowly focusing on service cuts and price hikes.

ADD YOUR NAME to urge President Biden to nominate Rep. Brenda Lawrence and Sarah Anderson to the USPS Board of Governors.

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ US Postal Service reports $6.5 billion net loss for 2023 fiscal year
² New, consolidated USPS facilities are operating smoothly, but not yet delivering on improved working conditions
³ Postal Board Suppresses Public Comments To Advance DeJoy’s Destructive Agenda
⁴ Americans feel favorably about many federal agencies, especially the Park Service, Postal Service and NASA
⁵ APWU Endorses Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence for the Postal Board of Governors