John

Wall Street is watching closely, with forks and knives out, while Trump-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy continues to bring about the decline of the U.S. Postal Service, preparing its demise as a public agency to make it available for private takeover. This has been his 10-year plan since he started during the Trump administration.

DeJoy has said the USPS is in its “death spiral.” Implementing his plans to lay off tens of thousands of workers, reduce the speed and reliability of mail delivery, and dramatically increase prices, DeJoy is doing his best to make his dire prediction come true.

The USPS Board of Governors should fire DeJoy, but they won’t. However, they have forced him to reverse course before, especially when pressure comes from Congress and the grassroots at the same time.

The citizens most affected by this planned failure of the Post Office are seniors, veterans, Native communities, and those in more isolated, rural areas, who are dependent on the U.S. Mail to deliver both medications and Vote at Home ballots.

Stop DeJoy’s Delays! Send a message to your members of Congress and the USPS Board of Governors: Don’t let DeJoy privatize the USPS! Stop mail slowdowns and price hikes, and restore 2012 delivery standards, to save the post office now.

Rural areas are put at greatest risk from the planned obsolescence of the USPS, because the Post Office is legally required to deliver mail everywhere in the country, at flat rates no matter how isolated. But private companies, like UPS and FedEx, don’t build offices where they can’t make a profit, so often they depend on the USPS for that “last mile delivery.”

This is the difference between a public service and a private business: A service exists to serve people and is not bound by the need to produce a profit, whereas a private business cannot succeed without making a profit. The USPS is invaluable due to its ability to bring together all Americans, no matter how far-flung.

DeJoy has shown that he responds to pressure, from grassroots voters and from Congress. Under such pressure, he has in the past agreed to increase the USPS electric vehicle fleet from 10% to 62%, while also reducing emissions 40% by 2030. Another pressure campaign convinced him to hold off on consolidating more processing centers until January 2025, to protect vote-by-mail in the upcoming election.

Now we need to apply similar pressure to stop the USPS’s slow slide to privatization. It’s time to stop the slowdowns and price hikes, and to restore 2012 delivery standards. We want the USPS to thrive as a public service for the 21st century!

Tell Congress and the USPS Governors: Save the Post Office! Stop the slowdowns and price hikes now!

Thank you for standing up for the U.S. Postal Service as a proud public service!

- Amanda

Amanda Ford, Director
Democracy for America
Advocacy Fund