The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is a bedrock of communities across the country. It not only supports over 600,000 families with good-paying union jobs, but also serves as the way millions of Americans connect with family and friends; receive letters and packages; and transport critical items such as prescriptions, Social Security checks, and more.

During the coronavirus crisis, the USPS has become even more important for those who aren’t able to make it out to get what they need and for businesses trying to stay above water. For several states like Washington, California, Ohio, Colorado, and Oregon, USPS is integral to vote-by-mail systems as well!

However, the USPS is facing a $13 billion deficit in 2020. To be clear, this isn’t the fault of USPS: While some of this deficit has been caused by the unprecedented coronavirus shutdown and its attendant economic collapse, the USPS has long been the target of an anti-government, trickle-down campaign to intentionally hamstring the program. Did you know that in the George W. Bush era, Republicans in Congress strictly prohibited the USPS from running a surplus, instead forcing them to pay billions into future worker pensions? Literally no other organization in the nation is required to do this, and this requirement is designed to weaken the USPS in moments of crisis.

To make matters worse, the Trump administration is playing politics – ruling out any kind of support for USPS and its 600,000 well-paid union employees. To put it simply, intentionally undermining the jobs and livelihoods of over 600,000 people is morally callous and repugnant – and it’s economic sabotage to consider doing so during one of the worst economic collapses in this country's history.

USPS has the highest approval rating of any federal agency. That’s why a recent poll found more than nine in 10 voters support financial relief for the USPS in the next coronavirus relief bill. Let’s send a message to Congress: It’s utterly irresponsible to put over half a million American workers out of a job simply to further a trickle-down agenda. Cutting the USPS will reduce consumer demand around the country, which will weaken small businesses that rely on the service and imperil those who depend on it for prescription drugs, Social Security checks, and other necessities. With at least 25,000 of our supporters demanding Congress protect USPS, they’ll hear our message loud and clear.

Add your name now to demand Congress protect the USPS and its 600,000 employees!

Let’s examine the roots of this crisis: During the Bush administration, trickle-downers came up with a scheme to lead the USPS toward insolvency and then, they hoped, privatization. In 2006, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which onerously required the USPS to fund their $72 billion pension fund for the next 75 years – instead of on the same “pay as you go” basis that the rest of the federal government and most businesses use. Disguised as financial “accountability,” the true aim of this measure was to take this profitable agency and make it unprofitable.

The results were sadly predictable, and as we see today, devastating: Trickle-downers are now clamoring to privatize the USPS and using the deficits they created as the justification for doing so.

Let’s be clear about what that would mean for you: If postal deliveries were to be privatized, shipping would be less efficient, more expensive, and parts of the country could lose access to a shipping network altogether.

We need you to demand Congress take immediate action to save the USPS: Add your name now and stop trickle-downers like Donald Trump from privatizing the USPS!

Thanks for making sure awful trickle-downers don’t take advantage of this crisis to enrich corporations and upend bedrocks of our communities across America.

Paul Constant
Civic Action