Dear MoveOn member,
The USPS has reliably delivered the mail to even the most remote areas of the United States for centuries—but now, in the midst of a pandemic, Donald Trump is attempting to destroy it before our very eyes.
Mail carriers are essential workers who are risking their lives to deliver letters, food, and medicine—and soon ballots—to over 135 million households during the coronavirus pandemic. But instead of providing the post office the resources it needs, Trump is trying to undermine and bankrupt one of the oldest and most reliable institutions in our country.
Why? In a new, outrageous interview with Fox News, Trump explicitly said that he opposes much-needed funding for the post office because he doesn't want to see it used for mail-in voting this November.1
John, the mail-in voting process is safe, effective, and a critical part of our democracy.
That's why we can't let the Trump administration get away away with this. We need to show postal workers we stand with them—and publicly proclaim our commitment to protect the post office. We've just printed a big batch of "We <3 Mail Carriers" stickers and are giving them away for FREE while supplies last.
Last month, Trump's handpicked postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, a Republican megadonor who gave Trump's campaign $1.5 million, instituted what he claimed were changes to "improve operational efficiency"—like cancelling overtime and instructing mail carriers to leave mail at distribution centers overnight—but what watchdog groups are calling deliberate efforts to slow down the mail and bankrupt the post office in advance of November's elections.2 And then DeJoy reassigned or replaced at least 23 top-level Postal Service employees, with hundreds of years of experience between them.3 There are even new reports that mail sorting machines—which would be used to sort ballots—are being removed from post offices around the country.4
Trump's attacks on the post office are not just an inconvenience. They could lead to more than 600,000 postal workers—nearly 40% of whom are workers of color—to unemployment and rip reliable mail delivery—including lifesaving medications and mail-in ballots—from vast swaths of the country.
Thanks for all you do.
–Jenn, Kelly, Sandra, Oscar, and the rest of the team
P.S. We've also printed special envelopes to mail the stickers, so postal workers will know we are standing with them during these uncertain times. Take a look:
Sources:
1. "Trump says he opposes funding USPS because of mail-in voting," CNN, August 13, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141900?t=6&akid=271480%2E40999114%2EHZ-3ea
2. "Mail Delays Fuel Concern Trump Is Undercutting Postal System Ahead of Voting," The New York Times, July 31, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141668?t=8&akid=271480%2E40999114%2EHZ-3ea
3. "Critics of Trump White House decry latest 'Friday night massacre' as postmaster general sidelines two dozen USPS officials," MarketWatch, August 10, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141901?t=10&akid=271480%2E40999114%2EHZ-3ea
4. "Postal Service removes some mail-sorting machines, sparking concerns ahead of election," CNN, August 13, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141964?t=12&akid=271480%2E40999114%2EHZ-3ea
Want to support our work? The MoveOn community will work every moment, day by day and year by year, to resist Trump's agenda, contain the damage, defeat hate with love, and begin the process of swinging the nation's pendulum back toward sanity, decency, and the kind of future that we must never give up on. And to do it we need your support, now more than ever. Will you stand with us?
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