Dear John,

Trump-appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has announced plans to slash 50,000 USPS jobs.^[1]

Add that news to the fact we’re two years into his destructive 10-year plan for the Post Office -- slowing mail delivery, hiking prices, and closing store locations -- and it’s clear we’re on a fast track to one goal:

Privatization.

DeJoy and his Republican friends want to hand over this vital American institution to for-profit corporations like the United Parcel Service and FedEx.^[2] For decades they’ve worked to privatize a host of public services to pad the profits of their wealthy donors and favorite CEOs.

From Social Security and Medicare to public schools and transportation, there’s no government program too big or too small that can’t be turned into a gift to Wall Street -- and the United State Post Office is the big kahuna.

It’s never been a good idea. It breaks my #1 rule on privatization: Don’t privatize when the purpose of the service is to bring us together -- reinforcing our communities, helping us connect with one another across class and race, and linking up Americans who’d otherwise be isolated or marginalized.

This is why we have a public postal service in the first place, one that serves everyone, even small rural communities where for-profit private carriers often won’t go. And this is why we must stop DeJoy’s plan before it’s too late.

The USPS Board of Governors can stop it dead in its tracks, but they have to act. Please sign and send a direct message and demand they put a stop to Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to privatize the postal service now.

Listen, Trump appointed DeJoy to be his hatchet man^[3], to carry out the privatization Republicans have been working towards for decades^[4] and DeJoy has been nothing but unrelenting in his focus. Now, despite the change in administration, DeJoy continues to destroy the USPS undaunted.^[5]

With the House controlled by MAGA Republicans, the Post Office is at greater risk than ever.

Privatization would lead to reduced services and higher rates for everyone, but especially rural communities. Private companies have no incentive to reach the hardest-to-serve areas because there’s not enough profit. That’s why when they actually do it, they’ll charge an arm and a leg to get it done.

Except folks in remote areas and indigenous communities depend on the Postal Service for essential deliveries, from medications to Social Security checks and vote-by-mail ballots.

Ironically, it is rural customers, many of them the same rural customers that largely vote for Republican politicians, who would stand to lose the most from privatization. That’s because, unlike private delivery services like FedEx or UPS, the U.S. Postal Service is required by law to deliver all its mail at the same rate, no matter how distant or remote.

The truth is I could go on and on talking about the benefits of keeping the USPS out of the hands of Wall Street and corporate America, but I know I don’t need to. You already understand exactly what’s at stake.

So let’s work together to stop DeJoy from turning a national treasure into a for-profit disgrace. Send a message to the USPS Board of Governors to demand they end Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to privatize the post office now!

Thank you for doing your part to keep America connected!

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action

^{[1] USPS Plans To Shed 50,000 Jobs To Reach 'Break Even' Point
[2] It's Time to Privatize the United States Postal Service
[3] Trump's own man is now in charge of the US Postal Service. Is privatization of the USPS increasingly likely?
[4] Trump’s Fix for Postal Service: Privatize It
[5] The fight to oust Louis DeJoy and his ‘disastrous’ austerity plan}