Postal workers rally against abolishing the United States Postal Service

US: Across the nation, postal employees demonstrated on Sunday against the dissolution of the USPS. To warn that any attempt to privatize or reorganize the agency would jeopardize employment and the services that Americans depend on, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) organized protests in more than 200 locations.

President Donald Trump was reportedly mulling proposals to move the USPS to the Commerce Department in February. Additionally, Trump and his supporters have said that they are open to privatizing the program.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy informed Congress earlier this month that the USPS will eliminate 10,000 positions over the course of the next 30 days via a voluntary early retirement program. In order to address “big problems” at the agency, which has had financial difficulties recently, DeJoy also said that the agency would collaborate with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

At protests around the country on Thursday, postal employees also united against the threats to USPS.

According to reports and social media postings, hundreds of postal workers demonstrated on Sunday in locations like Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Nashville, Houston, Washington, D.C., and others.

In Chicago, workers wore red shirts that said “Fight Like Hell” to “send a clear message to Trump & Musk” on Sunday, the Chicago Federation of Labor said in a post on X, previously Twitter.

“If you think you’re going to privatize the USPS, you’re in for a FIGHT!” the message went on to say. Absolutely not! Don’t interfere with our mail service!”

Lawmakers who attended demonstrations on Sunday in support of the postal workers included Senators Dick Durbin and Tina Smith, as well as Representative Maxine Waters.

At a demonstration in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, which drew over 200 participants, Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, said that DOGE was committing a “hostile takeover” of USPS, according to MPR News.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Texas Representative Al Green informed demonstrators in Houston that he would oppose DeJoy’s proposed cutbacks and would not support the privatization of USPS.

Any attempt to privatize or reorganize USPS is a “direct threat” to 640,000 postal workers, the “universal service every American relies on,” and millions of families and businesses, particularly those in rural America, according to an NALC flier promoting Sunday’s rallies.

According to the flyer, the Constitution “gives Congress, not the president, a key role in setting postal policy,” making such plans “illegal and unconstitutional.”

It also states, “Mandated by federal law, USPS has been an independent, self-sufficient agency for 55 years.”

On February 21, President Donald Trump stated, “We want a post office that operates efficiently and doesn’t lose a lot of money. We’re considering doing that. Additionally, there will be a kind of merger, but the Postal Service will still exist, and I believe it will function much more effectively.”

According to Reuters, Elon Musk said at a conference earlier in March, “I believe it makes sense to private everything that can be done so. For instance, I believe that Amtrak and the Post Office need to be privatized. We ought to privatize as much as we can.

“This is an attack on letter carriers, all 640,000 postal workers, and 8 million jobs associated with the United States Postal Service,” NALC National posted on X on Sunday. A $1.9 T assault on 51.5 million rural people and businesses, a sector essential to our economy, and the more than 300 million Americans who depend on the USPS.”

“The public does not want the postal service to be dismantled, and they certainly do not want it to be sold off in bits and pieces,” Willy Ferguson, a 48-year veteran of the postal service and president of NALC chapter 283, told the Houston Chronicle.

In a video on X, Senator Dick Durbin stated, “Most people are unaware that the U.S. Postal Service was established by the Constitution, but they are aware that they rely on it every day, every week, to transport mail and carry out important tasks that link America together. Elon Musk and others in Washington are now advocating for the privatization of this postal service. I’m against it. Let’s maintain a political agency that is autonomous and doesn’t change with each president.

“Today, I joined postal workers to say HELL NO to Trump’s plans to privatize USPS,” Wisconsin Democrat Representative Gwen Moore posted on X. The Constitution mentions the postal service. Every zip code in America is intended to benefit from it.

Minnesota Democrat Senator Tina Smith said on X: “Musk and Trump should avoid the USPS at all costs.

“Postal workers ensure that people get their medications, bills, and wages on schedule, which is a fundamental constitutional function. DeJoy, Musk, and Trump’s persistent efforts to destroy the post office are an attempt to sever a vital link for individuals in Minnesota and around the United States. I’m supporting the postal workers.

DeJoy promised Congress that by the middle of April, 10,000 jobs will be lost. He did not specify in his letter when DOGE will start collaborating with USPS.

Without a congressional act, an attempt to combine the USPS with the Department of Commerce may not be feasible.

However, there will probably be further demonstrations and legal challenges to any attempts to reorganize the agency or reduce employment.