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Rural Letter Carriers Gather in Washington, D.C. to Oppose Privatization of the U.S. Postal Service [1]
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Date: 2025-03-28
On Tuesday, March 25, rural letter carriers from across the country gathered in front of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. to rally in support of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which they said faces an increasing threat of privatization under President Donald Trump.
The rally, organized by the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA), was attended by members of Congress on both sides of the aisle as well as postal workers from the American Postal Workers Union, National Association of Letter Carriers, and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union. The event marked the launch of the NRLCA’s National Campaign to Protect the U.S. Postal Service from Privatization, which the union said is its top priority to preserve what it calls a “critical institution that serves rural America and the country at large.”
Approximately 51.3 million rural addresses would be disproportionately impacted by privatization of the Postal Service, according to NRLCA National President Don Maston.
It is unprofitable for private companies to deliver mail to the end of long dirt roads located 50 or 100 miles from the nearest post office, Maston said. Privatization would add surcharges to such rural deliveries, which include essential goods like prescription medications and documents like social security checks and ballots.
This is not the first time that proposed changes to the Postal Service have had disproportionate impacts on rural residents. In August 2024, plans surfaced by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to eliminate evening mail pickup times in rural and remote areas as a way to cut costs. DeJoy has since resigned as Postmaster General, raising concerns about the future direction of USPS under the Trump administration.
“Rural Americans rely on rural carriers,” Maston said. “In fact, the entire community relies on the rural carrier, and that sense of community would be taken away, and the disproportionately impacted group in the Postal Service would be rural carriers, rural Americans, and rural communities.”
Speakers at Tuesday’s rally called for bipartisan support for House Resolution 70, a resolution in the House of Representatives that affirms the Postal Service’s role as a federal institution and opposes privatization. Since being introduced at the end of January, the resolution has garnered 180 cosponsors.
Representative Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) helped introduce the resolution. He told the crowd that he is working to prevent privatization of the Postal Service.
“I’ve spoken to the White House and the Speaker—I said keep your hands off,” Garbarino said. “This is a bad idea. We’re going to continue to fight for you all to make sure you get the support you need, the money you need, and the protections you need to keep your jobs.”
Garbarino is among 11 Republicans to have signed on to the resolution since it was introduced. On the Democratic side, 169 representatives have cosponsored the resolution.
Attendees showed their opposition to Postal Service privatization. (Photo by Julia Tilton / The Daily Yonder)
A similar resolution may soon be arriving in the Senate, according to Senator Gary Peters (D-MI). At the rally, Peters said it is his goal to ensure that the postal service stays independent. He said he will be introducing a resolution in the Senate for Congress to say no to privatization.
“Our founders understood that in order to connect a great country, you needed to have a postal service and deliver to every single address,” Peters said. “You’re not gonna get that from private companies.”
The USPS dates back to the writing of the U.S. Constitution. This summer, the institution will celebrate 250 years of operation, making it older than the country itself. Some postal workers who attended the rally said that the service piece is what distinguishes USPS from a private corporation. The Postal Service is not funded by taxpayer money—instead, the sale of stamps offers a source of revenue for the institution that subsidizes a portion of its costs.
Kirby Ricketts is an executive committeeman on the NRLCA National Board. He said that the USPS was made to be a service for the American people. He said he worries that privatization will leave rural residents without access to a reliable and affordable mail delivery.
“If it’s not cost effective to take that prescription that last mile, they’re not gonna do it,” Ricketts said. “Privatization is all about the bottom line, and we’re in it for the service.”
After the rally, more than 100 rural postal workers headed to meetings with members of Congress to ask for their support in backing the USPS. Maston said that the responsibility is on all Americans to stand up for the Postal Service to keep delivery costs down.
“U.S. mail is not for sale—it’s not just a catchy saying, it is a reality,” Maston said. “We’ve been around 250 years and we’re going to be around another 250 years.”
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https://dailyyonder.com/rural-letter-carriers-gather-in-washington-d-c-to-oppose-privatization-of-the-u-s-postal-service/2025/03/28/
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