Privatized USPS Would Benefit Few, Hurt Many

Just months before the 2020 presidential election, when many voters expect to cast their ballot by mail due to COVID-19, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy decommissioned over 600 mail processing machines —nearly 10% of what the Postal Service owns—and proposed to close post offices during the lunch hour and eliminate overtime. 

This—as well as his more than $1.2 million in donations to President Trump—gives credence to a theory. 

Source: Poughkeepsie-arlington-post-office is licensed under CC

Last month, DeJoy testified before the House Oversight Committee after being subpoenaed on the suspicion that he was making changes to the USPS in an attempt to slow mail delivery times and thus affect the outcome of the election. Furthermore, DeJoy recently faced another subpoena, this time over campaign finance allegations. Members of his former company, New Breed Logistics, accused DeJoy of pressuring them to donate to and attend fundraisers supporting Trump, then reimbursing them in the guise of large bonuses. 

Whether these claims are true or not—or can be proven—it should be noted that DeJoy’s “cost-cutting” decisions have slowed delivery times by about one to two days. Four prescription drug providers recently reported that delivery times for prescriptions increased, anywhere between half a day and a full week—possibly threatening the health of millions of Americans who depend on the USPS to deliver their medication. And with the slower delivery rates comes a new theory: that Trump, DeJoy and the Republican party are attempting to privatize the USPS.

I refer to it as a theory, but in reality there’s been a push for privatization for decades. Plans to privatize the USPS were even included in the White House’s plans to reorganize the federal government in 2018 with the goal of improving competition for allegedly better service and promoting the reallocation of federal funds currently allocated to the USPS. With DeJoy acting as an avid Trump supporter, for him to have made such changes so close to election season reeks of conspiracy. 

Regardless of the accuracy of such claims, it is still worth noting that the privatization of the USPS would only benefit the capitalist class while significantly harming workers, thus detrimenting the majority of the U.S. population. 

To simply explain what privatizing the USPS would entail, it would go from a public service funded by the government to a privately-owned business, comparable to the NASA vs. SpaceX situation. It would mean that the Postal Service would become privately funded and thus somebody’s money-making tool, rather than a service with a duty to deliver mail to every address in the country. Long-time employees are frustrated as they watch their beloved service lean towards a future where it will be used for political and monetary gain, rather than a way to serve the nation. 

Despite the hindrance to a nationwide service, privatizing the USPS would eliminate over 600,000 jobs, revoking its status as a steady source of employment for many, with the service being the largest employer of veterans in the U.S. The Postal Service is also intended to provide a means of mail delivery to all American households at an affordable cost, to ensure its access to all citizens. The USPS is currently a cheaper alternative to UPS and FedEx, but in the hands of an upper-class private business owner, this would not likely be the case.

At the end of the day, if DeJoy remains as Postmaster General and if Trump pulls off another win this November, it may mean that it will be up to the American people to prevent the dismantling of such a pivotal service. Luckily, there are already ways you can help. A worker-led campaign called U.S. Mail Not For Sale, funded by the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers, recently sprang into action to save the USPS by hosting a nationwide day of protest on Aug. 25. You can support U.S. Mail Not For Sale and spread the word by using #SaveThePostOffice. Other ways to help include contacting your Congressional representative, or even just buying stamps. 

The United States Postal Service is a public service dedicated to serving all citizens of the country; not a business meant to bring in a profit for another wealthy elite. It’s up to us to fund and save our post office, not privatize it.