Postal workers and supporters nationwide, including in Cleveland and Akron, gathered this past Sunday to rally against the proposed privatization of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The actions come on the heels of President Donald Trump's criticism and proposals to move USPS under the Department of Commerce potentially, a move they fear could lead to job cuts and a shift towards a profit-over-service mentality.
Rallies, organized by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), were in direct response to announced plans to cut USPS staff and budget, aligning with the Trump administration's overall efforts to cut federal spending. Participants want to send a clear message to the federal government that such privatization efforts would negatively impact service delivery, particularly in rural areas. President of the NALC Branch 40, Eric Poston, told FOX8, "The United States Postal Service is meant to be for the people and not privatized where people can make money and profit off of that."
A similar sentiment was echoed in Akron, where Ben Harris, president of NALC Branch 148, discussed the risk of postal employees losing their jobs and further emphasized the importance of the USPS's uniform rates across the nation. In a rally that saw over 200 participants, attendees voiced concerns that changes might lead to compromised service for monetary gains. "The point of the government was never to make money," a protester remarked in an interview with WKYC.
Meanwhile, local supporters also highlighted the value postal workers bring to their communities beyond mail delivery. "The postal carriers are not just people that deliver your mail," Darlene Gabler told Cleveland19. "They are the eyes and ears of our community and they're valued."
These protests come after the announcement earlier this month that USPS plans to reduce its workforce by 10,000 employees through a voluntary early retirement program. This plan was put in motion during the final days of the Biden administration but has continued to cause unrest among postal workers and supporters under the current Trump administration's push for efficiency and spending cuts. "USPS currently employs about 640,000 workers tasked with making deliveries from inner cities to rural areas and even far-flung islands," as reported by WKYC, illustrating the breadth of service potentially at risk.
