The weekend brought protests across the United States to prevent President Donald Trump‘s plans to privatize the United States Postal Service and eliminate more jobs.
National Association of Letter Carriers President Brian Renfroe spoke at a Los Angeles rally, as reported by USA Today.
“We had an election in November, and some people voted for President Trump, and some people voted for Vice President Harris, some people voted for other candidates. But you know what none of them voted for? To dismantle the Postal Service,” Renfroe said.
Rallies were held in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Indiana, Missouri and Florida.
“We’re trying to alert the public, the people of the country, that our postal services are truly in danger. This is not a one-off day, this is the beginning of an ongoing fight,” American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein said at a D.C. rally.
Congress was informed last week that the USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy signed an agreement with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to eliminate jobs and address the “big problems” USPS faces.
The USPS, founded in Philadelphia in 1775, is an independent government agency, employs 635,000 workers and lost about $9.5 billion in revenue in 2024.
Democrats responded with outrage, including Rep. Gerald Connolly, who is a ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He said the Trump Administration‘s plan to cut spending lacked transparency and accountability and was a “chainsaw approach.” Connolly sent a letter to DeJoy on March 18 regarding the agreement with DOGE.
“Congress and the American people have a right to know the full details of the agreement, the extent to which you have enabled DOGE to apply its chainsaw approach to America’s most trusted institution and how the actions of DOGE employees will undermine lifesaving services, expose sensitive taxpayer data and contribute to other unlawful activity,” Connolly, who represents Virginia’s District 11, said.
A petition from MoveOn and RuralOrganizing.org calls on the Trump Administration to stop its plans to take over and dissolve the USPS. Trump’s plan includes firing the USPS’s bipartisan governing board and selling off the profitable parts. The petition has more than 43,000 of the necessary 45,000 signatures.
“Rural communities will not let billionaires like Elon Musk take our post offices away. The U.S. Postal Service delivers to everyone — no matter where they live — including households in rural areas. But if billionaires privatize and take over the post office, they will stop delivering to rural towns because it’s not profitable. Rural communities won’t give up our essential mail service just so billionaires like Musk can add a few more dollars to their pile,” Shawn Sebastian, Organizing Director of RuralOrganizing.org, said.
The petition points to how privatizing the post office will have disastrous effects on millions of Americans across the country, specifically in rural areas. Many rural communities and residents lack broadband coverage and depend on mail delivery to pay bills, receive life-saving medications, vote and communicate with family.
Rural mail carriers also provide critical services such as offering stamps and money orders and carry change-of-address and other USPS forms, and assistance in emergency situations where infrastructure is sparse.
Related stories:
‘Fierce opposition’: Virginia lawmakers warn Trump against USPS changes
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Rebecca Barnabi
