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 #USPSEssentialForever
#SaveThePostOffice
#ProtectVoteByMail

 
 
 

The Postal Service is under attack. If we don't unite and act to save it, it might be gone by September.

We are out in the streets!
We are writing to Congress!
We are spreading the word and raising awareness!
We are thanking postal workers!

The US Postal Service is our original essential service, dedicated to the public good and embedded in the constitution.The US Postal Service enables a free press and delivers vital medications, paychecks, love letters, and benefits. It connects us all. And, more critically than ever before, the Postal Service provides access to the ballot box via vote by mail. 

Our democracy depends on it. 

Join us and take action in your own community!

What is going on with the US Postal Service?  

The US Postal Service (USPS) is in crisis — it could run out of money by the end of the summer.  While Congress has provided $4 billion in funding for private courier services like UPS and FedEx as part of the coronavirus bailout, it has provided no funding to the USPS.

On top of the threat to their employment, postal workers have been forced to work without proper access to PPE or cleaning supplies. As of mid-May, over 1,200 USPS employees—essential workers all—have tested positive for coronavirus. Over 40 have died.

Why is the Postal Service in such bad shape?

Coronavirus is certainly bringing this crisis to a head, as the volume of mail has plummeted.  The most devastating blow to the USPS came in 2006, when Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.  Among other things, this Act required the Postal Service to pre-fund the pension and healthcare costs for retirees for the next 75-years (for future employees who hadn’t even been born yet!).  No other federal agency or private business shoulders this unique burden, and the requirement greatly contributes to the Post Office’s financial struggles. The Post Office should be allowed to fund its pension and healthcare costs using a pay-as-they-go model, like every other agency and company does.

This Act also put price caps on first class mail and other services, and required that package delivery couldn’t be priced above its cost.  The year that this Act passed Congress, the USPS made a profit of $900 million; since then, the USPS has been losing money. The pricing restrictions and the billions of dollars required to fund the pension are why the USPS is operating at a loss today.

As a further blow, Trump appointed Louis DeJoy the 75th Postmaster General of the US Postal Service; he will take over June 15.  DeJoy is a businessman and donor to Trump’s campaigns. He will be the first Postmaster General in two decades who didn’t come up through the USPS ranks.

Why hasn’t the government fixed this?

Many on the right are eager to privatize the Postal Service, which would sharply raise prices and likely cut off access for millions of rural Americans.  Even today, services like UPS and FedEx rely on the USPS to deliver their packages to remote locations because UPS and FedEx don’t service those areas.  

Why should we care?

The US Postal Service serves every American at a reasonable price. It is mandated to deliver to EVERY address in the nation.  The US Postal Service employs over 600,000 people, 40% of whom are people of color.  For over 235 years, the USPS has been the second largest employer of veterans in the country, second only to the Department of Defense; they currently have nearly 120,000 veteran employees, 21% of the postal workforce.  Millions of Americans, especially those in rural areas, depend on the post office for delivery of prescription drugs, groceries, paychecks, benefits, tax refunds, personal correspondence and vote-by-mail.

Why is vote-by-mail important?

Vote-by-mail is also known as absentee voting.  In the last two federal elections, 25% of voters submitted their ballots by mail.  With coronavirus and a Presidential election looming, it is more urgent than ever to protect the rights and ability of all Americans to be able to vote by mail.

More information on vote-by-mail is available here.

How can this be fixed?

  • Repeal the Pension law with the 75-year pre-pay mandate that was enacted in 2006.  

  • Provide coronavirus bailout funding to USPS. 

  • Expand the functions of the postal service: reestablish the basic banking services that the post office used to offer—like check cashing and savings accounts—and the distribution of hunting and fishing licenses. 

  • Develop efforts to create universal vote by mail as quickly as possible and halt them being undermined by starving the Postal Service of funding.

What can I do?

Support the Postal Service by buying stamps, and use their package delivery service whenever possible. Mail some postcards - maybe to Congress to ask them to support and bail out the USPS.

You can purchase stamps here, or go to your local post office - either of these will support the Postal Service!

Call, tweet and email your legislators.  Tell them the Postal Service is critical to our democracy and our communities and we cannot afford to lose it.

Show support to your local mail carriers and postal workers by chalking messages of support at your local post office and around neighborhood mailboxes.  Leave your mail carrier a note or sign of support at your own mailbox. If you can spare wipes or hand sanitizer, give them some. 

Post and tag photos of chalking at your post office with: #USPSEssentialForever #SaveThePostOffice #ProtectVoteByMail