Dear America,
The Trump Admininistration is always saying the quiet part out loud and the current politicization and privatization of the USPS has been no exception. The plan to wholesale privatize the People's Post Office was previously announced in a June 2018 OMB report.
At the behest of the privatizers, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in 2006. This legislation required the USPS to pre-fund 50 years of retiree benefits into the future. No other business, private or public, has ever been subject to such onerous fiscal demands. This legislation also prohibited the USPS from raising rates.
Thus, the fix was in. It must be noted that this legislation led to losses of 5.5 billion dollars (or more) a year over the past decade. It must also be noted this legislation accounted for 92 percent of overall loss since 2007.These losses forced the agency to respond by reducing staffing and services , closing post offices and being unable to invest in infrastructure, new vehicles, etc.
The American people finally had enough and in response to their concerns , the House repealed this horrible legislation with the USPS Fairness Act this past spring. The APWU was successful in forming a bi-partisan Senate coalition and was confident this legislarion would pass. Then the pandemic hit.
Considering this prior effort to starve the USPS to death didnt work, the privatizers have now bypassed legislative avenues to break the People's Post Office and have placed one of their own at its helm. As such, the current PMG, a Trump Mega donor with 70 million dollars of assets in our competitors, is currently exploiting the pandemic and the election to suppress votes, chase away business and shake public confidence in the agency.
The People's Post Office currently has bi-partisan support of over 90 percent , a record high. As such, this rating poses an obvious obstacle to privatization.The general public should be aware that the recent directives by PMG DeJoy to delay the mail are just a continuation of a never ending assault upon this agency by corporate privatizers . And the three " D ‘s” of postal privatization playbook are always the same.
First they and their allies seek to DELAY the mail. This opens the door for them to publicly and relentlessly DENIGRATE the institution and its employees in order to undermine public support and confidence. Finally , if they are successful in those efforts they can come in for the kill and DESTROY ( privatize) the institution.
President Trump continuously refers to the People's Post Office as a 'joke'. Yet, as one American dies every minute because of his continual failure of leadership , those who remain alive, including veterans and seniors, depend on their Post Office more than ever for the timely and affordable delivery of their medication , checks, ballots, etc
Yes, this is all far from a joke! These current delays based on voter suppression and privatization efforts have serious real life consequences for everyday Americans regardless of political affiliation. We ask that all Americans contact their legislators and tell them they oppose any effort by the current PMG to delay the mail including the removal of machines, leaving mail behind, the reduction of hours, and the removal of collection boxes.
Shipping costs sum up why the privatizers want to destroy your post office. Simply put, they currently cannot compete with our dedicated employees and our national network which provides such a high level of universal and affordable service. Under the status quo, they are unable to charge you even more. Unfortunately, if they ever succeed in their efforts to sacrifice the People's Post Office - a national treasure - at the alter of private profit , most Americans will see their mailing rates soar through the roof.
The APWU believes the PMG should be serving the American public and not the personal and political interests of the President and the privatizers . The American public deserves nothing less than prompt and reliable service. There is nothing more American than the People's Post Office. United with each other we will defeat these efforts that are slowing down the delivery of our mail.
Respectfully,
Chris Czubakowski
Vice President / APWU Milwaukee Area Local
APWU of Wisconsin Legislative Director
