On Thursday, March 20, CUPW will join U.S. postal workers in a day of action to defend the public post office.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is facing one of the most serious threats in its history. Postal worker jobs and unions, and the USPS’s public service mission are under assault by the Trump administration that seems to have one end goal in mind: privatization.
Privatization would only benefit the rich and powerful. A recent report from Wall Street bank, Wells Fargo, noted that privatization would fatten the profits of delivery giants UPS and FedEx. Without a public postal service offering affordable and accessible parcel delivery for all, UPS and FedEx could hike their rates and leave small businesses and customers in rural and remote communities stranded.
President Trump has proposed integrating the USPS into the U.S. Department of Commerce which would eliminate its current independent governance and Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, recently signed an agreement with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut 10,000 jobs through voluntary retirement over the next 30 days. We have witnessed the chaos and havoc DOGE has inflicted on public services across the U.S. as well as the upheaval caused to the lives of tens of thousands of U.S. federal workers. Since 2021, Trump-appointed DeJoy has himself cut 30,000 jobs.
CUPW’s sister unions, the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers, other labour organizations, and even some U.S. Senators have publicly condemned the proposed changes as they not only threaten the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of USPS employees who rely on stable jobs with fair wages and benefits, but will jeopardize reliable, affordable and accessible postal services for tens of millions of Americans.
We must remember that Trump and his billionaire friends will always choose profits over people. It’s about money and power for them – no matter how it affects workers or the public.
The situation in Canada may not be as dire but there are many warning signs that we cannot ignore. Canada Post is asking for major regulatory changes that would negatively impact workers and the public. The Conservative Party’s current policy declaration calls for the privatization of all crown corporations that compete with the private sector. If they are elected, it’s likely that we would see calls for privatization like those in the U.S.
Governments and billionaires need to know that the public post office isn’t for sale and that workers are uniting to advocate for a strong public post office that prioritizes customers and workers in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.
To support our sisters, brothers, and comrades on March 20, CUPW has created signs for you to download. We encourage members to take a picture and post it on social media. Use the hashtag #handsoffourpublicpostoffice. To find out more, visit https://apwu.org/action.
Scan the QR Code to access the signs!
In solidarity,
Jody Hutton
3rd National Vice-President
2023 – 2027 Bulletin no 225