The Trump administration has set its sights on the U.S. Postal Service and its 600,000 workers, 91 percent of whom are union members. The USPS is the nation’s largest unionized employer.
Postal workers like me are raising the alarm. If any agency should be immune to political meddling, it’s the USPS. The Postal Service’s role is outlined in the U.S. Constitution. The 1970 Postal Reform Act establishes postal workers’ right to collective bargaining and to filing with the NLRB. If the Trump administration thinks it can interfere in this unionized workplace, no worker is safe.
The Washington Post reported on February 21 that President Trump planned to move control of the USPS to the Commerce Department and fire the Postal Service’s Board of Governors.
President Trump confirmed that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was “going to look at” the USPS. The Board of Governors has sought legal representation to defend against this eventual attack.
Meanwhile, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy notified the Board of Governors that he intends to step down and that they would need to seek a replacement.
The two largest postal unions, the American Postal Workers Union and the National Association of Letter Carriers, are operating under expired collective bargaining agreements. The current agreements are extended by mutual agreement with the current USPS leadership.
