Privatization – selling the Postal Service to private corporations – could happen in a few different ways. It might mean a big sell off of the whole USPS to the private sector. It could mean splitting the network into two or three pieces – selling off the most profitable parts to corporations, while leaving the rest to fail. It could even mean contracting out most of the network. However they try to do it, the effect on postal workers would be similar.
Efforts to sell off the Postal Service, in whole or in part, or to strip it of its independence or public service mission, would be of no benefit to the American people. Instead, it would drive up postage rates and lead to reduced service, especially to rural areas.
The Postal Reorganization Act, the 1970 law that created the Postal Service as an independent agency, intended our work to be freed from the shifting political winds, and dedicated to serving the American public. We have fought – many times – to keep our service free from political meddling, but we have never seen a threat this dire. Let’s stand up and fight back, APWU! ■
