Today, NALC President Brian Renfroe, APWU President Mark Dimondstein and NRLCA President Don Maston participated in a National Press Club Headliners event in Washington, DC, to discuss the threats facing USPS and the future of the agency.
National Press Club President Mike Balsamo moderated the panel discussion.
The union presidents discussed the severe impacts privatization would have on all Americans, recent actions the unions have taken to bring awareness to this issue, protecting universal service, how Congress and the Administration can help the Postal Service, attacks on letter carriers, former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s recent exit, and more.
When asked about DeJoy’s exit, Renfroe emphasized that the next postmaster general must continue building infrastructure and maintaining universal service while valuing USPS employees. “The service is provided 100 percent by the employees and our unions,” Renfroe said.
Threats of privatization were a recurring topic, and Renfroe reiterated NALC’s firm opposition, warning of its negative impact on more than 300 million Americans, especially 51 million Americans in rural areas. “We serve everyone, everywhere, for the same price every day,” he said.
The Postal Service’s financial situation was also discussed. Renfroe started by emphasizing that it operates as a public service funded by postage and stamps, not taxpayer dollars. He then identified two potential solutions for financial relief: adopting private-sector accounting for retirement funds and passing legislation to allow investments in higher-yield assets. These changes, long advocated by NALC, would help the Postal Service manage costs and ensure long-term stability.
The moderator asked about the increased crimes committed against letter carriers, and Renfroe laid out the details of the Protect Our Letter Carriers Act. “For the longest time, we were viewed among most people as, ‘These are federal employees—don’t mess with them. If you mess with them, you’re going to jail.’ We need to make that a reality again.”
The value and possible use cases of the Postal Service’s network were also highlighted. “Any attack, partial privatization, any reduction in the service we provide, ultimately results in destroying that network and eliminating, probably for good, our ability to do things like the census, like the COVID test, or any other things that we might want to do to serve the people of this country,” Renfroe said.
In his closing remarks, Renfroe said that “the Postal Service is as relevant today as ever” and that “we intend to continue to fight any threats.”
Following the Executive Council’s decision to host a day of action, today’s event was the second major public action this week after hundreds of rallies were organized by NALC branches on Sunday, March 23.
Watch today’s full event here.
