The U.S. Postal Service is facing an uncertain future after the resignation this week of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the suggestion by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, that the mail service could be privatized.
Unions representing postal workers have balked at the idea of privatization, staging protests across the country.
While they support modernization efforts, including those initiated by DeJoy, union leaders warned that allowing private corporations to run the U.S. mail will ultimately harm everyday citizens, especially the estimated 51 million people living in rural areas who depend on the Postal Service.
“It’s a terrible idea for everyone that we serve,” National Association of Letter Carriers President Brian L. Renfroe said during a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.