Support the APWU and NALC: Save the USPS!

The Trump White House is attacking the United States Postal Service, in a vicious combination of voter suppression efforts and a radical privatization agenda. A new Trump-appointed Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, has cleaned house in the USPS executive and reorganized the service rapidly. The President himself confirmed last week that his withholding of stimulus funding for the public service will probably create delays that would undermine, or make impossible, mail-in voting. In the pandemic, voting by mail will be more vital than ever.

The biggest unions representing U.S. Postal Workers are the American Postal Workers' Union (APWU), some 200,000 strong, and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), which represents city delivery letter carriers. They've been coordinating efforts, and finding tremendous public support. They've already had some of the policy changes put on hold for the time being.

Some Americans are surprised that the postal service has suddenly become a battleground, but postal workers know that our work is often where democracy, the public sphere, and the economy converge: in a reliable, tried-and-true, relevant public service that has survived many attacks and attempts to cut back or privatize. We cherish our public post office just like our American allies do.

We're familiar with attacks on the public postal service. With broad public support, we fought off cutbacks that were introduced by the Harper Conservatives in 2013, and we continue to fight to expand and strengthen the service. The APWU, too, has a campaign for postal banking, and as workers we share pride in our work – we know its value.

Meanwhile in the United States, the USPS has worked for years under the burden – imposed by the Bush administration – of having to pre-fund retiree health benefits for 75 years. The set-up has long been in place, threatening the USPS's financial viability, and Trump is attempting to make the decisive blow.

The APWU has launched some online solidarity actions we can take for a start: https://apwu.org/savepostoffice

While the US postal unions are doing advocacy work with Congress and the Senate, they're also fighting off fear and demoralization among the workforce – you may remember how it felt for us in the months after the December 2013 cuts announcement. It took time to see it, but we had the power to defeat the cuts. Follow #savethepostoffice, find NALC <https://www.facebook.com/nalc.national> and APWU <https://www.facebook.com/APWUnational> on Facebook, and post solidarity messages – postal worker to postal worker – reminding them that they have international support – that they can resist and win!

We'll keep you informed about other ways to support the USPS postal workers. Next Tuesday, August 25 is a day of action. Support local solidarity actions – the national office will support you however we can. Our sisters, brothers and comrades in the U.S. Postal Service need our solidarity, and USPS decision-makers need to know that the international labour movement is watching.

The struggle continues!