At its convention held in Pittsburgh earlier this week, the American Postal Workers’ Union sent a clear message to the Trump administration: The U.S. mail is not for sale!
In June 2018, the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a proposal to privatise the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). OMB claims that “like many European nations, the United States could privatize its postal operator while maintaining strong regulatory oversight to ensure fair competition and reasonable prices for customers.”
Head of UNI Post & Logistics Cornelia Broos underlined in her speech at the convention that: “only a hand full postal companies have been privatized worldwide (within of the EU, only 6). The consequences of privatisation always mean the downsizing of the network, the cut of employment (in average 25%) and a raise in prices by 20-30%. Privatisation was never, ever successful in history, nowhere! Not successful for the citizens, nor for the workers.”
The convention’s theme of “Fighting today for a better tomorrow” was put into reality with a rally of hundreds of postal workers from all 50 states showing that postal workers are clearly against the privatisation of the service.
“This White House, the Heritage Foundation, and their billionaire backers, the Wall Street investors, they want their greedy hands on the public till and the public good – but they’ve started something that they’re not going to be able to stop,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “They think this is their time…We’re going to show them this is truly our time.”
UNI Global Union pledges full support and solidarity with the postal workers and their unions in their fight to protect this vital public service.
“UNI Post & Logistics represents more than 2.5 million postal workers in 160 trade unions all over the world,” Broos said. “We will work together, and we will fight together, and we will win together! The post must remain public! US Mail Not for Sale!”
