ROANOKE, Va. – On Sunday, dozens of concerned residents gathered on Williamson Road in Roanoke, holding up signs to voice their opposition to the possible privatization of the United States Postal Service.
Spearheaded by the National Association of Letter Carriers, the nationwide movement is calling for the protection of the United States Postal Service as they attempt to bring awareness to what they believe could have devastating consequences for postal workers across the country.
Demonstrations have been held in more than 200 cities nationwide, including Washington, D.C., and Saint Paul, all in response to President Donald Trump’s recent push to restructure the USPS. The aim is to safeguard the essential services millions of Americans rely on, such as mail-in ballots, medications and daily deliveries, as well as the jobs of more than 630,000 employees, whose positions they say would be threatened if the USPS is privatized.
The Executive Vice President of the Association of National Letter Carriers Branch 524, Ross Murray, warns that the move could be catastrophic, impacting hundreds of thousands of Americans, including those who have served our country.
“Apart from serving every single American every day of the week, the Postal Service employs over 640,000 Americans, including 73,000 veterans,” said Murray.“That’s very important because it’s a good middle-class job for people and an important part of the American infrastructure.”
With the USPS delivering 376 million pieces of mail and packages to more than 169 million addresses nationwide, Murray emphasized the challenges that rural communities could face.
“We’re talking like, if you live out in a rural area, you may not get your mail delivered for those six days of the week,” Murray explained. “It could lead to higher postage costs; it could lead to higher delivery services [and] cuts in post office hours. It could just be catastrophic to all the businesses that rely on the postal service as well.”
Rally organizers are urging the public to contact lawmakers and oppose privatization efforts.
