United Postal Workers of America union rallies against federal USPS privatization push

Members of the American Postal Workers Union Local 130 gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Thursday as a part of a national push against the privatization of the U.S. Postal Service. The union said it wants the postal service to remain an independent public agency.

The rally comes after billionaire Elon Musk — who is advising President Donald Trump on major cuts to the federal government — said the agency should be privatized.

Charlotte Hiatt is a USPS worker and union member. She said privatization could reduce delivery frequency for customers and possibly lead to layoffs.

“If they was to privatize, it would not be the people's post office anymore," Hiatt said. "Right now, it's all Americans. It's everybody's post office. The postal service belongs to all the people.”

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Privatization could lead to increased costs for customers, said retired USPS worker Steve Vaughn. He said it could also affect mail delivery frequency in rural areas, like the one he lives in.

“They want to reduce my mail delivery to one to three days a week," Vaughn said. "I don't think that's fair, especially if I'm getting medicine or packages or things along those nature.”

USPS is self-funded, relying on the sale of their products and services to cover its operation costs. There are currently more than 650,000 USPS workers across the U.S.

The National Association of Letter Carriers — which also represents USPS workers — is rallying over the weekend in Evansville, Merrillville, Fishers, Bloomington, Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, Jeffersonville, South Bend and Indianapolis.

Timoria is our labor and employment reporter. Contact her at tcunningham@wfyi.org.