{"id":839,"date":"2025-03-21T01:10:39","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T01:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/?p=839"},"modified":"2025-03-21T01:10:39","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T01:10:39","slug":"what-doge-is-getting-wrong-about-privatizing-usps-mother-jones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/?p=839","title":{"rendered":"What DOGE is Getting Wrong About Privatizing USPS \u2013 Mother Jones"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div class=\"hero is-image \">\n\t<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"media-caption\">New York City Council member Erik Bottcher speaks to the crowd outside the James A. Farley Building in Manhattan during the American Postal Workers Union protest on March 20. <\/span><span class=\"media-credit\">Nguyen\/Mother Jones<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mj-text-cta\">Fight disinformation: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/newsletters\/?mj_oac=Article_Top_Fight_Disinfo\" data-ga-category=\"TopOfArticle\" data-ga-label=\"ewsletterPromoCovid\" data-ga-action=\"click|https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/newsletters\/?mj_oac=Article_Top_Support\">Sign up<\/a> for the free <em>Mother Jones Daily<\/em> newsletter and follow the news that matters.<\/div>\n<p>On Thursday, United States Postal Service workers, retirees, and supporters gathered in dozens of cities nationwide to protest the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to privatize the USPS as part of the American Postal Workers Union\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/apwu.org\/day-of-action\">Day of Action<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What DOGE is Getting Wrong About Privatizing USPS\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yjM5E_HM8Po?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The March 20 demonstration in New York City was a cold, rainy day, but hundreds of demonstrators showed up in front of Manhattan\u2019s James A. Farley Building, holding signs reading, \u201cThe Post Office Belongs to The People Not the Billionaires\u201d and \u201cHands Off Our Mail.\u201d The crowd also chanted in call-and-response, \u201cWhose Post Office? The People\u2019s Post Office\u201d and \u201cU.S. Mail. Not for Sale!\u201d To the side, volunteers were handing out flyers to people passing by on the street.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg\" alt=\"American Postal Workers Union flyer from March 20 saying, &quot;Hands off our Postal Service!&quot; \" class=\"wp-image-1122164\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg?resize=321,428 321w, https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg?resize=266,354 266w, https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg?resize=1152,1536 1152w, https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg?resize=38,50 38w, https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg?resize=1300,1733 1300w, https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg?resize=990,1320 990w, https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg?resize=642,856 642w, https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/bafkreieqr3kuqewcslylkgsqhfjkqdw2nwd4jxpsbdhzorbl3quhpq7o5i.jpg?resize=768,1024 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"media-caption\">An American Postal Workers Union flyer from March 20\u2019s Day of Action.<\/span><span class=\"media-credit\">Nguyen\/Mother Jones<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The APWU, which represents over 200,000 USPS employees and retirees, <a href=\"https:\/\/apwu.org\/news\/apwu-announces-day-action-defend-public-postal-service\">announced<\/a> these protests earlier this month. The union warned at the time that if privatization happened, the move would lead to \u201chigher prices, reduced service, and the destruction of tens of thousands of union jobs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>US Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told congressional leaders in a March 13 <a href=\"https:\/\/oversightdemocrats.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/democrats-oversight.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/pmg-dejoy-to-congressional.leaders_3.13.2025.pdf\">letter<\/a> that he signed an agreement to work with Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency in a cost-cutting initiative that includes plans to lay off 10,000 workers within 30 days through a \u201cVoluntary Early Retirement program.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The agreement drew criticism from many unions and lawmakers. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), a ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, <a href=\"https:\/\/oversightdemocrats.house.gov\/news\/press-releases\/breaking-ranking-member-connollys-statement-doge-infiltration-us-postal-service\">said<\/a> that DeJoy\u2019s plan would allow DOGE to \u201cprofit off Americans\u2019 loss,\u201d especially those who \u201crely on the Postal Service every day to deliver mail, medications, ballots, and more.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A few hours after a March 14 meeting with the APWU National Executive Board aboutDeJoy\u2019s decision, APWU President Mark Dimondstein told me that the DeJoy-DOGE partnership didn\u2019t surprise him since\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/politics\/1995\/01\/18\/talk-of-privatizing-postal-service-arrives-at-congresss-door\/2e6c8cd3-729d-471a-98c6-f1fcfaf8684a\/\">lawmakers<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/postal-service-staples_n_5155270?1397597725=\">corporations<\/a> have spent decades trying to gut the agency. \u201cWe don\u2019t think they\u2019re about efficiency at all,\u201d he said, referring to DOGE. \u201cWe think they\u2019re about how to rip off the public sector for the benefit of private profit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Dimondstein was also concerned about privacy for workers and people, pointing to DOGE\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/civilrights.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/DOGE-and-Government-Data-Privacy-FINAL.pdf\">threat<\/a> to government-held data: \u201cIf need be, we\u2019re ready to roll into all sorts of action, whether it\u2019s enforcing our rights under our union contract or going into court to defend the privacy of postal workers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, Dimondstein <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/politics\/2025\/02\/trump-cut-doge-post-office-usps\/\">told me<\/a> that the US needs to reframe its approach: Instead of attempting to privatize the Post Office, what if it was expanded?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>There\u2019s new opportunity for financial services\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fdic.gov\/household-survey#:~:text=In%20contrast%2C%2081.6%20percent%20of,saving%20or%20keeping%20money%20safe\">tens of millions<\/a> of low-income people are either unbanked or underbanked. In many parts of the world, people do basic <a href=\"https:\/\/apwu.org\/news\/magazine\/interview-how-postal-banking-makes-difference-around-world\">banking and financial services<\/a> through a public postal service.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In New York City, there were several speakers, including union leaders, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), and retirees. \u201cI got 37 years in the Post Office, but this fight is not about me,\u201d Jonathan Smith, the president of the New York Metro Area Postal Workers Union told the crowd. \u201cIt\u2019s about my children and my children\u2019s children having the opportunity that was given to me. There\u2019s no greater feeling than a living wage job where you can buy your own house or car. That\u2019s what the Post Office represents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bill Bachmann, a retired USPS maintenance worker, pointed to the calls for better pay, benefits, and working conditions\u2014there were signs that read, \u201cProtect Good Living Wage Jobs\u201d and \u201cHands Off Our Medicare\u201d\u2014as indicative of the moment many workers are living in. \u201cIt\u2019s a war on working-class and poor people to transfer wealth to very wealthy people,\u201d Bachmann told me at the demonstration. \u201cIt\u2019s legal looting, and as I say, it\u2019s all tied together.\u201d Because of this, for Bachmann, \u201ccollective action\u201d is needed that goes beyond simply writing to one\u2019s congressperson.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Although <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nalc.org\/news\/fight-like-hell#NH\">other unions<\/a> representing postal workers are also hosting protests across the nation,\u00a0 employees and retirees were not the only people at the rally\u2014I talked with Cindi, a New York resident not affiliated with USPS who showed up in solidarity. \u201cThe Postal Service is American. It\u2019s a public good. It\u2019s not here to make a profit and we all depend on it,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like getting a letter in the mail\u2014a real letter from somebody that you love.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/politics\/2025\/03\/what-doge-is-getting-wrong-about-privatizing-usps\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York City Council member Erik Bottcher speaks to the crowd outside the James A. Farley Building in Manhattan during the American Postal Workers Union protest on March 20. Nguyen\/Mother Jones Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. On Thursday, United States Postal Service workers, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmgiveawayfinder.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}