Letter Carriers Rally In Duluth, Superior: ‘Hands Off The Postal Service’

DULUTH, Minn. — Letter carriers rallied Sunday in Duluth and Superior calling on U.S. lawmakers to keep their “hands off the postal service.”

Dozens of people stood outside the federal building in downtown Duluth.

The National Association of Letter Carriers were behind the “emergency” rallies.

The organization said an effort to privatize or restructure the United States Postal Service is a direct threat to 640,000 postal employees, including 200,000 city letter carriers and the 51 million households and business’ in rural communities where private carriers do not deliver.

“The Post Office is not funded by taxpayer dollars. It’s funded by the revenue that we get from selling stamps and mailing packages. The impact of privatization would impact our Universal Service Obligation, where you may not be getting mail at your home anymore, you may have to go to a central location and pick it up,” explained TJ Lydon, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers in Duluth.

Meanwhile, letter carriers in Superior also gathered Sunday outside the Douglas County Courthouse.

Jerry Paine, with the NALC, said the U.S. Postal Service is a vital one, especially when delivering medications, ballots and essential packages — particularly in rural areas.

“People in Washington D.C. want to privatize the Postal Service and sell it off for profit, and we’re here to say hell no to that. And we hope that all of our friends and neighbors and customers will call their congressman, call their senator, and stand up for the Postal Service that we all know and use,” Paine explained.

In February, President Trump said he’s thinking of moving the Postal Service under the umbrella of the Commerce Department by saying, “We want to have a post office that works well and doesn’t lose massive amounts of money.”