Post office workers union to host day of action Sunday
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The National Association of Letter Carriers is asking union members to show up and represent across every state to protest the privatization of the U.S. Postal Service.
This follows a day of action hosted by the American Postal Workers Union on Thursday that brought protesters to 150 cities across the country, two taking place at the state Capitol and the City of Columbia's post office.
U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy agreed to work with DOGE earlier this month, arguing that the department was mismanaged and that the Postal Regulatory Commission was an necessary agency.
Before the agreement, Elon Musk said that he wanted both Amtrak and USPS to be privatized. However, plans for how the USPS will be privatized have not been released yet.
Union members argue that privatizing the service will hike up prices, reduce services to rural Americans, and cost millions of jobs. The service has been undergoing cuts since 2021, losing 30,000 employees with 10,000 other workers set to be cut by the beginning of April.
USPS currently employs around 635,000 workers across the U.S. The NALC reported 295,000 active carriers in 2023.
Jefferson City's protest will begin at noon at the city's post office on High Street. The City of Columbia's protest will start at 1 p.m. at the USPS office on E Walnut St. Representative Kathy Steinhoff (D), Representative David Tyson Smith (D), Mayor Barbara Buffaloe and members of the City Council will be at Columbia's protest.
