Privatization Threat

The Privatization Threat:

What It Means for Letter Carriers

Privatization is no longer just talk. It's a real and growing danger with serious consequences for rural letter carriers and the communities we serve.

Powerful financial interests and politicians are pushing a plan to dismantle the Postal Service as we know it. A leaked Wells Fargo memo reveals a chilling agenda:

• Sell off the most profitable parts of the Postal Service

• Hike prices for rural customers by as much as 140%

• Eliminate union jobs and good benefits

• Strip away our bargaining rights and reduce us to low-wage, disposable labor

At the same time, the current administration is signaling support for moving the Postal Service under the Department of Commerce—a move that would strip the agency of its independent, public mission and clear the path for privatization.

This isn’t just bad policy. It’s a direct threat to our jobs, our benefits, and the service we provide to America’s most underserved communities.

Rural Letter Carriers Will Be Hit First and Hardest

We’ve always known what private companies refuse to accept: rural routes aren’t always profitable, but they’re essential. When private carriers won’t deliver to the last mile, we do.

If privatization goes through:

• Thousands of rural routes could be cut

• Stable union jobs could be replaced with gig work

• Our hard-earned benefits and bargaining rights could disappear overnight

And the customers who rely on us—elderly, disabled, veterans, and families miles from the nearest post office—will suffer the most.

What We’re Doing

The NRLCA is fighting back. We’re urging lawmakers to support H.Res. 70 and S.Res. 147—resolutions that affirm the Postal Service must remain a public institution, not a for-profit business.

You can help. Stay informed. Speak out. And tell your lawmakers: Rural America isn’t for sale and neither is the Postal Service.