'Hell no': Proposals to slash, privatize Postal Service raise ire, prompt rallies
Thousands of postal workers and their supporters rallied across the nation over the weekend to protest proposals to dismantle the U.S. Postal Service over the long term and a USPS agreement to work with Elon Musk's team to trim 10,000 jobs in the next few weeks.
USPS, an independent government agency, employs 635,000 workers and lost about $9.5 billion last year. The rallies came after President Donald Trump said he was considering a plan to merge the independent agency with the Commerce Department − and Musk suggested the agency be privatized.
National Association of Letter Carriers President Brian Renfroe, speaking at a rally in Los Angeles, angrily rejected plans to privatize or slash jobs at the agency that dates back 250 years to when Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general.
"We had an election in November, and some people voted for President Trump, and some people voted for Vice President Harris, some people voted for other candidates," Renfroe said. "But you know what none of them voted for? To dismantle the Postal Service."
Social media posts showed rallies from Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to Indiana, Missouri and Florida to New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Popular hashtags included #fightlikehell and #hellno.
“We’re trying to alert the public, the people of the country, that our postal services are truly in danger," American Postal Workers Union President Mark Dimondstein said at a rally in Washington. "This is not a one-off day, this is the beginning of an ongoing fight."
Postmaster general's letter sparks outrage
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has led a dramatic effort to restructure USPS in recent years, cutting forecasted cumulative losses over a decade to $80 billion from $160 billion. Last week, he notified Congress he has signed an agreement with Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to eliminate the jobs and otherwise address "big problems" USPS faces.
DeJoy's letter drew outrage from some Democrats. Reps. Maxine Waters, Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Jimmy Gomez of California appeared with Renfroe at the Los Angeles rally. Rep. Gerald Connolly, ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, accused DeJoy of allowing DOGE to "infiltrate" the agency, suggesting DOGE would "undermine it, privatize it and then profit off Americans’ loss."
"Congress and the American people have a right to know the full details of the agreement, the extent to which you have enabled DOGE to apply its chainsaw approach to America’s most trusted institution and how the actions of DOGE employees will undermine lifesaving services, expose sensitive taxpayer data and contribute to other unlawful activity,” Connolly said.