April 7, 2025
Postal Workers Must Once Again Stand Up and Fight Back against the Threat of Privatization! See what postal privatization means for postal workers.
Privatization – selling the Postal Service to private corporations – could happen in a few different ways. It might mean a big sell off of the whole USPS to the private sector. It could mean splitting the network into two or three pieces – selling off the most profitable parts to corporations, while leaving the rest to fail. It could even mean contracting out most of the network. However they try to do it, the effect on postal workers would be similar.
Efforts to sell off the Postal Service, in whole or in part, or to strip it of its independence or public service mission, would be of no benefit to the American people. Instead, it would drive up postage rates and lead to reduced service, especially to rural areas.
The Postal Reorganization Act, the 1970 law that created the Postal Service as an independent agency, intended our work to be freed from the shifting political winds, and dedicated to serving the American public. We have fought – many times – to keep our service free from political meddling, but we have never seen a threat this dire. Let’s stand up and fight back, APWU! ■
What Would Privatization Mean for Postal Workers?
- You would not have a job with the U.S. Postal Service.
- You would no longer be covered by the contract between the APWU and the USPS.
- Your wages, benefits, cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and financial and job security would be gone.
- Fair hiring practices for disabled veterans and people from all walks of life would likely cease.
- Your federal retirement benefits would be frozen and would not increase. New, not-yet-vested workers would lose their retirement.
- You would lose your health insurance with the Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) plan. Your no-layoff clause and just-cause protections against unfair discipline and termination would cease.
- All your benefits, like your sick, vacation, and holiday leave, would be gone.
- Your right to file grievances would be lost, unless you are working for a unionized private company.
- There would be no recourse for unsafe work environments, harassment, and more.
- Your postal seniority and related benefits would be gone.
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The USPS, Postal Workers Under ThreatPostal Workers Must Once Again Stand Up and Fight Back against the Threat of Privatization!0
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