Reponse to President Trump’s remarks today that he will block coronavirus aid for the U.S. Postal Service

President Trump’s shameful comments today that the Postal Service “is a joke” and that USPS  “should raise package prices four to five times” current levels is no laughing matter to the American people.

His comments are an insult to the forty-four postal workers who have died carrying out their vital public service in the midst of this pandemic. It’s also disheartening to the 600,000 proud postal workers who continue to carry out our essential mission to the country at a time when the public needs reliable and affordable postal services more than ever.

Only the U. S. Postal Service reaches 160 million addresses every day to deliver life-saving medicines, vital supplies and important information, at universal, affordable rates.

There’s no longer any doubt what President Trump’s true intentions are for the country’s highest-rated agency, approved by 91 percent of the public, equally among Republicans and Democrats, according to recent data from the Pew Research Center.

President Trump’s clear intent is to raise prices and force a crisis at the Post Office so that his political benefactors at the corporate shippers can increase their company profits at the expense of the people.

A President who boasts of his wealth need not worry about pricier mail and packages. He’s clearly shown how out of touch he is with the concerns of businesses both large and small in the era of e-commerce and the millions of people who rely on affordable mail and package delivery, especially during this pandemic.

Trump’s plan to increase package prices by four or five times would hasten the demise of the public U.S. Postal Service and end affordable, universal delivery to every address in the country.

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The American Postal Workers Union represents 200,000 employees of the United States Postal Service. The union is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.