Postal Workers and Allies: Stop the Slowdown!

The Postal Service has once again proposed serious cuts to mail service in large swaths of the country. A Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service is standing up and fighting back against efforts to degrade the country’s mail system, as it has time and again since its creation in 2013.

The current proposal from the Postal Service will spell the end of afternoon collection of mail from post offices, stations, and branches across the country. Instead, mail will be picked up the following morning. While this may not seem like a big operational change, it means much of the country’s First-Class Mail can be expected to take an additional day to reach its destination.

Perhaps even more outrageous, is that the Postal Service is proposing to no longer count Sunday as a day towards its service standards – the goal it sets for delivery times for mail.

As in 2021, when the USPS last proposed changes to its service standards, the Postal Service is required to seek an opinion from its regulator, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), and to give the public an opportunity to comment on its proposals, before proceeding with making the changes. And once again, members of A Grand Alliance and its allies stood up and flooded the Postal Service with their views.

More than 50,000 postal workers, family members, and allies submitted comments to the Postal Service’s public notice-and-comment process. More than 300,000 members of the public sent messages directly to the Postal Board of Governors and their members of Congress. And, almost universally, those who had a chance to read about the Postal Service’s proposals had a clear message: Stop the Slowdown!

Many commenters noted that they have no viable alternative to the Postal Service, and slowing the mail down would hurt their household finances or their small businesses. Many who live in rural areas noted that they are entirely dependent on the Postal Service to take of all sorts of critical tasks, such as sending bills, receiving medication, or making medical appointments. With slower mail, they’re not just worried about costly late fees, but sometimes with decisions about their health as well.

Several writers said that, because they live in rural areas of the country, they do not have access to alternative shipping services like FedEx, UPS, or Amazon. Some commenters added that internet access is unreliable where they live. Many repeated that the Postal Service is a lifeline to their families and communities.

Others noted how further slowing of the mail would only degrade the Postal Service’s standing with the people. They noted that the Postal Service, as one of the few universal services in the country, was unique in its ability to reach every community in the country, no matter who you are, or where you live. One person said, “It is a source of pride to live in a country which guarantees reliable postal service to all of us.”

The PRC can only offer an advisory opinion on the Postal Service’s proposed changes. Ultimately, it is up to Postal management to decide if their proposal is in the best interest of the country and the people they serve. Our hope is that our voices are heard loud and clear, in the many hundreds of thousands, that the people demand reliable, quality, and speedy mail service now and for generations to come.