On the Appointment of Louis DeJoy as the 75th Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service

Statement from Mark Dimondstein, President of the American Postal Workers Union,
On the Appointment of Louis DeJoy as the 75^th Postmaster General of the United States Postal Service

Fifty years ago, postal workers waged a heroic nationwide strike to win better pay, benefits and the right to collective bargaining. This strike also recreated the United States Postal Service as an independent agency, designed to be free from the political patronage and cronyism that had plagued the old Post Office Department.

The APWU is deeply concerned with the appointment process to make Mr. Louis DeJoy, a multi-million-dollar major donor to President Trump, the next Postmaster General and whether the Administration has returned to the days of political interference and patronage.

Since gaining its independence in 1970, the Postal Service’s commitment to quality universal service to all the people of this country, at uniform and reasonable rates, has made the United States Postal Service the world’s most affordable and reliable postal service and the country’s most trusted and highest rated government agency. 

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Mr. DeJoy has a choice as he assumes the reins of our national treasure, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, which has overwhelming popular support equally among Republicans, Democrats and Independents from the most populated urban centers to the smallest rural towns.

He can choose to be a Postmaster General who implements the destructive plans of this White House: raising postal rates, cutting services, undermining stable union and family-sustaining jobs and selling the public Postal Service to corporations for their private profit.

And if that is his choice, Mr. DeJoy will be met with stiff resistance from postal workers and the people of this country.

Or Mr. DeJoy can prove true to his stated commitment to the public Postal Service, its employees and our mission binding the country together through universal service to all. If so, he will be a welcome addition to the postal family and our proud tradition of public service.

In this extraordinary time of the pandemic crisis, reliable, affordable and universal postal services are needed more than ever. The Postal Board of Governors made a unanimous request to Congress for immediate and direct financial assistance to the Postal Service. We hope that Mr. DeJoy will join in this essential request for emergency assistance to replace revenue lost due to the economic impact of the pandemic and to ensure continued public postal services.

When outgoing Postmaster General Megan Brennan announced her retirement, the APWU joined with other national organizations in petitioning the Postal Board of Governors to select a replacement “who is fully committed to universal service and the public ownership of the Postal Service.” The people deserve nothing less.

Through many Postmasters General and Administrations, the objectives of the American Postal Workers Union and proud postal workers have remained steadfast, as they do today: decent jobs, safe working conditions, job security, social justice, and an enhanced and vibrant public Postal Service for generations to come.