“U.S. mail is not for sale,” was the chant heard at the intersection of College and Mulberry in Fort Collins this Sunday as about 100 people turned out for a rally in support of the U.S. Postal Service.
Participants included past and current post office employees as well as other members of the community. There were many signs on display, including some that read: “Fight like hell,” “Paws off postal service”, and “Honk if you love USPS.”
Passing cars followed the instructions of the last sign, frequently honking throughout the morning. There were also, however, instances in which passers-by shouted curses at the demonstrators.
“We are fighting against the privatization of the post office,” President of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 849 and Fort Collins letter carrier Jenilee Jackson said, adding, “The postal service is a universal service that everyone relies on and making it private would put profit over the services we provide.”
She said privatization would also jeopardize many jobs. According to a handout she provided, there are 640,000 postal employees and 7.9 million people employed in the wider “mailing industry.” Jackson noted that House Resolution 70 would protect the Post Office and that local Congressman Joe Neguse is a cosponsor of this bill. She said “he’s fantastic” about supporting the postal service.
Nancy L. Dobbs and Jennifer Miller stood together holding signs. Dobbs said she was there for several reasons. “One is that we do have the right to protest and we should take advantage of it while we still have it,” she remarked, asking “Wouldn’t Ben Franklin just be rolling in his grave about this and libraries and museums being under attack?”
Fort Collins Resident Brett Pavel said, “I think of all the government institutions we have, the Post Office is probably the one I appreciate the most.”
He noted that the postal service is especially important for rural America and that “there are just certain things that are worth paying for.” He said, “I think that they are gonna try to run it into the ground then say, ‘See it doesn’t work’ and it’ll be all privatized.”
Letter carrier Tyler Berry held a “nobody elected Musk” sign. When asked about Musk he said “I think he’s a big part of the push. He’s said publicly that he thinks USPS and Amtrak should be privatized.” Berry is hopeful, however, saying, “I think we’ll be able to stave [privatization] off if we stick together.”
Letter carrier Noah Lekas pointed out the many important services that USPS provides, saying, “I don’t think the general public understands how much medicine we deliver.” He noted that they also deliver other important items like checks and bills and provide final mile delivery for companies like Amazon and UPS. He said cuts to the postal service would mean “literally cutting off service for the most in need.”
According to NALC.org, this rally was one of six across the state of Colorado and one of over 200 across the country and Puerto Rico.
