American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten Decries Trump Attack on US Postal Service

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the Trump administration’s attempt to restructure the U.S. Postal Service, including a reduction of postal office hours, the reassignment or displacement of 23 postal executives, and the consolidation of services into three “business operating units,” a move toward privatization seen by many as unprecedented.

“Extreme weather, extreme road conditions, extreme public health crises and extreme underfunding don’t stop the U.S. Postal Service—neither will President Trump’s extreme tendencies toward fascism. This blatant attempt to consolidate power and dissolve one of our country’s hardest-working and most important institutions is just the president’s latest ploy to rig the November election and stop votes from being counted. The president is undermining democracy in plain sight, and he’s expecting voters—many of whom plan to vote by mail amid this pandemic—to fall for it.

“But cutting off the mail also cuts off millions of rural, aging and other Americans who rely on the Postal Service to receive medication, paychecks, Social Security and other critical deliveries. It’s just another example of Trump being completely out-of-touch with regular people and doing everything in his power to benefit himself politically—even if it makes their lives worse.