[Sign Petition] Save the United States Postal Service: It’s a Social Justice Issue!
The post office may disappear in the coming months. The United States Postal Service (USPS) may not be here when we need them most. From ordering essential supplies during this pandemic to getting counted in the 2020 census, to casting our votes by mail in the upcoming election, we need the Post Office more than ever.
But because of a Republican, Congressional mandate that the postal service fund itself off revenue — a stipulation of no other government agency — the postal service is running at a deficit and is desperately in need of funding. In the middle of an election and census year, as people struggle to find work, and obtain basic supplies, not having the Post Office could cause devastating impacts. But Congress has the power to step in and save it.
SIGN LETTER to Congress and tell them to save the United States Postal Service.
The Post Office’s history is an activist one: not only did it employ Black workers throughout the 20th Century, it empowered Black workers to organize, supported Black and small-owned businesses, fought for civil rights, and began to establish a Black middle class. It was the country’s first savings bank and early response to food insecurity.
In fact, the Post Office has been a crucial step towards the financial stability and upward mobility of Black people for more than a century. This is particularly true for Black women, for whom employment in post office positions provided “refuge from the highly unfavorable conditions that confronted them in the private sector.” To this day, more than 20% of Post Office workers are Black, and the Post Office continues to provide stable employment and a decent standard of living for Black people.
Despite the positive impacts the Post Office has on the Black community, some in the government do not want to fund this essential service, despite it being a self-funded entity. The post office is not in trouble due to increasing forms of other communication, such as texting and email; but because a Republican-led Congress mandated that the post office set aside $5 billion a year over ten years. The effect was almost immediate as the post office went from recording a net income of $900 million to a loss of $3.8 billion. Not nearly enough sold stamps could match that, now leaving thousands of jobs, families into a state of struggle, while throwing safety and election security into jeopardy. We cannot let this happen — during the coronavirus pandemic or otherwise.
SIGN LETTER to your Congress member and tell them why they must protect the Post Office.
In addition to the ways the Post Office has empowered Black people, it has provided reliable and affordable shipping methods. If we lose the Post Office, people all across the country will lose a necessary, budget-friendly means of transporting essential goods. We will also lose out on all the services the Post Office could provide: secure, vote-by-mail services for the upcoming election; food delivery services for those who need meals; and financial services that could replace payday loan centers in low-income communities. For these reasons, it is imperative that Congress protect the Post Office.
SIGN LETTER to your Congress member NOW demanding they save the United States Postal Service.