Syracuse letter carriers and residents are expressing outrage with the Trump administration's plans to privatize the United States Postal Service. They gathered in front of the federal building on Sunday. Tom Dlugolenski with the National Association of Letter Carriers said privatization will leave rural customers without daily deliveries.
“If I were a private entrepreneur and I want a delivery service of some type, and I want to make money off my delivery service,” Dlugolenski said. “Well, I'm not going to deliver every day to places that cost me more. I'm not going to go to the Fultons and the Oswegos every day.”
The decrease in deliveries would also lead to massive staff cuts.
“The Postal Service employs over 600,000 employees. A private company wouldn't use half of that," Dlugolenski noted. “You would have people with reduced pay and reduced benefits.”
Matthew Ross has been a letter carrier for eight years. Despite his dedication, Ross said he is worried about his job security.
“I would definitely think that I would lose my job”, Ross admitted. “Things would not be the same. There would be different initiatives and agendas, and I probably would have to find another source of income.”
Letter carriers do more than just deliver the mail, they also build connections with the people in their communities. Syracuse resident, Chrissie Rizzo, said she’s built a strong friendship with her mail carrier.
“He brings us news of the community, he does the collection of food during the campaign that they do every year, Rizzo said with a smile on her face. The post office is just part of the fabric of the community.”
Dlugolenski said if the White House continues it's efforts to privatize, then they have a plan.
“We're gonna fight like hell on every attempt to privatize the postal service, whether it's legislative action or an executive order," Dlugolenski said.
