LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) held a rally Sunday afternoon to oppose reported efforts to take away the independence of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).
Around 100 demonstrators gathered at the intersection of Eastern and Sunset, holding signs and chanting "U.S. mail is not for sale."
Beyond the chant, this is why USPS workers were out to rally
"A nation without the Postal Service is a declining nation," USPS worker Drew Banfield said
The demonstration comes after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced USPS would cut 10,000 jobs. This has led some to believe the Postal Service will be privatized among the Trump administration's reported plans to overhaul the organization.
Those at the rally said privatizing the service could result in job cuts, increase costs and impact deliveries — especially in rural areas.
"The first thing that would happen is costs would go up 50 to 100% overnight," Banfield said. "If the United States Postal Service was privatized, the dollar would become the bottom line. Stamps will go to $2 overnight, packages will double."
"There's a lot of people in those areas [rural] who are not going to get medicine and gifts for their kids. It's a lot of stuff that they need to," USPS worker Anthony Burton said.
It's no secret the USPS has struggled financially over the years.
In 2024, the Postal Service reported a net loss of $9.5 billion, a roughly $3 billion difference from the year before.
"The post office is supposed to be self-sufficient but they have defaulted on some payments over the years with the decline and use of mail service," UNLV Professor of History Michael Green said.
Green said technology has played a role in the uncertain future of USPS, as more people turn to the internet for paying bills, banking and communication.
"Email, Zoom, texting... all of these other means of contact have reduced their footprint, so to speak," Green said.
USPS employs nearly 640,000 workers nationwide, including 73,000 veterans. Letter carriers also deliver 376 million pieces of mail every single day across the country.
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