Protests are planned outside main post offices in four Iowa communities late this morning to rally against what the head of the Iowa Postal Workers Union calls a looming “hostile takeover” by the federal government.
Kimberly Karol, of La Porte City, is president of the union representing about a thousand Iowa postal workers. She says what’s proposed by President Trump and advisor Elon Musk is illegal and would cause significant harm, especially in rural Iowa.
“The Postal Service belongs to the people,” Karol says. “We get to decide how it continues to operate, but that means that we have to speak up and take action, and that’s what the demonstrations are — to educate the public, give them an opportunity to raise their voices and protect the post office as a public institution.”
Karol says the Trump administration has proposed taking over the independent, public U.S. Postal Service and transferring it to the U.S. Department of Commerce, breaking it up, or selling it off.
“The problem with becoming private is that there is no guarantee that the small communities will continue to get services,” Karol says. “People who live in Sheffield or Fairbanks, small communities across the state may no longer get delivery. They may have to go somewhere to pick up their mail.”
She says that would create hardship on the elderly, people with medical conditions, people who don’t drive, and many others who’d be in jeopardy of losing their services. Privatizing the post office would have a terrible impact on rural Iowans who depend on the Postal Service, which she says is a vital component for the economic stability of Iowa’s communities.
“The Postal Service has always been designed as a service — to serve the public no matter where you live,” Karol says. “It’s never been designed as a business for profit, and right now, people who are making decisions are treating us like an unprofitable business that needs to be dealt with.”
Privatization would lead to closing local post offices and raising rates, she says, and only Congress is authorized to change the structure of the postal service. Karol adds, the USPS is largely self-funded by the sale of stamps or charges for packages and services — not taxes. She says rural residents, especially, should be outraged.
“Their delivery services depends on the Postal Service remaining public, because we deliver everywhere, regardless of where you’re at, regardless of whether or not it’s profitable,” she says. “We set a price point that allows the delivery services across the country to remain affordable.”
Simultaneous rallies are planned at 11 AM outside the main post offices in Cedar Rapids, Ottumwa, Perry and Waterloo. Nationwide, similar demonstrations are planned in more than 150 locations.
The Iowa union is a branch of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents 200,000 USPS employees and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.