Over 100 folks accumulated in Federal Plaza noon Sunday to protest the Trump management’s plans to transport the postal provider beneath the U.S. Division of Trade and requires privatizing the company.Right through the rally, postal staff — accompanied by means of a few of their youngsters — donned crimson shirts that mentioned “Combat like hell” and sang alongside to songs like “No longer Like Us” by means of Kendrick Lamar. Many held indicators that mentioned “We aren’t on the market” and “Hell no to privatization.” They have been joined by means of staff from different industries in addition to native and state politicians.President Donald Trump’s management plans to transport the Postal Provider beneath the Division of Trade, which might strip the company of its independence. In recent times, because it’s once in a while struggled to stick afloat, the Postal Provider has additionally fought calls from Trump and others that or not it’s privatized. Postal staff warn that privatization would chop jobs and result in diminished products and services and better costs, which might specifically impact folks in rural spaces.“Do you suppose privatizing the Postal Provider is a good suggestion or a foul concept?” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin requested the group, which yelled again, “Dangerous concept.”“We’d like you not to simplest display up at this rally, however to turn up for the Postal Provider, which has been there for The us for 250 years,” Durbin mentioned. “I were given 3 phrases I need to go away you with: … Combat like hell.”The Submit Place of work was once created all over the 2d Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1775, when Benjamin Franklin become the primary postmaster common. In 1872, Congress named it an govt department division. However that modified after an eight-day postal strike over wages and advantages in 1970, when President Richard Nixon signed the Postal Reorganization Act, which made it an impartial, self-financing company known as the U.S. Postal Provider.Lately, the USPS employs about 640,000 staff tasked with turning in mail, drugs, election ballots and applications around the nation, from internal towns to rural spaces or even far-flung islands. Postal staff remained on accountability all over the coronavirus pandemic, when the American Postal Employees Union says greater than 200 staff died.“The USPS has all the time been a relied on spouse to small industry homeowners,” mentioned Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim, who recounted a tale of ways her oldsters trusted USPS for his or her small industry. “It’s a lifeline, and it serves each and every particular person on this nation, whether or not you’re in the course of downtown Chicago otherwise you’re in probably the most rural again street in Illinois.”DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek shared that sentiment. “There’s merely no opposite direction to achieve our electorate.”Kaczmarek mentioned DuPage County has began mailing ballots to over 98,000 electorate for an upcoming election. “By means of the top of the week, we have been receiving calls, ‘Thanks such a lot. I were given my poll within the mail.’ Don’t simply thank us,” she mentioned. “Thank the brothers and sisters of the US Postal Provider.”
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin speaks because the Nationwide Affiliation of Letter Carriers rallies March 23, 2025, at Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago to save lots of the U.S. Postal Provider. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)Loads of towns throughout the US additionally held rallies Thursday opposing the Trump management’s plan as a part of a countrywide day of motion arranged by means of the American Postal Employees Union, which known as the plan an “unlawful antagonistic takeover.”Previous this month, Postmaster Basic Louis DeJoy introduced plans to chop 10,000 staff and billions of greenbacks from the Postal Provider price range, which he plans on doing with the help Elon Musk’s Division of Govt Potency. Musk has additionally in the past mentioned he helps privatizing USPS.USPS to start with introduced the plan to chop provider staff via a voluntary early retirement program all over the overall days of the President Joe Biden’s management in January however on the time didn’t come with the choice of staff anticipated to depart.DeJoy, a Republican donor and former proprietor of a logistics industry, was once appointed to guide the U.S. Postal Provider all over Trump’s first time period in 2020. He has confronted repeated demanding situations all over his tenure, together with the pandemic, surges in mail-in election ballots and efforts to stem losses via price and repair cuts.
Employees and supporters cheer because the Nationwide Affiliation of Letter Carriers holds a rally March 23, 2025, at Federal Plaza to save lots of the U.S. Postal Provider. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)He introduced a 10-year turnaround plan ultimate yr. In February, DeJoy mentioned he plans to step down and requested the Postal Provider Board of Governors to start on the lookout for his successor.Mayor Brandon Johnson, who attended Sunday’s rally, emphasised the significance of defending the postal provider.“It was once the U.S. Postal Products and services and the hardworking folks of this nation that secured our democracy all over the American Revolution. It was once additionally the postal staff that made positive that the message of abolitionists were given internationally,” Johnson mentioned to the group on Sunday.“It’s going to be the employees that give protection to our democracy in 2025 and past,” he added.The Related Press contributed.
Initially Printed: March 23, 2025 at 4:20 PM CDT
