Don’t privatize the USPS

President Trump’s senior adviser, Elon Musk, has said he would like to privatize the Postal Service. Well, Mr. Musk has no idea what selling off the public Post Office for private profit would mean for a community like Waterloo or hundreds of others in Iowa.

What would be left for us if the USPS operated just to make profits? According to the independent USPS Inspector General, 63% of rural Post Offices lose money. Their 2020 report “Package Delivery in Rural and Dense Urban Areas” also explains how it costs more to carry fewer packages across the greater distances on rural routes. Communities like Westgate, Kensett, Fonda, Lenox, or Moravia may have to drive to larger towns to pick up their mail. This adversely affects the elderly and hinders the economic well-being of local businesses and family farmers.

There is no question that a corporate sell-off of our public Postal Service will leave people in areas like ours even more isolated. That is why we will be handing out flyers at Cedar Rapids post office, on March 20, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to educate our community.

People need to speak out against this threat to our communities. I implore people to write to their elected representatives and tell them to oppose this damaging attack on our communities and prevent the privatization of the Postal Service.

Kimberly Karol

President, Iowa Postal Workers Union

La Porte City