NALC Needs To Prepare To Fight Privatization

Before he was elected, President Donald Trump made clear his intentions to privatize USPS. In the last few days, he has stated he intends to sign an executive order (EO) which would dissolve the Board of Governors and bring USPS directly under the control of the Executive Branch, likely under the Commerce Department. This would take USPS from being an independent entity, to being under the direct control of the President.

Brothers and Sisters we must make no mistake about it: If successful, this act would mark the beginning of the end of the Post Office as we know it, and would mean a direct attack on the wages, working conditions, and livelihoods of over 600,000 postal employees. Our Collective Bargaining Agreement could be terminated, and along with it the negotiating status of our Union, the NALC. Tens of thousands of our coworkers could be fired. As a part of his broader DOGE initiative, the President intends to privatize USPS, and likely sell whatever’s left to the highest bidder.

Meanwhile the NALC Executive Council has put forward a half-hearted fight, encouraging people to call their Senators. While this can be a good first step, it is clear this will not be enough to fight attacks on our jobs and potential privatization. They have also agreed to send our contract into “expedited arbitration”. What this means is that all the “non-economic” factors of the tentative agreement, which was overwhelmingly voted down by the membership, will be accepted. The hope is that by groveling, by accepting all of management’s speed ups and other new rules, we may somehow avoid the worst fate.

This attitude has to come to an end. Build a Fighting NALC has advocated winning the right to strike since our inception. The importance of the strike weapon has never been more clear. After years of protests and reasonable appeal, President Nixon forced our hand in 1970. Now, President Trump is poised to do so as well. 

In order to beat back this threat we must unite our cause with all those who have been targeted by Trump and DOGE. We must link up with the other postal unions, and all federal workers who are being hounded out of their jobs, and appeal directly to the broader public who wants to fight back. Our struggle is united. We are not the reason the country is trillions of dollars in debt. We’ve never run the country! It’s the billionaires who’ve been in charge for decades now, and it’s clear they want to make us –ordinary working class people –pay for their mess. 

We must, at all levels of our union, begin to take preparatory measures to defend a public postal service. BFN had already called for rallies nationwide for Sunday, March 23rd to put pressure on the arbitration process. These rallies will now be directed towards this end. In order to have the maximum impact, they must become rallies of the labor movement as a whole and all those opposed to DOGE’s attacks on federal jobs. BFN members have already passed resolutions in their branches calling for rallies in Boston, Seattle, Naples, and several other cities.

BFN is also calling for the union to organize discussions to come to an agreement on the best forms of collective action to defend our jobs. Branch Presidents should amend agendas at the next general membership meeting to allocate space for this discussion. If a local e-board refuses, many branches of NALC have by-laws that allow for the calling of a special membership meeting, usually after gathering a requisite number of signatures. Whatever the form they take, meetings must be organized immediately and in every branch to discuss plans for escalatory actions to defend our jobs. 

We must make it clear to the President and the broader public that we will not simply sit back and wait for the courts or politicians to come to our rescue. We will not roll over and watch the USPS die without a fight!

–Build a Fighting NALC Co-Ordinating Committee