Steiner's Appointment: A Disaster for USPS and Workers!

BOOM! The news just dropped, and it’s a doozy. The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is up in arms over the reported selection of David P. Steiner to lead the United States Postal Service (USPS). This isn’t just a conflict of interest—it’s a full-blown assault on the public service mandate of the USPS and a direct threat to the livelihoods of 295,000 active and retired letter carriers.

WHY IS THIS SUCH A BIG DEAL? Let’s break it down:

1. CONFLICT OF INTEREST ALERT! Steiner comes straight from FedEx’s board of directors. That’s right, folks—one of the USPS’s top competitors is now in line to run the show. This is like putting a fox in charge of the henhouse!

2. PRIVATIZATION ON THE HORIZON? Private shippers have been chomping at the bit to get USPS out of parcel delivery for years. Steiner’s appointment is an open invitation for them to swoop in and take over. This could spell disaster for rural communities, where the Postal Service isn’t just a convenience—it’s a lifeline.

3. UNION-BUSTING ON THE HORIZON? During his tenure at Waste Management, Steiner built his brand on union-busting, slashing jobs, and replacing workers with machines. He has publicly bragged about shrinking the union footprint. Now, he’s being handed the keys to one of the nation’s largest unionized employers. At a time when collaboration with workers helped USPS turn a $144 million profit in the last quarter of 2024, this decision flies in the face of everything that’s working.

4. JOB LOSS AND SERVICE CUTS? Steiner’s focus on operational excellence and cost-cutting could lead to job cuts and reduced services for rural and underserved communities. This is particularly relevant given the USPS's mandate to deliver to every address in the country six days a week, a requirement that Steiner's cost-cutting measures might seek to alter.

5. THREAT TO 7.9 MILLION JOBS? If this appointment stands, it threatens 7.9 million jobs tied to the postal industry and service to over 300 million Americans. This is a direct assault on the workers who keep the mail moving and the public connected.

DO THIS! Stand up and fight back! The nation’s letter carriers are outraged, and so should you be. The Postal Service Board of Governors has the responsibility to do what is best for USPS. This decision is not only a failure in that responsibility but shows open contempt for the work of America’s letter carriers and the public good.

STAY AWAY! From any stock that benefits from the privatization of the USPS. This is a disaster waiting to happen, and you don’t want to be caught in the crossfire.

BOO-YAH! This stock’s a winner! The USPS is a beloved American institution that provides an essential public service to communities and good middle-class jobs for workers. It is a model of efficiency and responsive to changing customer needs. But the conflicting demands made upon it by Congress and regulators put it in a precarious financial position even before the pandemic. Anti-government ideologues and special interests have long sought to privatize, shrink, or hobble the Postal Service. The Trump administration revived these efforts, spurred by the president’s opposition to mail voting and his animus toward Amazon, a major customer.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE? The Biden administration and Congress must act to undo the damage and allow the Postal Service to adapt to meet unmet needs, including the revival of postal banking.

VISUALIZE THIS! The financial woes of the USPS, exacerbated by the pandemic, are due to a confluence of factors: a mail monopoly that is declining in value with the rise of electronic communication; a public service mandate to deliver to every address in the country six days a week; caps on postal rates, borrowing limits, and other restrictions that limit its ability to raise revenue and make necessary investments; and an onerous requirement to rapidly prefund retiree benefits, among other factors.

BUY NOW! Support the USPS and its workers. This is a no-brainer! The USPS is a beloved American institution that provides an essential public service to communities and good middle-class jobs for workers. It is a model of efficiency and responsive to changing customer needs. But the conflicting demands made upon it by Congress and regulators put it in a precarious financial position even before the pandemic. Anti-government ideologues and special interests have long sought to privatize, shrink, or hobble the Postal Service. The Trump administration revived these efforts, spurred by the president’s opposition to mail voting and his animus toward Amazon, a major customer.

DON’T MISS OUT! On the opportunity to support the USPS and its workers. This is a direct assault on the workers who keep the mail moving and the public connected. The damage will hit rural communities hardest, where the Postal Service isn’t just a convenience—it’s a lifeline. And make no mistake: if this appointment stands, it threatens 7.9 million jobs tied to the postal industry and service to over 300 million Americans.