You might have heard by now that the current state of society is taking its toll on the United States Postal Service. You may be less aware that certain people with money (lots of money) have long desired to privatize the nation’s mail service – to make you pay for mail delivery.
Put those two things together and what do you get? A company asking for government help to remain viable during these trying times, and a leader who may decide not to bail them out for personal financial reasons. These are the times we live in, my friends. You can’t make these things up.
What do USPS employees think about all of this? Well, you’re about to find out the opinion of one guy who is on Twitter, anyway.
https://twitter.com/DingusJMcGee/status/1248741868440940544
He starts a #SaveThePostOfficeThread, and begins by telling us all that we (the taxpayers) don’t pay his salary. Fun fact!
First things first: we’re not taxpayer funded. At all. Sure, we get government monopolies on certain things of value (and things like cheap loan terms), but the budget isn’t by the taxpayer. It’s by the services provided. If you buy stamps, you fund us. If you don’t, you don’t.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
And their current financial issues are really no fault of their own (according to his point of view).
Third: We’re in the constitution. Literally. You know that thing you occasionally pretend to love when it serves your interests? It’s explicitly in there. We’re legally required to exist.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
The he busts out fun fact #2: the framers of the Constitution wanted to make sure a government-funded postal service existed. Forevermore.
Third: We’re in the constitution. Literally. You know that thing you occasionally pretend to love when it serves your interests? It’s explicitly in there. We’re legally required to exist.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
He thinks that one reason certain rich and powerful people would love to get their hands on the USPS isn’t because they want to deliver mail – they want access to the data. Which makes you think, doesn’t it?
Fourth: Certain nameless people want us privatized because we’re worth a lot of $. Even without the physical materials (truck fleet, offices, computer networks, etc), we have billions in proprietary data (route sequences, mailing lists, logistics, etc) that businesses would love
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
This doesn’t sound bad, though? Maybe?
Fifth: You can be certain, if given the chance, certain politicians would love to GIVE AWAY this infrastructure, a la the $70 billion in digital broadcast licenses they gave away for free to Telecom companies in 1996 with no strings attached.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
But here’s why you shouldn’t support the privatization.
So, why should you not want this? Well, for starters, if you’re not in a major city, you’ve been subsidized by one via the post office for decades. It’s a lot cheaper to mail and deliver in dense population centers. But we charge the same in rural Delaware, too.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
Here’s why it matters to you, especially if you don’t live in a large city.
Why? Because the idea is everyone in America, no matter where they are, should have the same, guaranteed access to a valuable line of communication. A birthday card from across country is as valuable as a wedding invite from one town over.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
And junk mail? There’s a reason for that, too.
Now, no one likes their junk mail, but you know what? Carrying 4 Geico ads and a Subway coupon in my satchel with your card is the reason the latter only cost $0.50 to cross the country. And if you’d like to name a cheaper way to ship a book or a record, I’d like to hear it.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
Have you ever heard of this “last mile service?” Me, either, but I know my mail carrier sometimes brings packages shipped through private companies.
But the one thing I pride myself on the most in terms of service is something you can guarantee won’t happen in privatized, for-profit model. UPS, FedEx, Amazon, DHL, etc ALL dump pacakages on our docks every single day. Ones they say aren’t profitable. We take them the last mile
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
You’ve been cut off and don’t realize it. Like college all over again.
Why? Because Every. Single. Address. In. America. deserves service. Even places accessible by only boat and plane. They’ll be cut off in a second in a private market. Heck, it’s only because of our last mile service that you don’t realize the private sector already cut you out.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
Right now, you get mail 6 days a week, for free.
I work in a position called a “T6,” or a “Carrier Technician.” Put simply: USPS delivers 6 days a week, and employees work 5 days. For every 5 routes in an office, there’s a T6 to carry the 6th day on each of those 5 routes who have a regular the other 5 days. Full-time position
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
Your carrier likely knows your face, your name, your address, and a bunch of other stuff about you (like how nice your dog is, for starters).
In my case, that’s 5 routes, averaging 700 addresses each, totaling 3,500 addresses, and approx 10K names and faces. Names and faces that I recognize, communicate with regularly, and can identify the forwarding information for, without even consulting a reference sheet.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
He goes on to talk about all of the big and small and biggish small ways mail carriers go above and beyond, are a friendly face in their community, and generally do their best to be good humans six days a week.
I know whose lawns to not cut across, whose dogs want to bite, and whose want to play. I know whose day will be made brighter with a short convo, and who wants me to go away. I know who is bad at checking the mail, and who to call for a wellness check on if it starts to pile up
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
None of this is going to be a reality when a profit is the bottom line. It’s just not.
I’m not naive though. I know not every carrier lives up to the same standard the men and women of my office largely hold themselves to. I know many of our (admittedly fake financial) troubles have reduced quality of service. But the effort and integrity is there for so many of us
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
Also? The USPS is the highest rated government agency…so maybe call your Congressman?
If you want USPS to continue to provide a service that gives us the highest approval rating of every government agency, call you congressperson. Nag ’em for a bit on my behalf. Ask them for the same bailout for a community service that they give freely to banks and airlines.
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 10, 2020
In addition, the USPS is one of the largest employers of veterans and people of color in the country.
Addendum: I’ve decided to add a few thoughts for an even broader perspective. In addition to employing more than half a million people, USPS is one of the largest employers of both vets and people of color in the US. It has put, and kept, millions in the middle class for years
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 11, 2020
So if you’re thinking now that yes, the USPS deserves to not only be saved, but strengthened, do your part.
PS: If you’re reading this and want a much easier, more direct way to help us out? Volume is down right now by considerable amounts (our office is 50% lighter some days during COVID-19!). Go online, buy some stamps. Have them delivered. Write an old fashion card to a friend today
— Dingus J McGee, ESQ*, OBE* (@DingusJMcGee) April 12, 2020
Send some mail, buy some stamps, call your representatives. We’re all in this together, like it or not!
I love hearing from the source, and the truth is, everyone is scared for their jobs and income right now.
What are your thoughts on the subject? Share them (respectfully, please) in the comments!
