US postal workers mobilize against Trump's proposal to privatize USPS

On Monday, postal workers from across the country, including here in Jacksonville, took to the streets to protest President Trump's proposal to privatize the US postal service.

Action News Courtney Cole, of Jax, spoke with a group of local postal workers who explained why privatization could hurt employees and postal customers.

Dozens of postal workers, including Kevin Shumake, spent part of their Columbus Day party gathering in front of the post office on Beach Boulevard.

"We go out and deliver the mail every day, and we love to do it," said Shumake. He told Action News Jax that he had been employed with the USPS for 19 years.

The Trump administration wants to privatize the postal service in order to give a "heavy finance agency greater flexibility," said the administration.

Today, US mailmen and postal workers have organized rallies to denounce the Trump administration 's proposal to privatize the US postal service. How do they say that the idea could affect you … on @ActionNewsJax at 6:15. pic.twitter.com/qNn9n1yC9D

– Courtney Cole (@CourtneyANJax) October 8, 2018

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Bob Henning, of the National Letter Carriers Association, worries about what this could mean for jobs and customer service.

"In rural areas, like in Jacksonville, for example, we are currently doing the last mile for UPS and FedEx, where it is not profitable for them to enter," said Henning.

On September 18, US Senator Claire McCaskill introduced a resolution to ensure that the US Postal Service would remain an independent agency of the federal government.

Up to now, 42 Senators have signed the resolution, but none of them comes from Florida or Georgia.

Cole has been talking with local USPS customers to find out what they think.

A woman who did not give Action News Jax her name said, "I would not want the American mail to be governed by anyone other than the one who is at the moment."

"It would not work in my book, it's been so long," said Alan Yardley.

Yardley told Action News Jax that he also feared losing access to his postbox if USPS was privatized.

"From time to time, my mail mixes with two other streets. That's why I got the post office box.

The idea of ​​privatizing USPS is part of President Trump's broader plan to reorganize the federal government.

The president created a working group in April to study the US postal service and its business model.

The working group was due to report in August, but it has not been published yet.

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