Cathy Bodnar, of the National Association of Letter Carriers Local 580, speaks at rally in Merrillville

'Hands Off the USPS' rally in Merrillville

Contributed By: The 411 News

Sunday’s rally of post office workers held in Merrillville was just one of hundreds of rallies U.S. Postal Service employees held across the nation on the same day, sending a ‘hands off’ message to President Trump and Elon Musk’s Dept. of Government Efficiency.

Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the American Postal Workers Union gathered along Broadway and 80th Place, carrying signs of “Hell No to Privatization.”


Postal workers held a rally in Merrillville sending a message to the Dept. of Government Efficiency

Postal office employees have been angered by U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s announcement that he will work with DOGE to cut 10,000 workers and slash billions of dollars from the agency’s budget.

DeJoy said the service plans to cut the employees in the next 30 days through a voluntary early retirement program.

President Trump said he may put the U.S. Postal Service under the control of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Trump has said he would like to see the postal service privatized.

“We are not here today to just make noise. We are here to make history,” said Cathy Bodnar, of NALC Local 580. “We are here to fight like hell for something that is bigger than ourselves – for something that touches every home, every business, every family in this country – the United States Postal Service.”

According to Inc.com, DeJoy asked for DOGE’s help with retail leases at almost 31,000 retail centers, noting “the difficulty we will face in their renewal … when decades long leases expire.” The USPS lease review is likely to result in the consolidation of several postal facilities. When combined with the staff reductions, that could slow average delivery times for both letters and packages.

NACL says any effort to privatize or restructure the postal service is a direct threat to 640,000 postal employees, including 73,000 veterans.

NACL says privatization will threaten the postal service’s promise of service to every address in the country and especially the 51.5 million homes and businesses in rural America. “It’s not profitable enough for private companies to go into rural communities,” Bodnar said.

Story Posted:03/24/2025