The Importance of the USPS & How to Help Save It - Millennials in Motion Magazine

The United State Postal Service

For more than two centuries, the United States Postal Service has provided vital services to Americans through rain or shine, and thick or thin. Now it’s our turn to protect this vital service and save the USPS from the threat of privitazation!

The USPS, established July 26th, 1775 with Benjamin Franklin as our first Postmaster General, has been through it all – the American Revolution, the Civil War, two World Wars, the Great Depression and multiple recessions since then.

But, thanks to a mandate Congress passed in 2006, which forced the USPS to prepay 75 years’ worth of medical benefits over a 10-year period and due to the efforts of the Trump administration at defunding and dismantling the service, the USPS is under threat of being shut down. And, it’s imperative that we fight to save it.

Why the United State Postal Service is Important

There are many reasons for why it is so important to save the USPS.

Affordable service

The USPS provides (otherwise) reliable and affordable service. People can send a letter for as little as 55 cents, and they even simultaneously collaborate and compete with private mailing services like UPS and FedEx. [3]

Not even funded by our taxes

The USPS receives NO tax dollars for their operations costs and instead relies on revenue made from the sale of stamps, merchandise, and other services they offer to fund themselves. [4]

Service to rural Areas

The USPS provides services in rural areas, where access to mailing can be difficult to come by, especially for “last mile” delivery, where private mailing services enlist the USPS to finish the last leg of a delivery. The USPS also employs over 75,000 people in these areas as well. And, people who are in nursing homes also rely on the affordability of the postal service. Without the USPS in these areas and for these communities, people who cannot get mailing service elsewhere can be cut off significantly. If they are elderly or disabled, they may also become isolated. [5]

Delivery of medication

In addition to their services to the elderly and people with disabilities, many Americans rely on the USPS to receive their medications in the mail. Many of these people are on strict incomes, and the affordability of the USPS is vital to their ability to get medication. If they have to go through private mailing services, the costs could be too costly for some families. [6]

Service to veterans

On top of that, veterans who rely on the USPS to receive medication and correspondence information from the VA are also at risk if the USPS is no longer available to them. [7]

Service to the incarcerated

About 2.3 million people in prison rely on the USPS for affordable communication with their families and legal counsel. Without the USPS, they will become cut off from the outside world and risk longer stays in jail or prison. And whatever your views on the prison system and the people in it, be mindful that many people in jail have not yet had their case seen before a judge and been charged with a crime. If they can’t correspond with a lawyer, they can get stuck in the system, even if they are innocent. And, with how little a person in prison can make, being able to send mail needs to be affordable. [8]

Service to families and small businesses

In general, people across the country not only rely on the postal service for their medications and correspondences, but they also rely on it to receive and pay their bills, rent, or taxes, get their paychecks, send money orders to family, and conduct their own businesses – like artists selling on Etsy or other craftspeople who rely on the USPS to send their wares to customers. Without the USPS, many people will be struck financially in many ways. [9, 10, 11]

Global mailing services

The Postal Service processes and delivers 48% of the world’s mail, making it a global business, and impacting businesses large and small across the world. Without the USPS services, small businesses face the threat of shutting down and jobs being lost to cut costs. And there will be a significant slowdown in global mailing.

Supports sustainability

The USPS actively works to be environmentally sustainable in its operations. Their Free Priority Mailboxes meet Sustainable Forestry Initiative and Forest Stewardship Council certification standards, meaning the boxes are made from paper from ethically managed forests. And, the boxes include at least 30-percent recycled content. [12]

Major employer of minority people and veterans

In addition to everything else, the USPS employs 7.3 million people across the country, including 97,000 veterans, and 40% of their employees are minorities. And they are one of the largest employers of veterans in the country. Without the USPS, millions of people will be without a job – during the pandemic, no less. [13]

Reliable mailing for voting

Furthermore, absentee voting and voting by mail have become steadily more popular over the years. Still, they require a reliant and affordable mailing service to be viable, which the USPS provides to people across the country and abroad, especially to our active-duty military members overseas and voting through the mail. If we don’t have the reliability and affordability that the USPS provides (under normal circumstances), millions of people will risk having their votes not be counted, which is ultimately an infringement on their right to vote.

#GetinMotion to Save the USPS

he United States Postal Service is an invaluable asset to our country, and we must work to protect it and ensure its future. But that means we have to act, and all do what we can to help. Check out these ways to help save the USPS:

Become a stamp collector!

One of the easiest ways to help the USPS is by funding it through purchasing stamps and other merchandise they sell, including tote bags, mugs, fleece blankets and more. For as little as $11 per sheet of 20, you can get some awesome stamp designs. At the time of this article being written, you can pre-order some designs set to be released soon, including the “19th Amendment: Women Vote” commemorative stamp.

Send some snail mail!

After you buy some stamps, write a couple of letters to some people! You can also find someone to be your pen pal and write to them back and forth!
* Try to space out your mailings, so as to not overload the mailing system, which just had a few hundred mail sorting machines removed from post offices across the country. *

Contact your representative!

While you’re writing letters to friends or family, write letters to your representatives in Congress, and demand that they work to protect the postal service. You can find and contact your congresspersons and senators by phone, email, and regular mail here.

In addition, sign this Change.org petition and Action Network petition to show that you want the USPS to be protected.

Make art!

There’s so much opportunity for making art related to the push to save the USPS! Whatever form you prefer – paintings, comics, photography, and anything else that comes to mind – use it to express your support for the postal service and use the tags #restoretheusps and #saveUSPS to raise awareness for the issues it faces! [20]

Support/vote for those who fight for the USPS!

During this upcoming election, vote for candidates who are openly and actively fighting to save the USPS, and vote out candidates who are actively working to defund or dismantle it. For instance, start by looking here to see which representatives sponsored the USPS Fairness Act and here to see which ones voted yea or nay on it. Presently, the bill is stuck in the Senate, to make sure to tell your senators to force a vote and to vote to pass this Act, and the Vote By Mail Act!

Increase solidarity!

Moreover, support efforts by other groups and organizations working to protect and restore the USPS, like this group, made up of concerned citizens (not affiliated with the USPS) working to fight privatization and keep the postal service a public service.

Learn More

Learn more about what threats the USPS is up against as well as voting by mail by checking out the following links:

Read my previous article on the new Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, and his conflicts of interest, and the attempts to sabotage the postal service.
John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight episode on the USPS.
John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight episode on mail-in voting.
Keep up to date on postal service-related content on how to save the USPS from SavethePostOffice.

Lastly, If you know of any other resources to share to help the postal service, please let us know and we will add them here!

Now get out there and #SavetheUSPS!