Around 30 people gathered in front of Eugene's main Post Office to rally against postal privatization.
Tiffany Eckert / KLCC
A couple dozen postal workers gathered in front of Eugene’s Main Post Office on Tuesday, to rally against threats to privatize the U.S. Postal Service.
Cassidy DiIenno handles tons of mail at the Central Distribution Center in Springfield but she took time to join the rally and wave at passing cars.
“My sign says, ‘The post office belongs to the people, not the billionaires!’ It’s just showing that we’re not owned by anyone,” she said.
Three U.S. postal workers participate in a rally at Eugene's main Post Office. Pictured from left to right, Roslyn Murray, Cassidy DiIenno and Jamie Donaghue.
Tiffany Eckert / KLCC
Daniel Cortez, political director of the Oregon Postal Workers Union, said the rally was about raising awareness.
“Oligarchs and billionaires are trying to steal the American peoples’ mail,” Cortez said. “Right now, mail is protected, it’s sacrosanct. It cannot be opened by anyone without a court order. [But] once it goes private, all of those protections are gone. Prescriptions, Social Security checks and for those of us here in Oregon, our ballots.”
The Postal Service is an independent agency of the executive branch of the federal government and it is explicitly authorized by the U.S. Constitution. In February, there were rumblings from the Trump administration about privatizing the post office or possibly moving the USPS under the Commerce Department.
Tiffany Eckert is a reporter with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
