photo by: Emma Delk

National Association of Letter Carriers Wheeling Branch President Chuck Pasquino led union members on Sunday in their call against privatization of the U.S. Postal Service.

WHEELING — Chants of “U.S. Mail Not for Sale” carried across Chapline Street in Wheeling as members of the National Association of Letter Carriers voiced their opposition to the Trump administration’s proposed privatization of the U.S. Postal Service.

Active and retired members of the NALC delivered their message “Hands off the Postal Service” in nationwide protests on Sunday. Wheeling members of the NALC gathered outside the Wheeling Post Office alongside other local unions, community organizations and residents to share this message through chants and signs.

NALC Wheeling Branch President Chuck Pasquino said the protests were motivated by recent proposals from the Trump administration to fire the USPS’s Board of Governors and transition the USPS back into the cabinet under the Commerce Department. The USPS has been an independent, self-sufficient agency for 55 years.

“They’ve [Congress] been talking about it [privatizing the USPS] for years,” Pasquino said. “We oppose privatization and any efforts to sell off any parts of the Postal Service that will drive up costs and reduce service to the American people.”

Pasquino noted that the privatization and reorganizational mandates proposed by the Trump administration for the USPS would impact not only USPS workers but all Americans.

“Privatization will drive up the costs of mail delivery and reduce mail delivery, especially to rural areas,” Pasquino said. “This is America’s post office — it’s enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. We need to keep America’s post office for America’s people.”

Pasquino noted that not only NALC members were present at the protest.

Members of the American Postal Workers Union, Iron Workers Union Local 549, the American Federation of Labo, the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the Ohio County Democratic Women gathered to support the cause. He estimated more than 100 people turned out for the protest on Sunday.

Protesters carried signs with phrases such as “USPS is A Service Not A Business” and “Stamp Out The Billionaires.” They also sported shirts that read “Fight Like Hell,” with the same words being chanted by the crowd.

Letter Carriers Union Member Jeremy Andrews led the chant, which he said referred to their fight against privatization and the NALC’s goal of securing a better contract with the U.S. Postal Service.

“We are under contract negotiations right now, and we voted down our original contract because it didn’t do enough financially compared to what other unions are getting within this country,” Andrews said. “It especially didn’t do enough for our younger carriers. We deliver people’s checks and medications and kept everybody afloat during COVID.

“They’re not showing their appreciation for all that we’ve done with this contract,” Andrews continued.

In addition to being in the middle of contract negotiations, Andrews noted that members of Congress were attempting to introduce bills to abolish collective bargaining, union rights, and the ability to have the NALC offices within USPS offices.

“It’s mandated by Congress right now that we deliver parcels and mail six days a week,” Andrews noted. “They’re talking about dropping service down to five days a week in cities and three days a week in rural areas. They’re coming after us, and if we’re privatized, the service levels go down.”

Teddie Grogran, co-president of the Ohio County Democratic Women, said the group wanted to support the NALC on Sunday because the USPS is “older than the country itself.”

“The Postal Service was formed before we became the United States of America,” Grogran noted. “It should not be privatized. They should be allowed to work as they have and be supported by our government. They [the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency] should not be allowed to cut government waste and fraud with a chainsaw.

We’re out here to support anyone fighting against that corruption,” Grogran continued.

Grogran noted the importance of local unions and organizations being “one voice” in their protests against the Trump administration.

“We are here to fight for the same thing-” — to save democracy and our different areas of government,” Grogran said. “If we don’t fight together, we’re going to lose democracy. I’m fighting to keep democracy for my children and grandchildren.”

It was significant to Pasquino to see representation from a wide variety of organizations at the protests. He added that it “felt great” to stand amongst his fellow union members to speak out against the privatization of the USPS.

“There are certain people in Congress that would love to privatize the Postal Service,” Pasquino said. “Once again, this is America’s Post Office, not the billionaires’ post office.”