Iowa (RI) — There were protests outside main post offices in four Iowa communities on Thursday morning to rally against what the head of the Iowa Postal Workers Union calls a looming “hostile takeover” by the federal government.
Kimberly Karol, of La Porte City, is president of the union representing about a thousand Iowa postal workers. She says what’s proposed by President Trump and advisor Elon Musk is illegal and would cause significant harm, especially in rural Iowa.
Karol says the Trump administration has proposed taking over the independent, public US Postal Service and transferring it to the US Department of Commerce, breaking it up, or selling it off.
She says that would create hardship on the elderly, people with medical conditions, people who don’t drive, and many others who’d be in jeopardy of losing their services. Privatizing the post office would have a terrible impact on rural Iowans who depend on the Postal Service, which she says is a vital component for the economic stability of Iowa’s communities.
Privatization would lead to closing local post offices and raising rates, she says, and only Congress is authorized to change the structure of the postal service. Karol adds, the USPS is largely self-funded by the sale of stamps or charges for packages and services — not taxes. She says rural residents, especially, should be outraged.
Simultaneous rallies took place outside the main post offices in Cedar Rapids, Ottumwa, Perry, and Waterloo. Nationwide, similar demonstrations were planned in more than 150 locations. The Iowa union is a branch of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents 200,000 USPS employees and is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.
KIWA Staff Photo
