Published: August 2021

Stop the proposed first-class mail slowdown

Advocates urged the U.S. Postal Service to abandon its plan (effective Oct. 1) to slow down some first-class mail deliveries as part of effort to save money. Slowing down as much as 40% of first-class mail would not only leave the public’s needs and expectations unmet, it risks creating disparate impacts, hastening the public’s flight from the U.S. mail and further jeopardizing the Postal Service’s already fragile finances.

In a letter to the Board of Governors, Consumer Action joined coalition members in urging the United States Postal Service (USPS) to reconsider its plan to slow first-class mail service. The proposed change was met with unprecedented public opposition: More than 130,000 public comments opposing any slowdown were lodged with the Federal Register and 21 state attorneys general filed opposition to the proposal. First-class mail remains an essential component of the USPS’s overall service and is its flagship product. The trade-off between a modest financial savings and high-quality service standards is unreasonable.

Lead Organization

Americans for Financial Reform (AFR)

Other Organizations

AFL-CIO | African American Health Alliance | American Family Voices | American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) | American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees | American Federation of Teachers | American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO | American Sustainable Business Council | Americans for Financial Reform | Broward for Progress | Build Back Better Thurston | Build Back Better USA | Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) | Coalition of Labor Union Women | Coalition of Labor Union Women SF Chapter | Color of Change | Common Defense | Communications Workers of America (CWA) | Communities and Postal Workers United | Consumer Action | Democracy Initiative | Democratic Socialist Labor Commission, DSA's Labor Body | Greenpeace USA | Hightower Lowdown | In the Public Interest | Jewish Labor Committee | Jobs With Justice | Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute (MCLI) | National Organization for Women | Our Revolution | People's Action | Pride at Work | Prosperity Works | Public Citizen | Railroad Workers United | Revolving Door Project | Save Our Postal Service | Save the Post Office Coalition | Service Employees International Union (SEIU) | Social Security Works | Take on Wall Street | The Labor Heritage Foundation and the Coalition of Labor Union Women | United Federation of Teachers | United Food & Commercial Workers Union | Working Families Party

More Information

For more information on the USPS proposed slowdown, click here.
 

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Stop the proposed first-class mail slowdown   (2021.8.4_orgs_letter_USPS_BOG_FCMSS_.pdf)