By DIANE DENISH
Corner To Corner

It looks like we need to talk about the Postal Service again. Eighteen months ago I wrote a column about the U. S. Postal Service recounting some of its history and its challenges.

Here is some of what I wrote:

The post office was founded by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, and Benjamin Franklin was the first postmaster general. Seventeen years later, the Post Office Department was created, and local postmasters began to be appointed, creating jobs in communities. Two major changes to the USPO designation have occurred over time. In 1872 it became a cabinet level position, and a century later the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 transformed it into an independent agency.

It is one of the few government agencies codified in the Constitution and employs more than 600,000 people in strong middle-class jobs with benefits.

The postal service, arguably a beloved institution, is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the country, 161 million of them — residences, businesses, and post office boxes.

In New Mexico we have post offices or substations in every incorporated community, some unincorporated communities, and in Native communities. That number was hard to pin down but is nearing 150.

Occasionally, proposals to privatize the post office emerge. In 2018 there was a proposal by the Trump administration to institute a series of reforms designed to leverage it for sale to the private sector.

The plan received a lukewarm reception. Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan voiced the bipartisan concern that the reforms would harm those who depend on the USPO for delivery of prescriptions, business documents, and federal checks – most notably in rural and underserved areas.

I thought after the bipartisan reforms in 2022 laying out a plan for the financial security, six-day delivery of mail, and standards for delivery times the issue of privatization was put to rest.

I was wrong. With Trump’s return to the White House there is again a threat to the U. S. Postal Service. In February Trump said he was thinking of moving the USPS to the Dept. of Commerce and privatization is still in consideration.

For rural America and rural New Mexico this could have devastating consequences. It would diminish access to postal services or close rural post offices and would threaten rural service and communities in general. Workers and citizens are starting to pay attention.

Last week U.S. postal workers in 150 cities protested moving the Postal Service into the Department of Commerce. That included current and retired postal workers and citizen advocates from around New Mexico protesting at the main post office in Albuquerque.

Most people understand the need to modernize and update postal systems, but it should not be done at the expense of hurting rural communities. Even Trump’s 2018 task force concluded “rural communities would suffer from privatization.”

Simply put, private companies would not be held to the universal mission of minimal level of service. And as private companies do, they would likely focus on delivering to areas where the biggest profits are realized.

The postal service was in the black for the last quarter of 2024 with some modernization trends and higher postal rates. My own experience on recent visits has been more customers than ever, friendly employees, and an array of great specialty stamps.

The current Postmaster General, a Trump appointee, has announced his departure but outlined challenges of reduced workforce due to COVID, demand for more package delivery than paper mail, and high turnover.

The real challenge, however, is the need for an administration who believe that the U.S. Postal Service is in the interest of the public good – something this administration has not shown.