Community members took to the streets to protest what they see as damaging changes to the United States Postal Service (USPS), raising concerns about slower delivery, rising costs, and potential privatization.
Growing Frustration Over USPS Changes
Postal workers and residents in Grand Junction joined nationwide rallies on Thursday to push back against recent shifts in USPS operations. Protesters held signs at the “Hands Off Our Public Postal Service” rally, demanding that lawmakers take action.
Concerns raised at the rally included:
- Regional Transportation Optimization (RTO) set to begin in May 2025, which critics say will slow mail processing.
- Frequent postage price increases, happening twice per year.
- Worsening service standards despite increasing costs.
- Potential harm to rural communities, where mail service is already slower and less profitable.
What Regional Transportation Optimization Means for Mail
The RTO plan, scheduled for implementation in May, aims to restructure how mail is processed and transported. However, some postal workers fear it will result in further delays, especially in smaller towns.
“Right now, some of our mail already goes to Denver for processing. If more of our local operations are moved there, it will add days to delivery times,” said Shane McDonnell, Vice President of the Western Colorado Area Local #600. “With RTO, mail might not even start moving through the system for an extra day or two.”
USPS officials, however, insist that the plan will improve efficiency. In a statement, they said the changes will not slow down mail or harm customer service.
Concerns Over Privatization and Rural Impact
Some protesters fear that USPS changes are laying the groundwork for privatization. If that happens, they argue, rural residents could lose reliable service and as many as 600,000 union jobs could disappear.
“We are concerned that it would affect service across our nation, especially in rural Colorado,” said Eric Salazar, Branch President of the National Association of Letter Carriers. “Delivering in rural communities isn’t profitable, and we worry they’ll be left behind.”
Delayed Deliveries Hit Home for Residents
For some, the impact of slower mail service is already real. Bill Roberts, a Grand Junction resident at the rally, said his medications have been arriving later than usual.
“I ordered some about three weeks ago. It took ten days to get here,” Roberts said. “I ran out of medicine and had to go without it for three days.”
Roberts even claimed that mail traveled faster in 1861 than it does now. “When Lincoln was inaugurated, you could get something out to the West Coast faster than you can today,” he said. This claim has not been verified.
USPS Defends Its Plans
In response to the protests, USPS issued a statement:
“This change is part of the Postal Service’s broader initiative to enhance efficiency. In some cases, this means consolidating trips—using a single journey both to deliver mail and to pick up outgoing mail for processing. By doing so, the Postal Service aims to optimize transportation, reduce trips, and lower costs and carbon emissions.
The Postal Service does not anticipate these efforts will negatively impact customer service. Instead, it remains committed to improving service reliability for the American public and business customers by modernizing outdated operations across the nation.”
While USPS remains firm on its plans, protesters vow to continue pushing back, saying that reliable mail service should not be sacrificed for cost-cutting measures.
