People of Agency Episode 14: Show Notes Episode 14: The Postal Service We Choose Explicit: No Summary August 2020. Three months before a presidential election, during a pandemic, postal workers watch perfectly working mail sorting machines being dismantled, some cut with blowtorches, some thrown in dumpsters. 711 machines removed in a few months (double normal rate), 10% of national sorting capacity gone. When union leaders ask why, management says they're "no longer needed" while mail volume surges.  Episode 14, the season finale, covers the last five years of postal crisis and resistance. Louis DeJoy becomes Postmaster General with zero postal experience, $1.2M in Trump donations, and $30-75M in XPO Logistics stock (a USPS contractor) the Board hired him without official candidate search. He bans overtime, machines get dismantled, mail slows dramatically. Federal judge rules in September 2020 that DeJoy's actions were "voter disenfranchisement." But postal workers delivered anyway: 99.89% of 2020 ballots within 7 days, 900 million COVID tests (average 1.2 days delivery), 91% public approval rating.  The organizing worked. Grand Alliance coordinated 80+ organizations, demonstrations at 300 post offices, and April 2022's Postal Service Reform Act eliminated the prefunding mandate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Then July 2025: the Post Office turns 250 while privatization forces circle. DeJoy resigns March 2025 after fighting off DOGE's merger attempts. David Steiner (former FedEx board member) becomes the 76th Postmaster General. Amazon contract expires October 2026 ($6B revenue loss), USPS launches reverse auction platform diversifying beyond one customer. Wells Fargo publishes actual privatization roadmap recommending 30-140% rate increases. DOGE, Koch network, Heritage Foundation all pushing dismantlement. But 102 million Americans would face higher prices under privatization, 16 Republicans cosponsored anti-privatization resolutions, rural senators defending universal service.  The lesson after 250 years: institutions serve whoever fights for them. The 2022 Reform Act proved organizing works. Public support exists (91% approval). The infrastructure exists (Grand Alliance, 500,000 union members, bipartisan rural defenders). The choice is whether we organize or surrender by default. Key takeaways to listen for [00:03:00] Act I - The DeJoy Era & COVID: Louis DeJoy appointed with zero postal experience, $1.2M Trump donations, $30-75M XPO stock (didn't divest until 2022), no official candidate search; 711 machines removed (double normal rate), overtime banned, mail leaves unloaded; 83 postal workers dead by Sept 2020, 18,000 out sick daily at peak, but 900M COVID tests delivered averaging 1.2 days, 91% approval rating (highest federal agency, bipartisan) [00:19:45] Act II - When the Post Office Shows Up: August 2020 warnings to 46 states about ballot deadlines, Trump openly linking USPS defunding to blocking mail voting, federal judge ruling DeJoy's actions were "voter disenfranchisement"; 99.89% of 2020 ballots delivered within 7 days (1.6 day average), 99% within 3 days in 2022 midterms, 94% on-time in North Carolina despite Hurricane Helene devastation; contrast with UPS suspending 1,000 Florida ZIP codes during Hurricane Ian while USPS legally required to serve everywhere [00:37:57] Act III - The Reform Act, Birthday, and Threats: April 2022 Reform Act eliminating prefunding mandate, wiping $57B accumulated debt, codifying 6-day delivery, passing with overwhelming bipartisan support from COVID organizing; July 2025 250th birthday while privatization threats circle; DeJoy resignation March 2025 after fighting DOGE merger attempts; David Steiner (FedEx board) as 76th Postmaster General; Amazon contract expiring Oct 2026 ($6B loss), reverse auction platform diversifying customers; Wells Fargo publishing privatization roadmap with 30-140% rate increases [00:51:50] Act IV - What We've Learned + How We Get There: Pattern across 250 years: every time USPS proves it works, someone tries to kill it (COVID tests→remove machines, postal savings→50 years lobbying to destroy, E-COM→Congress kills it); spoils system never died (DeJoy appointment); 1970 "run like a business" restructuring planted seeds of crisis; 2006 prefunding manufactured 87% of losses; organizing during COVID (Grand Alliance, 300 post office demonstrations, 91% approval) created political pressure for 2022 Reform Act [01:03:36] Act V - The Tug-of-War & The Choice: Wells Fargo publishing step-by-step privatization guide, James Comer saying private companies "interested" in mail processing, Koch network/Heritage/Cato pushing dismantlement; but 102M Americans would face higher prices (Institute for Policy Studies), 16 Republicans cosponsoring anti-privatization resolutions, rural senators defending universal service; proposals exist (Postal Banking Act, expanded government services, pension reform, $6-10B annual appropriations); 2022 Reform Act proves organizing works, infrastructure exists (Grand Alliance, 500K union members, bipartisan support), choice is whether we fight or surrender by default Get Involved: Grand Alliance to Save Our Public Postal Service American Postal Workers Union (APWU) National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Contact your representatives about the Postal Banking Act Organize across partisan divides, rural Republicans need USPS as much as urban Democrats Quotes: "When union leaders ask management why they're dismantling machines right before an election during a pandemic, they're told the machines are 'no longer needed.' You can't reassemble a mail sorting machine you threw in a dumpster three weeks ago." - Aileen "Federal judge Stanley Bastian ruled in September 2020: 'At the heart of DeJoy's and the Postal Service's actions is voter disenfranchisement.' A federal judge said that. Out loud. In a legal ruling." - Maia "COVID did something no legislation could have done. It showed Americans in the most visceral way that the Post Office is essential. And that public support? It's going to matter." - Maia "The 2022 Reform Act happened because people organized during COVID. Demonstrated at 300 post offices. The Grand Alliance coordinated 80 organizations. Congress was watching, and Congress acted. Collective action actually worked." - Aileen "Wells Fargo published an actual step-by-step guide to privatizing the Post Office. Not just a think piece, a literal roadmap. They're shopping the Post Office to investors." - Maia "Institutions serve whoever fights for them. The Post Office isn't going to save itself. People do. Or people don't, and we lose them. The postal service we get is the postal service we fight for." - Aileen Hashtags #PeopleOfAgency #AileenDay #MaiaWarner #LouisDeJoy #DavidSteiner #COVID19 #MailInVoting #2020Election #PostalReformAct #GrandAlliance #APWU #NALC #VoterDisenfranchisement #Privatization #DOGE #WellsFargo #PostalBanking #UniversalService #OrganizingWorks #CollectivePower #250Years #SaveThePostOffice #PublicInstitutions #LaborOrganizing #CallToAction #HistoryPodcast Follow Us On Social Media Instagram @Peopleof_Agency TikTok @Peopleof_Agency YouTube @Peopleof_Agency   Connect with Us Ready to explore how ordinary people built extraordinary public institutions? Subscribe to People of Agency wherever you listen to podcasts. Find us on social media @Peopleof_Agency. Have stories about how the mail shaped your community, or thoughts on protecting public services? We'd love to hear from you! [email protected] Credits  People of Agency is created and written by Aileen Day, with additional writing by Maia Warner-Langenbahn. It is hosted by Aileen Day and Maia Warner-Langenbahn. This episode was edited by the amazing Kelsi Rupersburg-Day. Our beautiful cover art is by Sam Woodring.  Sources  Here are some of our other sources (use the tab function to review different episodes). How the Post Office Created America, by Winifred Gallagher, served as a significant guiding light for this project. Many of our sources were pulled from online Smithsonian resources and the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Thank you to our anonymous Historian fact checker who reviewed many of our scripts and provided invaluable feedback.