Efforts to Privatize the United States Postal Service: Labor’s Response

The United States Postal Service (USPS), the second largest employer of civilians in the United States, has been the focus of attempts to restructure the workforce and privatize its activities. The four unions which represent those employed by the USPS have been working together to resist these efforts. Recently, results of arbitration and proposed legislation have given some reason for optimism. The rate of union density within the postal service as well as the potential for private-sector profit making, however, means that it is likely that such struggles will continue