Preparing for privatization, rural service reduced under USPS revised delivery standards

Jane Wise

A USPS employee works outside post office in Wheeling, Illinois December 3, 2021. [AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh]

On July 1, the United States Postal Service (USPS) implemented the second phase of its revised delivery standards under the so-called “Delivering for America” plan, which is, in reality, a massive cost-cutting campaign to prepare USPS for privatization. The changes, described by management as necessary for “efficiency,” will extend delivery times for millions of residents, particularly in rural areas, as USPS seeks to eliminate trucking routes and consolidate processing operations to slash labor and transportation costs.

According to industry publication Freightwaves, the latest phase expands the Regional Transportation Optimization (RTO) initiative nationwide, adding an extra day to expected delivery times for First-Class Mail originating from remote post offices more than 50 miles from regional processing centers.

USPS claims the changes will save $36 billion over 10 years, with most savings derived from cutbacks to mail processing and transportation. Under the new standards, Sundays and holidays no longer count as transit days, meaning a two-day delivery mailed on Saturday will not arrive until Tuesday, greatly extending delivery times.

The situation is urgent and must be opposed by a rank-and-file movement from below, independent of the union bureaucrats who either openly support Delivering for America or refuse to lift a finger against it.

The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), in its January 2025 advisory opinion, sharply criticized the plan’s defective modeling, unproven cost-saving projections, and devastating impact on rural customers. The Commission warned that USPS is “irreversibly changing its network without laying a foundation for success.” It found that nearly half (49.5 percent) of First-Class Mail ZIP codes will experience downgraded service and concluded the changes are inconsistent with USPS’s statutory obligation under 39 U.S.C. § 101(a), to provide “prompt, reliable, and efficient services to patrons in all areas.” It emphasized the disproportionate harm to rural communities, delaying their outgoing mail and receipt of essential items such as medications and business payments.

The PRC noted specifically that USPS’s claims of improved performance were contradicted by actual outcomes in regions where they were piloted, including the cities of Richmond, Virginia and Atlanta, Georgia, where performance significantly declined following the implementation of the new network model.

But in spite of the scathing report from the PRC, the Trump administration is accelerating the plans of his predecessors to sell off the post office. These cuts are part of USPS’s broader transformation agenda initiated under former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, appointed under Trump but serving mostly under Joe Biden.

Trump’s newly appointed Postmaster General, David Steiner, is a sitting FedEx board member who will assume office on July 14. His appointment signals the administration’s intent to strip USPS of its public mission and carve up its assets for private profit.

In its February 2025 industry update, Wells Fargo laid out a blueprint for USPS privatization, viewing these facility closures and consolidations as key steps toward carving up USPS. The bank proposed splitting the profitable parcel business from mail operations, privatizing parcel delivery through IPO or sale while retaining letter mail under minimal public funding.

Delivering for America is proceeding along many of the recommendations in the report. As Freightwaves reported, in 2021 USPS operated 427 facilities, many under short-term leases or contractors, functioning in an uncoordinated manner. Under DeJoy’s restructuring, the agency is downsizing to just 250 facilities nationwide, including 60 regional processing and distribution centers (RPDCs) and 190 local processing centers (LPCs) that sort letters, flats and parcels for final-mile delivery. This represents a massive 40 percent reduction in facilities, with devastating consequences for postal workers and the communities they serve.

Amazon is also positioning itself to capitalize on a privatized USPS. As Truthout reported, CEO Andy Jassy’s 2024 shareholder letter highlighted Amazon’s expansion into rural delivery networks, traditionally dependent on USPS for the costly “last mile.” Up until now, rural offices were so dominated by deliveries for the e-commerce giant that they functioned effectively as Amazon contractors, violating federal law by prioritizing Amazon packages over other items.

With privatization, Amazon could absorb these routes directly for massive profit, while slashing service to unprofitable regions. The company delivered over 6 billion packages in 2024 through its own network of franchised “Delivery Service Providers,” becoming the country’s biggest delivery business virtually overnight.

Truthout noted that both UPS and FedEx stand ready to absorb USPS’s package delivery business. FedEx has a last-mile station network similar in size to Amazon’s, but more evenly distributed nationwide, alongside a more efficient air network. UPS surpasses both with a larger last-mile footprint and nearly double Amazon’s air capacity, positioning these corporations to seize routes and profits if USPS’s universal service obligation is dismantled.

Far from mobilizing opposition, the unions have quietly cleared the path for privatization by accepting Delivering for America’s agenda. This year, all major USPS unions finalized new contracts that failed to include any protections against the ongoing preparations for dismantling the Postal Service.

However, support for the contracts among the memberships was abysmally low. The National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association “ratified” a contract on only 11 percent turnout, while the American Postal Workers Union is wrapping up voting on a “contract” which does not even exist because the language has not yet been finalized. Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers rejected their tentative agreement by 70 percent, only to have its terms imposed through interest arbitration. This signals immense dissatisfaction with the union leaderships and their inability to defend workers’ interests.

New mass grave uncovered at Chemmani in northern Sri Lanka

N. Ranges

The exhumation team observing a newly opened grave in Chemmani

In a chilling reminder of the decades-long anti-Tamil racist war, a new mass grave has been discovered at Sittupatthu in Chemmani, on the outskirts of Jaffna town in northern Sri Lanka. This is one of several mass grave sites that have been accidentally found at various places in the North in recent years.

The graves are further evidence of the atrocities committed during the brutal communal war unleashed by successive Colombo governments, which deployed hundreds of thousands of soldiers against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

During the 26-year war, which ended in May 2009 with the LTTE’s defeat, it is estimated that more than 100,000 people—mostly ethnic Tamils in the North and East—were killed. Thousands more were forcibly disappeared. The UN has estimated that about 40,000 civilians were killed during the final months of the war.

These two provinces remain under heavy military control, and the scars of the conflict continue to resurface periodically.

During an excavation for the construction of an electric crematorium at Chemmani’s Sinthupaththi Hindu cremation ground, a new mass grave containing fragments of human bones was discovered on February 20. Acting on a court directive, a team of archaeologists led by Professor Raj Somadeva commenced the formal excavation on May 15.

By last week, about 42 human skeletons had been found. According to news reports, 37 complete skeletal remains have been exhumed and carefully preserved for forensic analysis.

One of the skeletons found in the exhumation of mass graves at Chemmani

The Sunday Times reported that last week excavation workers also found a dress, a bag, slippers and a toy. Earlier, uncovered items included clothing, small glass bangles and a blue cloth school bag, which was identified as aid distributed by an aid organisation to schoolchildren in the North and East. So far, according to reports, three skeletal remains have been classified as those of babies younger than 10 months old.

The report states that the human remains were buried just 1.6 feet beneath the surface—an unusually shallow burial in stark contrast to the typical six-foot burial depth.

These bodies will eventually be analysed by medical experts to try to determine the cause of death. Professor Somadeva will examine artefacts such as dated cellophane wrappers and clothing to estimate the time of burial. He also noted that satellite imagery and drone photography had helped identify a second probable burial site within the cemetery.

However, if one takes into account what happened previously when mass graves have been unearthed in the North and East, it is likely that a thorough investigation will be abandoned and the truth will be buried.

This is the second time that a mass grave has been found at the same Chemmani site. Twenty-five years ago, in 1999, a grave containing 15 skeletal remains was uncovered following a confession by Corporal Somaratna Rajapakse, who had served in northern Sri Lanka during 1995–96.

Rajapakse’s disclosure came after he was convicted and sentenced to death, along with four other Sri Lankan army personnel, for the rape and murder of Tamil schoolgirl Krishanthi Kumaraswamy and members of her family who went in search of the missing girl.

He provided a chilling account of how the military had captured, tortured and summarily executed individuals who had been arrested or abducted as alleged “LTTE suspects.” The incident was extensively reported by the World Socialist Web Site at the time. According to information gathered during the 1995–96 period, over 600 persons “disappeared” in the North.

This was during the time when the government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga resumed the bloody war in April 1995, ending her bogus peace talks with the LTTE.

When the mass grave was found in 1999, relatives of disappeared persons filed cases in the Jaffna courts. According to the Center for Human Rights and Development, the military later complained it could not obtain justice from the Jaffna courts and requested the cases be transferred to Anuradhapura, the capital of North Central Province.

However, after attending several court sessions, the people who filed the cases refused to continue attending, citing harassments from the military, resulting in the dismissal of the cases.

Skeleton, thought to be a child, found in Chemmani mass grave

The graves at Chemmani represent only a fraction of the widespread war crimes committed by the military with impunity, under the patronage of successive Colombo governments.

More mass graves have been uncovered across the North and East provinces, including discoveries in Thiruketheeswaram, Mannar district in 2013; the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment premises in Mannar in 2018; Kokkuthoduvai, Mullaitivu district in 2021; and Kalavanchikudy, Batticaloa district in 2014.

Excavations were conducted at these places but no further investigations subsequently took place.

The discovery of the latest mass grave has intensified concerns over the fate of the disappeared and sparked opposition among the Tamil population. On June 5, the Association for Relatives of the Enforced Disappearances in the Northern and Eastern Provinces (ARED) issued a statement and held a demonstration near the Chemmani mass grave.

Protesters raised five key demands, including an international investigation adhering to global standards and involving the UN.

Since 2011, the so-called Sri Lanka core group in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), led by the US, UK, Canada and France, has sponsored resolutions on human rights violations during the conflict in Sri Lanka.

However, far from being concerned about war crimes, the US in particular exploited the resolutions to pressure Sri Lankan governments to distance themselves from Beijing and to align with Washington-led military preparations against China.

Under Trump, the US withdrew from the UN human rights body, accusing it of bias against Israel. The UK now heads the so-called core group.

Since 2017, ARED has been active in protests, making appeals to these international powers.

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF), the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) and various other Tamil nationalist groups and diaspora organisations are responsible for cultivating the myth that these imperialist powers are interested in justice.

This is politically criminal. These same imperialist powers are all responsible for war crimes and currently are fully backing Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

The Tamil parties are appealing to this “international community” not to address human rights, but to put pressure on Colombo to concede greater powers and privileges to the Tamil elites in the North and East.

The current Sri Lankan government is led by the Sinhala chauvinist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which supported the communal war against the LTTE from its inception. It remains firmly opposed to any genuine investigation into military-perpetrated war crimes.

In October 2024, the JVP-led government reaffirmed its opposition to any international investigation into war crimes by rejecting a UNHRC resolution calling for such an inquiry.

The JVP won office for the first time last year by capitalising on widespread opposition to traditional capitalist parties and promises to protect democratic rights, including those of the Tamil population. It has since abandoned its commitments, along with its other empty election promises.

Job cuts spread and deepen at Australian universities

Mike Head

Charles Sturt University (CSU), one of Australia’s largest regional universities, last month became the latest of the country’s 39 public universities to announce or foreshadow damaging job losses.

Without specifying the numbers of retrenchments, CSU vice-chancellor Renée Leon said the “distressing” cuts flowed from the Albanese Labor government’s policies to restrict the number of international students.

Charles Sturt University [Photo: Charles Sturt University]

Leon cited a sharp drop in the number of overseas students, whose fees had previously been used to subsidise students from regional, rural and remote locations. “In 2019 Charles Sturt had 8,460 international students. In 2024, we had approximately 10 percent of that number.”

For more than six months, despite outraged protests by staff and students at many individual universities, managements have continued to unveil the destruction of academic and professional staff jobs—now over 3,000 nationally.

These retrenchments are mostly a direct result of the Albanese government’s reactionary cuts to enrolments by overseas students, on whose exorbitant fees the chronically-underfunded universities have increasingly relied for the past decade and a half.

By cutting the enrolments, the Labor government is deliberately applying financial pressure to the universities, in order to restructure them to align with “national priorities” set out in last year’s Universities Accord report.

The plunge in numbers at CSU indicates that the government’s measures—setting enrolment caps, more than doubling visa fees and rejecting thousands of visa applications—are having a particularly severe impact on regional universities and communities.

The CSU cuts will hit hard in areas where there is little alternative employment, especially in the education sector. CSU has campuses in regional centres across the state of New South Wales, in Bathurst, Wagga Wagga, Albury-Wodonga, Dubbo, Orange and Port Macquarie.

Even deeper and wider cuts are to come. Education Minister Jason Clare has boasted of slashing the number of new international students by 30 percent this year, but the government has vowed to halve them, to 270,000 a year, from the level of 548,000 in 2023. That means greater job losses for 2026 and 2027.

Other regional universities are among those suffering the most. At the University of Southern Queensland, a proposed restructure would eliminate 150 full-time positions, after an earlier round of cuts in late 2024 terminated 109 roles, including 85 redundancies and 24 pre-retirement arrangements.

This would mean major course cuts and bring the total loss of jobs since the start of 2024 to just under 20 percent of the university’s workforce.

At Federation University, which has campuses across Victoria, management is moving to cut 200 full-time equivalent positions, despite spirited protests by staff and students. The number of international students attending Federation fell by 49 percent between 2019 and 2023.

Job destruction is also intensifying at major city universities, including most recently at Western Sydney University and Sydney’s Macquarie University.

At the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, the management last month formally launched the first of several rounds of job cuts.

It issued “change proposals” under its enterprise agreement with the trade unions to eliminate 37 jobs in Information Technology Services, the Information Security Office and the Planning and Service Performance division. That represents a reduction of between 9 and 14 percent of staff in each of those three areas.

ANU management this week unveiled 59 more academic and professional job cuts in the College of Science and Medicine, the College of Arts and Social Sciences, and the Research and Innovation Portfolio.

ANU is expected to announce hundreds more job losses by the end of September, also to be executed via “change proposals.” ANU’s staffing levels already have been reduced by 635 full-time equivalent positions since March 2024, mostly through misnamed “voluntary” redundancies.

Nevertheless, the leaders of the main campus unions, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), are continuing to oppose any unified fight by university workers and students against the flood of job destruction and accompanying course closures.

Instead, the union apparatuses have sought to blame individual vice-chancellors for the job destruction, blatantly trying to politically shield the Labor government.

At ANU, the NTEU Australian Capital Territory division secretary Lachlan Clohesy even urged Education Minister Clare, the chief enforcer of Labor’s cuts, to intervene under federal legislation to sack Vice-Chancellor Genevieve Bell. Clohesy accused her of “single-handedly destroying one of the world’s great universities.”

At the same time, the NTEU is offering to assist the managements to achieve the required cost-cutting by other means, including “voluntary redundancies,” just as the NTEU did at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to each previous attack on jobs and conditions.

In fact, the unions have lined up behind the Labor government on every front. They have refused to oppose the overseas student cuts. The Labor government is vying to outdo the opposition Liberal-National Coalition in blaming students, along with migrant workers, for the housing affordability and cost-of-living crisis that is still devastating working-class households.

The unions have remained silent on another significant contributor to the government’s financial pressure on the universities. The number of commencing domestic undergraduate students also fell to 262,396 in 2023, down by 8.9 percent since 2017.

That is largely due to the punishing fees of nearly $17,000 a year inflicted on arts, humanities, business and law students. Labor has maintained the previous Coalition government’s “job ready graduates” program to push students into “priority” and “skills” courses such as maths, science, teaching and nursing.

The Albanese government’s promise to introduce legislation this year to cut ex-students’ outstanding HECS fee repayment debts by 20 percent will do little to offset this burden.

Without any opposition by the unions, the Labor government also advised universities and researchers to comply with a questionnaire sent by the fascistic Trump administration threatening to cut off joint funding for research unless their projects served the needs of US foreign policy and military objectives. At least 11 universities have suffered research funding cuts as a result, which will mean deeper job losses.

This assault is set to accelerate. July 1 saw the inauguration of an interim government-appointed Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC). As of January 1, each university’s funding will be tied to a “mission-based compact” with ATEC, setting out how the university must contribute to Labor’s “national priorities.”

These priorities were outlined in last year’s Universities Accord report. They include servicing the narrow “skills” requirements of employers and meeting the needs of the AUKUS military pact and military-related industries in preparation for a US-led war against China.

While starving the universities of funds, the government is pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into military spending, while backing the Gaza genocide, the criminal attacks on Iran and the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine.