Pocan Urges USPS Leadership to Halt Plan to Cut 10,000 Jobs

WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (WI-02) led a letter with 73 of his colleagues urging Deputy Postmaster General Doug Tulino to halt the decision to cut 10,000 USPS workers through the Voluntary Early Retirement program at the direction of Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This decision would have devastating consequences for millions of Americans, particularly in rural communities, who have already seen a decline in service since former Postmaster DeJoy implemented his unsuccessful “Delivering for America” plan.

“The primary role of the USPS is to offer reliable and affordable mail and package delivery to all addresses in the United States, serving both urban and rural areas,” the Members wrote. “Unfortunately, under former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s leadership, postal service slowdowns, workforce reductions, and rising costs for Americans have significantly eroded public trust. His ‘Delivering for America Plan’ has failed to address these ongoing issues and made things worse—creating bipartisan frustration among members of Congress who repeatedly hear from constituents about the problems they face with the USPS. Furthermore, the USPS is already facing staffing shortages due to low wages, difficult working conditions, and operational changes that have overburdened employees. Given the consistently poor performance of the USPS under DeJoy’s leadership, it is absurd to entertain further workforce reductions in any conversation around improving ‘efficiency.’”

The Members continued, “The USPS is an independent agency of the executive branch for a reason, and it is your responsibility as Deputy Postmaster General to protect it from the kind of destruction that we have already seen DOGE inflict on other agencies.”

“The Postal Service is a fundamental institution that millions of Americans depend on daily, and its future should not be dictated by reckless policies under DOGE,” the Members concluded. “We urge you to work with Congress on solutions that strengthen the USPS without jeopardizing the quality of its service or the wellbeing of its workforce.”

A full copy of the letter can be found here.

The list of signers includes: Balint, Becca; Barragán, Nanette; Bishop, Sanford; Bonamici, Suzanne; Boyle, Brendan; Brownley, Julia; Brown, Shontel; Carson, André; Carter, Troy; Casten, Sean; Cherfilus-McCormick, Sheila; Chu, Judy; Cisneros, Gilbert; Cleaver, Emanuel; Correa, J.; Craig, Angie; Dean, Madeleine; DeGette, Diana; Escobar, Veronica; Evans, Dwight; Figures, Shomari; Foster, Bill; Frankel, Lois; Garamendi, John; García, Jesús; Green, Al; Horsford, Steven; Hoyle, Val; Huffman, Jared; Jackson, Jonathan; Jacobs, Sara; Jayapal, Pramila; Johnson, Henry; Kaptur, Marcy; Kelly, Robin; Kennedy, Timothy; Khanna, Ro; Landsman, Greg; Larson, John; Latimer, George; Leger Fernandez, Teresa; Lynch, Stephen; McBath, Lucy; McBride, Sarah; McClellan, Jennifer; McCollum, Betty; McGarvey, Morgan; McGovern, James; McIver, LaMonica; Meng, Grace; Moore, Gwen; Mullin, Kevin; Norton, Eleanor; Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria; Pallone, Frank; Pingree, Chellie; Ramirez, Delia; Sánchez, Linda; Scanlon, Mary Gay; Sewell, Terri; Sherman, Brad; Stanton, Greg; Swalwell, Eric; Thompson, Mike; Titus, Dina; Tlaib, Rashida; Tokuda, Jill; Tonko, Paul; Torres, Ritchie; Vargas, Juan; Velázquez, Nydia; Watson Coleman, Bonnie; Wilson, Frederica

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.