KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Hundreds of letter carriers, postal workers and clerks rallied in Mill Creek Park on Sunday in support of the United States Postal Service. “The Trump administration is planning on trying to take the United States Postal Service and move it under the Department of Commerce, ” said Kevin Williams, legislative representative for NALC Branch 30, in the Kansas City metro. “And we're here to say hell no to dismantling the Postal Service.” Rumors were swirling around the crowd about job cuts, benefit cuts, and even privatization. “There are more than 650,000 employees of the United States Postal Service, and we deliver to more than 160 million residences every day,” Williams said. “We are a service. We are a service that's not funded by the federal government. We don't use tax dollars. We use money from the sale of postage and postal goods and supplies.” Balloon released in honor of late mother ends up found in Maine In addition to the crowds of USPS employees, US Representative Emanuel Cleaver gave a passionate speech to the crowd. “This is about greed,” Congressman Cleaver said. “We’re living right now in a moment of Washington-led greed. When they privatize it, they’re going to do whatever they can to get the maximum amount of money they want. And I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that one day people will be paying $1.50 for each stamp." Anthoney Mitchell is a letter carrier and has legislative responsibilities for NALC. He says they have a universal mandate. “We are enshrined in the Constitution,” he said.   “We are mandated six days a week to deliver the mail, deliver those packages at a universal cost. And that's what we're trying to protect.” Williams said that the USPS has been under the federal government before, and it caused issues for postal employees. “Carriers were out there working 12-hour shifts,” he said.   “Back before the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, it was very difficult. And if we cut the workforce and we still have to do the deliveries that we do now, it's going to really put a stress and strain on letter carriers.” Williams and Mitchell agreed that while they are fighting for their jobs and the jobs of their coworkers, customers would see the effects as well. “It can affect us as letter carriers. City letter carriers, rural carriers, postal clerks, but it's about the customers and giving them what they deserve, what they’ve had for over 200 years.” “People in rural areas, people who are disabled, the elderly, they count on their mail and packages every day,” said Williams. “And with the decrease in workforce and taking jobs away, that's going to hurt.” ...read more read less