Oregonians will join a national day of action July 28 to support the U.S. Postal Service and speak out against slower delivery times, high prices and attempts to eliminate mail-in voting.

Supporters are calling on Congress to invest in the services that USPS offers and protect it from becoming privatized.

Daniel Cortez, president of the Oregon Postal Workers Union, said the current leadership of the Post Office is taking the agency apart.

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"Unfortunately, privatizers have been slowly eroding the public's confidence in the Postal Service and slowly chipping away at the service standards. And the time is now to remind the American people what a vital service the USPS is," Cortez said.

Organizers say former Postmaster General Louis DeJoy started the decline of the service through the 10-year Delivering for America plan. The plan aims to make USPS financially self-sustaining in part by slowing delivery to reduce costs and raising prices.

But Jonathan Smith, president of the American Postal Workers Union, counters that USPS is a service, not a business, and was never designed to make money.

"We are a not-for-profit service written into the law. It was designed to serve the American people at the same price. No matter where you live, you had a right to information," Smith said.

Dozens of rallies and other events in support of the Postal Service are planned for July 28. Oregon will have an event in Bend and in Portland.

Cortez said supporters will be launching a postcard-writing campaign for the public to share opinions about USPS with officials.