USPS’ new postmaster general is a FedEx board member and former Fortune 500 CEO. But union leaders say he’s the ‘last type of person’ who should be in charge

David Steiner, former CEO of the largest waste management company in the country currently on the Fedex board of directors, is about to take control of the control ofAmerican postal servicebecoming the 76th post office in the country.

The announcement of the appointment of Steiner, which strengthened the concerns of postal unions concerning the possible efforts to privatize the USPS, was made Friday by Amber McREYNOLDS, president of the Council of Governors of the USPS, during a meeting of the independent group which supervises the service.

“We are planning that Mr. Steiner will join the organization in July, assuming his success in the ethics and security authorization processes that are currently underway,” said McREYNOLDS.

The announcement of Friday by the Governors' Council comes as President Donald Trump and the government's effectiveness department of his Elon Musk advisor raised the idea ofPrivate the postal service of almost 250 yearswhich has been faced with financial challenges in the middle of an evolving mail mixture and other problems.

The choice of Steiner was considered by postal unions as a warning sign for a possible privatization of a part or all of the venerable almost publical institution, which is largely self-funded and is responsible for serving all the addresses of the country-nearly 167 million residences, companies and post boxes.

Postal unions have organized demonstrations throughout the country for potential privatization, job cuts and possibly put an end to the universal service obligation.

Brian L. Renfroe, president of the National Association of Transporters of Letters, said that Steiner was not just any framework in the private sector, but someone who sits on the board of directors of one of the best competitors in the postal service.

“His selection is not only a conflict of interest – it is an aggressive step towards the delivery of the American messaging system to the interests of companies,” said Renfroe in a statement. “Private shippers have been waiting to withdraw USPS from the delivery of packages for years. Steiner's selection is an open invitation to do exactly that. ”

The Renfroe union represents 205,000 letters from the active city and around 90,000 retirees.

Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, which represents more than 220,000 USPS employees and retirees, compared Steiner's appointment to a fox keeping a foal.

“Fedex has a very different program from that of public postal service. And they are a major competitor of the United States postal service,” he said. “I am not talking about the attributes of an individual, but for me, it is the last type of person that you will be responsible for the public institution as the anchor of the diffusion package industry in the country.”

Steiner, who will leave the Fedex board of directors, said in a written declaration that he admired the Mission of the USPS public service and called it “an incredible honor to be invited to lead the largest postal organization in the world”.

“I firmly believe in the maintenance of its role as a establishment independent of the executive power,” said Steiner, who was CEO of Waste Management Inc. from 2004 to October 2016.

In a written statement, McREYNOLDS called Steiner “the right person to direct the postal service at present to ensure that this magnificent historical organization thrives in the future.”

“Dave is a highly appreciated leader and a framework with a great vision, experience and skills that can be applied to the long-term mission and the commercial needs of the postal service,” she added. “Our board of directors is anxious to work with Dave while it adopts the main mandates to provide universal and excellent service for the American public and to do so in a financially sustainable manner.”

The postal service is in the middle of a plan to modernize and reduce the 10 -year cost which started in 2021 under Louis Dejoy, post office, whoresigned in March. The plan is an attempt to stop losses at the agency, which has a budget of around $ 78 billion per year and is mainly self -funded, including stamps and packages.

Known as “deliver for America”, the initiative has received clearly mixed criticism. While postal managers argue that this has led to significant improvements in efficiency, some members of the congress criticized it for leaving delays in mail, unsustainable postal increases and a drop in business.

In addition to privatization, there was also a question of possibly moving the USPS under the control of the American trade department.

Steiner's choice was reported for the first time by the Washington Post.

This story was initially presented on Fortune.com