(ABC 6 News)- It is the most used shipping method for e-commerce in the U.S., older than the country itself: the United States Postal Service.

USPS has been around for about 250 years, and now it could be heading towards privatization.

“The private companies that may take it over, would deliver to the Rochesters and the Twin Cities, and maybe the Austins, the Winonas, and Mason Cities,” said Richard Haefner, the president of the Minnesota Postal Workers Union.

President Trump says the change might be necessary due to the amount of losses the postal service has generated over the years. As of now, USPS is the only mail service providing deliveries to every American address.

But by going private, that can change.

“If that Amazon package or package of medication, or whatever, is something that you desperately need, you’re just not gonna get it until they have a mail carrier come in there and deliver it on some day,” Haefner said.

Haefner said rural communities could be the hardest hit.

“Folks out in those areas, are the ones that are going to be impacted by slower service, more unreliable service,” said Haefner.

Kaleb Fitting, a flex worker at several post offices, said other countries with privatized mail have seen reductions in service days — from 6 days a week to 3 or 4 — as well as higher postage prices.

“There are a lot of misnomers,” Fitting said. “We’re a service, not a business. We do unprofitable things to serve everyone, like in rural areas.”

One member of the community said he hopes the union can come together and keep USPS the way it is.

“Honestly I’m hoping that the union can kind of band together and honestly hopefully they stay federal just because I do believe it’ll impact a lot of jobs,” said Ryan Anderson, a Rochester resident.

While another says, the privatization may be a good thing, and it could be time for change.

“If a private company works, that’s great. But what’s going on so far hasn’t. If they’ve been operating under a loss and I think they have for many years,” said Bob Kertis, another Rochester resident.

The Postal Workers Union said they aren’t quite sure how the postal service will look like if it does indeed become private, but encouraged those in rural areas to reach out to lawmakers to prevent that from happening.

Fitting added that there are other benefits to keeping wide-ranging, near-daily mail routes going.

A few years ago, Fitting happened upon a man who had fallen outside his home and broken a leg, he said.

No one else was around to find the man, and he may have frozen without aid.

“If we know someone doesn’t grab their mail for a week, we’re going to have police do a wellness check,” he said. “We’re the eyes and ears of the community.”