Feb. 4, 2014—On Jan. 29, the Senate committee with Postal Service oversight, the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, spent nearly three hours in a mark-up meeting to debate a handful of proposed amendments to S. 1486.
After that first session stalled, committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) announced that the mark-up would resume on Thursday, Feb. 6.
“Unfortunately, none of the proposed amendments to S. 1486 will fix the fundamental flaws with the bill,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said, “and at least one amendment—on rate-setting—would make the bill worse.”
As written, S. 1486 would facilitate the end of door delivery and the elimination of Saturday delivery, therefore destroying tens of thousands of letter carrier jobs. It also would endanger all postal jobs by slowing service and driving business away from the Postal Service.
“I am disappointed that the committee will seek to advance this flawed legislation,” Rolando said. “We will continue to fight for the kind of reform that will strengthen the Postal Service without slashing service or attacking hard-working postal employees.”
Round 1
One of the first amendments considered after the first mark-up meeting came to order on Jan. 29, from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), called for an immediate end to six-day delivery. It was easily defeated on a voice vote.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) proposed an amendment calling on the Postal Service to declare bankruptcy and reorganize. In the senator’s vision of reorganization, collective-bargaining agreements between USPS and its employee unions would be renegotiated, while existing no-layoff protections and the ability to bargain over wages would be banned. The committee voted down the Paul amendment 11 to 4.
An amendment offered by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) called for the removal of the bill’s unfair provisions regarding injured workers. As written, S. 1486 imposes cruel and discriminatory reforms to the Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA) that would leave injured federal workers with the worst long-term injuries vulnerable to impoverishment when they reach Social Security retirement age. This FECA language was originally proposed by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) under last Congress’ postal bill, S. 1789. Collins no longer serves on the oversight committee, but the language was still carried over into S. 1486.
Tester’s amendment failed, and the FECA reform language was retained. However, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), the committee’s ranking member, admitted that the language was reflective of the last Congress’ priorities, and he said that even if it made it into the final bill, he believed it would be removed during House-Senate conference committee negotiations. Tester disagreed, saying that he was hearing that the House would likely follow the Senate’s lead on the matter and leave the language in the bill, untouched.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) raised some concerns over the new bill’s call to transfer rate-setting authority from the Postal Regulatory Commission the Postal Board of Governors, effectively giving complete rate-setting ability to the Postal Service with greatly reduced oversight. She also raised concerns about a revised price index system.
Following a great deal of back-and-forth discussion on the matter, Baldwin’s concerns were noted and her amendment was held over for future consideration.
Wow the comments don’t have much to do with congress and what they are trying to do with the only great American job left in this country. Where else in the world do you have a model like the Postal Service. A non profit service to the American public that pays its employee’s from the revenue. Count your blessings that we have had this opportunity to work for really a great company. I want my children and their children to have the same opportunity. The jobs in this country are crap and we need to protect the great jobs we have left. Your anti union comments are way off base and the union is only as good as the people that are involved in it. I can’t even imagine the Postal Service without a union. Minimum wage, little to no vacation time, no sick leave, no TSP contributions and the very last thing that the union negotiates in its contracts that people don’t realize is health care premiums. The union saves its members $400 a year compared to other federal workers that don’t get to negotiate their health care premiums of what the company will pay. So I rather belong to a UNION and have the protection that other workers do not have. I am thankful for a great job and a great UNION.
Archie is 100 percent correct, high numbers more money for them…Wake up people…
Without the unions most workers wouldn’t have collective -bargaining agreements and that would make life very difficult for many people. I would be relieved and appreciative to know that someone had my back regarding my livelihood. So many people have jobs and careers that offer no protection from unfairness and retaliation-no matter how well someone works.
The union just steals your money and does nothing for you…Wake up and open your eyes…5 day here we come
Scott- calm down and take your medication!
Why is your truck all tore up? You had the same route for a loonnng time? Hmmmm- who tore it up?
Corruption? How much money did the NALC and “Fat Cat” Freddy Rolondo donate to senate and congressional campaigns? Your PAC still begging for more to support “the cause”? Whats the cause? Cause they want to keep their pockets lined and membership high. No members- No money.
’nuff said!
Where are the so called friends of the NALC???? They just take the COLCPE money and do anything they want. DONT GIVE TO COLCPE!!!
one small man taking one small step.
but for congress, it’s more like the curly shuffle.
Sorry, somehow the post was sent up before I finished. The LLV’s get about 10 miles per gallon and are unsafe at any speed.
But there is a Senate bill that hopes to give money to the USPS to upgrade the fleet with smarter more efficient vehicles. It’s sad Congress would have to do it because the USPS is too lazy to do it themselves. But with three years to go till retirement, I doubt I’ll ever get to drive a new truck.
What a joke this whole situation is, and a bad joke at that.
What we read between the lines is an attempt by some in Congress to wipe out the USPS somehow, with no consideration for the Constitutional requirement that such a service be present. Of course, anti-union rich assholes are out in force, too. The other unspoken but implied statement is that management is inept and corrupt. That can hardly be debated, with so many consumer complaints and so little response.
The whole rate fiasco stems from corrupt deals allowing direct market mailers, those wonderful people who send out marriage mail and other crap that actually costs the USPS to deliver, rather than makes money because those mailers are paying off the upper levels of postal management in exchange for sweetheart rates.
It’s either that or management is even more incompetent and stupid than I thought possible. But I can’t believe every person in Area on up are morons. Sure, some are, but corruption is the rule of the day. It’s the only explanation for continuing to accept business that actually costs the Service to handle that makes sense.
One other subject that irks me is the untold amount of money, maybe in the billions by now, the USPS has wasted by accepting the Grumman design for the LLV’s currently in use. The front and rear axles are not in line, and a perfectly good tire goes bald in a matter of a couple of months because the tires skid on turns and can’t be aligned properly. Goodyear isn’t complaining – they sell millions of tires to the USPS. But how much has this cost the Service, and why hasn’t that been addressed, or more pointedly, why the hell did they approve the design in the first place?
I estimate the cost of just replacing tires since 1987 to be in the billions of dollars. Now think of where that waste could have gone. The Service could have regularly replaced the aging fleet, made them much more fuel efficient and dependable. Instead we’re stuck driving pieces of shit that look like shit and run worse. Decals are worn off, the LLV’s are covered with scrapes and dents, and they only get about
I told you all that there wouldn’t be enough arm twisting on the workers comp amendment that will totally screw over workers that are honestly hurt for life. For all of the naysayers, this is a total joke to you all, thinking that the injured people are having fun at home, while you work. That is nonsense. Again, wait until you are hurt. Karma is a bitch…
Just wait until you have to renegotiate your wages and benefits, and the lay off clause. Oh, but that will be so important to you all when this happens, and it will.
God bless all…
the fact that this congress would even consider giving postal management and the postal bureaucrats the power to set rates tells me that this congress is clueless as to the level of incompetence, fraud, and
deceit that these bureaucrats displayed and
practiced for years.
Tired of this crap, just shut it down and let the private sectors bid to do business.