May 21, 2014—Statement of Fredric V. Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, following the Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s approval of H.R. 4670, the Secure Delivery for America Act of 2014:
This irresponsible bill, H.R. 4670, is bad for the American public, bad for businesses, bad for the economy and bad for the U.S. Postal Service. And it simply ignores reality. Postal finances are steadily improving as the economy recovers from the worst recession in 80 years and as increasing online shopping sends package revenue soaring. This year, the Postal Service has reported a $1 billion operating profit.
We are confident that the majority of lawmakers will understand that degrading a now-profitable postal network not only makes no sense, it would stop the postal turnaround by driving mail — and revenue — out of the system. It would inconvenience millions of Americans and small businesses. And it would weaken the personal contact between residents and letter carriers — a bond that not only has led the public to name letter carriers the most trusted federal employees year after year, but also has resulted in the saving of countless lives as letter carriers deliver the mail.
This legislation entirely misses the point — 100 percent of USPS “losses” stem directly from the congressional mandate that the Postal Service, alone among all public agencies and private companies, pre-fund future retiree health benefits for decades into the future.
Lawmakers should fix what they broke, not break what’s working. We will work with members on both sides of the aisle to craft a bill that would help maintain and strengthen the Postal Service, which is based in the Constitution and provides Americans with the world’s most affordable delivery network without a dime of taxpayer money.
Cindy you are correct but they would never give the right results….i do not trust the union…..
I am a carrier and I pay my dues,( 20 years) but I don’t remember ever being asked how I felt about going to 5 day delivery. Do a poll? Ask what the carriers want. Most in my office would like Saturdays off. Start asking members? Don’t just assume you are doing the right thing.
It’s all about who gets the money
post office hasn’t made the last few payments and nothing happens so why is this a big deal???
For years now, I have not heard one good reason why the pre-funding mandate should be eliminated or kept. It seems to be a taboo subject when it comes to lawmakers. If the USPS is to make an actual profit, it needs to make more than the 6 or 7 billion payment. NOT gonna happen. So get rid of the payment or the USPS. It comes down to one or the other!
Wake up Rolando…It’s not working….All you care about is more jobs so you keep getting dues…Money, Money and More Money is all you care about….Keep wasting our hard working money on pathetic Democracts who stab us in the back every chance they get….5 day is the way to keep the Post Office alive…Eliminating Door to Door will help the workers work until they are ready to retire not forced because they cant walk the route anymore…Wake up…All good ideas and your President who you spent Millions of Dollars on supports the same measures…..5 day is the way…..
you got that right, Issa’s crew want to break the post office into little pieces, easy to take it over. Stand your ground we are behind you Rolando, all the way. Show them no mercy, they will show you none