Ahead of the hearing, the NALC placed a full-page ad in several Capitol Hill newspapers (at right), alerting Congress to just how far out of line the postmaster general has stepped. And within hours of the hearing’s end, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) had introduced legislation designed to preserve Saturday delivery and the Postal Service, not dismantle it piece-by-piece.
But wait—there’s more: As you probably know, the language mandating six-day mail delivery has been included in federal law for more than 30 years, part of an annual budget appropriations bill. A six-month continuing resolution passed last fall that extends that appropriations bill is set to expire on March 27, and Donahoe and his job-killing allies in Congress would like nothing more than to have that six-day language removed from future budget laws. But we’re going to do everything we can to see that he doesn’t get his way.
As part of this effort, on Sunday, March 24, the NALC will hold a national day of action, with unions, small business customers, civic organizations and faith groups (as well as our members, families, friends and neighbors) gathered outside specific post offices in the major cities of each state, with an eye toward achieving maximum media exposure. We will let our customers know that our fight is their fight, that losing Saturday mail would affect the residents of each and every state in the union.
We have a solemn responsibility to send our representatives in Congress this clear message: They cannot let Donahoe get away with this destructive power grab—not only because it will drive more business away and do irreparable harm to the Postal Service, but also because it will set the stage for a move to four-day and three-day delivery in the years ahead. We cannot allow the destruction of America’s only truly universal delivery network, a 237-year-old institution that has its roots in the U.S. Constitution and that supports 8 million jobs in a $1.3 trillion postal industry.
via National Association of Letter Carriers
Survey the working slob and you’ll find out they want WEEKENDS OFF! The unions don’t want to do that because they don’t work for the poor working stiff…they work for themselves and their bottom dollar and coffers. They are businesses and are run like businesses. The union downsizes and lays off it’s workers too…just ask OPIEU secretarys at 1300 L Street!
they will never close on a week day
the union can not tell a business how it should be run…they need to work with the usps to keep jobs not purposely try to get rid of them..my office union rep is always looking for ways to fire a carrier
kenny it makes perfect sense not to deliver bulk mail two days in a row,..i hope usps make a lot of money off po box rent…anyone who has to have mail on saturday can go to the post office
you go jersey
they should of closed on saturdays long ago and get rid of all walking routes..that souold keep things going..but putting all city carriers on an evaluated pay system would be great
Saturdays off will make the job more bearable. Former NALC President had offered Saturdays off with “retired Carriers” working Saturdays during a previous contract negotiation. He also pushed for “postal reform” which now is killing us with the 5 billion dollar annual payment. If Letter Carriers were polled it would surprise me if they didn’t want to have Saturdays off in order to have a normal home life. The NALC is worried about the 25,000 or so carriers who would be affected by the loss of saturdays, and the loss of those dues. Just follow the money! If the NALC was so concerned with the welfare of its members, why did they allow the USPS to unilaterally implement the disaster known as FSS?
Sorry to burst your bubble Frank, but Saturday will not be kept as a nondelivery day. That is merely a selling point by the postmaster general to sucker you in!! Once Donohoe eliminates six-day delivery requirements you can bet that it will be quickly switched to Wednesday within weeks. Think about it, it doesn’t make any sense to have no delivery for two CONSECUTIVE days every week!!
Eliminate delivery on Thursday. Bulk business mail, sales papers that have been curtailed are cleared by Thurs..
This would eliminate Sat. volume increasing Tues. volume on day after holiday. Thanksgiving and (Veterans day?)only
holidays on Thurs.. Do not get arbor day or groundhog as of yet but Rolando and his hoffaites may get crony politicans to support these holidays as it would add to unnecessary spending and Congress would ignore as presently doing in not restructing USPS and eliminating waste in 6 day street delivery.
Here’s an idea…how about if when we have these nonessential holidays such as the one we have tomorrow …we just work the Saturday of that week…seems simple…I am all for Saturdays off! Been waiting 20 years! Let’s do it!
union sold out new hires anyway. CA now at $15 is a $6 cut and look how many years they will be before they are safe. there should be a counter demonstration to go against their day of action. send em home. give the VERA! no job will be lost that wants to stay.
Ray…I agree with you…same thing happening in my office.
Sandy…drop out then….you will then have added money to your pocket:)
I just want a day off, I’ll gather outside a post office to get a f$%^%$%n day off!!!
The union is weak !! They do zero in my office , only what benefits them !! There the most selfish people in my office !!!
they need to stop paying the union for there crap..they r doing everything against us carriers not for us
the nalc will bring this business down ..they must want everyone to be without a job…they r the worst..and i am a member but dont agree with anything they say or do..close it down on saturday,,the damn union has no business telling anyone one how to run this business..they are a dictatorship..i wANT MY DUES BACK
The postmaster general was not incorrect when he said fixing the prefunding alone would not fix the post office. The democrats want us to sell fishing licenses? Are we going to sell bait too? I want my Saturday’s off. The post office is a toxic work environment in large part because of excessive overtime. I am tired of being forced in on my ns day. The public does not care. If they supported our business we wouldn’t be losing money. It is about the dues. Look in your last postal record. Money spent on NALC salaries last 6 months=6.2 million.
to letter carriers who want 5 day, good luck to you on the tuesday after a holiday. so you want weekends off? well, i didn’t get them for my first 3 years. i had wed/thurs/ n/s. i did my time and got weekends in 3 years back when there were more weekend bids. police, fire, doctors, nurses work weekends; their not ‘normal’.don’t be too quick to wish away your union; you’ll have no representation! you’ll be at the mercy of the ‘quasi-corporation’. you’ll have no leverage.
want to goto 5 daydelivery fine, where’s our raise then?? I work 6 days a week on long island carrying= plenty of OT but the downside is Im too used to the money now. let me put it like this…if you take out 90 feet of mail in a 6 day week thats 15 ft per day. now in a 5 day work week it becomes 18 feet a 3 foot difference or an addition of 16% per day let that soak in.Another question is how much has mail volume really dropped? 1st class is down,no doubt but standard mail has skyrocketed and dont get me started with parcel and /or spurs Im taking out 50-70 per day between the 2 how the hell am i suppposed to manage another 15 (in a 5 day week) on top of the 16% mail increase and make 8 hrs per day.
Gee, how many of you were T-6’s before you got your own route? I thought so…..
“so the unions better get their act together and stand together to put a stop to donahoe and his ridiculous‘postal suicide plan….really? Read Article 3 moron and show me where the union has a say in the establishment of jobs or the running of the PO. You must really believe that manure being served to you by the union. WE WANT SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS OFF! THAT’S WHY S/S NON SCHED DAYS ARE PRIMO BIDS MORON…BECAUSE WE WANT THEM OFF LIKE MOST NORMAL WORKING PEOPLE, AND NOW YOU WANT TO TAKE EVEN THAT AWAY FROM US?
No reason for 5 day residential delivery. 3 days is enough! One carrier can carry rt 1 MWF and another TTS. Every day there is a minimum of 4 pieses in my box– it does not take longer to put 8 or 10 pieces in than 4 or 5 and nothing by mail is that important.
What a bunch of whiners! So you want to get rid of the Union and have Saturdays off? Okay, I bet most of you are senior carriers so you don’t care since you’ll retire soon. If you had 10 years or more to go and you lost your benefits and were paid as much as the CCA’s, would you be happy then? Because that is what the Union has done for all of us unskilled workers. Get a life and be thankful for what you have.
5 days a week !!!!
I am a clerk. I would LOVE to be a rural carrier. Full time of course. Like I am now. I wish the clerk craft can switch with the rural carrier craft, I know we can with the city carriers, but not rural. I would switch in a moment. I’d be one of the best, and then days with week-ends off too…..Oh boy!!
Rolando…….you should be more concerned with finding ways to save the PO rather than worry about jobs……..it is not our problem to try and create jobs so the economy will improve…….it is our job to protect the PO and Losing Saturdays (if done right) is one good start in preserving a worthy institution.
The NALC is only concerned about lining their pockets, they are absolutely worthless. NO ONE wants to work Saturdays and the only Senators that are backing the NALC are the ones that are getting paid under the table from the NALC with the dues of Letter Carriers that don’t want to work Saturdays. Abolish Unions, they only protect the lame and lazy anyway. Unions have lost their focus long ago.
The public could careless as to days mail is delivered. This action by NALC creates negative reaction: the American
public hears the negative press in both local and national news regarding the massive money the postal service is loosing and wonders why do they deliver junk mail 6 days aweek and have more small post offices closer to each other than Wendys. Face reality let sleeping dog lie.
Hey Joe. I’ll take my 1960’s mentality over your fantasyland mentality any day
Joe, if you really believe Freddy et al are concerned about any job loss, just for the job loss, I have a bridge to sell ya.
Their only concern with any job loss, is the resulting dues $ lost to THEM. They could care less about the actual people involved.
Ummm…………..our customers could care less if they get Saturday delivery.
Hey Freddie, why don’t you represent what the NALC members want, instead of what you want, for a change ?
Frank….you are stuck thinking in a 1960’s mentality…what we have can go away an an instant…there were 90,000 applicants for the latest exam…all of those people are desperately seeking jobs…at $ 15.00 an hour….look at what you have…be thankful…protect it
why don’t the unions cooperate more with one another to expose donahoe and his plan to destroy the united states postal service? NALC has been pretty quiet for several years as donahoe atttacked the a/o post offices, clerks and mail handlers. donahoe has hurt customer service and driven many customers and much revenue away from the postal service. where was NALC’S outrage then? now, the letter carriers are the latest target of donahoe and his stupid service destroying ‘plans’ and NALC is outraged.
remember, donahoe has plans to end all overnight delivery of first-class mail
beginning in january of 2014. this will
send more postal customers fleeing and lead to revenue declines. so the unions better get their act together and stand together to put a stop to donahoe and his ridiculous
‘postal suicide plan.’
Joe when I signed on to this job I didn’t have to carry the while world on my back either. This idiot and Young before him went along with everything the PMG said and did to destroy the working conditions of this job, and they’re only response had been give the carriers Ben Gay(true statement from Young and Rolando). If he would have any kind of backbone for the work I do day in and day out I would support him, but now I’m too tired and would enjoy a two day weekend. So he can shove it!
not if it costs 20,00 jobs….
WE WANT WEEKENDS OFF!!!!!!!!!!
Frank…..when you signed on for this job….you knew we worked Saturdays…so…you are in agreement that we should lose more jobs?…what are you thinking?
As a member of the NALC I won’t be attending this. Rolando and his lackeys don’t understand that the only thing that may make this job bearable would be to have off on Saturdays
GOOD Stuff folks !Best regards from this old guy ! !