NALC President Fredric Rolando statement on USPS Board of Governors announcement
April 10, 2013 —NALC President Fredric Rolando issued the following statement today, in response to the USPS Board of Governors’ announcement that the Postal Service will obey the law and comply with the continuing resolution adopted in March that mandates continuation of six-day mail delivery this year. The Board restated its support for a change to 5-day delivery, but effectively conceded that the postmaster general’s claim that he could ignore the CR was wrong.
“NALC is gratified that the Board of Governors has seen the light on the law—but it is time for them to reconsider their entire “shrink to survive” strategy. Degrading the Postal Service’s last-mile network is a losing strategy. Eliminating Saturday service, which more than a third of all business mailers want to keep, will drive millions of customers away and do more harm than good. The Postal Service needs a growth strategy and the Congress must enact comprehensive reform that overhauls the USPS governance structure, provides greater pricing and product flexibility and reduces or eliminates the crushing pre-funding burden that has caused more than 90 percent of this year’s financial loss so far.
“Maintaining Saturday delivery is critical to the Postal Service’s future. Losing this competitive advantage would not only reduce mail volume and revenue—sending the USPS on a death spiral—but also would disproportionately affect small businesses, the elderly, rural communities, the one-half of the public that pays bills by mail and the many millions who lack access to reliable Internet service. And it would cost tens of thousands of jobs.
The Board’s call to reopen and renegotiate the postal labor contracts is yet another sign that the Postal Service needs new executive leadership. Asking the NALC to renegotiate a contract that was just settled in January is insulting and unnecessary. The new agreement, which reduced starting pay by 25 to 33 percent and allows for major health care savings, provides for several labor-management task forces to work on ways to increase revenues and cut costs.
“Finally, I must credit the hard work of letter carriers, whose efforts to get the message out about Saturday delivery were critical to today’s positive development. We will continue to rely on our members as the fight to protect and preserve the U.S. Postal Service continues.”
we will get saturday off and all boxes at the curb..we need new union reps..this union is crap…has no clue..
DO NOT RENEGOTIATE.It took awhile to let the dust settle on the recent contracts and then USPS went immediately to Congress to get them to disolve them! They do not bargain in good faith. It takes months to enforce contract violations
It was one of the many thoughts and focus points of the late APWU National President Moe Biller that there should be ONE Union representing Postal Workers. But because of greed, money, and yes power that idea was lost in the mist of things. While keeping this and other ideas in perspective USPS is transcending into a big business that seeks to eliminate its Unions and further down size craft employees.
Blah.. Blah…Blah!! When does my saturdays start??? It’s the only thing that matters. This job is for a mule. I stay only with the hope of weekends off. Is that so bad? Hurry up and decide, the beach is calling!!!
Effectively this can be fascinating, I unquestionably do not agree with it though.
There’s either more than one Brian who occasions this site or some snot nose punk scab who spews his nonsense and attaches another’s name to it. The Senate passed legislation over a year ago that preserved six day delivery. This until all other avenues were explored. But ISSA and his mutts refuse to address the unfair prefund. So no meaningful legislation has come to a vote in Congress. But some insist on attacking the union because at least for the time being, their not getting Saturday’s off. If USPS settled on Wednesday’s off rather than Saturday, most of these people would attack the union for that decision. Cry me a river. You might yet win the war,but you lost this battle. Get a grip and do your job.
Postal management makes me laugh…where else can you make a six figure salary, have health care provided without cost to them, live in houses in Washington, owned by the postal service and thus practically live there for free, AND on the workroom floor, play with your IPODs until the carriers come back from their routes.These management people are not hounded like letter carriers are and they are not nickeled and dimed for every minute like letter carriers are. How about a 10% across the board cut in pay for management, who dont even touch the mail, make them pay for their own health care instead of getting it for free, and making them pay rent for the houses they live in, which the postal service provides for them at no cost to them. We can call this “postal management undertime”!
Postal Management must first set the example: Management must be salary not hourly, no overtime premium,10-15% pay cut, and held accountable for their actions. Only then can they ask Craft to make more sacrifices. NALC President Rolando has stated: “The new agreement, which reduced starting pay by 25 to 33 percent and allows for major health care savings, provides for several labor-management task forces to work on ways to increase revenues and cut costs”. Suckas, he’s right.
Try making the regular carriers take a paycut!!! The PO would lose alot more than 15000 carriers!!! They need to remember who gets the mail to the steets!!! The PO has to many chiefs not enough indians!!! Management need to take a reduction in pay and numbers!!! There is no reason for management growing as much as it has in the last few years!!
Laid off today from the postal service after five years of service as a TE!!! Doin the worst routes and biggest pieces everyday!!!New contract took 6 dollars an hour away from us and thought we would stay!!! Reaction was 15000 running for the hills and 2000 reapplying for new cca position with 6 dollar paycut for same job!!! Letter carrier is not a 16 dollar an hour job!!! Come on out with me and see what I went through!!! Meanwhile no other letter carriers had to take a paycut!!! Best choice run cause it isn’t getting better!!1
What is funny is that the NALC was bombarded by calls from angry letter carriers today. That is true, Carol from the NALC told me she doesn’t have time to listen as she has been bombarded by these calls all day. What we need is new union leadership, they have failed the majority of the carriers wishes and now when USPS declares bankruptcy, we will all suffer with loss of pay and benefits and loss of no layoff clause. Bank on it.
Where is Obama when we need him?
Siding with the BOG of course….
Now they want to Re-negotiate in order to force all of the employees into a cheaper health care system designed by postal elite who are already overloading and stressing out the workforce.
AWESOME. Can’t wait to retire……
Postal mgmt = liars and thieves, at all levels.