The four postal unions sent a joint letter to Senate Majority Harry Reid on Aug. 5 expressing “utter dismay” at the introduction of S. 1486, the postal bill co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The bill continues the disastrous policy of mandating massive pre-funding of retiree health benefits and provides for major downsizing measures to pay for it, the letter notes.
To afford pre-funding costs, “The Carper-Coburn bill would give the USPS tools to slash postal employees’ pension and health benefits by making these federal employee benefits subject to interest arbitration,” the presidents of the APWU, the National Association of Letter Carriers, the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association said.
“Our unions were not consulted about these proposed major changes to our rights as federal employees or to our collective bargaining process,” the letter points out.
S. 1486 would facilitate the dismantling of the Postal Service’s mail processing, retail and delivery networks, and would seriously harm the 7.5 million Americans who work in private companies that rely on the USPS, the union presidents wrote.
The bill would:
- Destroy 80,000 full- and part-time jobs after a one-year delay, by eliminating Saturday mail delivery and give the Postmaster General authority to eliminate additional delivery days in the future;
- Slash tens of thousands of additional jobs after a two-year delay, by allowing USPS to reduce delivery standards and close hundreds of mail processing facilities and thousands of post offices;
- Mandate the elimination of door-to-door delivery, threatening at least 16,500 additional jobs, and
- Impose “cruel and discriminatory” changes to the Workers Compensation program that would leave injured federal workers vulnerable to impoverishment when they reach Social Security retirement age.
“This massive downsizing and the bill’s assault on postal employee benefits are not necessary,” the letter says. “They are being driven by the irrational retiree health financing policy that no other business or agency would adopt. The Postal Service has already pre-funded decades of retiree health premiums, more than any other enterprise in America. Indeed, USPS has already set aside an estimated $49 billion for such premiums, approximately 50 percent of total expected costs over the next 90+ years.”
The letter urges Sen. Reid to “actively work to promote postal reform that will create jobs and innovation, not more job cuts and reduced service for the American people.
“The 30 members of the Senate who have co-sponsored S. 316, the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, have taken the right approach. That bill would strengthen the Postal Service, promote innovation and, most importantly, resolve the retiree health and pension policies that have crippled the Postal Service in recent years.”
The APWU has called on locals and state organizations to meet with lawmakers during Congress’ August recess to discuss postal reform. Together with members of the Mail Handlers Union, APWU members will ask legislators to oppose the Carper-Coburn bill as well as the House bill sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (H.R. 2748). Union member will ask members of Congress to support the Postal Service Protection Act (S. 316 in the Senate / H.R. 630 in the House). Members of the NALC and NRLCA will also talk to lawmakers during the recess.
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August 5, 2013 The Honorable Harry Reid Dear Leader Reid: Over the years you have been a tireless defender of working people and their families as well as a staunch supporter of a strong labor movement. Your recent skillful work to secure the appointment of Labor Secretary Tom Perez and to revive the NLRB in support of decent living standards in America is the latest evidence of this. Unfortunately, we must alert you to a serious threat coming from the Senate to these standards, S. 1486, the Postal Reform Act of 2013. On behalf of 500,000 employees of the U.S. Postal Service, who live and work in all 50 states (as well as in D.C., Puerto Rico and other jurisdictions), we wish to express our utter dismay with the introduction of S. 1486 on August 1st, just minutes before the summer recess. The bill was co-authored by Sen. Tom Carper and Sen. Tom Coburn, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. It renews a commitment to the disastrous Bush administration policy to mandate massive prefunding of future retiree health benefits and provides for major downsizing measures to pay for it. The relief provided by its three-year moratorium on pre-funding payments is more apparent than real since the USPS has not been able to make the unaffordable payments in recent years; it won’t be able to do so in the future when the pre-funding mandate is re-imposed with both normal cost and amortization payments that other businesses do not have to make into retiree health funds. In order to allegedly give the Postal Service the ability to afford future pre-funding costs, and to add insult to injury, the Carper-Coburn bill would give USPS tools to slash postal employees’ pension and health benefits by making these federal employee benefits subject to interest arbitration. No other federal employees face such a burden – including Members of Congress and their staffers. Our unions were not consulted about these proposed major changes to our rights as federal employees or to our collective bargaining process. S. 1486 would facilitate the dismantling of the Postal Service’s mail processing and delivery networks, weakening both our first-mile (post office) and last-mile (delivery) capacity, in order to preserve a pre-funding policy that makes no sense. This would seriously harm the 7.5 million Americans who work in private companies that rely on the USPS. The bill would:
This massive downsizing and the bill’s assault on postal employee benefits are not necessary. They are being driven by the irrational retiree health financing policy that no other business or agency would adopt. The Postal Service has already pre-funded decades of retiree health premiums, more than any other enterprise in America. Indeed, USPS has already set aside an estimated $49 billion for such premiums, approximately 50% of total expected costs over the next 90+ years. The Postal Service had been making great progress over the past year – it has earned an operating profit so far this year, its package business is booming, and commercial mail is recovering as the housing market and the national economy show signs of revival. It should not be forced to forgo new vehicles and investments in new technology, new innovations and new products in order to put even more money into the PSRHBF. Just as the budget sequester has thwarted a strong economic recovery, the adoption of more misguided austerity though a bad postal reform bill would make things worse, not better. We hope that you will actively work to promote postal reform that will create jobs and innovation, not more job cuts and reduced service for the American people. The 30 members of the Senate who have co-sponsored S.316, the Postal Service Protection Act of 2013, have taken the right approach. That bill would strengthen the Postal Service, promote innovation and, most importantly, resolve the retiree health and pension policies that have crippled the Postal Service in recent years. There are many policy alternatives to the negative proposals in S. 1486 – measures to increase postal revenues, cut costs and cover future retiree health liabilities without massive service and job cuts. We pledge to work with the Senate to define and develop workable, bi-partisan alternatives. Thanks again for your commitment to America’s hard working postal employees who serve the nation and our economy with the most efficient and most affordable postal services in the world. Sincerely,
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Click here to download a PDF of this letter from NALC.
Why is the APWU even complaining now, the Rape and Destruction of the clerk craft is old news…..Where was the support from NALC during the dismantling of the clerk craft?
Truth be known its against the APWU’s interest to support Saturday delivery…there would be more money available to go to support programs, hire more clerks to move the mail more efficiently, stop having 40 carriers waiting 20-30 minutes because not enough clerks to get them out on the street.
Unions, NAPUS, League and Headquarters along with ignorant
politics created the financial havoc hardworking crafts
employees have to endure.
Will someone tell me what is one of few good reasons why i should stay with the unions? Im paying so much out of my pocket for unions that can not stop the lay offs. SO if I’m going to be lay off next in two more years i might as well put the union money toward my bills and get it clean up before i’m laid off…its the most logical thing to do next. At one time our union back in the days were more of like a mafia thing now it seems like they agree or are helpless to fight back. we need marching, protesting, fighting to show we meant business not sit around and allowing for this to happen.
Employees only have a future if action is take to operate cost effective, reduce debt and the real issue is revenue generation. Balance sheet show increase in revenue generated from parcel and shipping to prior year. Efforts should be direct efforts to market demand and direct efforts to market demand and eliminate wasted over supply of service which have a negative return. 6 day street delivery is a wasted cost as bulk business junk mail has high cost factor and low revenue generation. Too many small once needed community post offices that cost dollars which have no need for postmasters that are paid salaries that are not in proportion to responsibility. A real joke.
It’s alarming that these two Senators would be so insensitive to the livlihoods of so many. It is only with fortunate circumstances that they have there livlihoods jeopardized through the election process of the senate to feel the impact! I find it so disturbing that these Senators assume the position of “almighty” in destroying families not associated with their own. The Bill Issa has set forth needs some fine tuning to make it work. We have got to have a give and take but not at the expense of layoffs and flat out releases of service. Congress has set a pattern with everything they do to take it to the last second of time available. Our credit rating suffered because of it, we almost recently went off th cliff, so it’s not surprising that this pattern continues. Because of the gridlock that exists and the bullying to vote “only party lines” it is hurting us all as a nation. The thought or consensus of what’s best for the country as a whole should come first and crossing party lines to get there is not a problem will never seemingly take place. The Postal service is a tremendous venue to the American people who need it for the transmition of information and correspondence to and from under all circumstances of everyday life in this country. The Carper-Coburn bill is completely and purposely flawed and they and the bill should be stricken from the senate or house floor because of it’s thoughtless and unproductive startegies to not better the Postal service for all americans but to dismantle it with the introduction of this bill. Postal employee’s over 500,000 strong and the American people should voice strong resentment to this Carper-Coburn bill. The postal service would thrive once again if these knuckleheads would for once come to together on the betterment of us all as a country and put the postal service on the path to solid footing. It’s not asking for handouts to get there but only an equal playing field with the competition and to be freed of the “ball and chain” congress has attached to it which has cash strapped the service!
i think it is about time the postal unions
face the reality that their strategy of pouring massive cash and massive resources into the democratic party has been a failure. the democrats are gladly accepting the union cash and resources with their left hand while stabbing the union in the back with their right hand. just like the republicans, it seems as though the democrats have been bought and paid for by big business and corporate america. the question is how long will our postal unions throw away good money to the democrats while these same democrats ultimately screw us over?
Carrier A should deliver Residential route 1 on M/W/F and Residential route 2 on T/T/S with a floater for the 6th day. No residence needs more than 3 delivery days weekly.