postalnews blog

Statement by Clint Burelson, President, Olympia Local, American Postal Workers Union

Union and community resistance to Postal Service consolidation plans are making big corporate mailers such as Time Warner nervous.  Through informational pickets, press releases, and visits to government representatives, postal workers have been educating the public that mail consolidation plans will benefit the big advertising mailers at the expense of citizens.  For Time Warner and other corporate media, the union contention that corporate media are not adequately covering the story because of their corporate interests is especially troublesome.

The Postal Service, urged on by big advertising mailers like Time Warner, plans to close or consolidate mail processing facilities or mail processing functions, usually the outgoing mail, into large regional hubs spread sparsely throughout the country.  In some cases, the mail will travel over 100 miles before coming back to the original town for delivery.  The Postal Service acknowledges that First Class mail will be delayed as a result of the consolidations, but argues that alleged savings justify the reduction in service.  The union has used the USPS’s own documents to show that there will be little if any savings.

The plans to consolidate mail processing facilities originated and/or are supported by the large mailers because it will reduce the number of sites where they need to drop off their mail and is expected to provide additional discounts associated with contracting out postal work as an ever-increasing volume of mail processing is contracted out.  This privatization of the Postal Service means that much of the work formerly performed by postal workers making a living wage is now performed by private sector workers making little more than minimum wage.  The big mailers have pocketed the difference in wages and are looking for more.

In addition, as part of their business, the large advertising mailers generally do not send their mail from mail boxes and are comfortable with reducing service to those that do in order to get benefits for themselves. 

Consolidation is therefore a big and significant step in the direction of what Time Warner calls “deaveraging” the costs.  Time Warner and other corporations want to bring “market principles” into the Postal Service.  Currently, “family or community principles,” although diminished, still prevail somewhat.  For example, the cost of sending a letter across town helps cover the cost of sending a letter across the country.  The costs are averaged out so that the system is affordable for everyone, everywhere. 

Corporate mailers want to see the USPS increase service and decrease rates to the high volume corporate mailers and decrease service and increase rates for the individual and small mailers.  This will make it harder for individuals and non-profit organizations to conduct their business and express their views at affordable rates. 

Reducing service to the public, as in consolidation, is another way of putting “market principles” into what should be a public service.  This strategy of reducing service to the general public is familiar for members of the community who have witnessed the seemingly deliberate short staffing of counter help at the Post Office and the signs directing customers to contract stations.

Large corporate advertising mailers have been pushing for the mail consolidation plans for several years.  The plans progressed slowly at first, but the Postal Service started implementing their consolidation plans in blitz-like fashion in late 2005.  Nine facilities were targeted on one day and since then over forty more facilities have been targeted for consolidation.

The union contended that the significant cuts in mail service warranted a public discussion on the matter.  The Postal Service wanted to quickly consolidate facilities without any public input or oversight.  Finally, the Postal Service acknowledged that the reductions in service were nationwide and therefore, as required, requested an advisory opinion with the Postal Rate Commission (PRC).  The PRC will determine if the USPS plans violate the Postal Reorganization Act, which requires prompt service to all communities.

Although the case is now before the PRC and although postal workers have mobilized the communities in many of the towns where consolidation is taking place, a public discussion on the significant changes to the Postal Service has not taken place.  At this time, the story of how large corporations are benefiting and the average citizen losing in the Postal Service consolidation plans is not being adequately covered by the corporate media.  This is because many of the large mailers, like Time Warner, who will benefit from the consolidation plans are also the large media corporations that provide most of the news to the country. 

Other large mailers are also keeping quiet on the issue in order that the consolidation plans are accomplished without any attention.  In an article on 3/24/6, titled, “Some Mailers Complaining (Quietly) of Slow USPS Service,” on http://www.multimerchant.com/, it was reported that consolidation is resulting in the delay of mail even for some large mailers.  The article states that mailers are quietly and anonymously complaining about the delay and explains why,

 “Why are mailers insisting on anonymity? One source says that mailers don’t want to draw too much attention to the problem because they want to see the Postal Service’s network consolidation succeed.”

The Postal Service recently reiterated their request for cooperation from the large mailers and reminded the mailers of the benefits to them.  Postmaster General John Potter, giving the keynote address to the big mailers on 4/3/2006 at the National Postal Forum, stated,

“Second, we need the industry’s cooperation as we streamline our networks — whether it’s our transportation networks or our processing networks…From your standpoint, it will mean fewer places to drop your mailings and enable you to maximize worksharing discounts. This is not something that will happen overnight. Rather, it will be an evolutionary process that will enable all of us to transition smoothly.”

On the same day, the Postal Service sent a letter stating that they were putting on hold studies planned for five different mail processing facilities.  Although the USPS did not provide a specific reason for the change, many think that the USPS and the big mailers don’t want to see any more pickets and community opposition to their consolidation plans while it is being decided by the PRC. 

The nervousness of the large mailers to public resistance of their plans was revealed dramatically on 4/7/6 when Time Warner took the unusual step of publicly responding to a small local union press release titled “Postal Service Consolidation Plans Will Benefit Big Mailers at the Expense of Citizens.”  Jim O’Brien, a vice president at Time Warner wrote the article, which had the somewhat reactionary title of “You Are Wrong!”  O’Brien, although not disclosed in the article, is a Time Warner representative in the PRC case regarding the reduction in service.  If one takes the time to dissect his response, Time Warner does not come across very well. 

Union members and community activists are pointing to the Postal Rate Commission case, Docket N2006-1, as one place where public attention should be directed.  Time Warner and other big mailers are participating in the case and advocating their corporate interests.  However, anyone can submit comments to the PRC on the issue of reducing service to the public.  Government representatives are especially being encouraged to defend the public interest and write to the PRC.

Union members plan to continue to educate the public as to how big mailers will benefit with consolidation at the expense of everyone else and will press the point that big mailers like Time Warner are not adequately covering this story because of their corporate interests. 

Time Warner, the Newspaper Association of America (another participant in the PRC case) and other big mailers that are also part of the corporate media have to be nervous that their image and hence their influence could be quickly destroyed if the average citizen realizes that information from corporate-owned media is not neutral, objective, fair or balanced. 

Once people realize that corporate-owned media reflects the bias and views of its owners and the owners of the corporations that advertise with them, corporate control of public discussion will be significantly eroded.  With a more democratic media we will have a more democratic government. 

People would then react to corporate media such as Time Warner in a manner similar to when they hear something from their boss.  They will listen, but understand that it is the boss’s view and that his interests may be significantly different from their own. 

For more information contact: Clint Burelson - clintburelson@comcast.net or 360-970-2965

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Additional Information

The Postal Rate Commission is handling the case (Docket N2006-1) to determine if the USPS consolidation plans to reduce service violate the law, which requires prompt service to the public.  The PRC web site has all the documents submitted and is updated daily.  Individuals and organization can request the PRC decide against the Postal Service and any reduction in service by contacting the PRC at:

Postal Rate Commission
901 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20268

Phone 202-789-6800

Fax 202-789-6886,

“Contact Us” form at http://www.prc.gov/

More information on the consolidations happening across the country can be found at http://www.apwu.org/,  http://www.postalmag.com

Specific information, including previous press releases from the Olympia Local can be found at www.postalmag.com/olympia. 

Big mailer comments on consolidation and other postal issues can be viewed at http://www.ustreas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/usps/comments or by Googling president’s commission postal service.