Thank you for signing a petition about the U.S. Postal Service. We appreciate your participation in the We the People platform on WhiteHouse.gov and your concerns about the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) in a challenging economy. The Postal Service is vital to the Nation’s commerce and communications, which is why we must act quickly to make the changes necessary to ensure its viability for years to come.

Postal volumes have dropped precipitously in recent years due to longer-run shifts in communication technologies and other economic factors. As a result, USPS accrued losses of $8.5 billion in 2010, and faced financial insolvency on September 30th. Without reform it is forecast to sustain greater losses this year and next.

However, the Postal Service needs more than just short term financial relief at this time; it needs a comprehensive plan for reform to ensure that it can be flexible and competitive in a changing marketplace. There are multiple ways to provide relief and reform, but the Administration’s proposal in The President’s Plan for Economic Growth and Job Creation [PDF] represents a balanced approach for postal workers, USPS, consumers, and taxpayers.

More specifically, the proposal includes a set of near-term financial relief measures that will provide the Postal Service with the time necessary to restructure its operations and take advantage of flexibilities in the proposal, such as the ability to cooperate with state and local governments and modest pricing flexibility.

In the longer term, we are proposing to help the Postal Service reduce its excessive operating costs by providing the flexibility to gradually move to 5-day delivery, beginning in 2013. Under USPS’ plan for how it would use this authority, post offices would still remain open on Saturdays, Express Mail deliveries would still be made 7 days a week, post office box deliveries would still be made on Saturdays, and USPS would continue to make Saturday deliveries in the busy weeks leading up to the winter Holidays. These and other cost structuring actions will ensure that the Postal Service remains viable for the medium- and longer-term.

We believe USPS’ financial situation demands such reforms and the Administration’s package includes provisions to reduce the impact for USPS workers and customers. We share petitioners’ concern for the health and viability of the USPS and developed this plan with the best interest of this vital institution in mind.

As we work to get our Nation back on a sustainable fiscal path, the Administration is making tough choices across the Federal government and asking everyone to do their fair share. These shared sacrifices are not easy, but together with investments in our economic growth and job creation [PDF], they will make us stronger and more competitive for the future.

Dana Hyde is Associate Director for General Government Programs, Office of Management and Budget

Alexandria, VA, November 3, 2011—NRLCA President Jeanette P. Dwyer has issued the following statement responding to legislation introduced in the United States Senate, S. 1789, the “21st Century Postal Service Act of 2011.” The bill was introduced by Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME), along with Subcommittee Chairman of the Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security Tom Carper (D-DE) and Ranking Member Scott Brown (R-MA). The postal legislation would affect rural mail delivery nationwide.

“The bipartisan postal legislation introduce today is a commendable attempt to help the ailing Postal Service. For years the NRLCA has advocated the need to fix the Postal Service’s financial condition by restructuring its payments for the Future Retirees Health Benefits Fund and by returning the overpayment of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). This newly introduced Senate bill would fix these two financial burdens, which the NRLCA believes will set the Postal Service back on firm financial footing.

“However, there are provisions in this bill the NRLCA cannot support. First, the legislation would allow the Postal Service to eliminate Saturday delivery after two years of enactment if specific criteria are meant. The NRLCA firmly believes any reduction in mail delivery will severely harm the Postal Service and deprive its customers of essential services. In addition, the Senate legislation would interfere with collective bargaining, unfairly tilting the process in favor of the Postal Service. We believe collecting bargaining has benefitted the NRLCA and the Postal Service for well over 40 years and Congress should not interfere with this time-honored process.

“I look forward to continue working with Senate and House members on this and other postal legislation to find common ground that will benefit both the nation’s postal customers, the NRLCA, and the Postal Service.”

ALEXANDRIA, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Jeanette P. Dwyer, a 30-year career postal employee, has been elected the first female national president in the 108-year history of the National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association (NRLCA). The election was held during the union’s 107th National Convention in Savannah, GA.

Dwyer, a native of Waccamaw, NC, leads a union with more than 106,000 members who serve as post offices on wheels. Rural letter carriers perform the same work as city letter carriers, but in their own vehicles from which they sell postal products. They also work under a different collective bargaining agreement that requires annual route examinations to ensure rural carriers deliver the maximum amount of mail each work day.

Dwyer assumes leadership as the Postal Service faces multi-billion-dollar deficits. “We all know the Postal Service must change to meet declining mail volume, but some of the proposed changes, such as eliminating six-day delivery, would deny many Americans, including those in rural areas, access to postal services they expect and deserve,” Dwyer said in her acceptance speech. “Most importantly,” she continued, “we encourage Congress to preserve six-day delivery, which ensures delivery of essential items such as prescription medications. If Saturday delivery is eliminated, customers would be left paying higher prices for other delivery options or would have to drive up to 40 miles round trip to the nearest post office.”

The NRLCA is an independent union who members include 106,551 full- and part-time rural letter carriers. Rural carriers deliver mail on 74,591 routes, serving almost 40 million customers and driving almost 3.5 million miles each delivery day in 50 states, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The average route has more than 400 stops and 500 boxes.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service, faced with the most dramatic mail volume drop in its history, today began contract negotiations with the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA). The current contract expires at midnight, Nov. 20.

Employees represented by the NRLCA primarily deliver mail in rural and suburban areas. The NRLCA represents 67,000 career employees and 48,000 non-career employees who substitute for career employees on their days off.

“The drop in the economy coupled with the shift to digital communications has created the greatest loss in mail volume since the Great Depression,” said Anthony Vegliante, chief human resources officer and executive vice president.

Mail volume peaked at 213 billion pieces in 2006 and plummeted to 177 billion last year. By 2020, mail volume is projected to drop to 150 billion pieces. In 2009 wages and benefits represented 78 percent of total operating costs — $56 billion.

Because Congress designated the Postal Service as an essential service to the nation, if negotiations come to an impasse, postal employees are not permitted to strike. Unlike the private sector, an arbitrator determines the final outcome and is not legally required to consider the Postal Service’s financial obligations when rendering a decision.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. It pays 78 percent of its employee Federal Employees Health Benefit Program insurance premiums while other federal agencies contribute 72 percent.

“The Postal Service needs flexibility to adjust to the nation’s changing mailing trends,” Vegliante continued. “Our dedicated employees are committed to their mission to deliver for America. We have a good working relationship with our unions and know they want to keep us strong in this changing environment. Our goal is to negotiate a contract that’s fair to our customers and employees and meets our financial and operational needs.”

Three other unions represent most other postal employees. The American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO (APWU) began contract negotiations Sept. 1. The APWU represents employees who work as clerks, mechanics, vehicle drivers, custodians and some administrative positions. Employees represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers, AFL-CIO (NALC) deliver mail in metropolitan areas; and employees represented by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, AFL-CIO (NPMHU) work in mail processing plants and Post Offices.

The NALC and NPMHU begin negotiations next year approximately 90 days prior to the contract expiration date. For additional background information on labor negotiations and the Postal Service’s workforce, please click on these links: Labor Negotiations and Workforce.

Connecticut rural carrier Josier F. Jeunes was terminated after an altercation with another carrier in 2007. Jeunes admitted using profanity during the incident, which the USPS contended was a violation of its zero tolerance policy. Jeunes filed suit against the USPS alleging discrimination. In June the US Second Court of Appeals upheld Jeunes’s dismissal. Jeunes also filed suit against the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, contending the the union had failed in its obligation to represent him when it declined to pursue Jeunes’s grievance at step 4. Read the rest of this entry »