Future of the Post Office.

Looks like Darrell is having a hard time getting over the Postmaster General’s decision to reach an agreement with a bipartisan group of Senators rather than knuckling under to the demands of the Issa, Ross and the Tea Party terrorists:

I’ll keep you posted on #postal, but seeing #USPS leadership fold like a cheap suit last week is troubling: SavingThePostalService.com

— Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) December 19, 2011

For more, see Alan Robinson’s article “The Political Impact of Tweets from Representatives Issa and Ross“

In an exchange on Twitter, Congressman Dennis Ross suggests that Postmaster General Pat Donahoe might need to be fired:

RepDennisRossDennis Ross

Back to #SOPA debate today. Lots of good amendments on the table. Hysterics & hyperbole will also be on tap. Watch at judiciary.house.gov

Dec 16FavoriteRetweetReply

CEP_ObserverAlan Robinson

@RepDennisRoss Isn’t the Brac like commission redundant now? I always thought it was too slow to shrink the network if that was objective.

Dec 16FavoriteRetweetReply

in reply to @CEP_Observer↑

@RepDennisRoss
Dennis Ross@CEP_Observer won’t be modifying. PMG is trying to delay an deflect. First Brac management change may have to start at the top
Dec 16 via Twitter for iPhone
FavoriteRetweetReply

The “BRAC” referred to in the tweets is one of the new regulatory bureaucracies envisioned in the postal “reform” legislation proposed by Ross and his boss, Darrell Issa. In addition to adding a second regulatory commission to oversee the USPS, Ross and Issa want a commission similar to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission to decide which postal facilities should close and which should remain open. Robinson’s tweet suggested that a BRAC was unnecessary, given that the USPS is already moving ahead with plans to streamline its network (much to the consternation of many of Ross’s colleagues, it should be noted).

But Ross was having none of it- without actually responding to the question, he said that he “won’t be modifying”. And then, somewhat gratuitously, he suggests that a BRAC might have to start “at the top”, meaning, presumably, the PMG. Ross and Issa are apparently not pleased that the PMG actually consulted with other members of Congress, and agreed to a moratorium on closings until May. In reality, the moratorium has little practical effect- the USPS is continuing all of the processes it must go through in order to close the facilities, and few would actually have been shuttered by May. What matters more to Ross and Issa is the fact that the moratorium, along with the likely extension to the pre-funding deadline, takes away the doomsday scenario (remember the ticking “countdown to default” clock on Darrell’s web site?) they hoped would help get their bill pushed through Congress.

See also: Ross Says Firing PMG May Have To Be First Step on Alan Robinson’s Courier Express and Postal blog.

Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) commented on the “so-called Postmaster General’s” plans yesterday:

… and there were also protesters outside:

post office | Occupy Wall Street | Occupy DC | The Daily Caller.

Postmaster General Pat Donahoe spoke to employees at the Morgan Processing and Distribution Center in New York City last Monday- Mailhandlers Union Local 300 has posted a summary of the PMG’s remarks- among the highlights:

Under the USPS’s proposed service cutbacks, large mailers will still be able to get next day delivery by dropping their mail at 8AM, or noon if it’s presorted. Post offices would start receiving their mail at 4PM- sorting would happen overnight, carriers would pick up their mail in the morning and go directly to the street.

Donahoe doesn’t think Congress will allow USPS to leave CSRS, but says future retiree’s pensions should be capped, with no COLA. He doesn’t see any VERAs any time soon- but in a year or so, there’s possibility of $10-20K incentive, and/or 2 or 3 years service credits. He said that if the USPS is allowed to leave FEHBP, a USPS Health Plan would be operated by a contractor, not by the USPS itself.

Donahoe thinks the Carper bill is the best deal for USPS, and says he opposes privatization, and doesn’t think it will happen. He doesn’t think Congress would pass either the Issa or Lynch bills.

Donahoe expects flexibility similar to the APWU contract in the other unions’ contracts. He says negotiations with the Mailhandlers and Letter Carriers won’t be extended after November 20, but would go straight to arbitration if there’s no agreement.

PMGinNYC

Local 300 National Postal Mail Handlers Union.

From the APWU’s Western Region:

APWU Western Regional Alert

New York, NY, September 15, 2011 – In the face of the financial crisis that the United States Postal Service is facing, the New York Metro Area Postal Union, APWU, AFL-CIO, led by President Clarice Torrence, has called upon the Postmaster General and CEO of the United States Postal Service, Patrick R. Donahoe, to step down from his position immediately. If Postmaster General Donahoe refuses to resign, the union calls upon the Postal Board of Governors to fire him.

Postmaster Donahoe took the oath of office as the 73rd Postmaster General of the United States on January 14, 2011 after having been appointed to the position by the Board of Governors on December 7, 2010. He had served as Deputy Postmaster General under Postmaster General Potter since 2005. In April of this year, Donahoe successfully negotiated a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with the American Postal Workers Union. Donahoe praised the agreement, “We worked together to negotiate a responsible agreement that is in the best interest of our customers, our employees and the future of the Postal Service.” He took credit for the agreement which he claimed would save the USPS $3.8 billion in labor costs. Less than three months after the agreement was signed, Donahoe called upon Congress to nullify part of the contract to allow him to layoff 120,000 postal workers.

The New York Metro Area Postal Union concludes from his actions that Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe is either a well-meaning incompetent or a duplicitous agent of forces who actively want to destroy the Postal Service and have it privatized. Whichever case is true, Donahoe is violating his oath of office and failing to meet the requirements of his position to be responsible for the overall operation of the Postal Service. Donahoe has contracts remaining to be negotiated with the three remaining postal unions. NYMAPU questions how the other postal unions can bargain in good faith with Postmaster Donahoe after his actions following the contract with the APWU.

New York Metro Area Postal Union is also calling for an independent investigation into the unprecedented sweetheart retirement package that was given to Donahoe’s predecessor, former Postmaster John E. Potter. Potter stepped down on December 3, 2010. He was retiring with $3.1 million in pension benefits accumulated during his 32 year career. Potter was also able to use a separate pension established for him by the Postal Board of Governors in 2001 based on performance goals that was worth $1.35 million when it was frozen in 2007 in favor of direct performance incentives. Potter’s base salary in 2010 was $273,296 but he had already built up $881,000 in deferred compensation in awards and incentives that he could draw out in annual installments once retired.

If the Postal Service is in such dire straights, as is being reflected by Postmaster Donahoe’s recent testimony, there needs to be an investigation into why former Postmaster Potter received such elaborate performance bonuses and awards in his retirement package while leaving the Postal Service on the brink of failure.

It is the position of the New York Metro Area Postal Union that the current financial crisis in the Postal Service is caused by mandates imposed by Congress in the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act and the overpayments into the CSRS and FERS retirement plans that have been expropriated from the Postal Service by the Treasury. H.R. 1351 introduced by Representative Stephen Lynch will correct those inequities and enable the Postal Service to carry out its functions without closing post offices, cutting back on delivery and eliminating hundreds of thousands of living wage jobs in the middle of a recession.

From the National Association of Postmasters of the US (NAPUS):

NAPUS fully recognizes the extraordinary financial difficulties confronting the Service, resulting from overpayments into the retirement system, overly-aggressive prefunding of retiree health coverage, and falling mail volume. However, the USPS proposal to deny its employees and retirees access to a stable, affordable, and time-tested earned health and retirement recklessly endangers the health and retirement security of all postal employees. Consequently, NAPUS urges Congress to reject the USPS proposal.

via NAPUS.

Senator says official’s compensation ‘not transparent’

Thursday, July 28, 2011

(U.S. SENATE) – U.S. Senator Jon Tester is demanding to know why the head of the U.S. Postal Service made $800,000 in total compensation while eliminating local Montana positions as the organization is dealing with a multibillion-dollar shortfall.

Tester, during a Senate hearing on the nominations of Mark Acton and Robert Taub to the Postal Regulatory Commission, said that the salaries of top executives should be at the top of the list when cutting costs.

“Quite frankly, when times are tough, when you start cinching your belt down, that ought to be the first place we’re looking, not the last place,” Tester said.

Tester, a member of the Senate Committee that oversees the Postal Service, added that this week’s decision to consider the closure of 85 rural post offices in Montana would “raise heck in Rural America.”

Tester told Acton that the Postal Regulatory Commission must play a big role in rural America with its recommendations to the Postal Service.

“I also understand you guys give recommendations, and I appreciate that,” Tester said. “And I think they ought to be listened to a heck of a lot more than they’ve been listened to, quite honestly. You guys have important jobs–an important connection–and quite frankly, from my constituency’s base, you guys are a big deal. Because you can make a difference.”

The Postal Regulatory Commission is an independent agency that has oversight over the Postal Service.

Tester recently wrote a letter to the Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe calling on the U.S. Postal Service to keep mail service available in rural communities.