Video from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ recent town meeting on the US Postal Service:

A Senate committee approved postal legislation that would severely weaken the USPS, by a vote of 12 to 5 on Nov. 9.

The 21st Century Postal Service Act (S. 1789) would give the USPS short-term financial relief, but it also would force the agency to dismantle its retail and mail-processing network, APWU President Cliff Guffey said.

“Mail will be delayed as a result of the elimination of hundreds of mail processing facilities and thousands of post offices, stations and branches,” he said. The bill also would allow the USPS to eliminate Saturday mail delivery after two years and would degrade delivery to customers’ to doors no later than 2015.

“These drastic cuts will severely damage the Postal Service. It will make the USPS less relevant and drive away customers,” Guffey said.

The bill would return approximately $7 billion in overpayments the USPS made to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), but it would not return $50 billion to $75 billion in overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Two independent actuarial studies concluded that the USPS has overpaid the CSRS account by $50 billion to $75 billion.

Earlier bills introduced by Democratic Sen. Tom Caper (DE) and Republican Sen. Susan Collins (ME) both contained provisions that would return the CSRS overpayments, but the new “compromise” bill excludes that provision. (The Government Accountability Office [GAO] issued a report in October that did not specifically refute the overpayments, but concluded that the overpayments did not violate federal law.)

In addition, although the bill would restructure required payments to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees, it would not do enough to relieve the Postal Service of the pre-funding obligation, Guffey said. No other government agency or private company is required to make these payments.

“By failing to provide more substantial financial relief, S. 1789 will harm the USPS and its customers,” the union president said. “The Postal Service desperately needs funds to modernize its mail processing and retail networks, so it can continue to serve the American people.

Several other provisions of the bill are deeply troubling to the APWU:

It would dramatically reduce the compensation of employees who are injured on duty, once they reach retirement age.

The bill also would require arbitrators in postal labor negotiations to consider the financial health of the USPS. Postal unions have denounced this provision as an attempt to skew contract negotiations in favor of management by giving greater emphasis to financial considerations, at the expense of employees.

“We will work to improve the bill when it comes to a vote before the full Senate,” Guffey said. “APWU members must remain vigilant and let their senators know about our concerns.”

Several alternative bills have been introduced in Congress, he noted, and varying proposals are being presented to the congressional super-committee that is charged with reducing the nation’s deficit.

via Short-Term Relief, Long-Term Damage: Senate Panel Approves Postal Legislation.

Nov. 9, 2011 — NALC is bitterly disappointed with the legislation reported out by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee today. The bill, S. 1789 (the 21st Century Postal Reform Act of 2011), would cause irreparable harm to our nation’s Postal Service. It perpetuates the misguided policy that places pre-funding future retiree health benefits above the viability of a network that serves 150 million American households and businesses six days each week—a classic case of “killing the Post-Office in order to save it.”

No other agency or firm in America is required to pre-fund retiree health benefits, and forcing the Postal Service to do so will not only endanger the quality of mail service but threaten tens of thousands of good postal jobs. In addition to the loss of these direct jobs, the Postal Service sits at the core of our nation’s $1.3 trillion mailing industry, supporting 7.5 million private sector jobs. These jobs are threatened as well.

By phasing out door-to-door delivery for 40 million American households and allowing the elimination of Saturday delivery service, additional volume would be driven out the system, sparking a death-spiral from which the Service could not recover.

The misguided bill fails to address the real cause of the Postal Service’s financial woes—the unique burden to massively pre-fund future retiree health benefits. Indeed, it may actually increase the level of pre-funding from the present level of $5.5 billion per year. Nor does it address the massive over-funding of the Postal Service’s civil service (CSRS) pensions.

The nation’s letter carriers will fight this disastrous bill and vigorously advocate alternative ways to cut costs and promote growth in the Postal Service.

S 1789_Fact Sheet

About one-quarter of letter carriers have served in the military. Your carrier might be one of them.

Of the 280,000 members of the National Association of Letter Carriers, about 70,000 are veterans of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines or Coast Guard, including recent service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This Veterans Day, the NALC recognizes these brave men and women for the vital service they have provided—and continue to provide as letter carriers.

“Six days a week,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said, “letter carriers help bind this vast country together while also unifying individual communities, serving the needs of small businesses that provide two-thirds of new jobs and helping residents keep in touch with loved ones.”

This TV commercial to honor NALC’s veterans was scheduled to air nationwide on a number of cable TV networks the week of Nov. 7-11, 2011.

But proposed cuts—including eliminating Saturday delivery and most door-to-door delivery—would deprive businesses and residents of needed services.

“Reducing and degrading service would amount to a new tax on Americans,” Rolando said. “Since the Postal Service is funded by its own revenue, not by taxes, taxpayers and businesses won’t save a dime if Saturday delivery is eliminated. In fact, this would cost them money – not only would they have to use more-expensive private carriers, they’d be on the hook for unemployment benefits for some two hundred thousand postal employees.”

These cuts would lead to the layoffs of tens of thousands of veterans, at a time of mass unemployment.

“With President Obama having announced that thousands of Iraq War troops will soon come home, they deserve jobs to return to, and the last thing Congress should do is take away decent jobs from our veterans,” Rolando said.

The Postal Service is the core of a $1.3 trillion mailing industry that employs 8 million Americans, and dismantling the Postal Service would jeopardize those jobs—at the worst possible time for our economy.

Letter carriers do far more than deliver the mail. They serve as the eyes and ears of communities around the country, saving elderly residents, finding lost children, stopping crime and putting out fires, often aided by their military training. And, under a program started by former President George W. Bush and the Department of Homeland Security, letter carriers have set up—on a volunteer basis—pilot programs in five major cities to deliver medicines to residents in the event of a biological attack.

For 200 years, the Postal Service—an agency rooted in the U.S. Constitution—has adapted to technological change, and it can continue to do so if lawmakers act responsibly.

More than 300 people jammed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ town meeting at Montpelier High School on Sunday about how to save the U.S. Postal Service. Sanders said he will introduce legislation this week to address the Postal Service’s financial woes without resorting to drastic cutbacks in service and massive layoffs.

He blamed the Postal Service’s money troubles largely on accounting issues, including a law requiring it to set aside retiree health and retirement benefits far in advance.

Sanders criticized Postal Service management for not focusing on smarter ways to solve their financial problems. “Our goal must be to make the post office smarter and more competitive. We should not be engaged in a series of actions which could eventually lead to the destruction of the Postal Service,” he said.

In an era of emails and the Internet, Sanders said barriers to modernization should be lifted to let the Postal Service compete with commercial rivals and set up new lines of business. “It is time for the Postal Service to move into the future, to offer Internet service, printing service, and all the other services appropriate for the modern age which are financially viable.”

Vermonters who filled all of the seats and lined the hall outside the high school cafeteria said the post office is essential in rural communities. “Look at the people here today,” said Bill Creamer of Bradford, Vt. who has worked for the post office for 24 years. “Senator, you take this back to Washington, Vermonters want their Postal Service.”

Sanders called the town meeting in response to Postal Service proposals to end Saturday deliveries, lay off 120,000 employees, close almost 3,700 post offices, including 15 in Vermont, and close 300 mail processing centers, including two in Vermont.

“In the midst of this horrendous recession, the last thing this country needs is to lose another 100,000 workers,” the senator said.

via Save the Postal Service – Newsroom: Bernie Sanders – U.S. Senator for Vermont.

Rapoza Also Expresses Concerns that the Proposed Bill Could Reduce the Level of Health Care Coverage for Retirees and Asks that Management Associations be Included in Developing a Postal-Only Health Plan

Today, NAPUS President Bob Rapoza sent a letter to key members of the Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs Committee, requesting consideration on some key issues that could impact Postmasters. On behalf of the 38,000 members of NAPUS, Rapoza expressed his appreciation for the Committee’s efforts to address the financial and operational difficulties confronting the Postal Service, but asked that they consider three issues before S. 1789 is moved forward for a proposed November 9th markup.

Charlie Moser

November 3, 2011

via NAPUS.

NAPUS Letter on S1789

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.”

November 2, 2011 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) applauds Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Carper (D-DE) and Scott Brown (R-MA) for introducing a bipartisan postal reform bill, “The 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2011” (Act) today.

The Postal Service (USPS) is in dire financial straits. It is imperative that the US Mail — a vital communications channel for the American public, the American economy, and DMA members — be placed on a solid financial footing and remain affordable to the American public and American businesses. The $1.1 trillion mailing industry and its over 8 million employees depend on it.

It is time for Congress to set aside differences and work on a bipartisan bill that can be signed by the President. Senators Lieberman, Collins, Carper, and Brown have taken a huge step in that direction.

This bipartisan bill tackles the difficult issues of USPS retiree health benefit prefunding, five-day delivery, door delivery, labor arbitration, and USPS down-sizing. We are pleased that the bill maintains nonprofit rate preferences and requires a study of underwater classes and products to determine how their costs are affected by USPS excess capacity.

DMA pledges to work closely with the Senate and the House of Representatives to bring to fruition a bipartisan bill that will ensure that USPS will remain a viable and affordable communications channel for the 21st Century.

via DMA Applauds Introduction of ‘The 21st Century Postal Service Act of 2011′.

Stetement by National Association of Postal Supervisors President Louios Atkins:

June 30, 2011- The sweeping legislation proposed by Congressman Darrell Issa (H.R. 2019) to overhaul the United States Postal Service is dangerously misguided. It is an attack upon the management authority of the Postal Service and its dedicated workforce. The legislation should be firmly rejected by the Congress.

The legislation is misguided because it fails to address the immediate cause of the Postal Service’s financial problems – far too aggressive retiree health prefunding payments and pension overpayments. Congress largely created these perverse problems; Congress should first fix them.

Mr. Issa’s legislation, by failing to deal constructively with the prefunding and pension overpayment issues, would only worsen the Postal Service’s deteriorating financial condition. The creation of new government entities under the bill, like the Commission for Postal Reorganization and the Postal Service Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority, will result in more government and more costs, not less. Mr. Issa’s legislation also falls short in failing to authorize new avenues of commerce for the Postal Service as part of a broader, realistic business model for the 21st century.

We continue to support proposals that will authorize the Postal Service to use billions of dollars in pension overpayments – as conclusively determined by the Postal Regulatory Commission and the Inspector General of the Postal Service – to help prepay its retiree health care costs. We urge the Congress to adopt the common-sense measures proposed by Rep. Stephen Lynch and Senator Tom Carper and Senator Susan Collins that would address the overpayments issue and help restore the Postal Service’s financial health.

Congressman Darrell Issa has introduced his promised postal “reform” bill. Issa’s legislation would create a BRAC-like commission to determine which post offices, processing plants, and administrative offices should be closed down. The most far reaching provision, however, is the creation of a control board which would take control of the USPS if it defaults on any obligation to the federal government. The control board would have the power to remove officers and managers, and to rewrite existing collective bargaining agreements as needed to “achieve specific economic savings and workforce flexibility goals”.

It would, in effect, use the Congressionally mandated, arbitrary PAEA trust fund mandates as a pretext to place the USPS in receivership. Without the trust fund payments, the USPS would be in reasonable financial shape (and virtually debt free), given the poor economic climate.

Here is the press release issued by Issa’s office:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seeking to prevent another taxpayer bailout, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, introduced today legislation to implement sweeping, structural reforms of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The legislation represents the most fundamental reform of the postal service that has been proposed since USPS was first created from the old Post Office Department.

“The Postal Service lost $8.5 billion last year. It is going to lose, at least, $8.3 billion this year. And it is projected to lose $8.5 billion the year after that,” Issa said. “Congress can’t keep kicking the can down the road on out of control labor costs and excess infrastructure of USPS and needs to implement reforms that aren’t a multi-billion dollar taxpayer funded bailout.” Read the rest of this entry »