Tag Archives: Save Americas Postal Service

Imagine A Wold Without The USPS, This Infographic Shows What We Would Lose

  By New Hampshire Labor News | May 14, 2013 - 3:59 pm | ,
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World WIthout Post Office

Can you imagine what the world would look like without the US Postal Service?  With the never ending attacks on the USPS, this could soon be a reality.  We cannot allow this to happen.  The USPS handles 438 million pieces of mail every day, moving over 40% of the worlds mail.

Below is a great infographic that highlights some of the things that would be lost if we loose the USPS.  The USPS is the second largest employer in the United States, and directly effects over 8 million jobs.  These workers deliver 160 billion pieces of mail every year.   And they do it all without taking any money from taxes. The USPS is completely self funded by the revenue generated from postage.

One of the best things highlighted by this infographic is the charity donations that the USPS help to raise.  Over $76 million dollars raised for breast cancer research, and nearly $2 million dollars for endangered animals.

We must stay united in our effort to preserve this Constitutionally protected service.  The problems facing the USPS are all due to the pre-funding requirement set forth by Congress.  The USPS is being forced to pre-fund their retirement system for 75 years in the next 10 years.  This is the only reason the USPS is ‘loosing money’.  If Congress removes this restriction we will continue to have a vibrant postal service for eternity.

Life without the United States Postal Service
Source: NumberSleuth

Come Support Your NH USPS Workers on March 17th In Manchester

  By New Hampshire Labor News | March 13, 2013 - 10:10 pm | , , ,
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NALC Save Americas Postal Service

Rally to Protect Saturday Mail Delivery and Strengthen the Postal Service at Manchester City Hall Plaza at 12:00pm Sunday March 17th.

NALC Save Americas Postal Service

Concerned Citizens throughout America will rally in other states on March 24 to protect Saturday mail delivery and demand that Congress deliver a better plan to strenghten the Postal Service for the future.  The New Hampshire rally in Manchester will take place at City Hall Plaza on March 17 at noon because of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on the 24th, and all members of the community are invited to attend.

The Postal Service’s plan to shrink the Postal Service and end six-day service is an attack on the future of this great institution, on the customers who need it, and on the employees who support it.  Many Americans – especially smaill-business owners, senior citizens and rural resident-would suffer if the strength and reach of our Postal Service is compromised.  In addition, cutting Saturday mail would delay important household and business transactions, including bills, invoices and personal communications, and may force customers to shift to high-cost competing services.

The US Postal Service is America’s only universal communications network reaching every address in America six days a week.  Established by the Constitution and using no taxpayer funding for its operations, the Postal Service is a vital public institution that New Hampshire cannot afford to be dismantled.

For more information contact Wayne Alterisio

President Obama Can Do So Much More For Labor Unions

  By Bill Brickley | February 22, 2013 - 7:00 am |
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President Obama at factory (WH Photo Pete Souza)

President Obama followed up his omission of labor unions during his Inaugural Address by doing the same at his State of The Union speech.Senator Tom Harkin, a long time advocate of working people summed up the feelings of many in the labor movement during an interview with “The Hill”.

“Not one word in there about, if you want to rebuild the middle class, you’ve got to make it easier and better for people to organize and bargain collectively for their wages and for their conditions of their employment,” Harkin continued. “Not one word about that. And to me, that is the crux of their problem — is that people don’t have any power. They don’t have any power when they’re out there on the job. And you’ve got to have a balance. You’ve got to give workers more of a power to be able to bargain for things like their wages, for pensions, for family and medical leave, and paid sick leave and things like that.

“People just are powerless, and so I was just kind of upset and really saddened that he didn’t even give a nod to labor unions.”

“And you know what?” Harkin added. “He wouldn’t be there without labor unions, and neither would half of our Democrats in the Senate, I’ll tell you that.”

President Obama is not stepping up to the plate to protect unions at any level. He would not be in the oval office today without the work of unions but he for some reason refuses to acknowledge them.

The Postal Service is the largest collection of union workers in this country and they are being decimated by congressional mandates. Congress is silently watching as Saturday mail delivery is eliminated and this will further serve to accelerate a death spiral for the Postal Service. A blow to the American people and the Labor Movement. Not one mention by our President.

Its time for President Obama to take actions that will make life better for working Americans on Main St.  The Republicans are already the party representing Wall St. We do not need another political party doing that.

President Obama, when you needed help from labor unions we were there for you. Just like unions step up and protect millions of Americans every day. It’s now time that you stand up for us.

Do The American People Really Support 5 Day Delivery? Hint: Not As Much As They Say

  By Matt Murray | February 15, 2013 - 2:15 pm | ,
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From USPS Polling

Everyone is talking about the USPS and their illegal attempt to change to a five day delivery.  They say that this is the only way ‘save the postal service’.  The USPS has been on Capitol Hill with claims that the overwhelmingly the public is behind the move for five day delivery.   I do not agree.

It is a common trick when conducting polling to ask a question so you get the response you want.  For example how would you respond to this question?

“After learning that this change will allow the Postal Service to be financially stable, to what extent do you support the decision of the Postal Service to begin delivering mail five days per week and packages six days per week, including continuing package delivery on Saturdays?”

If you have to choose yes or no, would you support five day delivery to save the post office? Of course you would.  This is why over 86% of people polled agreed with the above statement.

Now they USPS is pushing the idea that 80% of people support a five day delivery plan.

“To what extent do you support the decision of the Postal Service to begin delivering mail five days per week and packages six days per week, including continuing package delivery on Saturdays?”

The real fact is that only 39% strongly support the idea, and 41% somewhat support the idea.

I cannot back up my polling with any real data, however of the people that I have talked to, only 10-15% seem to know and understand what the real problems are with the USPS.   I would be more interested to know what the polling is on that.

How many people know that the real issue with the USPS is the pre-funding mandate set forth by Congress.

I wonder how many people know that certain members of Congress have ties to UPS and want to privatize the entire USPS system.

These are the questions that pollsters should be asking but are not.  Why, because when you pay the pollster, you pay for the results you want.

We should all get behind the new legislation that was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) to modernize the U.S. Postal Service, save Saturday mail and repeal a crippling law responsible for 80 percent of the mail system’s funding woes.

Ending Six Day Delivery Is The Wrong Answer For The USPS

  By New Hampshire Labor News | February 7, 2013 - 9:30 am | ,
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via Save Americas Postal Service (Facebook)

In a flurry of media yesterday it was announced by the CEO of US Postal Service (aka the Postmaster General) Patrick Donahoe that beginning in August the USPS would stop delivering mail on Saturdays.

Wait, WHAT?   That is right, the USPS plans to illegally stop delivering mail to your home or business on saturdays.

Why would they do this?  That is not a simple answer.

The USPS is a very special government entity.  They collect no money from taxes and are completely self funded.  This means the entire postal service is paid for by selling stamps.    They are like a private company with one big catch, everything they do is mandated by Congress.

You may have heard different, or you may have heard the Post Office is going bankrupt.  There is a little truth to both of those statements.  The employees of the USPS are federal employees and are covered under the Federal Employee’s Retirement System (FERs).  In fact the USPS is the single largest section of the federal workforce with over 800,000 employees currently.   In 2006, President Bush signed into a law a bill that forced the USPS to PRE-PAY their retirement contributions.  Basically the USPS has to PRE-PAY the retirement system for the next 75 years in the next 10 years.  This equates to about $5  Billion dollars a years in over payments.

In what is being called a solution to the ‘funding problems’ the USPS released a statement:

“The United States Postal Service announced plans today to transition to a new delivery schedule during the week of Aug. 5, 2013 that includes package delivery Monday through Saturday, and mail delivery Monday through Friday. The Postal Service expects to generate cost savings of approximately $2 billion annually, once the plan is fully implemented.”

Even without a legislative fix to correct the true problem in the USPS, this $2 billion dollars in savings would not be enough to ‘save the USPS from bankruptcy’.

National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredic Rolando condemned the actions in his statement.

“The National Association of Letter Carriers has tried time and again to work with Postal Service management to pursue growth measures and cost savings, but it has become clear that the Postal Service leadership’s only strategy is to gut the unique postal network that provides us with the world’s most affordable delivery service, and to eliminate the services on which Americans depend.”

The statement from USPS CEO Donahoe drew criticism from many in New Hampshire including Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter.

“Congresswoman Shea-Porter has asked to be added as a cosponsor to H.Res 30, which expresses the sense of the House that the Postal Service should maintain six-day delivery.”

“The US Postal Service is a vital resource for communities throughout our state and our country,” said Congresswoman Shea-Porter.  “Eliminating Saturday mail-delivery does not adequately address the issues facing the United States Postal Service. This is the wrong approach because the Postal Service will lose vital business and consumers will be hurt.”

Congresswoman Annie Kuster has been a long time supporter of the NH Association of Letter Carriers.  She sent us this statement.

“I am very disappointed by the Postal Service’s decision, and am opposed to the cancellation of Saturday mail service. That’s why I’m a cosponsor of H.Res. 30, bipartisan legislation supporting 6-day delivery.  Instead of cutting jobs and services, the Postal Service needs sensible reform to fix the onerous pre-funding requirement for future retiree health benefits, boost innovation and efficiency, reduce costs, and provide new and improved services to New Hampshire communities.”

Senator Jeanne Shaheen also responded to the news with this statement.

“I’m disappointed by today’s announcement from the U.S. Postal Service,” Shaheen said yesterday. “I hope the USPS continues to understand the importance of its six-day-a-week package delivery, which many Americans rely on for crucial needs like prescription medications.”

This plan to stop delivering mail and still continue to deliver packages on Saturday is very confusing especially to those who actually deliver the mail. Wayne Altiserio, president of the New Hampshire State Association of Letter Carriers told the Eagle Tribune:

“(The USPS) is stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime. If you’re going to go there with a package, why not bring the mail, too? We have a lot of packages we’re already delivering.”

What are we to do? If we do nothing then we will continue to see the erosion of the USPS until there will be nothing left of the most trusted government agency who process and deliver 40% of the worlds mail every day.  We must take action!

Go to Save America’s Postal Service petition and sign up to preserve six day delivery.

Contact your Congressional Representative and tell them to stop forcing the USPS to pre-fund their retirement system and preserve six day delivery.

Then show you friends and family that you support the USPS. Click this link to share the image below on Facebook (or click here to tweet)

via Save Americas Postal Service (Facebook)

via Save Americas Postal Service (Facebook)

Privatize The Post Office? That What Pitney Bowes Is Paying Lawmakers To Push

  By Bill Brickley | January 14, 2013 - 9:28 am | ,
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Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes seems  to be promoting a reckless and astoundingly flawed plan to privatize every part of the Postal Service except mail delivery.   This reckless plan was brought up years ago by the Libertarian Cato Institute but was quickly dismissed.  Yet the idea has been reintroduced recently. Why would this plan be suddenly creating interest in DC at this time?  It’s simple follow the money.

Under this plan, financed by Pitney Bowes, the entire Postal Service would become a series of private companies that would process and transport the mail to your US Postal Service Letter Carrier who would deliver it. The rational of this misguided plan is that they can eliminate hundreds of thousands of good union middle class jobs and replace them with low wage and benefit challenged employees . Then disguise it by still having your trusted Letter Carrier still bring it to your door.

This Postal Service is easily the most trusted Government Agency in America, it’s not even close. So Pitney Bowes and its extremist colleagues in DC figure they can’t privatize the entire Postal Service, as Mitt Romney wanted to do, instead they will keep the public face of our nations most trusted agency and have employees paid at the Wal-Mart level process the mail. Corporate America daily underestimates the intelligence of the American People but this seems to be extreme even by their standards.

How can people feel secure placing their most important documents into a mail system run by a shadowy workforce? The Postal Service goes to extremes in keeping people’s mail private, safe and secure. Undoubtedly this new private mail processing company would not do the same.

Pitney Bowes has contributed the maximum $17,500 campaign contribution to one congressional candidate in its history. To no surprise the recipient was Congressman Darryl Issa (R-CA) in 2012. Also keep in mind Issa also received $17,500 from UPS.

Mr Issa whose extremist views on dismantling the Postal Service are well-known . His Government Oversight Committee has blocked any postal reform legislation other than his own HR 2309.  Another major recipient of thousands of dollars from Pitney Bowes is Dennis Ross (R-FL) who was the only co-sponsor co of the union busting HR 2309 . Interestingly, Ross’ 2nd biggest campaign contributor is UPS with $15,000 in 2012. This picture seems clear that these people want the Postal Service eliminated for their personal gain and anti union agenda.

Advocates for this Pitney Bowes study stress that private companies “can fulfill other tasks in the postal network and do so at a lower cost and with greater efficiency and innovation and without political and regulatory interference”

Lets look at the facts the Postal Service has the least expensive rates in the industrial world and their protection of the mail is unrivaled. The Postal Service has not been able to invest more in innovation because it is saddled with a 2006  congressional mandate that the Postal Service make annual $5.5 billion payments into a retirement benefits fund for future employees who are not even born yet. No agency or business,  public or private is required to make such a payment.  Why not simply let the Postal Service survive without any ” political and regulatory interference”?  I am sure no replacement private company is going to fund retiree costs 75 years into the future like the USPS is required by Congress to do.  Most likely this replacement company will offer no retiree benefits whatsoever.

So Pitney Bowes is funding this ” study” that is the going to be officially  released in full in a few months. Its release will coincide with the debt ceiling negotiations. What better time to attempt to sneak this ridiculous plan into law. Only in the world of extremist politics  and right-wing think tanks would an idea like this seem credible. Pitney Bowes should save their money as their CEO who made $9,230,798 last year is retiring soon and will undoubtedly need a golden parachute on his way out the door.

 

Stop Closing Post Offices Until You Solve Their Pre-Funding Problems

  By New Hampshire Labor News | January 9, 2013 - 8:49 pm | ,
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APWU Logo (small)

I wanted to share with you all a very special call to action from some American Postal Workers Union local 300 in Michigan.  They are in the process of closing down plants to solve their phony bankruptcy problems.   We all know the truth is the problem Congress created when they mandated that the USPS pre-fund their retirement system.

This hits very close to home as they have already closed the Portsmouth NH plant and are talking of closing more plants.

So before they close this processing plant for good, take a moment to read their story below and listen to the APWU Local 300 President explain whats happening in this short 30 second clip.  Then send a message to you Congressional Reps and ask them to stop this consolidation until a legislative solution is created.

Be sure to forward this to anyone you know in Michigan so they can call their Reps too. 

POST OFFICE NEWS REPORT.MP3

 
Central Michigan Area Local 300
 American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO
PO Box 21154
Lansing, MI 48909-1154

Dear fellow Union Brother and Sisters,

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is in the process of relocating Lansing’s Mail Processing operations to Grand Rapids, and to the Pontiac Metroplex Processing Centers. This means that we would loss 200 to as many as 400 jobs right here in the Mid-Michigan region. It will also delay the mail by up to 3 days for your local mail to get delivered.

This does not have to happen, nor do we need to lose any more good paying jobs right here in the Lansing area.

So I respectful ask for your support in contacting Senators’ Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, as well as, Congressman Mike Rogers. Tell them we need their support in keeping jobs here in Lansing, and to halt the consolidation until Congress can address the Legislation that plagues the USPS finances.

Feel free to contact me @ cmalprez300@yahoo.com or 517-528-9980, if you have any questions,

In Solidarity,

Jesus Gonzales, President

Central Michigan Area Local 300

*   *   *   *   *   *

UPDATED Per requests.
Sen Carl Levin’s phone number DC office (202) 224-6221

Sen Debbie Stabenow DC office phone (202) 224-4822

Find you state Congressional Reps to contact them

Yep, They’re Still Trying to Privatize the Post Office.

  By Liz Iacobucci | January 4, 2013 - 11:27 am | ,
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Photo Brian Kersey / Getty Images

Photo Brian Kersey / Getty Images

Yesterday, a Washington, DC “think tank” — originally chartered by Congress — announced it would “conduct an independent study of how the quasi-government agency could cede much of its operation to private companies.”  Read the Washington Post article here.

Trouble is, this isn’t exactly an “independent” review.  The study is being “made possible by a contribution from Pitney Bowes”.

And it’s based on a “White Paper” authored by a group including: a Cato Institute economist; the Deputy Postmaster General under President George W. Bush; and a lobbyist for the Direct Marketing Association, who was hired “to head lobbying efforts aimed at reforming the U.S. Postal Service.”

Golly.  The suspense.  Wonder what this “non-profit think tank” is going to recommend doing to the Postal Service?  [Remember, the Republican Party Platform calls for "Restructuring the U.S. Postal Service for the Twenty-First Century."]

Their report is due out in March.  Yes, right when the next Congress-created economic crisis is scheduled to hit.

Read more about Grover Norquist’s lobbying to dismantle the Post Office here.

Read about House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan — and his wife — here.

Read all NHLN coverage of the USPS here.

Latest Update on 6 day delivery from National Association of Letter Carriers

  By Bill Brickley | December 18, 2012 - 7:00 am | ,
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A message from NALC President  Fredric V. Rolando

First, let me express the NALC’s condolences and my personal sympathies for the families and friends of the victims of the mass shooting yesterday in Connecticut. Sadly, there have been far too many such rampages in recent years. These unspeakable crimes should motivate all Americans to come together to find ways to prevent future tragedies of this kind.

Even as we mourn this weekend, however, we cannot afford to lose track of the urgent battle over the future of the Postal Service.

The good news is that negotiations over the flawed “compromise” bill appear to be stalled, at least temporarily. The bad news is that Congress may stay is session beyond the holidays to finish the so-called “fiscal cliff” budget negotiations, so the fight over postal reform is far from over.

According to our best sources, no agreement was reached at congressional staff–level negotiations on the compromise bill this week, thanks in part to the continued activism of letter carriers. But we are hearing talk of eliminating Saturday delivery one year from now. That’s halfway between the House’s proposal in H.R. 2309 to eliminate it immediately and the Senate’s proposal in S. 1789 to retain six-day delivery but only for two years. Either way, 25,000 city carrier jobs—one-sixth of our workforce—would be sacrificed, instead of removing the real problem: the future retiree health pre-funding burden.

If an agreement is reached by the staff, the compromise will be presented to the small group of committee leaders from the House and Senate committees that oversee the Postal Service. There is no guarantee that those leaders will sign off on the resulting postal reform. If they do, they will have to convince the leadership to let the full Congress consider the legislation—and possibly attach it to other bills under consideration. Fortunately, it now looks doubtful that any postal reform bill could be attached to the Hurricane Sandy relief bill, which the Senate is scheduled to take up on Monday.

Nevertheless, we must convince the entire Congress to oppose any rush to enact postal reform in the lame-duck session. Congress must start over in the new year and do the job right.

Time is running out, since it will take some time to translate any agreement into legislative language, but we won’t be safe until Congress adjourns for the year.

So we have to keep the pressure up. I need you to call your House and Senate representatives this week at 202-224-3121. Even if you have already called, call again. And urge other carriers and postal employees, as well as your family members, your neighbors and your friends, to do the same.

I have been in direct contact with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to share our views, and our legislative staff is working around the clock to inform members of Congress about the dangers of a flawed compromise. We will be running this advertisement in Capitol Hill newspapers next week, and we are conducting a sophisticated digital-media campaign targeting Capitol Hill staffers and their principals.

If we all do our part, we can win this important fight.

In Solidarity,

Fredric V. Rolando, President
National Association of Letter Carrier

NALC President Speaks Out To Members and Congress About Pre-funding Obligations and Lame Duck Session

  By Bill Brickley | December 12, 2012 - 12:12 pm |
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Rolando Letter to Congress 2

What follows is an email from NALC President Fred Rolando regarding the impending deal in Congress to eliminate a day of mail delivery each week. The sword is about to fall on many union jobs. At this point all we can do is call Senator Shaheen or Ayotte and ask them to preserve 6 day mail delivery.

“Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve asked you to call your representatives in Washington and tell them to wait until after the first of the year to work on meaningful postal reform, rather than try to push something through quickly during this lame-duck period after the November elections. And thousands of NALC activists made those calls. If you did so, thank you.

Unfortunately, we’ve learned that key members of the House and Senate have met together this week to work on a compromise postal reform bill, and it sounds as if eliminating a day of mail delivery service remains on the table during those discussions.

This is unacceptable. Cutting a day of delivery would mean sacrificing one-sixth of our workforce—25,000 city letter carrier jobs—all in the name of holding on to the misguided mandate to massively pre-fund 75 years’ worth of future retiree benefits and to do so within just 10 years. This policy is what’s really hurting the USPS, costing it billions a year and diverting its attention away from working on a true business plan for the 21st century. (It’s worth noting that this last postal reform law was passed during Congress’ lame-duck session in 2006.)

Besides, dropping a day of mail delivery is a sure-fire recipe for driving away business from the USPS by undermining the value of the service that we letter carriers faithfully provide.

NALC continues to oppose any congressional deal that eliminates a day of mail delivery and that fails to lay the foundation for a viable Postal Service. Click here to read the letter I just sent to every U.S. senator.

If there is a sliver of good news here, it’s this: It’s still not too late for you to act. Even if you have already called your representatives, please do so again—they can not hear from us enough on this important issue.

So please, call your House and Senate representatives at 202-224-3121 and tell them to oppose any lame-duck postal reform bill. Tell them that Congress should instead start over in the new year to craft a brand-new reform measure that preserves this institution, that allows it to grow and meet today’s challenges, and that takes into account the needs of all postal stakeholders and customers.

Also, encourage your fellow letter carriers, your family members and your friends to call their representatives, too.

And stay alert for future developments. If these members of Congress reach some sort of postal reform deal this week, I will schedule a tele-town hall meeting to mobilize the entire membership to fight it.”

In Solidarity,

Fredric V. Rolando, President
National Association of Letter Carriers

Below are two images. The first is the letter that President Rolando sent to the members of Congress, encouraging them to make new legislation in the next session and to do it correctly.  The second image show how their current proposed changes to the postal pre-funding will only net a savings of 5 billion over 10 years.  That will not be enough if they want to keep the post office functioning.