President Clarice Torrence: Information from APWU Amendments to S.1789;

Numerous amendments have been offered to S.1789 and debate has been plentiful. At last count there are 74 total amendments submitted for S.1789. These amendments cover the entire spectrum, as some are positive and helpful while others are very harmful to the future of the Postal Service.

Senator McCain (R-AZ) has introduced amendments to eliminate no layoff clauses in contracts, to permit an immediate reduction to 5-day delivery, to set up a commission on closing post offices, and to increase employee FEHBP and life insurance contributions. Senator Paul (R-KY) has proposed amendments that would end the Postal Service’s mailbox and first class mail monopoly, eliminate collective bargaining, and even a non-relevant amendment to end foreign aid to Egypt. Senator DeMint (R-SC) has introduced amendments to cut union dues and diminish union representation rights. Senator Coburn (R-OK) has offered amendments to require retirement eligible employees of the Postal Service to retire. He has also introduced an amendment that would allow the Postal Service to close unprofitable post office facilities. 

Along with all of the negative amendments are some positive amendments. Senator Akaka’s Amendment 2034 would prevent unfair and substantial cuts to government-wide Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) insurance benefits provided to injured federal workers. Senator Wyden’s (D-OR) amendment would require the Postal Service to consider the effect of closing or consolidating a postal facility on the ability of the affected community to vote by mail. Senator Manchin’s (D-WV) offered amendment would extend the moratorium on the closing and consolidation of postal facilities.

Corporate-bought politicians are taking aim at workers again. And this time, they’ve got fair elections for workers in the crosshairs. In December, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—the federal agency that protects workers’ rights—issued a rule that modernizes the NLRB election process and helps ensure workers have a fair way to form a union without unfair delays and manipulation of the process by employers. Now, anti-worker politicians in Congress are trying to ram through a resolution to undo this modest step forward for the 99%.



Come one, come all, come out 

Rally to save our jobs on March 17, 2012 at 2pm

In front of JAF Building NY Metro will be joining operation zip code organizers rally to save our postal service. 

We are under attack from the United States Government and the Postal Service, they want to close our stations and take our jobs. 

Let them know that we won't go! The salvation of 200,000 jobs and over 3,800 stations depend on us! Come out and show your support!

Call your senators today and tell them that S. 1789 is simply not acceptable in its current form. The Senate will be considering this piece of legislation very soon, so it is essential that you call your senators and make sure your voice is heard:

Maintain 1-3 day delivery standards for 1st Class Mail

Protect Rural Post Offices

Maintain 6 Day Delivery of Mail

Establish a blue ribbon entrepreneurial commission to develop a new business model for the Postal Service to succeed in the 21st Century

Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) 212-486-4430 ~ http://schumer.senate.gov/  

Kirsten E. Gilibrand (D-NY) 212-688-6262 ~ http://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/

Robert Menendez (D-NJ) 973-645-3030 ~ http://www.menendez.senate.gov/

Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) 973-639-8700 ~ http://www.lautenberg.senate.gov/

Connecticut Residents Contact:

Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) 202-224-2823 ~ http://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/

Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) 202-224-4041 ~ http://lieberman.senate.gov/index.cfm

Pennsylvania Residents Contact:

Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) 202-224-6324 ~ http://www.casey.senate.gov/

Pat Toomey (R-PA) 202-224-4254 ~ http://www.toomey.senate.gov/

When you call both of your senators, please ask them to support amendments to:

•    Set strict service standards. (This is crucial, because the Postal Service is planning to degrade delivery standards in order to eliminate more than half of all mail processing facilities.)

•    Allow the USPS to recover overpayments the Postal Service made to its retiree pension funds.

•    Adequately address the requirement that forces the USPS to pre-fund future retiree health benefits. (This mandate is the primary cause of the agency’s financial crisis. No other government agency or private company bears this burden, which costs the USPS approximately $5.5 billion annually.)

•    Establish new ways to generate revenue, such as providing notary services, issuing licenses, contracting with state and local agencies to provide services, and allowing the USPS to offer services that mail systems in many other countries provide, such as digital services.

•    Prevent the closing of small post offices by giving the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) binding authority to prevent closures based on the effect on the community and employees.

•    Protect six-day delivery.

•    Eliminate the provision that would drastically reduce the compensation of workers who are injured on duty once they reach retirement age.

•    Repeal the provision that would require arbitrators in postal contract negotiations to consider the financial health of the USPS. (Postal unions note that arbitrators routinely do so, and criticize the provision as an attempt to skew contract negotiations in favor of management.)

The Postal Service plans to close a many as 3,600 retail facilities is based on questionable data, Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) recently concluded. In a Dec. 23 advisory opinion, the PRC challenged the methods with which the Postal Service developed its “Retail Access Optimization Initiative,” charging that the USPS lacked sufficient data for determining which closures would reduce costs the most and that it lacked sufficient data and analysis to make the best decisions. 

The government funding bill Congress approved over the weekend included a reprieve for the Postal Service: It delays until August the due date for the USPS to make a $5.5 billion payment to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees. “We are pleased by the postponement, but we recognize the urgency of passing legislation that will correct the underlying cause of the Postal Service’s financial difficulties,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey.

Senator Sanders’s Bill Looks to Fix the Postal Service’s Financial Crisis

Senator Sanders’s bill would fix the current financial condition of the Postal Service by allowing the USPS to recover  billions of dollars in overpayments made into postal retirement accounts in both the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). This piece of legislation would also protect six day delivery and mail processing facilities.

The dismantling of the postal service’s infrastructure and cutting days of delivery will do little to preserve the service standard needed by our economy, families and businesses.

Congressman Issa’s (R-CA) H.R. 2309 would be the first step toward ending Saturday service, stopping door to door delivery as we know it today and shuttering billions worth of post offices within two years.

What can you and your family do to help save the Postal Service?  Call your member of the House of Representatives today and tell them to vote no on H.R. 2309!  You can reach your member of Congress by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard today at (202) 224-3121.


 http://www.apwu.org/news/webart/2011/11-125-senatebill-111102-bill.pdf
(Senate Bill)

http://www.apwu.org/news/webart/2011/11-124-dutyassignments-schedluler-111101.htm
Union Offers Online Scheduling Tool APWU Web News

The agency has struggled with a massive annual payment to pre-fund retiree health benefits imposed by Congress in 2006.

"Too many people still rely on the Postal Service, for us to sit back and allow it to collapse," said Lieberman, whose committee oversees the Postal Service.

Collins applauded provisions to protect six-day mail delivery for at least two years and transition older workers from disability compensation to retirement.