Is Your Senator on Board?
Twenty senators are asking Congress to impose a six-month moratorium on USPS plans to consolidate more than 250 mail processing plants, close thousands of post offices, and eliminate overnight mail delivery, in order to give lawmakers an opportunity to consider postal reform legislation.
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The senators have asked Majority Leader Harry Reid to include language in the next appropriations bill that would prevent the USPS from closing or consolidating mail processing facilities or rural post offices for the next six months.
Noting that postal reform legislation is pending in both chambers, they wrote [PDF], “While we may have very different views on how to financially improve the Postal Service, we all believe that democratically elected members of the Senate and House have the responsibility to make significant changes to the Postal Service.
“Unfortunately, we are concerned that the Postal Service may preempt Congress on this matter by closing or consolidating nearly 3,700 mostly rural post offices, over 250 mail processing facilities, and eliminating overnight delivery for first class mail before postal reform legislation is enacted. While some of these changes may be needed, we believe that it is very important to give Congress the opportunity to reform the Postal Service in a way that protects universal service while ensuring its financial viability for decades to come.
APWU President Cliff Guffey praised the effort. “We have been very concerned that USPS management would implement irreversible changes before Congress has a chance to act,” he said.
The union president had a question for every APWU member: Have your senators signed the letter? If so, thank them. If not, ask them to support the effort.
I’m coming up on 40 years of service and I must, in all honesty, say that the Postal Service has monetarily been good to me. It hasn’t always been the most pleasant place to work. You pretty much had to hold your own in the 80’s, and 90’s, (ignorant, asinine, ill suited for positions held, overbearing managers, and ineffective unions). Not that that much has changed. But what has changed is that a once vibrant, productive, business is faltering. Change happens, and upper managements failure adjust to technology, not to mention congress using the Postal Service as its private piggy bank, is a major contributing factor to the recipe for failure.
I know employees with in excess of 50 years of service and while they are great people they contribute little to production and the Postal Service is just a day care center to them. If the PMG wants to loose 100,000 jobs by 2013 start by igniting a required retirement for those eligible, both management and craft, with our without an incentive, and offer an incentive to those who are close to retirement, without a penalty for age. My guess is that the 100,000+ number would be meet quite rapidly.
I don’t believe the newer postal workers should be penalized by lay off’s, they deserve just a good of a chance to make it as older workers have.
Let us old goats take the heat, and if we are not prepared than we have no one to blame but ourselves, the gravy train is about to be derailed. And if you think management is going to honor the latest APWU contract, think again. Why do you think they settled so quickly? They have no intention of following the contract to the letter, and the APWU President will probably sit back and let it happen.
Lets see how much the execs and managers buyout will be. Probably golden parachutes, while they ruin the workers lives.
when is the incentive?? My date of VER clerk craft is 12-31…..just wondering if I should cancel and hold out ?? I have 550 hours of sick leave to use..any opinions or leads ??? thanks
By the time Congress acts, it will be too late, within 4 to 6 weeks, the destruction will be too far gone to restore the USPS, it is almost over , the Arrogant PMG Donahoe is now trying to give early retirements and buyouts, bonuses and incentives to all his arrogant managers and/or Postmasters, too late Congress the workers are screwed, and Obama is too, he failed to issue an Executive order to give earl outs to craft only, he will lose votes, many of them, and the GOP will not fare so well in the house and Senate as they think, putting hundreds of thousands on the street after the Holidays, out of work, this USPS is intertwined with over one Trillion dollars of commerce, so nothing will happen when it goes?.
Now they(Senators) want to help.They need a pay cut themselves.They are realizing their mail will be late also.I’m sick of USPS and the drama.
Well at least the Senators are going to do something this year. I would think for $170,000 a year they might pass some action,after sitting on their butt’s all year.
I hear that a VER is coming in January. I hope so because I have 31 years and 4 years military. 70% baby for me. This use to be a great job until all of this crap starting happening.
Dan what bail out? The money these people are talking about is the over payment that the post office was forced to pay back in 2006. Give this money back and although the post office will still have to make cut backs they will not have to be so draconian. I am tired of all this anti USPS BS! People need to learn the facts before they comment.
So a bailout it is. The Unions got their way. We will have another multi billion dollar bailout in another couple years after this one runs out.
just gimme my incentive….