The APWU has learned that the Senate will consider postal legislation very soon, and President Cliff Guffey is asking union members to contact their senators immediately and tell them that the 21st Century Postal Service Act (S. 1789) is unacceptable in its current form. “The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Guffey said.
As currently written, the bill would give the USPS some short-term financial relief, but also would inflict long-term damage to the nation’s mail system, he said.
“The bill would force the Postal Service to close hundreds of mail processing centers, shut thousands of post offices, and cause massive delays in mail delivery,” the APWU president said. “By failing to give more substantial financial relief, the bill would weaken the Postal Service, kill jobs, and drive customers away,” he added.
“APWU members have done an outstanding job of expressing our concerns to their senators and representatives,” Guffey added. “At this critical time, union members must continue to let them know where we stand.”
The union is seeking support for 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.
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Call Your Senators:
202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)Tell them you oppose
S. 1789 as it is currently written.Adequately address the requirement that forces the USPS 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.)
“We must not allow this bill to destroy service to the American people,” Guffey said.
The Unions have stopped this bill to ensure no VER or buyouts, they want layoffs and RIF, to ensure NALC Rolando and APWU Guffey can live like Kings.
What is this?, The Postal Unions telling Congress not to help the US Post Office,
it is the Unions dictating to Congress, yet Congress listens not to those they serve.
The Bill S- 1789 in the United States Senate, was to help to salvage what is left of the US Post Office, and offer Early Retirements to workers, so as to avoid a Reduction in Force and layoffs, the NALC, APWU, and the Mail handlers Unions have basically doomed any legislation to keep the Post Office solvent, the bottom line is Union dues for the Bigwigs in these Unions.
Call Your Senators:
202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)
Tell them you Support
S. 1789 as it is currently written.
JOEWATUSI AND JOHN DELOREAN ARE RIGHT!! I WANT OUT OF THIS F***ING SINKING SHIP!!!!!!!!!!! MORE DELAYS=NO EARLY OUT!!!!!!!!!!!! WE WANT THE F*** OUT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! H.R. 3813 CURRENTLY IN CONGRESS WILL TAKE AWAY ABOUT HALF OF MY FERS RETIREMENT BEGINNING IN 2013. I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO GET OUT IF THIS HAPPENS!!!!!!!!!! GET THE F*** OUT OF THE WAY OF MY EARLY OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are those saying we want to pull this it is NALC not APWU!
Cliff Guffey
What is this?, The Postal Unions telling Congress not to help the US Post Office,
it is the Unions dictating to Congress, yet Congress listens not to those they serve.
The Bill S- 1789 in the United States Senate, was to help to salvage what is left of the US Post Office, and offer Early Retirements to workers, so as to avoid a Reduction in Force and layoffs, the NALC, APWU, and the Mail handlers Unions have basically doomed any legislation to keep the Post Office solvent, the bottom line is Union dues for the Bigwigs in these Unions.
Call Your Senators:
202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)
Tell them you Support
S. 1789 as it is currently written.
Cliff Guffey
What is this?, The Postal Unions telling Congress not to help the US Post Office,
it is the Unions dictating to Congress, yet Congress listens not to those they serve.
The Bill S- 1789 in the United States Senate, was to help to salvage what is left of the US Post Office, and offer Early Retirements to workers, so as to avoid a Reduction in Force and layoffs, the NALC, APWU, and the Mail handlers Unions have basically doomed any legislation to keep the Post Office solvent, the bottom line is Union dues for the Bigwigs in these Unions.
Call Your Senators:
202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)
Tell them you Support
S. 1789 as it is currently written.
S-1789 call up, support it, tell them Rob APWU Strunk wants you to say yes!
Now Listen here, we gave you the APWU the best CBA money in our pockets could get us, we protected the pockets not the members, we can always get PSE’s, so Ruby harrison is right we want that which does not offer early outs, we lose dues, VER means no penalty Ruby!
Cliff Guffey
What is this?, The Postal Unions telling Congress not to help the US Post Office,
it is the Unions dictating to Congress, yet Congress listens not to those they serve.
The Bill S- 1789 in the United States Senate, was to help to salvage what is left of the US Post Office, and offer Early Retirements to workers, so as to avoid a Reduction in Force and layoffs, the NALC, APWU, and the Mail handlers Unions have basically doomed any legislation to keep the Postal Office solvent,the bottom line is Union dues for the Bigwigs in these Unions.
Call Your Senators:
202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)
Tell them you Support
S. 1789 as it is currently written.
Thanks Joe Walusi – I’m with you regarding S 1789 . I called my Senators in support of it.
Call Your Senators:
202-224-3121
(Capitol Switchboard)
Tell them you support
S. 1789 as it is currently written.
If APWU Prez Cuffy was so concern about the membership why wasn’t it shown within the present contract. How many hard working faithful members have been ignored or sold to the wolves so he could say we have a contract. After many years of strugging and winning APWU had to give most of it back with this contract. So when you rallying the membership does it include those who were thrown to the Postal Service wolves and ignored. They paid dues and believed in the APWU but what did it get them. Much have changed, it is now hard to tell who actually is representing the membership not like days of old. Cuffy you got the membership in this mess now get off your butt and make it right. If the Postal service fails you can get comfort knowing you helped to make it so.
I miss the old days when APWU stood together and stood strong and proud. Now even those elected to represent the membership often are disrespectful toward the members who pay dues. These same elected APWU representative observe the contract being violated by management yet takes no action. It is this friendship is destroying the U.S. Postal Service. Don’t call to arms the membership when you have given the membership no show of strength.
Just my opinion
USPS R.I.P.
It makes me sick to see what is going on. Mail volume is dwindling and now I find my magazine subscriptions are available on I-Pads, Kindles, etc… what do you think this is going to do to volumes. If something isn’t done soon every last one of us is going to be gone without a job. I don’t like the bill in it’s present form either but the Union isn’t fighting for me anymore. They are concerned with dues. Anybody believe this contract did anything for you then get your head out your arse. They jammed this contract down are throats under false pretense to save their dues base. Just Sayin ! And the elitist NALC isn’t talking for me either.
@joewatusi:
“I am a Union official with the Post Office”….sure you are joe.
@joewatusi AMEN brother
1351 will never happen………just keep asking for more and more and you will get less
I disagree with the other comment person concerning this is a good bill. Like our APWU Pres. Cuffy stated, this bill 21st Century S.1789 is good on a short term basis only, long term it would still destroy many post offices and retail stations, not to mention hundreds of thousands of job in the process. This may offfer you early out, but there are otther bills out there also that could project the same outcome. We just can’t think of a few of us, we have to think about those employees who do not have enough years to retire,even with early out incentives! The bill Pres. Cuffy is talking about is Rep. Lynch bill HR 1351 or one that Sen Susan Collins and Carper have on the table. Anyone bill except thatt idiot ISSA bill, which will do nothing but destroy the postal service and jobs security!
I am a Union official with the Post Office , and I see the disintegration of our workplace, it is a bad situation, anywhere in the country, I see that the Senate turned away S.1789, Postal Reform, because they listened to Rolando of the NALC, he does not speak for us in the APWU,, and that goes for the APWU President Cliff Guffey we have many clerks who were displaced or forced to become carriers, some did not make it, and are out of the USPS, why do you listen to someone like him, we are waiting to be offered the early retirements, that were in this bill, if one is not offered soon, this boiling pot is ready to explode ,many clerks are desperate to leave this hostile work place ,and we saw hope , now we see not much hope to get out, why listen to one man who represents less than a third of USPS workers?, no Early outs soon, not a good situation, Rolando NALC, and Guffey APWU want union dues even if it means the death of the members, we want out of this abusive and Hostile Postal Service, now !
J C Penny has moved to a new way of doing business. They don’t need the post office anymore. Millions will be lost by 2/2/12. Who is nexr?