APWU Web News Article 45-2012, April 24 , 2012
The Senate began voting on amendments to the 21st Century Postal Service Act (S. 1789) on April 24, with action on the bill expected to be wrapped up in the Senate on April 25.
Still to be voted on is Amendment #2042, offered by Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), which would maintain current delivery standards for four years. The amendment would not prevent all plant closures, but it would stop the USPS from implementing its “slash and burn” strategy to close or consolidate more than 200 mail processing facilities, shut 3,600 post offices, eliminate overnight delivery of first-class mail and generally slow mail delivery, said APWU President Cliff Guffey.
The APWU supports the amendment, and is urging union members to contact their senators before 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25, to ask them to vote in favor of the measure. “There is still time to contact both of your senators to ask them to support Sen. Casey’s amendment,” said Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid. To send your senators a message in support of this amendment, click here.
“USPS officials have demonstrated that they will attempt to slash service — unless Congress stops them,” Guffey said.
Action on Amendments
Among the votes taken on April 24 were the following:
Senators voted in favor of Amendment #2056, offered by Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), which would modify the process for closing or consolidating post offices and postal facilities. The APWU supported the amendment, which was approved by a voice vote.
The senators voted against Amendment #2034, by Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), which would have replaced provisions that would be financially devastating to thousands of postal and federal employees who were injured on the job and who receive compensation from the Office of Workers Compensation Program (OWCP). The APWU supported the amendment, which was disapproved by a vote of 46-53.
Senators adopted Amendment #2020, offered by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), which 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. This amendment, which the APWU supported, passed by a voice vote.
Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) Amendment #2061, which would require retirement-eligible employees of the Postal Service to retire, was defeated by a vote of 33-65. The APWU opposed the amendment.
Sen. Corker’s (R-TN) Amendment #2083 also was voted down, by a vote of 29-70. It would have prohibited “no-layoff” clauses from postal collective bargaining agreements; removed a provision from current law that ensures benefits for employees cannot be lower than those in effect in 1971, and required a switch to five-day mail delivery. The APWU opposed the amendment.
Amendment # 2033, offered by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), which would have established a BRAC-like (Base Realignment and Closure) Commission on Postal Reorganization. This amendment, which the APWU opposed, failed with a vote of 30-69.
Amendment #2043, offered by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), to strike provisions that call for the Postal Service to go to five-day service in two years, was defeated by a vote of 43-56. The APWU supported the amendment.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) offered Amendment #2025, which would end the mailbox use monopoly, which the APWU opposed. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 35-64.
Click here [PDF] to read a section-by-section summary of the revised bill.
Decertify APWU all together! If you’re tired of ever changing contracts and self preservation on the part of union officials all at the expense of its lemmings, if you’re tired of your dues money going to pay for grand displays of BS which don’t help you, if you’re tired of settling for no raises while your union fights for larger lockers in your facility, if you’re tired of junior employees bumping senior miltary veteran employees all because they are stewards that spend time not working, filing grievances for larger lockers while you are excessed to Timbuctu…then the time has come to oust them! It’s either that or same ole same ole! Go to NLRB.gov to see how to decertify a union only interested in self-preservation!
When does the voting begin on reducing the salaries of these overpaid union officials now that all these drastic reductions in lemming rolls has taken place? Or do we just casually ignore this little fact? Why should they continue raking in the dough? They’re really good at pointing fingers at everyone else but heaven forbid the spotlight shine on them. Yeah…that’s right…those damn scabs!
Yo Buckeye Branch 78, I understood Rick’s basic message but his “colorful” language set me off. You are close, I’m almost 63 with almost 35 years service. I’ve put 2 kids through college and a third half way and so far no loans. I.ve seen too many times unions protecting bad employees pulling the service down only to have management move them up and out just to get them out of their hair. Believe me I’ve seen some bad ones and now they are making management desicions that are some real whoppers. I agree with Rick’s basic message not the way he delivered it. Coburn is not our friend but some of the Republicans are. I agree with the union sometimes not all. The American Socialist Party (democrat/ASP) is supporting the unions only to get your vote and for that reason membership here is dropping. You dems just wait, once the ASP get total control they will turn on you. If this makes me non-union then so be it. I’m retiring at the end of this year before 70% of zero becomes zero, no thanks to the political scene or postal management. Good luck to all of you. See ya.
I’ve been a union member for fifteen years. All NALC. According to the APWU website you’re not a member. Nor have you ever been a member. However I’d like to believe that you’re not lieing and that you’ve been a union member for fourty-four years. Let’s assume you became a union member at the age of sixteen. Now let’s add fourty-four years of union service to that age. That would make you sixty or sixty-one years-old. With your fourty-four years of service and your age being sixty, that puts you four years past your retirement eligibility. Rick, not Rick on Wed. Rick simply posted on Wednesday. Anyway, Rick was commenting on Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) Amendment #2061, which would require retirement-eligible employees of the Postal Service to retire. I don’t agree with Rick’s butchering of the English language but I do agree with the personal right to choose when you want to retire if you’ve reached the 100 mark. Given his colorful and possibly offensive words, he’s defending you. If you were, or are, a postal employee, that amendment makes yourself retire at the age of 58. Not a bad age to retire, but what if you don’t want to retire? What if you have a child, or two children that still need to make it thru college?
As for Republicans, Google “Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican”. Fight against what’s right. Benefit after it’s a part of everyday life.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~Albert Einstein
Yosufe
I’ve been a union member for 44 years. First with the teamsters, then the nalc and currently with the apwu. I’ve seen some good things done for their members but I’ve also seen a lot bad too. Its union thugs and foul mouthed brain numb democrats like you “rick on wed” that have given unions their worst reps. I doubt you could even hold a job without a union backing you. That is one of the things wrong with unions. I have a definition for a democrat, “A democrat cannot remember past yesterday, have no clue as to what is happening today and cannot see beyond tomorrow.’ You rick epitomize what is wrong with unions.
I also believe if the unions had not protected employees that needed to be fired many of them would not be in management today because it was esier to promote them than to fire them and I personally know many of these types. So the management we have today was also created by the unions. So thank you very much rick. I’m with the guys and gals of the 1st cav 229th.
Stay for the real big one, no, not that big one, the first VERA is to see what works.
There is no VSIP, only VERA, we have collective bargaining !
fuck the republicans. retire when is right for you! fuck you coburn . you get the fuck out!
THE LAST OF THE CIVIL SERVICE
shooting for 83%
5 more years to go. SCREW THAT BUY OUT, not worth it.
STAY STRONG, KEEP WORKING, RETIRE WITH MORE.
42.11 service 80%
+ sick leave
before you rag on the republicans……was it wise of the apwu union honcho thugs to give all the COPA money to the democrats, you reap what you sow! garbage in, garbage out. goofy I want my $1000 COLA you stole from me.