Congressman and Congresswoman Urge Action on Postal Reforms Before Wallingford, Stamford Centers Close
WASHINGTON—In response to a final notice that the United States Postal Service (USPS) will close mail processing facilities in Wallingford and Stamford, Congressman Chris Murphy and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro today called on Speaker of the House John Boehner to immediately schedule a vote on legislation to reform the postal service by cutting wasteful spending without cutting jobs or critical services.
The USPS has delayed implementation of these closures until May 15, 2012 in order to provide time for Congress to act on legislation that could potentially reduce the need for the closures. Murphy and DeLauro are co-sponsors of a bill that would fix the Postal Service’s retiree health benefits requirements and pension overpayments, which would reduce their operating costs by billions of dollars and save jobs and services in Connecticut and across the country.
“Across Connecticut we have heard loud and clear from our constituents that preserving USPS should be a top priority of Congress,” wrote Murphy and DeLauro. “Real jobs and livelihoods are at stake, as is the vitality and well-being of businesses and everyday Americans who rely heavily on a fully-functioning Postal Service. We urge you to act immediately to schedule a vote on a bill that fixes USPS’ retiree health benefits requirements and pension overpayments as well as saves much-needed services and jobs.”
Full text of the letter:
March 6, 2012
The Honorable John Boehner Speaker of the House H-232, The Capitol Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Boehner:
We recently received final notice from the United States Postal Service (USPS) that two area mail processing facilities in Connecticut – the Southern Connecticut Processing and Distribution Center in Wallingford and the Stamford Processing and Distribution Center – will be closed, along with 223 other facilities across the country. Yet, the USPS has delayed implementation of these closures until May 15, 2012 in order to provide time for Congress to act on legislation that could potentially remove the need for this harmful action. That is why we are writing to urge you to schedule a floor vote immediately on a realistic, bipartisan, and job-protecting postal reform bill. We simply cannot afford to wait any longer.
Across Connecticut we have heard loud and clear from our constituents that preserving USPS should be a top priority of Congress. We whole-heartedly agree. Real jobs and livelihoods are at stake, as is the vitality and well-being of businesses and everyday Americans who rely heavily on a fully-functioning Postal Service. We are not facing a hypothetical situation for the future – time has already begun to run out. According to the Postal Service, the closure of the two area mail processing centers alone will impact over 430 workers in Connecticut. It will send much of the work currently done by these facilities out of the state to Massachusetts and New York, and slow the delivery of first class mail. Sadly, this is just a small fraction of the Postal Service’s plan to downsize the postal workforce by more than 20 percent by closing post offices and potentially even moving to five-day delivery.
In total, these actions would impact almost every Connecticut resident, ranging from the 10,000 Connecticut postal workers whose jobs are directly threatened, to the seniors who may not receive their mail-order medications in time, to Connecticut communications companies that have a mutually dependent relationship with the Postal Service. Importantly, while USPS’ plans may result in short-term savings, they will almost certainly amount to a long-term loss of revenue and the shedding of even more Connecticut jobs as consumers take their lucrative express packing services needs to USPS competitors such as UPS and FedEx.
The Postal Service’s actions are motivated by the fact that it must reduce its operating costs by $20 billion by 2015 in order to return to profitability. Yet, Congress has the sole authority to bring USPS to solvency in a way that won’t increase our staggering unemployment rate or decrease services. We have long been at the forefront in advocating for Congress to take up a fair and effective bill to save and reform the USPS. The cornerstone of such legislation would be the reevaluation of the retiree health benefit prepayment requirement and the return of over $80 billion in overpayments into Postal retiree pension funds. Yet, we are discouraged that legislation which attacks labor unions and consumer access has been prioritized over serious efforts that preserve the integrity and employment capacity of the Postal Service.
We have the power to solve the Postal Service’s fiscal problems in a way that is fair, just, and smart. Again, we urge you to act immediately to schedule a vote on a bill that fixes USPS’ retiree health benefits requirements and pension overpayments as well as saves much-needed services and jobs. Our state depends on it.
Sincerely,
CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY ROSA L. DELAURO Member of Congress Member of Congress
Stop watseful spending starting at the top…FIRE DONAHOE and next 50 people down the line from him. NO GOLDEN PARACHUTES either, just PINK SLIP em like they want to do to the people who REALLY MAKE THE POST OFFICE RUN!
Many humorous tea bag trolls here tonight.
What in the hell does congress know about cutting wasteful spending? If not for the complete failure of the current administration in the oval office, the ‘Ole Post Office would be the political football of this election year. There are too many disasters ahead of the future collapse of the USPS to warrant any concerted effort to save it. Whatever is expedient for election purposes will be paraded around with such passion that some may think politicians are really concerned and commited to do the right thing. Laugh Out Loud.
USPS management are those scumbags without well educated, they have too much power to do whatever they want, they dig money in different ways, Congress must sell USPS to private and should earn revenue after get rid off those scumbags. lol…..
With idiots in charge with no MBAs or real world experience what do you expect. All they do is fight the workers and piss them off .
Mismanagement and over funding, and the dues hungry Unions = downfall of USPS, lies and more lies, the USPS already uses the Inspectors and OIG, Office of Inspector General to set up craft employees, two sets of rules, just like the IRS, a Gestapo mentality, offering a decent early retirement/ Incentives would be one way to escape the deteriorating work places in the USPS, the work environment has always been about management inflating numbers, lying about getting mail out when it is stacked somewhere or sent back to be reprocessed, and using threats (OIG, Inspection Service, intimidation, following craft workers off the job etc.) and abusive tactics for managers to get their bonuses, always a daily fight for us workers to survive, yes it is a daily war to get you the customer your mail, end this monopoly now !
When you talk about lower service standards a dock clerk@ Dallas N.D.C. recently shared this with me. Drop shippers are cutting short their routes and leaving mail for which they have received payment short of its destination at the above facility.The manager readily accepts it and places it on regularly scheduled trips to Waco,in effect letting it ride free the last leg of the journey. When told this practice does not give added revenue to U.S.P.S. but to the shippers ( as they do not have to travel the last leg of the trip and pocket the money they would have used for fuel and employee wages ) he ignores the complaint ! The real problem is not in the nickel and dime arena of finance but rather people in management who haven’t got a clue making decisions that are truly clueless!
Keep up the pressure for congress to get their collective behinds in action!
they are just putting on a show,
the number one rule in politics GET RE ELECTED at all costs.
Back in 2006 congress passed a bill requiring the USPS set aside more than $5 billion a year to guarantee health benefits for retirees up to 75 years from now. This money can not be diverted to cover operating expenses.
Postmaster General has challenged the US congress by putting in place a massive restructuring of the postal system closing offices and plants in every Congressional District and change delivery standards to create a political fallout.
The Postmaster General”s demand is to pass his bill or get out of the way.
We can not let this happen.
Every one depends on the Postal service despite inflated claims that the internet has pushed the USPS off the map.
To drop Saturday delivery, change the standard of delivery, close thousand of facilities would destroy the POSTAL SERVICE’S UNIVERSAL DELIVERY NETWORK (the last mile)
And don’t forget the 100,000 or more postal workers who will lose their career’s
The true issue is mismanagement that starts at the top of the postal service. The simple solution is to stop overfunding the healthcare and pensions which is a tax on postal customers. The second is to go to evaluated routes that are payed a flat salary for the year. Evaluated routes would eliminate overtime , and managers.USPS management simply creates paperwork that justifies their job, half of postal management cant even type or keyboard, yet they spend the majority of the day on the computer.Also discipline management for constantly violating labor contracts and previous arbitration awards.
Now we need is the rest of congress to start sending a message to the post office that we won’t stand for this! Thank you Congressman & woman Rosa DeLauro and Chris Murphy for standing up for us… I won’t forget this action your taking. And can only hope the rest of congress will follow your lead!