Postal Employees Should Delay Retirement Until Passage of Postal Reform Bill
All APWU represented employees who are retirement eligible should consider delaying their retirement until the Postal Reform efforts have been concluded. Each of the legislative initiatives (Issa – Carper – Obama) includes the return of the $7 billion overpayment with authorization to use it for retirement incentives. Retroactivity is probably unachievable so to secure eligibility, employees should protect themselves. If the $7 billion is returned, postal management has an incentive to replace existing employees with new hires whose wages will be significantly less. Read more
Senators Urge Senate Leadership to Consider Rural Communities in Postal Service Reforms
Filed under: postal, postal news, postal reform, press releases, usps
From the Office of Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO):
November 7, 2011
Senators Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, along with Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Kent Conrad (D-ND), are urging Senate committee leaders to consider Western states and rural communities when exploring potential reforms to the U.S. Postal Service.
“We think a long-term viable postal service must be placed on a secure financial trajectory while protecting the important role that USPS plays in rural America,” the senators wrote in the letter to the leaders of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the subcommittee dealing with the Postal Service. Read more
Video: Senator Collins Introduces 21st Century Postal Service Act
Senator Collins Introduces Plan to Stabilize U.S. Postal Service
Flashback: Congress Says 2006 Postal Reform Bill Will Make USPS Viable for 21st Century
Are we in the 22nd Century yet? On December 20, 2006, the “Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006″ was passed in both House and Senate (Darrell Issa was there at the time). This legislation was supposed to “modernize the United States Postal Service and make it viable for the 21st century. The legislation, the first major overhaul of the USPS since 1970, will help stabilize mail volume and stamp prices.” Read more
Senator McCain Introduces Companion Legislation To Issa-Ross Postal Reform Bill
Filed under: politics, postal, postal news, press releases, usps
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) today introduced the Postal Reform Act of 2011, a bill to restore the financial health and long-term viability of the United States Postal Service. The Postal Service is expected to end this fiscal year with a $10 billion loss, and by its own estimates faces a shortfall of up to $238 billion by 2020. At the end of this month, the Postal Service will not be able to make a required $5.5 billion payment to fund future retirees’ health benefits. This legislation is needed to ensure that future generations of Americans will have a viable Postal Service. This bill is the Senate companion to the legislation introduced by Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) in the U.S. House of Representatives this summer. Read more
Congressman Connolly’s Statement On Legislation to Dismantle the Postal Service
Filed under: Congress, postal, postal news, postal reform, press releases, usps
Sep 21 2011- Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) today delivered the following statement at the House Oversight and Government Reform Hearing on Chairman Darrel Issa’s legislation to dismantle the U.S. Postal Service.
The Postal Service is enshrined in Article 1 of the Constitution. It is the lifeblood of rural communities across America and a $1 trillion private mailing industry which employs over eight million people. The Postal Service ensures that seniors can get their prescription drugs delivered in a timely fashion and creates opportunities for small businesses that ship parcels. Chairman Issa’s bill would sacrifice all of these valuable services the Postal Service provides in order to eviscerate the Postal Service workforce and the unions that represent some of their employees. Read more
Highlights of the Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act
Filed under: Congress, postal, postal news, postal reform, press releases, usps
WASHINGTON- Today the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, the U.S. Postal Service, and Labor Policy reported out on a 8-5 vote HR 2309, the Issa-Ross Postal Reform Act of 2011, with changes that bring the total mandatory minimum savings for USPS in the bill to $10.7 billion annually. The bill will be heard at a full committee markup before heading to the floor.
The bill was introduced in June by Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Subcommittee Chairman Dennis Ross, R-Fla. The bill is the only postal reform legislation introduced this Congress that would restore the postal service to solvency and prevent a multi-billion dollar taxpayer funded bailout. Read more
Issa’s Postal Reform Bill Hidden Agenda
The postal reform bill (H.R. 2309) introduced last month by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has a hidden agenda, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress (CAP): To eliminate collective bargaining for postal employees.
“The bill closely follows the strategy of Republican governors who are using budget problems to attack collective bargaining rights and weaken political opponents,” CAP found. “This strategy ignores alternative methods of closing budget shortfalls and instead insists that public employee pay is the cause of budget gaps and that collective bargaining must go.
“Rep. Issa’s proposed Postal Reform Act isn’t the frontal assault on collective bargaining being pushed by Govs. Scott Walker in Wisconsin and John Kasich in Ohio but instead closely adheres to the strategy of Michigan’s Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to empower ‘emergency’ managers to unilaterally modify collective bargaining agreements,” CAP concluded. “Such powers effectively end any real ability for workers to bargain collectively.”
The CAP analysis points out that “Rep. Issa’s bill would create a Solvency Authority that can ‘after meeting and conferring with the appropriate bargaining representative … reject, modify, or terminate one or more terms or conditions of an existing collective bargaining agreement.’ That’s virtually identical language to the Michigan law that allows the emergency manager to ‘after meeting and conferring with the appropriate bargaining representative … reject, modify, or terminate one or more terms and conditions of an existing collective bargaining agreement.’”
The Michigan law, which passed in March, is already being used to attack collective bargaining rights of Detroit Public School teachers, all of whom were issued layoff notices in April by the Governor-appointed Emergency Manager. The Emergency Manager then immediately moved to renegotiate the union’s contract. “The law requires him to only ‘meet and confer’ with representatives from the public unions, not bargain in good faith—which is required for collective bargaining to have any meaning,” said CAP.
The Michigan law is part of a grand strategy being rolled out by newly elected Republican governors in several states, including Wisconsin, Ohio, New Jersey and Florida. Rep. Issa has praised Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s attack on public employee workers in that state.
Meanwhile, in a mounting backlash against attacks on working families, voters in Wisconsin are moving closer to recalling six of the state senators who voted for the union busting bill. A win in any three of the six recall elections would change the balance of power in the state senate from Republican to Democrat. Democratic state legislators have promised to repeal the union busting law if they are successful in their recall efforts.
source: APWU
NAPS: Issa’s Postal Bill Would Worsen USPS Financial Condition
Filed under: NAPS, politics, postal, postal news, postal reform, usps
“Mr. Issa’s legislation also falls short in failing to authorize new avenues of commerce for the Postal Service as part of a broader, realistic business model for the 21st century.”
Statement by National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS) President Louis Atkins on Postal Reform Legislation:
June 30, 2011
The sweeping legislation proposed by Congressman Darrell Issa (H.R. 2019) to overhaul the United States Postal Service is dangerously misguided. It is an attack upon the management authority of the Postal Service and its dedicated workforce. The legislation should be firmly rejected by the Congress.
The legislation is misguided because it fails to address the immediate cause of the Postal Service’s financial problems – far too aggressive retiree health prefunding payments and pension overpayments. Congress largely created these perverse problems; Congress should first fix them.
Mr. Issa’s legislation, by failing to deal constructively with the prefunding and pension overpayment issues, would only worsen the Postal Service’s deteriorating financial condition. The creation of new government entities under the bill, like the Commission for Postal Reorganization and the Postal Service Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority, will result in more government and more costs, not less. Mr. Issa’s legislation also falls short in failing to authorize new avenues of commerce for the Postal Service as part of a broader, realistic business model for the 21st century.
We continue to support proposals that will authorize the Postal Service to use billions of dollars in pension overpayments – as conclusively determined by the Postal Regulatory Commission and the Inspector General of the Postal Service – to help prepay its retiree health care costs. We urge the Congress to adopt the common-sense measures proposed by Rep. Stephen Lynch and Senator Tom Carper and Senator Susan Collins that would address the overpayments issue and help restore the Postal Service’s financial health.
Video: Issa-The Sanctity Of Unions Must Be Respected
Darrell Issa was very supportive of unions just a short time ago. Now Issa and Florida Freshman Congressman Dennis Ross have lodged an all-out “perceived” war against the Postal Service and postal workers. Both Issa and Ross are aided by the Tea Partyers, who have launched an online petition to support Postal Reform.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) runs an annual deficit of more than 8 billion dollars. Congressman Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has introduced legislation titled “The Postal Reform Act” that would begin to address the fiscal solvency of the nation’s mail service. This piece of legislation begins the process of chipping away at insolvent federal programs and agencies and needs our support!
Burrus said of Issa: “Congressman Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) has added his negative voice to the debate about the future of the Postal Service and has introduced legislation that is typical of his success in leading the removal of the Governor of California, Gray Davis. The record shows that California state’s debt which was at issue in the recall effort has worsened, and he has surrendered the moral high ground with former Governor Schwarzenegger’s out of wedlock child. Issa now proposes to direct his talents by dismantling the Postal Service. I wonder how he would like it if postal employees were to picket every Post Office in his District to tell postal consumers that their Congressman wants to deny them mail service. These legislators who wish to dismantle equal access and good jobs to average citizens must be held accountable. It’s the Post Office today, Medicare tomorrow and Social Security next week.”
In 2009, Issa at a dinner hosted by NALC said: The sanctity of unions must be respected. Now in 2011 Issa is trying to invalidate union contracts. Issa also said : Non-postal employees cannot perform the work of postal workers with the same efficiency. I hope one day I will be as good as a Democrat to labor unions. Of course today Issa is singing a new anti-postal tune.
One reader implied that said Issa may not be able to pass a background check if he applied for employment with USPS. Of course Issa is not new to controversies or changing his stance when politically expedient to do so.
See videos of Issa addressing at NALC in 2009:
Issa addressing National Association of Postmasters in 2009: