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Contracting Out
H.R.
4236 Gains 16 More Co-Sponsors
(08/06/08) Sixteen more members of the U.S. House of Representatives
signed up in July to become co-sponsors of the Mail Network Protection
Act (H.R. 4236), a bill that would limit wasteful, inefficient, and
detrimental subcontracting practices by the U.S. Postal Service. The
total number of co-sponsors now stands at 135. The bill, introduced
last November by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), would require the Postal
Service to bargain with postal unions before it engages in significant
contracting-out, and and would protect inexpensive, trustworthy mail
service for the American public. [read
more]
USPS
Unable to Justify Outsourcing, GAO Finds
(07/29/08) The Postal
Service is unable to demonstrate that it saves money by outsourcing,
according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report,
because it has no comprehensive mechanism to measure savings. “Without
cost-savings data, postal managers, stakeholders and Congress cannot
assess the risk and value of outsourcing,” the
GAO concluded. Nonetheless, the USPS will continue to “explore
outsourcing opportunities” and is considering another major outsourcing
initiative involving its bulk mail processing network, the report noted. [read
more]
Management Issues Draft 'RFP'
To Subcontract Some Work at Bulk Mail Centers
(07/09/08) The Postal Service has posted a draft
Request for Proposals (RFP) [PDF] for a “Time-Definite Surface
Network,” seeking comments from private companies that are interested
in subcontracting work currently done at Bulk Mail Centers. The
draft RFP is the latest step in a process that began last year
when the Postal Service announced it was considering outsourcing
some of the duties performed at the 21 BMCs across the country. [read more]
Support
Keeps Growing
For Mail Network Protection Act
(07/02/08) As Congress broke for its
July 4 recess, a total of 119 members of the U.S. House of Representatives
had become co-sponsors of the Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236)
to help preserve inexpensive, trustworthy mail service for the American
public. The bill would help reduce wasteful, inefficient, and detrimental
subcontracting by the U.S. Postal Service by requiring the USPS to
bargain with postal unions before it engages in significant contracting-out.
[read
more]
Postal Privatization Scheme
Fails to Deliver in Great
Britain
(07/01/08) Postal privatization in the United Kingdom has produced “no
significant benefits” for consumers or small businesses, and
has posed “a
substantial threat” to universal service, according to a preliminary
study released in May.
The independent review also found that while large mailers have benefited from the nation’s efforts to “foster competition,” privatization will undermine the Royal Mail, Great Britain’s government-run postal service, which was expected to co-exist with private competitors. [read more]
USPS ‘Network Plan’
Would Adversely Effect Postal Workers, Service
(06/26/08) The Postal Service’s latest plan to realign its mail
processing, transportation, and retail network “would adversely
affect APWU-represented employees and disrupt mail service to the American
public,” APWU President William Burrus said in an update for union
members. “Regrettably, postal management has developed a business
plan that relies almost exclusively on reducing work hours as a means
of remaining financially solvent,” he noted. “This is a failed
strategy and it cannot sustain America’s mail service.” [read
more]
Six More U.S. Representatives
Co-Sponsor Mail Network Protection Act
(06/23/08) APWU efforts to build support in Congress for the Mail Network
Protection Act (H.R. 4236) continued to gain ground over the last two weeks,
as six more members of the U.S. House of Representatives endorsed the measure
to help preserve inexpensive, trustworthy mail service for the American
public. [read
more]
Mail
Network Protection Act
Gains Six More Co-Sponsors
(06/06/08) Six more members of the U.S.
House of Representatives have become co-sponsors of the Mail Network
Protection Act (H.R. 4236). Thanks to continuing grassroots action
by APWU locals across the country, a total of 110 representatives — more
than a quarter of the House membership — have signed-on to legislation
to curtail against wasteful, inefficient, and detrimental subcontracting
practices by the U.S. Postal Service. [read
more]
Support
for H.R. 4236 Tops 100
(05/21/08) Thanks to continuing
legislative outreach efforts by APWU locals, 10 additional members
of the U.S. House of Representatives have become co-sponsors of the
Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236). To date, a total of 104
representatives — nearly
a quarter of the House membership — have taken a stand against wasteful,
inefficient, and detrimental subcontracting by the U.S. Postal Service. [read
more]
Another
Dozen U.S. Reps.
Sign On to Mail Network Protection Act
(05/13/08) APWU efforts to
build support in Congress for the Mail Network Protection Act got
a big boost in the last two weeks, as 12 more members of the U.S. House
of Representatives became co-sponsors. The bill (H.R. 4236) would
require the Postal Service to bargain with postal unions before it engages
in significant contracting-out. [read
more]
OIG Studies Support APWU Position
Subcontracting Fails Workers,
Consumers, and
the USPS
(05/01/08) Postal Service outsourcing practices often
prove to be wasteful and inefficient, resulting in poor customer
service and undermining the USPS. Recent reports by the USPS Office
of Inspector General (OIG) support the APWU position that mail processing,
transportation, and retail services often cost the Postal Service
more than if the work were kept in-house. [read
more]
Six
More U.S. Representatives
Co-Sponsor Mail Network Protection Act
(04/28/08) Six more members of the U.S. House of Representatives
have become co-sponsors of the Mail
Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236) in support of the union’s efforts
to reduce wasteful, inefficient, and detrimental subcontracting by
the U.S. Postal Service. The legislation would help preserve inexpensive,
trustworthy mail service for the American public as well as USPS jobs
by requiring the USPS to bargain with postal unions before it engages
in significant contracting-out. [read
more]
Mail
Network Protection Act
Gains Eight More Co-Sponsors
(04/17/08) Eight more members of the
U.S. House of Representatives have become co-sponsors of the Mail
Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236) in the past two weeks, thanks
to continuing outreach efforts by APWU locals. The legislation would
help reduce wasteful, inefficient, and detrimental subcontracting
by requiring the USPS to bargain with postal unions before it engages
in significant contracting-out. [read
more]
10
More U.S. Representatives
Co-Sponsor Mail Network Protection Act
(04/03/08) Since Congress returned from its Easter recess on March 31,
10 additional members of the House of Representatives have taken
a stand against wasteful, inefficient, and detrimental subcontracting by
signing on to the Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236). [read more]
Inspector
General:
USPS Wasted $17.8 Million on FedEx Contract
(03/17/08) An audit by the
USPS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has concluded that during Fiscal
Years 2005 and 2006, the Postal Service’s Pacific Area
incurred approximately $17.8 million in unnecessary costs by the use of “expensive
FedEx transportation to move mail that could have been moved on low-priced
surface transportation or on less costly passenger airlines. [read
more]
Mail
Network Protection Act
Steadily Gaining Co-Sponsors
(03/14/08) As of mid-March, 55 members
of the House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of an anti-subcontracting
measure supported by the APWU. The Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236),
which was introduced in November by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), would require
the Postal Service to bargain with postal unions before it engages in significant
contracting-out. [read
more]
Get Involved in the Process
(03/01/08) The year 2008 will present several opportunities for APWU members
to engage themselves in the legislative process. The opportunities
include the battle to enact the Mail Network Protection Act, the
presidential primaries, and the national elections this fall.
[read
more]
Grassroots Coordinators Go to Work
(03/01/08) Four “grassroots coordinators” joined the APWU’s
Legislative Department in January to work on the union’s political-campaign
efforts. After initial training at APWU headquarters, the new staffers
were assigned to the field. [read
more]
Anti-Subcontracting
Measure Attracting Support
(02/28/08) Several more “co-sponsors” have
signed on to show their support for the Mail Network Protection Act (H.R.
4236), which would require the Postal Service to bargain with postal unions
before it engages in significant subcontracting. [read
more]
APWU Requests Investigation
Of Private Contractors’ Use of USPS Property
(02/27/08) APWU President
William Burrus has asked USPS Inspector General David Williams to conduct an
audit of the postal practice of permitting subcontractors to park trucks and
store equipment on USPS property free-of-charge. The practice raises USPS operating
costs and defers potential revenue, Burrus charged in a Feb. 22 letter to the
Inspector General (IG). [read
more]
Anti-Subcontracting
Bill Picking Up ‘Co-Sponsors’
(01/31/08) The Mail Network
Protection Act (H.R. 4236), which would require the Postal Service to
bargain with postal unions before it engages in significant subcontracting,
has been steadily gaining sponsorship in the House. The legislation
was introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) on Nov. 15, and support
for the measure has been picking up steam since 2008 began. [read
more]
Postal
Service Says
It Will Request
Proposals to Outsource Some BMC Activities
(01/18/08) The Postal Service
has notified the union that it intends to issue a Request for Proposals for
the outsourcing of some Bulk Mail Center activities. At a Jan. 9 meeting with
APWU national officers, postal officials presented a “pre-decisional briefing” on
its Request for Information (RFI) Concerning a Time-Definite Surface
Network. The briefing was a follow-up to a Sept. 11, 2007, meeting. [read
more]
Union
President Asks Locals, States
To Seek Support for Subcontracting Legislation
(01/09/08) APWU President
William Burrus has asked the union’s
state and local presidents to encourage APWU members to write to
their U.S. representatives and ask them to co-sponsor and support
the Mail Network Protection Act (H.R. 4236). The bill, introduced
by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) on Nov. 15, 2007, would require the
Postal Service to bargain with postal unions before it engages in
significant subcontracting. [read
more]
An Anti-Subcontracting Bill
(01/01/08) The APWU won a major victory Nov. 15, with the introduction
of a bill that would require the Postal Service to
bargain with postal
unions before making a commitment to significant subcontracting.
The union had been strongly advocating such legislation for several
months. [read
more]
House ‘Mail Network Protection Act’ Gains
Seven Co-Sponsors Prior to Holiday Break
(12/26/07) Seven U.S. representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of
H.R. 4236, the Mail Network Protection Act introduced by Rep. Stephen
Lynch (D-MA). Introduced in the House on Nov. 15, the bill would
require the Postal Service to bargain with postal unions before engaging
in significant subcontracting. The union has been strenuously advocating
such legislation for several months, including in congressional testimony
in April and July.
[read more]
APWU Seeks Support for ‘Mail Network Protection
Act’
(12/19/07) The APWU has written to all members of the U.S. House of Representatives,
asking them to co-sponsor and support the Mail Network Protection
Act (H.R. 4236), which would require the Postal Service to bargain
with unions before committing to significant subcontracting. [read
more]
Rep. Lynch Seeks Support for ‘Mail Network Protection
Act’
(12/12/07) Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA) has asked his
congressional colleagues to co-sponsor legislation he introduced last
month that would require the Postal Service to bargain with unions
before engaging in significant subcontracting. Lynch’s Dec. 11,
2007, letter to fellow representatives outlines the importance
of the legislation in maintaining the security of the mail
network. While noting that contracting out core postal functions
impacts “the
allocation of work,” he
said “this
alarming trend bears much broader implications in terms of
compromising the security of the U.S. mail network. [read
more]
APWU-Backed Bill Introduced in Congress
Legislation Would Compel
USPS to Bargain Over Subcontracting
(11/19/07) The APWU won a significant victory Nov. 15, with the introduction
of a bill that would require the Postal Service to bargain with postal
unions before engaging in significant subcontracting. The union has
been strenuously advocating such legislation for several months.
The bill (H.R. 4236), introduced by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), would affect
private contracts involving mail processing, mail handling, or surface
transportation of mail, provided that over a 12-month period it involved
the equivalent of $5 million or 50 work-years. If signed into law, it would
require the USPS to bargain with the affected unions before awarding such
contracts. [read
more]
|
'Soaking the Taxpayers'
(11/06/07) ...Addressing problems that directly affect APWU members and
other workers, President Bill Clinton said he opposes the privatization
of public services, noting that subcontracting often proves to be
more costly.
“I thank you for your steadfast opposition to privatization of the Postal Service and the unnecessary private contracting that’s been done in the last seven years, which I think has wasted a lot of money and undermined the public interest,” he said.
Referring to recent revelations that it costs more than twice as much for contract employees to provide diplomatic security and other services in Iraq, Clinton said, “I thought we were supposed to be contracting-out because it saved the taxpayers money, not soaked the taxpayers.” [read more]
| The USPS “has begun to travel
resolutely down the road of privatization without authorization
from Congress” — or the American people." The
subcontracting of postal work “is just one aspect of
a dangerous trend: the wholesale conversion of a vital public
service to one performed privately for profit.” — Testimony of APWU President William Burrus before a U.S. Senate panel, July 25, 2007 |
Burrus to Congress:
Service Undermined by Privatization Push
(09/01/07) The
USPS “has begun to travel resolutely down the road
of privatization,” APWU
President William Burrus told a Senate subcommittee on July 25, “without
authorization from Congress” — or the American people. The
subcontracting of postal work, he warned, “is just one aspect of
a dangerous trend: the wholesale conversion of a vital public service
to one performed privately for profit.” [read more]
Burrus Tells Congress:
Compel USPS to Bargain Over Subcontracting
(07/20/07) If Congress
wants to limit USPS subcontracting, lawmakers should enact legislation
compelling the Postal Service to bargain over the issue, APWU President
William Burrus told a House subcommittee on July 19, rather than intervening
in specific
contracting-out disputes.
[read more]
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on USPS
(04/18/07) On April 17,
2007, APWU President William Burrus testified before the House Subcommittee
on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia,
in the first congressional oversight hearing since the enactment of postal
reform legislation in December. "My message to Congress was that APWU vigorously opposes subcontracting
work performed by postal employees, but there are many problems associated
with separating one type of subcontracting from the dozens of others," Burrus
said in a report to union members. [read more]
Postal Service Continues Plans to Close AMCs
(03/23/07) As part
of an ongoing effort to outsource postal work, the USPS recently outlined
management’s continuing plans to eliminate
Air Mail Centers across the country. Two letters to the APWU provide
additional details about plans management announced over the summer. [read
more]
Union President Condemns USPS Plans to Privatize AMCs
(07/10/06)
APWU President William Burrus has denounced Postal Service plans to subcontract
work currently performed by bargaining unit employees at more than half
of the nation’s Air Mail Centers. “This
ill-advised adventure would privatize an important and sensitive
sector of the United States Postal Service, slashing the postal workforce
and jeopardizing security and service to ordinary citizens,” he said. “Once
again, management is succumbing to the demands of the big advertising
mailers.” [read more]
USPS Jobs, Relevance Threatened
(05/01/06) Your job and livelihood
are under attack by the postal Service consolidation “plan.” Your
facility may not be specifically targeted, but a large number are,
and if these consolidations are implemented, there will be a huge
cost-savings for the biggest mailers, and the communities we serve
will find the USPS to be less relevant. When the service to the average
citizen is reduced, the ease with which your job can be contracted
is increased.
[read more]
USPS Outsourcing Projects Fail to Deliver |
Click here to read about failed USPS outsourcing initiatives involving Priority Mail Centers, trucking contracts, Mail Transport Equipment Service Centers, as well as excessive "work-sharing" discounts for large mailers. (From The American Postal Worker magazine, July/August 2003.) |
