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Postal Policy-Making News 2006-2010
Home News & Events Current Issues Postal Policy-Making News Archives 2006-2010

Burrus: S. 3831 Needs Major Modifications
(11/10/10) A bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) includes both positive and negative features for the Postal Service, APWU President William Burrus wrote in an Update for union members. On balance, the legislation is not worthy of support — unless major modifications are made, he said. [read more]

APWU President Refutes Unrealistic View of the USPS
(11/03/10) APWU President William Burrus has again refuted claims about the Postal Service’s financial condition, rebutting a column that appeared recently in an Akron (OH) Beacon Journal column, “Post Office Bleeds Dollars.” In a Nov. 1 letter, Burrus wrote that the commentary written by columnist Kevin Hassett is, “quite simply, unrelated to reality.” “Mr. Hassett has a right to espouse his anti-government political philosophy,” Burrus wrote, “but his political views do not give him license to distort fact.” [full story]

APWU Sets the Facts Straight on the USPS
(10/13/10) APWU President William Burrus has ridiculed assertions about the Postal Service that appeared in a recent column in the E-Commerce Times: “There were so many misstatements in your article,” Burrus wrote, “I hardly know where to begin.” In the Oct. 8 article, Theodore di Stefano, a managing partner at an investment banking firm, said six-day delivery is probably a thing of the past, yet failed to mention that the USPS is obligated to deliver mail six days per week by legislation that will likely be renewed by Congress.
[read more]

USPS Liabilities are a Colossal Sham:
OIG Says USPS Could Recover $142.4 Billion
(10/08/10) In a summary of four reports on postal finances, the USPS Office of Inspector General came to a stunning conclusion: The Postal Service could recover $142.4 billion; meet its financial obligations; extinguish its debt; have significant levels of cash for operations; optimize its infrastructure at a more reasonable pace, and minimize the impact on current employees — if the OIG’s recommendations are adopted. [read more]

Rough Week for USPS
Highlights Importance of Bill to Fix Finances
 Locals Should Rally Support for H.R. 5746
(10/01/10) The Postal Service suffered two punishing blows this week: The Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) rejected a request for a rate increase, and Congress refused to give the USPS relief from the requirement to pay $5.5 billion by Sept. 30 to pre-fund future retiree healthcare obligations. [read more]

Major Mailers Make Billions,
But Demand Postal Worker Pay Cuts
(08/03/10) Although they make billions of dollars in profits from excessive “worksharing discounts,” major mailers demand pay cuts from postal employees, APWU President William Burrus notes in an Update for union members. Their demand is part of a disturbing trend — the transfer of wealth from workers to the very wealthiest Americans, he says. [read more]

Competing Interests, Diverging Views
(07/29/10) The interests of large mailers frequently run counter to those of postal employees, APWU President William Burrus notes in an Update for union members, and nowhere is that clearer than in a motion filed by major mailers protesting the proposed postage rate hike.  The motion “vividly exposes the lack of respect they have for postal employees and the collective bargaining process,” Burrus says. “The mailers suggest the wages of bargaining unit employees should be cut by at least $18,000 per year, with corresponding reductions in healthcare, life insurance, leave and other benefits!” [read more]

Crucial Postal Bill Clears First Hurdle
(07/22/10) Legislation to restore financial stability to the USPS cleared its first hurdle July 21 when a House subcommittee approved H.R. 5746. “This is an important first step, but we still have a long way to go,” said Myke Reid, APWU Legislative and Political Director. “It is imperative that APWU members build support for this legislation by contacting their U.S. representatives and asking them to sign on as co-sponsors ” [read more]

Facts Don’t Lie: Chart Shows
True Picture of Postal Service’s Financial Health
(07/21/10) A chart prepared by the USPS gives a clear picture of USPS finances, APWU President William Burrus notes in an Update for union members. It shows that from 2001 through 2008 — minus the retiree healthcare pre-funding requirement of the Postal Accountability and Enhance Act — the Postal Service experienced a cumulative surplus of more than $14 billion. The chart refutes the common misconception that the Postal Service’s business model needs a major overhaul to survive, Burrus said. [read more]

Union Praises House Bill
To Restore USPS Financial Stability
(07/19/10) The APWU is praising a bill introduced by Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA), which is designed to restore financial stability to the Postal Service. The legislation (H.R. 5746) would modify the formula for funding the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), and would rectify overpayments to the CSRS by the Postal Service ranging from $50 billion to $75 billion. “I urge APWU members to contact their U.S. representatives immediately and ask them to co-sponsor this important legislation,” said union President William Burrus. [read more]

More Hypocrisy as Mailers Decry Rate Hike
 In Run-Up to Postal Reform, They Championed Annual Increases
(07/13/10) Major Mailers have been vehement in their opposition to a proposed postal rate increase, but they are not being honest with the American people, APWU President William Burrus said in a recent Update for union members. In lobbying for passage of the 2006 postal “reform” law, he noted, they created the conditions that have caused “immeasurable damage” to the Postal Service. Furthermore,  large mailers insisted to Congress that their business model was best served by annual incremental rate increases rather than larger, less frequent rate hikes. [read more]

Major Mailers Go Ballistic Over Rate Increase
 Attempt to Shift the Burden to Postal Workers
(07/09/10) Upset over the Postal Service’s proposed postage rate increase, large mailers are attempting to make postal workers the scapegoat, APWU President William Burrus wrote in an Update for union members.  Mailers are demanding wage-and-benefit concessions from postal workers to pay for legislation the mailers championed, he said. [read more]

PRC: USPS Overpaid $50 Billion to CSRS
OPM Must Reconsider Calculations
(07/02/10) The Postal Regulatory Commission released an independent actuarial report on June 30 which confirms that the Postal Service was overcharged $50-$55 billion for payments to the Civil Service Retirement System between 1972 and 2009. The report recommended an “adjustment” of $50-$55 billion in favor of the Postal Service. By law, OPM must reconsider its calculations of the Postal Service’s pension assets, make appropriate adjustments, and submit the results of its reconsideration to the commission, the Postal Service, and Congress. [read more]

Sen. Coburn Tries to Pull a Fast One
(06/24/10) Conservative Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) tried to pull a fast one at a joint hearing sponsored by Senate and House postal subcommittees on Wednesday. Coburn, who authored the anti-labor amendment to a Senate bill (S. 1507) to require arbitrators to consider the financial health of the Postal Service when ruling on collective bargaining agreements, remarked that arbitrators are currently prohibited from considering USPS’ economic circumstances. Of course, that is patently false. [read more]

Capitol Hill Testimony
Burrus: USPS Must Expand, Not Cut, Service
(06/23/10) Predicting that mail volume will grow in 2012, APWU President William Burrus told lawmakers June 23 that slashing service will not solve the Postal Service’s current financial difficulties. The APWU “believes the USPS can and must expand the services it offers,” he said. “No service-oriented business can grow by reducing service,” Burrus told the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security, and the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia. [read more]

Burrus to Testify on Future of Postal Service
(06/21/10) APWU President William Burrus will testify at a congressional hearing titled, “Having Their Say: Customer and Employee Views on the Future of the U.S. Postal Service,” on Wednesday, June 23 at 2:30 p.m. [read more]

OIG Says Workshare Audit
Will Include Union’s Views
(06/08/10) The USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) has assured the APWU that the union’s views on “workshare discounts” will be considered in an upcoming examination of the controversial practice. Inspector General David C. Williams offered the commitment after President William Burrus criticized the OIG for excluding postal unions from providing input for the report. [read more]

Burrus Criticizes Exclusion
Of Postal Unions from OIG Workshare Audit
(05/25/10) APWU President William Burrus has criticized a decision by the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) to exclude postal unions from providing input into a recently-announced audit of postage workshare discounts. The OIG plans to interview a range of “stakeholders,” including mailers’ representatives — who are the beneficiaries of the discounts — Burrus noted. [read more]

A Pig with Lipstick... Is Still a Pig
(05/20/10) The debate among postal stakeholders strayed beyond acceptable bounds recently, APWU President William Burrus said in an Update for union members. A spokesman for the mailing industry distorted facts and implied that the legislative “imposition of a $65 billion obligation to pre-fund future retiree healthcare liabilities is a trivial matter that could have been overcome through better management,” the union president said. [read more]

Capitol Hill Testimony
Burrus: USPS Postage Discounts
Are Illegal, Self-Defeating
(05/12/10) Postage discounts for major mailers are illegal and “self-defeating,” APWU President William Burrus told lawmakers May 12. Excessive discounts for corporate mailers who engage in worksharing “deprive the USPS of revenue that is essential to maintain the nation’s mail network,” he said. “Workshare discounts artificially reduce the mailing costs of favored customers — large mailers — at the expense of individual citizens and small businesses,” Burrus told the House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia. [read more]

Burrus to Testify
A House Hearing on Postage Discounts
(05/11/10) APWU President William Burrus will testify on postage discounts on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, before a House subcommittee. The hearing, entitled, "The Price is Right, or is it? An Examination of USPS Workshare Discounts and Products that Do Not Cover Their Costs," will be Webcast live. [read more]

Saving Saturday Service
 Get the Facts, Spread with Word
(04/28/10) The APWU has produced material to help union members spread the word about how the Postal Service’s plan to end Saturday mail delivery would harm American citizens and businesses — and jeopardize the USPS itself. The union has prepared a flyer to help locals alert the public about the dangers of ending Saturday mail delivery. A four-page fact sheet that sets the record straight about the Postal Service’s financial predicament — and how to fix it — is appropriate for distribution to elected officials and news outlets. [read more]

Rationale for Five-Day Delivery
Shattered at House Hearing
(04/16/10) A USPS myth was demolished at House hearing April 15 — a myth that serves as the Postal Service’s rationale for eliminating Saturday mail delivery. In response to questions by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Postmaster General John E. Potter admitted that predictions that the Postal Service would amass losses of $238 billion by the year 2020 were “theoretical.” The exchange confirms allegations made by the APWU that the USPS forecast is wildly exaggerated, outlandish and unsupported. [read more]

Phony Deficit Projections
Mask Management’s Real Goal
(4/16/10) I generally refrain from devoting significant time to informing APWU members about the actions of USPS managers. After all, postal employees have experienced the effects of management’s decisions first-hand, and my elaboration would not provide much new information.... For this article, I make an exception. On March 2, 2010, the Postmaster General released an “Action Plan” detailing the financial challenges facing the USPS in the next 10 years. The news media followed up with scores of news reports and editorials dutifully repeating the PMG’s assertion that the USPS is on track to suffer losses never before experienced in the history of an independent enterprise: A $238 billion deficit over a 10-year period. Without challenge, this assertion was repeated over and over again as breaking news. [read more]

APWU Denounces Five-Day Delivery Proposal
(4/16/10) The Postal Service has embarked on an aggressive campaign to change the frequency of mail delivery from six days per week to five by eliminating delivery on Saturdays. This change would alter the ability of American citizens to communicate by mail six days a week through the United States Postal Service — a right that has endured for generations. The American Postal Workers Union vehemently opposes this change.
[read more]

Postal Management Makes An Important Discovery:
USPS Must Help Generate Mail
(04/06/10) The Postal Service’s recent announcement that it intends to use its marketing capability to generate mail from small- and medium-sized businesses is “really good news,” APWU President William Burrus wrote in an Update for union members. [read more]

PRC Report Finds Excessive Postage Discounts
(03/30/10) Confirming charges the APWU has made for more than a decade, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) concluded on March 29 that the Postal Service grants excessive postage discounts to large mailers. The USPS suffered a loss of $3.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2009. The PRC’s Annual Compliance Determination (ACD) identified 30 types of worksharing discounts that exceed USPS savings when work is performed by large mailers. According to a March 29 press release, the Postal Service demonstrated that “special circumstances” justify the discounts in only 17 instances. [read more]

APWU Denounces Five-Day Mail Delivery,
Urges Congress to Fix Pre-Funding Requirement
(03/18/10) In testimony submitted to a congressional subcommittee March 18, APWU President William Burrus denounced Postal Service plans to eliminate Saturday mail delivery, and urged Congress instead to correct two major causes of USPS financial difficulties: A provision of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) that requires the agency to pre-fund retiree healthcare costs, and a flawed method for computing USPS obligations to the Civil Service Retirement Fund.
[read more]

Setting the Record Straight
On Five-Day Delivery
(03/16/10) The Postal Service’s proposal to eliminate Saturday mail delivery has been widely reported, but most news articles fail to address the devastating effect it would have on the USPS, as well as on citizens, businesses and communities. Accordingly, the union has prepared an outline of “talking points” to correct the record and to assist locals in efforts to oppose five-day delivery. [read more]

APWU Urges Members
To Support Six-Day Mail Delivery
(03/08/10)  The APWU is asking union members to contact their U.S. Representatives and encourage them to co-sponsor House Resolution 173, which urges the Postal Service to continue to provide mail delivery six days per week. The Postal Service is asking Congress to reduce the number of mail delivery days required by law from six days per week to five.
[full story]

Union Rejects USPS Call
For Five-Day Delivery, New Business Model
(03/03/10)  APWU President William Burrus condemned USPS proposals to reduce mail delivery to five days per week on March 2, saying, “It would be the beginning of the demise of the Postal Service.” “The assertion that the Postal Service must initiate major changes in its business plan to survive a grave crisis is false,” he said. “It masks the central cause of USPS financial difficulties: the congressionally-imposed requirement to pre-pay retiree healthcare obligations. [read more]

A Surprising Example
Of the Depth of Deception
(02/04/10) In an Update for union members, APWU President William Burrus offers a shocking but simple example that shows the depth of deception in the excessive postage discounts the USPS gives to large mailers — discounts that undermine the principle of uniform rates and drain much needed revenue from the Postal Service. [read more]

Future of the Postal Service
 (02/03/10, from Ask the President) "At our last local membership meeting a few clerks said saving our jobs won't happen in the halls of Congress, it will happen over the counter with customer service and on the street with delivery... We try our best at the local level, but customer service seems to be going down the tube..." What is APWU doing at the national level to stop this sabotage? -- John, Lake Geauga Area Local [read more]

A Stunning Announcement:
OIG Says USPS Overpaid
Federal Government $75 Billion
(01/20/10) The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued a stunning announcement: The USPS has been overcharged $75 billion in contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) pension fund. After an in-depth investigation, the OIG has concluded that an inequitable system for computing the Postal Service’s CSRS pension responsibility has caused the dramatic overpayment. [read more]

An Interesting Exchange with a Letter Carrier
Can Parcels Save the Postal Service?
(01/13/10) In an Update for union members, APWU President William Burrus observes that letter mail remains the foundation of the Postal Service, and says it is unreasonable to expect an increase in parcel delivery — even a substantial one — to offset declining mail volume. [read more]

A Clear Picture
(12/21/09) A recent USPS study proudly reports the low cost of processing automated letters: just $6.17 per 1,000 pieces. The analysis neglects to mention, however, the wide disparity between USPS processing costs and the discounts the Postal Service grants major mailers for “worksharing,” APWU President William Burrus said in an Update for union members.
[read more]

Here We Go Again!
(12/09/09) Influential voices within the postal community have once again begun the drumbeat for postal “reform,” APWU President William Burrus wrote in an Update for union members. “We have heard this song many times before – throughout the 1990s and during the early part of this decade,” he said. But, he added, “The record is clear. Despite the promises, the effects of ‘reform’ have been more harmful than helpful.” [read more]

USPS Fantasy Land
(12/02/09) Only in USPS Fantasy Land could management justify increased worksharing discounts as postal mail-processing costs decline, APWU William Burrus says in an Update for union members. [read more]

Postal Projections for 2010
Spark Predictable – and Misplaced – Alarm
(11/30/09) With the USPS projected to lose $7.8 billion in Fiscal Year 2010, major mailers, postal executives and some members of Congress are calling once again for a major overhaul of the Postal Service, APWU President William Burrus reports in an Update for union members. The red ink, he notes, is caused by the 2006 postal “reform” law, which forces the USPS to pay billions of dollars to prefund retiree healthcare benefits. Absent this requirement, projections for 2010 would reflect a company that has controlled expenses to match expected revenue. [read more]

Those Who Tell Workers to Sacrifice
Fail to Understand Postal Realities
(11/17/09) As the Postal Service struggles with severe financial losses, postal pundits say workers must lower their expectations for wages, benefits, and working conditions in order to help return the USPS to solvency, APWU President William Burrus notes in an Update for union members. But those who tell workers to sacrifice fail to understand postal realities, he says. [read more]

Caught Like a Burglar With the Goods in Hand
(11/04/09) The union’s challenge to Postmaster General Potter to set the wages of mail-processing employees at an amount that is less than the worksharing discounts major mailers enjoy has generated several flawed responses by mailing industry officials, APWU President William Burrus reports in an Update for union members. [read more]

The Challenge: Postal Wages and Discounts
(10/30/09) In an effort to influence contract negotiations, the postmaster general and spokesmen for major mailers have repeatedly suggested that postal employees’ wages and benefits are excessive, APWU President William Burrus said in an Update for union members. The claims are spurious, but to settle the matter, the union president issued a challenge. [read more]

Congress Must Fix Funding Requirement;
USPS Must Expand Goals, Burrus Says
(10/27/09) In a follow-up to testimony before a Senate subcommittee, APWU President William Burrus explored alternatives to station-and-branch closures, facility consolidations, and five-day mail delivery — which the Postal Service is proposing in reaction to a severe financial crisis. [read more]

President's Viewpoint
USPS Policies Threaten Postal Viability
New Heights – Of Absurdity – In Rate Setting
(10/26/09) The American Postal Workers Union has waged a continuing battle against the exorbitant rate reductions afforded large mailers and consolidators under the misguided premise that such “worksharing” practices are good for business. A label far more appropriate than “worksharing” would be “a postal subsidy extended to big business at the expense of American citizens.” Postmaster General John E. Potter repeatedly expresses his concern that individual mailers are abandoning the use of hard-copy mail for personal communication in favor of computer-driven transactions, yet his policies force them to subsidize commercial mailings every time they use a 44-cent stamp. [read more]

APWU Issues a Challenge
(10/14/09) The Postal Service’s precarious financial condition has prompted APWU President William Burrus to issue a challenge to Postmaster General Potter: Discontinue the exorbitant postage discounts that are offered to large mailers — which are currently as high as 10.5 cents per letter — and allow members of the APWU to perform all mail-processing functions at the rate of 10.4 cents for every letter and flat. “Postal rate-setters continually defend excessive ‘worksharing discounts,’ suggesting that they are good for business,” Burrus said. “But in reality, they are subsidies for big business.
[read more]

Mailing Industry Executives Tell Workers To Sacrifice
Are Their Profits Sacred?
(10/14/09) Postal unions realize that Congress’ vote last month to give the USPS just a one-year reprieve from a crushing financial obligation means additional legislative action will be needed to help the Postal Service remain viable, APWU President William Burrus wrote in an Update for union members.  So it was no surprise to hear that representatives of trade groups for major mailers say the legislature may be compelled to address postal reform again. It was shocking, however, to read that the president of the Association for Postal Commerce suggests that “the time has come for postal employees to start sharing some of the sacrifices.”  [read more]

Unusual Areas of Agreement
(10/07/09) The Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation, a conservative think tank, and the APWU rarely see eye-to-eye; but a recent exchange of letters between IRET Senior Economist Michael Schuyler and union President William Burrus found some common ground. The exchange began when Burrus praised an article by Schuyler “for the thorough review of the state of the United States Postal Service, and the comparison to private companies of a similar size. Your analysis challenges the popular view that government agencies are inherently inefficient,” Burrus wrote. [read more]

Postal ‘Reform’ Advocates
Attempt to Misdirect the Public’s Attention
(09/14/09) Postal “reform” advocates who claim that labor agreements are a major contributor to the Postal Service’s expected deficit of $7 billion in Fiscal Year 2009 are attempting to divert attention from the colossal blunder, APWU President William Burrus asserts in an Update for Union Members. [read more]

House to Vote Soon on Postal Relief Bill
(09/11/09) The House of Representatives is expected to vote soon — perhaps as early as Tuesday, Sept. 15 — on legislation that would provide the USPS with short-term relief from severe financial difficulties. APWU President William Burrus is urging union members to contact their representatives and ask them to support the measure. “We must act quickly," he said. "Without relief, the USPS will run soon out of money.” [read more]

USPS Releases New List
Of Stations Targeted for Closure
Union Develops Action Plan to Oppose Closures
(09/03/09) The Postal Service announced Sept. 2 that it has reduced to 413 the number of stations and branches currently under consideration for closure. Locals are cautioned, however, that the list remains in flux. A USPS News Release reported that the list, which it filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), “does not represent a final decision on consolidation.” The Postal Service has provided various lists to the Postal Regulatory Commission, congressional panels and the union with numbers ranging from 3,200 (corrected on Aug. 28 to 3,600) to 677 (corrected on Aug. 28 to 750) to 413. [read more]

Union Refutes
Wall Street Journal Editorial
(09/02/09) It came as no surprise that a Wall Street Journal editorial outlining the Postal Service’s financial difficulties concluded that the USPS should be privatized, but since the column was riddled with inaccuracies, APWU President William Burrus fired back. [read more]

The Big Lie:
Postal Arbitrators and
The Cause of the USPS Crisis
 (08/28/09) A review of 39 years of collective bargaining refutes a myth that has been circulating in the “postal community,” APWU President William Burrus wrote in an Update for union members:  The tale suggests that the collective bargaining process is in need of major repair because arbitrators require the Postal Service to pay unreasonable wages.
[read more]

President's Viewpoint
 Can We Help the Postal Service?
(08/24/09) The Postal Service’s financial difficulties are a frequent topic of discussion among union members, and recently I have received several suggestions about ways employees can help the USPS remain solvent. Most of the ideas involve efforts to increase mail volume by promoting letter-writing campaigns or other activities. A submission by Todd Manganello (of the Baton Rouge Local) to Ask the President on the union’s Web site suggested a stamp-buying lottery aimed at increasing use of the Postal Service by individuals. [read more]

Story in Mailers’ Publication Pointedly
Misses the Point About Postal Salaries
(08/21/09) In yet another attempt to promote the myth that postal employees are not deserving of their collectively-bargained salaries, APWU President William Burrus writes in an Update for union members, a business-mailers’ organization has published a fact-error-riddled story comparing salaries of USPS Electronic Technicians with ETs in the Federal Aviation Administration. [read more]

USPS Station and Branch Closures
Burrus: ‘Short-Sighted’ Strategy
Will Mean Long-Term Damage
(08/19/09) In a follow-up to recent testimony before a House subcommittee, APWU President William Burrus explored alternatives to station-and-branch closures, which the Postal Service is planning in reaction to a severe financial crisis. “Closing and consolidating post offices based on recession-level volume is short-sighted, and will leave the Postal Service with an infrastructure unable to accommodate the larger volume of mail that will be generated by a more robust economy,” Burrus wrote Aug. 13. [read more]

APWU Responds to New York Times Column
(08/13/09) When a business columnist for the venerable New York Times wrote an article outlining the Postal Service’s financial difficulties and concluded that the USPS should be privatized, APWU President William Burrus fired back. In a letter to the editor, the union president disputed the suggestion that the cause of the Postal Service’s current financial crisis is the diversion of mail to the Internet and e-mail. He pointed out that the crisis is the fault of the 2006 postal “reform” law, which requires the USPS to pre-fund retiree healthcare costs. [read more]

Burrus: USPS Rate Policies Add to Fiscal Woes
 (08/11/09) During a question-and-answer session at a recent Senate subcommittee hearing, APWU President William Burrus outlined the union’s objections to an amendment to a bill that would help the USPS recover from its fiscal woes and pointed out that the Postal Service’s rate policies have encouraged the growth of a private-sector mail-processing network. In an Update for union members, the union president compares postal salaries to workshare discounts, and blasts the USPS for establishing a flawed postage rate system.
[read more]

Vote Delayed on Bill
To Undermine Pay and Benefits
Grassroots Action Campaign Extended
(08/10/09) The Senate adjourned for its August recess without voting on a bill that would be devastating for postal workers. As a result, union members have several more weeks to voice opposition to legislation that would undermine our wages and benefits in future contract negotiations.

“If this bill passes as written it will destroy collective bargaining for postal workers, jeopardizing our cost- of-living increases, raises, and protection against layoffs, APUW President William Burrus told union members July 30. [read more]

Give-and-Take
On the Coburn Amendment
(08/06/09) In a question-and-answer session following the Aug. 6 testimony before the Senate subcommittee, APWU President William Burrus and NALC President Fredric Rolando were asked why postal unions object to the amendment to S. 1507 that was offered by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK). The union leaders had testified that arbitrators routinely consider USPS financial circumstances during contract deliberations, so senators wondered what the problem was with making it a matter of law. [read more]

Burrus: Amendment Assesses
‘A Tax on Postal Workers’
Senate Bill Would Destroy Collective Bargaining
(08/06/09) In testimony before a Senate subcommittee, APWU President William Burrus denounced a provision of Senate bill 1507, which he said would destroy the collective bargaining process.

Send a Message To Your Senators

Although the postal community — including APWU — initially had high hopes for the legislation, which was intended to alleviate a severe financial crisis, an amendment to the bill made it unacceptable to postal workers, he said. [read more]

Station and Branch Closures:
Burrus: 'Acts of Surrender'
 (07/31/09) Closing stations and branches and reducing mail delivery to five days per week “will unquestionably have a negative effect on the postal monopoly,” APWU President William Burrus told a House subcommittee at a hearing July 30. Such actions “will impede the Postal Service’s ability to compete” when the economy rebounds, he said.
[read more]

Union Calls for Campaign
To Defeat Anti-Postal Worker Senate Bill
 Teleconference Set for Aug. 3
(07/30/09) APWU President William Burrus has called on APWU locals and state organizations to organize opposition to a Senate bill that contains a provision that would be devastating to postal workers. The Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Funding Reform Act of 2009 (S. 1507) was intended to provide temporary financial relief to the cash-strapped Postal Service, but an amendment to the bill has rendered it unacceptable to postal workers.
[read more] | [APWU News Bulletin #01-2009]

Burrus:
Postal Decision-Makers Are Off the Mark
(07/30/09) Saying that he has long been “skeptical” about whether the increased use of electronic communication is to blame for the Postal Service’s economic woes, APWU President William Burrus told lawmakers July 29 that “It is imperative that postal decision-makers correctly identify the cause of the reduction in volume and the trends that will drive future communication.” [read more]

APWU:
Amendment to Senate Bill Hurts Workers
Lieberman, Carper Join Republicans to Support Changes
(07/29/09) An amendment to a bill to provide short-term, temporary financial relief to the cash-strapped Postal Service was adopted by a Senate ccommittee July 29, rendering the bill unacceptable to the APWU. “We oppose on principle, legislation that interferes with the collective bargaining process,” said APWU President William Burrus. [read more]

APWU Urges Legislators
To Reject Amendments to Senate Bill
(07/27/09) Amendments to a Senate bill providing short-term temporary financial relief to the USPS would weaken the legislation, harm the Postal Service, and hurt postal workers, APWU Legislative and Political Director Myke Reid said. He urged union members to contact their senators if they serve on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and ask them to reject the amendments. [read more]

Quick Action Expected
On Senate Bill to Ease USPS Financial Crisis
(07/27/09) Quick action is expected on a Senate bill that would provide the Postal Service emergency, short-term financial relief, and APWU President William Burrus is urging union members to ask their Senators to support the legislation. The Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Funding Reform Act of 2009 (S. 1507), which was introduced by Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) on July 23, would restructure the USPS obligation to pay retiree healthcare benefits, and would generate savings of billions of dollars over the next several years. [read more]

Changes and Challenges
(07/14/09) If postal management continues to respond to the current economic crisis by cutting service and slashing the workforce, it risks causing the USPS irreparable harm, APWU President William Burrus writes in an Update for union members. The union president says the APWU will vigorously enforce the Collective Bargaining Agreement as the Postal Service implements new cost-cutting measures. Support from the public and elected officials also are crucial to the survival of the USPS, he said. [read more]

APWU on Five-Day Delivery: Don’t Do It!
(06/22/09) The APWU has given a straightforward response to a USPS request for input regarding five-day mail delivery: “Don’t do it!” “The American Postal Workers Union submits in the strongest possible terms our insistence that the Postal Service refrain from conversion to five-day delivery,” APWU President William Burrus wrote on June 18. “The consequences of the proposed change far outweigh the expected monetary benefits associated with delivery reduction.” [read more]

Burrus Testifies on Capitol Hill:
To Survive, USPS Must Change Strategy
(05/20/09) In testimony before a House panel May 20, APWU President William Burrus told lawmakers that if the Postal Service is to survive, it must re-examine its overall strategy. He emphasized that the need was urgent for passage of H.R. 22, which would allow the USPS to pay its share of contributions for annuitants’ health benefits out of a retirees fund rather than from its operating budget. [read more]

What’s Wrong …and What Can Be Done
(04/23/09) You certainly have heard about and probably have witnessed the reduction in mail volume that is taking such a serious toll on postal revenue. It is important that APWU members understand that this is not a business-as-usual event that can be corrected in the short-term. The U.S. Postal Service will have to fight to remain viable, and we are not likely to see a return to “normal” for several years. [read more]

‘Summer Sale’ Will Discount Our Future
(04/15/09) Major mailers will certainly appreciate the Postal Service’s plans for a “Summer Sale,” APWU President William Burrus notes in an Update for union members, but their gratitude will not translate into a benefit for the Postal Service. And if postage discounts generate mail volume, why — with giveaways at their zenith — are we suffering the lowest mail volume in a decade, the union president asks. [read more]

APWU Capitol Hill Testimony:
Postal Service’s Economic Crisis
Requires Swift Congressional Action
(03/25/09) APWU President William Burrus told lawmakers March 25 that Congress must act swiftly to avert a collapse of the nation’s postal system. “The most important thing Congress can do is to pass H.R. 22, which will provide temporary relief from the crippling obligation to pre-fund future retiree healthcare costs,” Burrus said in testimony before the House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia. [read more]

USPS Announces New VER,
Management Staff Reductions
(03/20/09) In response to significant deficits caused by a substantial reduction in mail volume, the Postal Service has requested and received approval to offer Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) to 150,000 employees nationwide, APWU President William Burrus reports in an update for union members. The application deadlines, effective dates, and the categories of affected employees will be announced in the near future."Retirement is a personal matter, and the union defers to the decisions of employees who meet the qualifications," Burrus said. "However, the APWU continues to challenge the Postal Service’s authority to offer VER without including severance pay." [read more]

APWU Denounces USPS Rate Proposal
(02/12/09) APWU President William Burrus has denounced the postage increase proposed by the USPS Feb. 10, declaring, “The planned rate structure would continue the failed strategies that have brought the Postal Service to the brink of disaster.”... “Once again the Postal Service is asking individual customers and small businesses to subsidize major mailers and mail pre-sorters,” he added. [read more]

APWU Blasts USPS Response
To Postal Financial Crisis
(02/10/09) APWU President William Burrus decried Postal Service plans to address its financial crisis in a letter to the Postmaster General on Feb. 9. “It is extremely disappointing that not a single step is aimed at reducing the loss of revenue from ‘worksharing’ discounts or from subcontracting,” he wrote, referring to a list of steps the USPS outlined in a Feb. 4 edition of News Link Extra. Burrus said he is particularly disturbed by USPS plans to consolidate “excess” capacity in its mail processing and transportation networks while postal policy encourages the growth of private entities that perform these duties. [read more]

Postmaster General's
Testimony Offers Little Insight
(01/29/09) APWU President William Burrus praised the Postmaster General for asking Congress to relieve the USPS of an onerous obligation to pre-fund healthcare liabilities, but said the PMG’s testimony before a Senate subcommittee misstated the cause of the Postal Service’s financial crisis.  In an update for union members, Burrus also said that other proposals offered by PMG have little chance of preventing a disaster. [read more]

Significant Changes Expected;
Sacrifices Must Be Shared, Burrus Says
(01/23/09) The USPS is expected to implement unprecedented changes in the near future that will dramatically impact employees, APWU President William Burrus wrote in an update for union members.But he also warned that if management wants employees to understand the need for significant adjustments, sacrifices must be shared by the entire postal community. [read more]

It All Adds Up
Declining Volume,
Killing the Messenger, Excessive Discounts
(01/07/09) With the Postal Service experiencing a steep decline in mail volume, "it is doubtful that the Postal Service as we know it can survive" unless Congress intervenes, APWU President William Burrus said in a recent update for union members. To save the Postal Service from financial ruin, he said, Congress must repeal its directive that the USPS pre-fund its retiree healthcare obligations, and the Postal Service must stop granting excessive postage discounts to major mailers. The union president also faulted management for its “knee-jerk” response to the financial crisis and for blaming employees for service failures. [read more]

Federal Judge Dismisses
APWU Lawsuit Against Bush
(12/04/08) The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has dismissed an APWU lawsuit against President George W. Bush and Postmaster General John E. Potter that sought to compel the appointment of a Postal Advisory Council. The court’s Nov. 26 ruling concluded that the postal council, which was authorized by Congress in 1970 under the terms of the Postal Reorganization Act, was not specifically reauthorized by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. [read more]

‘Stakeholders’ Urge Congress
To Give USPS Legislative Relief
(11/20/08) The APWU is part of a group of Postal Service “stakeholders” who have asked Congress to help the agency during the current nationwide financial difficulties by giving legislative relief to its retiree health-insurance liability. [read more]

An Open Letter to the Postmaster General
(10/22/08) In an open letter to Postmaster General John E. Potter, APWU President William Burrus wrote, "I take this unusual step of communicating with you in a public forum because the issues at stake are so important to our country and to our nation’s dedicated postal employees.... [read more]

USPS Financial Difficulties
And the Possibility of Layoffs
(10/03/08) In an Update for union members, APWU President William Burrus says that although the threat of postal layoffs is real, the USPS’ first-ever layoffs would affect very few APWU-represented employees. [read more]

USPS’ Bleak Financial Picture
And the Presidential Election
(09/30/08) The Postal Service’s looming financial crisis — including a significant reduction in mail volume and a $2.3 billion deficit — makes the 2008 election critical for postal employees, APWU President William Burrus said in an update for union members.
[read more]

Delegates Vow to Fight
Privatization of Parcel Post
(08/25/08) On the final day of the APWU 19th Biennial Convention, delegates adopted a resolution calling on the union’s national leadership to “lead and organize resistance to any/all attempts to privatize the parcel business.” Resolution 161, Fight Privatization of Parcel Business, also encouraged union members to urge elected legislators to delay implementation of any provisions of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 that allow for the privatization of postal work. The law requires Congress to review the underpinnings of the Postal Service, including universal service, the mailbox monopoly, six-day delivery, and the postal network. [read more]

State of the Union Address
‘The Very Existence of Our Jobs Is at Stake’
(08/19/08) In the face of difficult challenges, APWU President William Burrus told delegates to the union’s convention, “We are armed with two invaluable weapons: The members of the American Postal Workers Union and the millions of Americans who will fight for the national treasure that is the United States Postal Service.”...

APWU President William Burrus

APWU President William Burrus

The nation’s severe economic difficulties and the resultant drop in mail volume are taking their toll, he noted. “The economy is in trouble, and the threat to the future of the Postal Service and to our jobs is real.”

In Fiscal Year 2008, the USPS is expected to suffer a deficit of approximately $1.5 billion, Burrus said, adding that current law prohibits management from recovering losses by raising rates beyond that of the pace of inflation. ...

Making matters worse, he said, postal reform legislation that was enacted in late 2006 requires Congress to review the foundation of the Postal Service, including universal service, the mailbox monopoly, six-day delivery, and the postal network. Burrus pointed out how these reviews are being conducted while postal management continues the disastrous policies of granting excessive workshare discounts and pursues a misguided policy of contracting out postal work.

“Together, we must wage a campaign to preserve mail service for all America’s citizens,” Burrus said. “It will have to be a political campaign, with members reaching out to their communities and their elected officials. We will need every union activist to join in this battle.” [read more]

APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid

APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid

APWU Testimony Assail
Latest ‘USPS Network Plan’
(07/28/08) The Postal Service’s strategy for “network realignment” is based on a faulty premise, APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid told lawmakers July 24. The stated objective of the USPS Network Plan is to promote efficiency by eliminating redundancy, he said. “But the fallacy of the plan is that it artificially limits the definition of the postal network. By intentional design, the plan considers only the 400-plus USPS mail processing facilities to be ‘the network,’ while in reality, the network consists of both public and private facilities that prepare mail for delivery by USPS employees.” [read more]

APWU Sues Bush Over Failure
To Appoint USPS Advisory Council
 (07/17/08) The APWU filed suit against President George W. Bush and Postmaster General John E. Potter in District Court July 16 over their failure to appoint a Postal Service Advisory Council, as required by federal law. “The Postal Service is required to ‘consult with and receive the advice of the Advisory Council regarding all aspects of postal operations,’” APWU President William Burrus wrote in an April 11, 2008, letter to the president. [read more]

Testimony on Universal Service Obligation
APWU to PRC: ‘Burden of Proof’
Is on Those Pushing for Change
 (07/11/08) Because universal postal service is still extremely important to the fabric of American life, APWU President William Burrus said in a public hearing before the Postal Regulatory Commission, those who seek changes in the postal network or monopoly should provide unassailable reasons for doing so. [read more]

APWU to PRC:
Universal Service Still Of Critical Importance
(07/09/08) The APWU has filed written testimony with the Postal Regulatory Commission emphasizing that universal postal service is still extremely important to a significant number of citizens. The union urged the PRC to “view the questions of access to the mailbox and the need for universal service through the eyes of the average citizen,” and noted that, “If the need for postal services were to be viewed only from a business viewpoint, important access to services might be curtailed.” [read more]

High Gas Prices
Are No Justification for Five-Day Mail Delivery
(07/08/08) Special interest groups have begun to use rising gas prices as a way to advance their own agenda — under the guise of reducing the demand for energy, APWU President William Burrus notes in an Update for union members. Recent proposals to reduce mail delivery from six days a week to five are a case in point, he says. But these suggestions represent just another rationale by those who wish to privatize postal operations. [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]

APWU Testimony Kicks Off Controversy
(06/02/08) Recent APWU testimony on Capitol Hill about the Postal Service’s obligation to provide “universal service” to all Americans seems to have stirred up a controversy.

Addressing a House subcommittee on May 8, APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid expressed the union’s concern about actions by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), “which has undertaken, through private contractors, to study the Postal Service’s universal service obligation.”

The PRC has hired contractors who favor privatizing essential USPS operations, Reid testified, noting that the individuals selected have expressed hostility to fundamental elements of universal service — the postal monopoly and uniform rates. [read more]

APWU Testimony on Capitol Hill
Postal Reform Act Is
No Endorsement of Privatization
(05/08/08) The passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act in December 2006 did not change the fundamental mission of the Postal Service, an APWU leader testified on Capitol Hill, and should not be perceived as justification for privatizing the nation’s mail system or eliminating its obligation to provide service to all Americans.

Nonetheless, APWU Legislative Director Myke Reid told a congressional panel on May 8, “As we meet here today, there is an active and ongoing effort to dismantle the Postal Service as we know it, to privatize it, and to turn its work over to for-profit companies.” [read more]

Burrus Asks Bush to Appoint
Postal Service Advisory Council
(04/02/08) APWU President William Burrus has asked President Bush to appoint a Postal Service Advisory Council, as required by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. Under the law, the Postal Service must “consult with and receive the advice of” panel members representing postal unions and consumers, as well as major mail users, about important policy and operational decisions. [read more]

Federal Court Dismisses APWU Suit
Union Vows to Challenge USPS Secrecy in Other Forums
(04/02/08) A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit by the APWU and the Consumer Alliance for Postal Services (CAPS), which sought access to the meetings and records of the Postal Service’s Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC). The APWU suit alleges that by excluding representatives of individuals and small businesses, MTAC violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires the federal government to give the public access to the meetings and minutes of agency advisory committees. MTAC is composed exclusively of high-ranking USPS officials and representatives of large mailers, and portions of its activities are closed to public scrutiny. [read more]

PRC Ruling Exposes Unhealthy Relationship
Between USPS and Influential Mailers
(03/25/08) A recent ruling Postal Regulatory Commission has concluded that a postage rate increase proposed the USPS includes an excessive “workshare” discount, APWU President William Burrus said in a recent update for union members. “The 2008 PRC ruling is Exhibit #1 in exposing the unhealthy relationship between postal management and influential large mailers,” he added. [read more]

PRC: Postage Hike
Exceeds Limit on Worksharing Discounts
(03/25/08) Although a review by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of proposed USPS postage increases found that the rate hikes are within the price cap permitted by 2006 postal reform legislation, there was another less publicized — but highly significant — conclusion: The proposed rates include a worksharing discount that exceeds the limits allowed under the law and amounts to an astounding 557.8 percent of postal savings. [read more]

Postage Rate Increase
Continues Disturbing Trends
(02/20/08) The postage rate increase recently announced by the USPS continues the practice of giving excessive discounts to large mailers at the expense of consumers, APWU President William Burrus told union members in a recent update. “The trend of converting the USPS from a public institution that serves all the people,” he noted, “to one that primarily serves the interests of commercial mailers continues unabated.” [read more]

APWU Now a Presence
At Mailers’ Advisory Panel Meetings
(01/01/08) The APWU has prevailed in its efforts to gain admittance to the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC), a panel composed of large mailers that has been meeting secretly with postal officials to develop long-term plans for the Postal Service. President William Burrus called the agreement to allow the union to monitor the organization’s activities a “major accomplishment for the APWU.” [read more]

Board of Governors Approves Proposal
That PRC Says Could Cost USPS Millions
(12/12/07) The USPS Board of Governors approved a Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) on Dec. 11 that had been sharply criticized by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). In a ruling issued Oct. 19, the rate commission concluded that the Postal Service could lose more than $45 million if the proposed agreement with Bank of America were implemented. Despite the potential losses, the PRC decided that the proposal could be justified under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. [read more]

A Victory on MTAC
(11/08/07) ...Burrus also announced that the union had prevailed in its efforts to gain admittance to the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, a panel composed of large mailers that meets secretly with postal officials to develop long-term plans for the Postal Service. He called the agreement a “major accomplishment for the union.” Every piece of equipment that postal employees interact with and every major management initiative — including network consolidation — began in the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, Burrus said. “This is the group making the plans for tomorrow’s United States Postal Service,” Burrus said, “and we only find out what their plans are once they are willing to go public.” [read more]

The union’s objective is to be involved in the early discussions that formulate policy and ideas governing our employer.

Policy-Making Should Be in the ‘Sunshine’
 (11/01/07) As previously reported, the American Postal Workers Union has filed a lawsuit challenging the exclusion of the union and representatives of the general public from access to the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee. We filed the suit in May, and await a ruling by the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. We are disappointed that it was necessary to initiate legal action to permit postal employees and the public to participate in this committee, which was formed to share technical information, and make recommendations on matters concerning mail-related products and services. Subjects under discussion by the committee include service standards, network redesign, rates, new equipment and many other issues of major importance to the operations of the nation’s mail service. [read more]

Postal Regulatory Commission:
USPS Could Lose Millions in Proposed Deal
(10/29/07) The Postal Service could lose more than $45 million if a proposed agreement with the Bank of America Corporation is implemented, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) concluded in early October, but the commission decided nonetheless that the agreement could be justified under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. [read more]

Anti-Secrecy Lawsuit
(09/01/07) We await a court ruling in the APWU lawsuit against the Postal Service and the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) on the subject of inclusion: The complaint asserts that a public institution such as the Postal Service cannot engage in secret meetings and deny membership to all interested and eligible parties.

As it stands, this joint committee of the Postal Service and big mailers discusses and reviews studies on a wide range of issues affecting the American public and postal employees. Recommendations and implementing plans are then presented to the unions as part of a “consultation” process that offers little opportunity to make suggestions for change or present alternatives. This cabal, operating through a series of secret meetings, is essentially running the United States Postal Service. [read more]

Burrus Testifies Before Senate:
USPS on Path to Privatization
(07/26/07) 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]

"It is clear that MTAC is part of the USPS decision-making process. Why should they be allowed to work in secret?"

Taking MTAC to Task: What Are They Hiding?
(07/01/07) On May 30, 2007, the American Postal Workers Union filed suit in United States District Court in an attempt to achieve membership in and gain access to the records of the Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee. The APWU initiated the legal action because MTAC refused to permit an APWU representative to observe its meetings or obtain minutes of the proceedings. APWU was joined in the lawsuit by the Consumer Alliance for Postal Services (CAPS), a coalition representing consumers and nonprofit mailers. [read more]

APWU Sues USPS, Advisory Committee
For Conducting Policy-Making in Secret
(06/06/07) The APWU, together with an organization representing a coalition of consumers and nonprofit mailers, has filed a suit challenging secret policy-making by a Postal Service advisory committee. The panel, the Mailers Technical Advisory Committee, is made up of trade associations that represent large business mailers. Co-chaired by major mailer representatives and postal officials, MTAC — acting through “work groups” — commissions studies and makes recommendations to senior USPS management on postal operations, postal rates, and postal regulations. [read more]

Book Assails Corporate
Influence on Postal Service
(02/20/07) A new book that exposes how Postal Service operations are being molded to suit the interests of corporate mailers and USPS competitors at the expense of workers and consumers has become a “must-read” for union and community activists. Preserving the People's Post Office, published by Ralph Nader's Center for Study of Responsive Law, the book traces the history of recent postal “reform” efforts and exposes how corporate interests and conservative ideologues are conspiring in efforts to reshape the nation’s postal service. [read more]

Enough Is Enough!
(10/25/06) After 15 years of fighting excessive postage discounts for large mailers, the APWU succeeded in 2004 in persuading key legislators, mailers, and other interested parties to include specific restrictions on discounts in pending postal reform legislation.... The APWU had been the lone voice asserting that discounts were often excessive; that excessive discounts rob the USPS of desperately needed revenue; that they shift a disproportionate share of the Postal Service’s “institutional costs” from large mailers to small businesses and individual citizens; and that they amount to a subsidy of private, special interests — a subsidy provided by the Postal Service and the American people.... Before long, however, the large mailers, USPS management, and their White House supporters began to renege on their commitment, offering progressively more watered-down provisions to replace those that had been agreed upon earlier. [read more]

Who Will Decide the USPS's Future?

A Basic and Fundamental Service
‘Provided To and Supported By the People’
(05/01/06) ... In direct contradiction to the clear intent of the U.S. Constitution and later laws, postal management has now shifted the focus and purpose of postal services, replacing service “to the people” with service “to the business community.”

This transformation has led to the distortion reflected on the cover of this issue of The American Postal Worker, where corporate CEOs decide the future of the USPS network while ordinary citizens are excluded. Decisions, including network redesign and plant consolidations, are not based on their impact on the people, but on their effect on the large mailers.
[read more]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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