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Bush Appoints Presidential Commission on USPS
Burrus Update # 21-02, Dec. 11, 2002
Responding to the requests of the right wing of the Republican Party and the large mailers who wish to dismantle the Postal Service, the White House announced the appointment of a Commission on the Postal Service this morning.Harry Pearce, Chairman of the Board of Hughes Electronics, will serve as the Republican co-chairman, and James Johnson, former chairman of Fannie Mae will serve as his Democratic counterpart. The commission is heavily dominated by representatives of industry.
The nine-member Commission has been instructed to present a report on its findings by July 31, 2003, just three weeks prior to the scheduled opening of APWU contract negotiations if the contract extension is not ratified. Among other things, the report is likely to include the dictum of several arbitrators who concluded that postal compensation and benefits are superior to those provided for similar work in the private sector.
This act of the president puts in motion the most serious effort in 200 years to modify the underpinnings of the United States Postal Service, including universal service, uniform rates and six-day delivery. The right-wing profiteers desire to share in the profits of the annual $71 billion in revenue generated by the Postal Service, and they intend to use the report of the commission to justify their objectives. Cato, a right wing think tank, has developed several position papers on postal privatization over the past 20 years; they undoubtedly will serve as the blueprint for the commission's final report.
It will require all of the resources at our disposal to turn back this tide of privatization. The federal government is firmly in the hands of the Republican Party, and the Bush Administration is determined to deliver on its promises to enrich their supporters. The twin efforts of privatization of the USPS and Social Security will be championed by a popular president under war-time conditions.
I want to impress upon the membership that this is a serious threat to the future of the Postal Service. Every APWU member and non-member must engage in the coming struggle to preserve the Postal Service. We shall be calling for your assistance
William Burrus
President
