e-Team Report, Jan. 27, 2012
January 27, 2012
S. 1789: Take Action Today!
Call your senators today and tell them that S. 1789 is simply not acceptable in its current form. The Senate will be considering this piece of legislation very soon, so it is essential that you call your senators and make sure your voice is heard!
When you call both of your senators, please ask them to support amendments to:
- Set strict service standards. (This is crucial, because the Postal Service is planning to degrade delivery standards in order to eliminate more than half of all mail processing facilities.)
- Allow the USPS to recover overpayments the Postal Service made to its retiree pension funds.
- Adequately address the requirement that forces the USPS to pre-fund future retiree health benefits. (This mandate is the primary cause of the agency’s financial crisis. No other government agency or private company bears this burden, which costs the USPS approximately $5.5 billion annually.)
- Establish new ways to generate revenue, such as providing notary services, issuing licenses, contracting with state and local agencies to provide services, and allowing the USPS to offer services that mail systems in many other countries provide, such as digital services.
- Prevent the closing of small post offices by giving the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) binding authority to prevent closures based on the effect on the community and employees.
- Protect six-day delivery.
- Eliminate the provision that would drastically reduce the compensation of workers who are injured on duty once they reach retirement age.
- Repeal the provision that would require arbitrators in postal contract negotiations to consider the financial health of the USPS. (Postal unions note that arbitrators routinely do so, and criticize the provision as an attempt to skew contract negotiations in favor of management.)
To read the full article on the APWU’s website, please click here.
To read more about this legislation, including the full text of the bill, click here.
It is important that all senators hear directly from their constituents. You can reach your senators by calling their capitol hill office using the numbers listed below.
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AK Begich, Mark D (202) 224-3004 |
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