e-Team Report, March 1, 2013

Guffey Calls for Renewed Resolve To Support the Postal Service Protection Act

Today, APWU President Cliff Guffey urged union members to renew their resolve to push members of Congress to pass new postal bills.  S. 316 and H.R. 630, the Postal Service Protection Act would:

• Fix the Postal Service’s immediate financial crisis by ending the mandate that requires the USPS to pre-fund healthcare benefits for future retirees — a burden no other government agency or private company bears;
• Allow the Postal Service to recover overpayments the USPS made to federal pension plans;
• Re-establish overnight delivery standards for first-class mail, which would ensure the timely delivery of mail, help keep mail processing facilities open, and protect jobs;
• Protect six-day delivery;
• Allow the USPS to develop new products and services that would generate new sources of revenue, and
• Protect post offices by giving the Postal Regulatory Commission binding authority to prevent post offices from being closed based on the effect on the community and the effect on the employees.  

“The sad fact is that Congress’ failure to pass a bill last year means that legislation introduced before Jan. 1 died,” said Guffey.  It’s crucial that union members continue to pick up the phone, send emails, write letters and visit their members of Congress to let them know we need postal legislation that ensures a secure future for postal employees and Postal Service customers. 

Contacting your Senators and House Representatives is easy and – most importantly – lets them know their constituents support a vibrant, viable Postal Service. 

To view the text of S. 316, click here.

To view the text of H.R. 630, click here.

To contact your senators and representative, click here.

Prefund Mandate Accounts for 95% of Postal Losses

Earlier this week, the Postal Service filed its financial report for the month of January with the Postal Regulatory Commission.  The report demonstrated the urgent need for postal reform legislation, as it showed a $1.6 billion loss for the fiscal year.  Making the case for reform even more apparent, 95% of the reported postal loss can be attributed to the prefunding requirement of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.

For more on the report, please click here

Election Rigging Coming to Michigan?

Noted anti-labor billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are advancing their scheme to rig America’s presidential elections.  The Koch brothers and their American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) have pushed a plan in certain states to allocate presidential electoral votes by congressional district, rather than by whichever candidate wins the most votes statewide. This week at their convention, the Republican Party of Michigan endorsed the controversial Koch-backed plan, which is under consideration in the Michigan legislature.

Governor Rick Snyder (R-MI) is leery of the proposal and has insisted that now is "not the appropriate time" to discuss it.

For more on the electoral scheme, please click here.