Guffey to Testify on USPS Network Before House Subcommittee
June 13, 2011
APWU President Cliff Guffey will testify before a House Subcommittee on June 15 about the retail and mail processing network of the Postal Service. The hearing will be broadcast on the committee's Web site beginning at 1:30 p.m.
The hearing will focus on the “extent that these networks need to be right-sized to meet diminishing mail volume,” said Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy.
Rep. Ross called the hearing to examine whether “the Postal Service has excess mail processing infrastructure, whether the Postal Service is moving fast enough to right-size that network, options for creating a modern processing network, and the growth of alternative access to postal services.”
He has been an outspoken critic of the USPS and postal employees. At an April 5 House hearing, he blamed labor costs for the Postal Service’s financial problems, and recently said the Postal Service should have more freedom to close facilities.
“To save the Postal Service, legislators must repeal the unique and unreasonable mandate that requires the USPS to pre-fund future retiree health benefits,” Guffey said.
Instead of cutting service, Guffey said, the Postal Service must expand its services to fill needs emerging because of digital communications.
“It would be tragic to dismantle the postal retail infrastructure and lose the opportunity to improve the postal services that millions of Americans rely on,” he said.
The APWU President urged members to focus on legislative action. “It is critical that members contact their U.S. representatives and seek support for measures that will get the USPS back on track to fiscal solvency.”