How You Can Fight Money in Politics

(This article first appeared in the March-April 2015 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

Postal workers’ allies in the 114th Congress are attempting to reverse the drastic slowdown of the mail caused by postal management’s decision to lower service standards and reconfigure mail processing, effective Jan. 5.

Rep. Dave McKinley (R-WV) introduced House Resolution 54 on Jan. 27. Submitted with bipartisan support, the resolution states that the Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to restore the service standards that were in effect as of July 1, 2012.

The initial co-sponsors of H. Res. 54 were: Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Rep. Richard Nolan (D-MN), Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) and Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA).

The Legislative and Political Department section on www.apwu.org has information about H. Res. 54 and a “leave behind” for members of Congress and congressional staff that outlines our views on the issues involved. Our web page also includes a link to a sample letter visitors can send directly to their representatives and one that enables us to track support for the resolution.

We encourage all members to work with their local, state, chapter or auxiliary leadership to win support for this non-binding resolution.

Follow the Money

It is no secret that educating and lobbying Congress are critical to the short- and long-term welfare of our members. Many of our benefits are under attack on Capitol Hill. Enemies of the middle class are looking for ways to extend a system where postal workers are taxed at a higher rate than many venture capitalists, and they are using the federal workforce as a piggy bank to balance the federal budget.

Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) recent budgets that force federal and postal employees to pay three times more for FERS retirement – with no increase in benefits – amount to a pay cut. Unfortunately, there are plans to increase employee contributions again this year.

Bills are lurking that would take away the retirement supplement for FERS retirees, cut federal and postal health care, slash benefits for injured federal workers, and cut Medicare and Social Security, to name a few.

In the past, bills like these would garner little congressional support, but that’s no longer the case. Moderate members of Congress are being defeated in primaries or general elections by a flood of money from undisclosed donors. A few wealthy individuals and corporations have tilted the scales by delivering dollars, not voters.

How can workers fight back against the influence of money in politics? We can complain about it, do nothing, and wait for change. No matter how tempting this strategy may be, it’s doomed to fail.

I believe current campaign finance laws are a severe threat to our republic. However, we can get into the game, play by their rules, and fight back. By combining the modest contributions of a large number of workers we can counterbalance the large contribution by the few.

That’s where COPA, the APWU’s Committee on Political Action, comes in. COPA seeks to elect members of Congress – regardless of their party affiliation – who defend postal workers and a vibrant, public Postal Service. To learn more about how active postal employees can support COPA through automatic payroll deduction, please click here.