Universal Service Still of Critical Importance

The APWU has filed written testimony with the Postal Regulatory Commission emphasizing that universal postal service is still extremely important to a significant number of citizens. 

The union urged the PRC to “view the questions of access to the mailbox and the need for universal service through the eyes of the average citizen,” and noted that, “If the need for postal services were to be viewed only from a business viewpoint, important access to services might be curtailed.”

The APWU said that the PRC should recommend that Congress continue to take an evolutionary approach to universal service. Pointing to the Postal Service’s ability to accommodate changes in overnight delivery, package delivery, and electronic transmissions, the APWU said the Postal Service should proceed cautiously when responding to market changes.

“The Postal Service has shown a remarkable capacity to evolve and endure in response to changes in the postal marketplace. These changes include the near monopolization of overnight delivery of messages and of parcel delivery by Postal Service competitors, as well as the development of electronic transmissions.”

“Those who want to dismantle [the Postal Service] network,” the APWU said in its testimony, “or who call for changes in the postal monopoly … should be required to bear a heavy burden of proof” that there is a need for such change.

Under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), the PRC is required to prepare a report for Congress on universal postal services and on the obligation of the USPS to provide those services to the American public. The report is due in December. As part of the process leading up to the report, the PRC has solicited comments from interested parties.

The APWU has been critical of the PRC’s approach to the study, testifying before a House subcommittee that the commission used a very short timetable for the selection of a contractor to assist in its preparation of the report. The union also has objected to the PRC’s decision to select as contractors individuals well-known for their support of privatization of the Postal Service and for limitations on the postal monopoly. 

APWU President William Burrus is scheduled to testify on these matters at a PRC hearing on July 10.