USPS Seeks to Derail Efforts to Restore Service Standards

The Postal Service has signaled it will try to derail a measure approved by the House Appropriations Committee on June 17 to restore postal service standards to the levels that were in place on July 1, 2012. The committee’s vote would rescind the lower service standards the USPS implemented on Jan. 5 – which have wreaked havoc on mail delivery.

APWU President Mark Dimondstein praised the committee’s vote, calling the amendment “a vivid example of how the demands of postal workers reflect the people’s demand for good postal service.” If enacted, the measure would require postal management to restore overnight mail delivery within cities and towns and the 2- and 3-day delivery standards that were wiped out in January. It also would make additional plant consolidations less feasible.

But in a statement on its website, the Postal Service called the amendment “financially and operationally indefensible,” and said it “encourages Congress to remove the requirement.”

In addition to “immediate implementation costs,” the USPS claimed “foregoing the benefits” of its “current operating model” would cost the agency $1.5 billion annually.

Dimondstein said the claim was preposterous. “The Postal Service should, at the very least, be honest with the American people and with Congress,” he said.

The APWU has vigorously opposed the degradation of service standards, calling it a step toward dismantling and privatizing the nation’s mail system.

“We have a lot of work to do to win support for the amendment in the Senate,” Dimondstein. “We will soon be calling on our members to help.”

The vote on the amendment, which was offered by Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA), was 26-23. Six Republicans joined all of the committee’s Democrats to vote in favor of the measure.