Rep. DeLauro to Introduce ‘Protect Overnight Delivery Act’

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will introduce legislation to preserve overnight mail delivery and, in the process, protect mail processing facilities from closure, she told fellow lawmakers in a letter dated June 13.

Rep. DeLauro invited House members to become original co-sponsors of the Protect Overnight Delivery Act, which she plans to introduce later this month. Forty-three representatives have already signed on as co-sponsors, she said.

“The elimination of overnight delivery standards and consolidating processing facilities will have a disastrous impact on local and national unemployment,” Rep. DeLauro wrote. “The USPS is a major employer around the country and employs over 500,000 workers. With an unacceptably high unemployment rate, it would be particularly inopportune for the USPS to close these facilities.

The legislation would protect mail processing plans from closure by preventing the Postal Service from moving to two- to three-day delivery standards. As a result, Rep. DeLauro wrote, the bill would stop the elimination of jobs at mail processing facilities.

APWU President Cliff Guffey praised the bill. “If these delivery standards had the force of law, the USPS would be unable to close many of the mail processing plants that are scheduled for consolidation,” he said.

“This bill is good for the American people and good for postal workers,” Guffey said. “We urge our members to ask their U.S. representatives to support the Protect Overnight Delivery Act.”