e-Team Report, March 9, 2012

Transportation Trouble

This week, the Senate took up for consideration their version of a transportation bill. This bill aims to fund many transportation projects across the country that will be losing their funding at the end of the month. Both the Senate and the House are having trouble settling on specific versions of their respective transportation legislation. Before the House decides to take action on their version of the Senate bill, please reach out to your member of the House of Representatives. 

Postal and federal workers’ retirement benefits are still under attack. A piece of legislation, H.R. 3813, would increase the required contribution rate paid by postal and federal employees in both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) for their retirement.

After H.R. 3813 was reported from committee, the House Rules Committee merged the bill with H.R. 7, the American Energy and infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012. Both bills contain these troubling attacks on postal and federal workers retirements. 

Click here to take action and send a quick message to your representative. Tell them to vote no on H.R. 7 and oppose H.R. 3813!

After you send a message to your representative, make sure you also take a minute to call their office and tell them to vote no on H.R. 7 and oppose H.R. 3813!

You can reach your member of Congress by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

To find your representative, please click here.

Postal Reform

This week, it was reported that Senator Carper (D-DE) is drafting legislation that will “appease critics” of pending postal legislation aimed at shoring up the financial condition of the Postal Service. Although specifics have not yet been released, this shows exactly how crucial it is that you reach out to your senators and ask them to support several amendments to the 21st Century Postal Service Act (S. 1789). To send your senators a quick message, click here .

Please urge your senators to support amendments to S.1789 that would:

• Provide adequate relief from the retiree healthcare prefunding requirement.

• Set strict service standards. (The Postal Service is planning to degrade delivery standards in order to eliminate more than half of all mail processing facilities.)

• Allow the USPS to recover overpayments the Postal Service made to its retiree pension funds.

• Establish new ways to generate revenue, such as providing notary services, issuing licenses, contracting with state and local agencies to provide services, and allowing the USPS to offer services that mail systems in many other countries provide, such as digital services.

• Prevent the closing of small post offices by giving the Postal Regulatory Commission binding authority to prevent closures based on the effect on the community and employees.

• Protect six-day delivery.

• Eliminate the provision that would drastically reduce the compensation of workers who are injured on duty once they reach retirement age.

• Repeal the provision that would require arbitrators in postal contract negotiations to consider the financial health of the USPS. (Arbitrators routinely do so. The requirement is an attempt to skew contract negotiations in favor of management.)

After you send a message to your senators, make sure you also take a minute to call their offices and tell them to amend S. 1789.

You can reach your member of Congress by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

USPS Makes Call to Halt Closures During Election Season

After calls last week to halt closures from various elected officials, the Postal Service slightly pivoted from their previous stance on closures. This week, the Postal Service announced that it will halt their closing and consolidation process for a few months before the November election. This stoppage does not affect their planned closings, which they still intend to implement starting in May, once the present moratorium expires.

To read the full story, please click here.