House of Representatives Ask PMG to

Extend Moratorium

In a letter written to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe dated May 9, over 100 members of the U.S. House of Representatives requested the Postal Service extend the moratorium on post office and mail processing center closures past the original deadline of May 15.  They asked the moratorium be extended until Congress finishes legislation to find relief for the USPS's financial condition.

It is notable that of the members who signed the letter only three are from Ohio - Betty Sutton, Marcy Kaptur and Dennis Kucinich.  Other Ohio representatives who cosponsored HR 1351 (228 total from U.S.) such as Tim Ryan, Jim Renacci, Bill Johnson, Marcia Fudge and Steve LaTourette are NOT among the signatures on the May 9 letter.

HR 1351, despite a majority number of cosponsors, has never been brought up for full House debate.  Meanwhile, HR 2309 with just 2 cosponsors, is in mark-up and ready for discussion.

So, Now We Are Not Doing so Bad?

Just the other day Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said that postal revenues are running slightly ahead of projections and continued cost-cutting is also helping the bottom line.  Now, the Postal Service's cash-flow situation "is ok through the fall and into probably late NEXT year".

I guess he has now cost us a chance to get Congress to act quickly.  According to Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce - "Congress is never going to really do something final until it knows the clock has run out, the money has run out, and it has no choice".

Members of the U.S. Senate, which passed S. 1789 (see below) last week, seem to be intent on keeping the Service from proceeding with any post office or mail processing center closures after the May 15 mortorium expires.  They sent the PMG a letter requesting he hold off on any closures until Congress can act.  PMG Donahoe said that May 15 was not supposed to be a "shutdown day" and that "any changes we make will be incremental over the course of the summer".  After August, the USPS plans on another moratorium for the general election in November.  That breather should last through the end of the year.

The House of Representatives, who must address postal reform next, does have any postal issues on their schedule before May 15, in fact they were not even in session last week. 

Senate Passes S. 1789

4/25/12

Late this afternoon the United States Senate voted 62-37 to pass S. 1789, the 21st Century Postal Service Act.  Sixty votes were needed to pass and now legislation moves on to the House of Representatives.  It is not known when the House will address Postal Service issues.

Amendments approved today were:

#2076 - To put a district liasion person in a state without a district office.

#2027 - To lower the number of post offices within the Capital from seven to two.

#2029 - Notify Senate if legislation helps or hurts USPS.

#2066 - Changes compensation for executive level employees.

#2072 - USPS must analyize impact of change on small businesses.

#2030 - More time to file claims for injured employees who are deployed.

#2036 - (Sense of Senate resolution) - do not make closures until postal reform is completed.

#2073 - Easier accessability to medicare for postal employees

#2071 - Addresses problems associated with inaccurate pensions estimates and slow payments.

#2032 - Limit the salaries of the six most-senior USPS executives.

#2050 - Protect door to door service for those who already have it.

As I said it is not known when the House will take up postal reform.  They are only scheduled in session 4 days next week and none the following week.

The official opinion of the APWU on this bill will be announced by national headquarters, most likely on 4/26/12.

My opinion is that it is better to have something done than nothing at all.  Without reform the USPS would move to consolidate, close, and change delivery standards.  Thousands of postal employees would be in danger.

Terry Grant, President OPWU AFL-CIO

Senate Votes on 1789

Amendments

(Note: what you will read here is my opinion of what happened yesterday in the United States Senate.  It is not construed as the opinion of the APWU)

Yesterday afternoon the Senate began debate on amendments for S. 1789, The 21st Century Postal Service Act.  It almost didn't get to the floor because several republican senators tried to kill it by calling for a Point of Order saying the bill would exceed the limits of the budget agreement.  This point of order was made by Senator Sessions (R-AL) and supported in floor speeches by Sen. Corker (R-TN), Sen. Coats (R-IN) and Sen. Coburn (R-OK).  They tried to confuse the situation by saying that 1789 would cost the federal budget some $34B.  They seemed not to realize that the USPS does not exist on tax dollars.  Their points were refuted by Sen. Collins (R-ME), Sen. Carper (D-DE), Sen. Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Brown (R-MA).  The vote to waive the point of order needed 60 votes to pass.  Final tally 62 - Yea, 37 - No.  Senator Brown of Ohio voted to waive but Senator Portman voted for the point of order, or no.

I will discuss the amendments that passed.  I can say here that Senator Portman, despite all of our letters, emails and phone calls voted against every amendment that would help the Post Office and it's employees.  Senator Brown on the other hand, voted for us every time.

Amendment # 2056 - includes language that would make it more difficult to close post offices.  Also provides an appeal to the PRC if an office is closed.

#2020 - helps to perserve vote by mail, especially for servicemen & women.

#2058 - provides for co-location of post offices in other businessess or government offices.

#2080 - any Area Mail Processing study is subject to individual verification by the Postal Rate Commission.

#2047 - Provides for non-paid advocate for office(s) facing closure and provides for new revenue streams for post office.

#2031 - Provides a moratorium on closings of rural post offices with no closings for one year and only when there is not community opposition.

As I said, Senator Portman voted against all of these amendments.  He did, along with Senator Brown vote on two amendments that failed.  Those were:

#2083 - Go to 5 day delivery immediately.

#2025 - Mailbox freedom.  Introduced by Rand Paul (R-KY) this would have allowed mailbox access to anyone.  Currently it is against federal law for anyone but the Post Office to place items in mailboxes.

There will be more voting on amendments today (4/25) with the vote on final passage hopefully taking place tonight.  Then it is on to the House of Representatives and we will really have to be viligant when they begin discussing postal options. It is most important to note that while 1789 is not the perfect answer to fix the problems faced by the USPS, we have to realize that we must fight for language that helps keep the Post Office alive and service & jobs protected. 

Terry Grant, President OPWU

Today-Tomorrow

Starting sometime today the United States Senate will begin debate on amendments to S. 1789 with the goal of bringing the bill up for vote by tomorrown evening.  The rules for debate adopted include limiting the votes on amendments to 10 minutes and each amendment has to reach 60 votes for adoption.  Only amendments already submitted will be considered.  There are some 30+ amendments up for consideration.  After the procedure is completed the bill, as amended will be read a third time and the Senate will proceed on a vote on passage of the bill.  Final passage is also subject to the 60 affirmative vote threshold.

The APWU is supporting the three amendments listed below.

#2042 - Would maintain current delivery standards for 4 years, protecting the quality of service to all citizens.

#2056 - Would modify the process for closing or consolidating post offices and postal facilities.  Further provides the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) the authority to "affirm or reverse the determination" of the USPS.

#2034 - Would delete Title III of the bill that could potentially devastate postal and federal employees who were unfortunately injured at work through no fault of their own.

While the APWU has not formally taken opposition to any amendment, we believe that these amendments would do serious harm if adopted.

#2061 - Would set mandatory requirments for employees to retire when they become eligible, without regard to their physical or financial needs.

#2025-2028-2038-2027 - Aid in the destruction of the USPS by degrading service and driving up prices.

#2039-2046 - Aid in the elimination of collective bargaining.

We know that Senator Sherrod Brown is supporting 2034, 2042, and 2056, in fact he co-authored two of them.  He is against the ones that would damage employees and the Service.

We have no idea where Senator Portman stands on these issues.  He does not respond to our letters, calls or emails.  It will be very interesting to see how he votes on the amendments and final passage (or defeat) of the bill.

C-Span 2 will televize the debate on the amendments and final vote.  Right now there is no schedule for when this will happen.

Terry Grant, President OPWU AFL-CIO