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Presidential Commission on USPS Takes Shape
APWU News Service Bulletin #21-02, Dec. 10, 2002 | PDF
President Bush is expected to sign an executive order this week establishing a presidential commission on postal reform.
According to a White House draft circulating on Capitol Hill, the nine-member commission would be charged with producing a report outlining its vision of the Postal Service's future and its recommendations for legislative and administrative reforms. The executive order would allow President Bush to name all nine members of the panel, which would deliver its report to him by July 31, 2003.
Among other issues, the commission would consider whether the USPS monopoly status remains in the public interest, or whether mailing services should be privatized.
It would also consider changing the Postal Service's universal service mandate and "unnecessary rigidities in cost or service" — the commission could produce recommendations for rolling back collective bargaining rights, ending six-day delivery, and closing postal facilities, particularly in rural and inner-city communities.
"This proposal for a presidential commission is all but guaranteed to produce a reform scheme that pleases major mailers and conservative ideologues," said APWU President William Burrus.
"I expect that the commission will consider the interests of postal workers and ordinary customers expendable," he added. "We are highly doubtful that the commission will be asked to examine giveaway postage rate discounts that subsidize the mailing industry and rob the Postal Service of billions of dollars in annual revenue.
"These subsidies are the real problem, and ending them is essential to the long-term survival of the Postal Service."
The Commission comes in the wake of a failed seven-year effort in Congress to pass a postal reform bill. After a House committee rejected a bipartisan postal reform bill last June, the Direct Marketing Association and the Mailing Industry CEO Council began pressing the White House to name a reform commission.
President Bush presumably would use the commission's report to draft a new set of legislative reforms. The prestige of a presidential commission means that Congress would be expected to act on such legislation swiftly, and would boost its prospects for passage.
Don't Neglect Your Ballot
The ballots on the referendum on the tentative contract extension were mailed out to members Dec. 2 to Dec. 4. They will picked up by the outside mailing-house on Thursday, Dec. 19. The count will take place immediately, with nationwide results on the single-question ballot to be released by the following day. Members who have not received a ballot should contact APWU headquarters at 202-842-8505.
"Regardless of where you stand on the contract extension, we urge you to vote," said APWU President William Burrus, "and we hope that you will urge your fellow members to vote on this important matter."
APWU Publishes First in Series of Briefing Papers
"Looking Back, Looking Forward: 30 Years of Postal Reform," the first in a series of APWU analytical papers on the Postal Service, was published Dec. 4. This document, like others to follow, can also be seen on the union Web site, www.apwu.org.
The papers are being distributed to key lawmakers and opinion leaders, as well as members of the national media. This first APWU paper presents a retrospective on the performance of the Postal Service in the 30 years since the passage of the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970.
The APWU view is that the USPS has been, by any objective measure other than its recent deficits, a great success. Postal rates have increased no more than inflation (less than service-industry prices in general), and customer satisfaction and on-time delivery performance are very high.
Subsequent briefing papers will cover:
APWU Safety Specialist Named
To OSHA Advisory Committee
Corey Thompson, APWU's National Safety and Health Specialist, has been selected to serve on the 15-member National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics (NACE), a panel established to advise the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health on ergonomic guidelines, research, and outreach.
Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao in early December announced the selection of industry, academic, legal, medical, and labor experts that will meet four to eight times during the next two years.
"I'm confident that this committee of experts will help us reduce ergonomic-related injuries and illnesses suffered by thousands of workers each year," Chao said when she announced the composition of the committee.
"We are extremely pleased that Corey has been appointed," APWU President William Burrus said. "We know he will be an outstanding advocate for worker safety. His appointment is especially important in light of the Bush administration's ongoing efforts to undermine the ergonomics standards that labor unions fought so hard to implement.
"Regrettably, the panel has many more representatives of industry than of labor," Burrus added. "The imbalance brings into question whether there is a commitment to serve corporate interests or to protect the safety of workers."
The NACE is chartered initially for two years and will consult and advise on a number of issues related to OSHA's four-pronged approach to reducing ergonomic-related injuries in the workplace: guidelines, research, outreach and assistance, and enforcement.
The committee's first meeting will cover information related to industry- or task-specific guidelines; identifying gaps in existing research on ergonomics in the workplace; research needs and efforts; outreach and assistance methods to communicate the value of ergonomics; and increasing communication among stakeholders.
Thompson has been at APWU for nearly five years and has worked in the industrial hygiene field since 1980.
Motor Vehicle Directors' Conference
The following clarifies the dates listed in the last News Service Bulletin.
The Motor Vehicle Directors' Conference is set for April 24-26, 2003, in Philadelphia, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Registration will begin Wednesday, April 23. The general session will convene on Thursday, April 24, and the conference will close Saturday, April 26, at 5 p.m.
Complete a registration form with your name, Social Security number, address, title, Local, and home and work phone numbers, and e-mail address, and mail it to the Robert Pritchard, Motor Vehicle Services Division, APWU, 1300 L St. NW, Washington, DC 20005. If you wish to attend the evening banquet on Friday, April 25, please include a check for $40 with your registration form. The preregistration period closes March 22, 2003.
To make hotel reservations, contact the Crowne Plaza Hotel at 215-561-7500. Be sure to identify yourself as a participant in the APWU Motor Vehicle Directors' Conference. The room rates are $118 per night for single or double occupancy, plus tax.
To guarantee the negotiated rate, be sure to make your reservations by April 17.
Projections on Annual Pay for APWU-Covered Workers
