Employee Organizations Issue Joint Letter on Postal Reform

APWU Web News Article #17-06, March 23, 2006

The leaders of organizations representing more than 700,000 USPS employees have sent a joint letter to Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), outlining areas of agreement in matters that will be considered by a conference committee which will reconcile differences between House and Senate postal reform measures. Collins chairs the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and will serve on the conference committee.

The letter outlined five areas of agreement:

• Repeal the requirement to place in escrow USPS overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) fund;
  
  
• Return the Postal Service’s military retirement funding obligation to the Treasury;
  
  
• Adopt the less restrictive language contained in the House bill regarding circumstances under which the USPS may exceed the postage “rate cap;”
  
  
• Adopt the Senate language that would permit the USPS to “bank” or save unused price-hiking authority; and,
  
  
• Adopt the Senate language that would categorize single-piece parcels as “market dominant” products rather than the House provision, which would assign them to the “competitive” category.

The March 16 letter [PDF] was signed by APWU President William Burrus, along with the presidents of the National Association of Letter Carriers, National Postal Mail Handlers Union, National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, National Association of Postal Supervisors, National Association of Postmasters of the United States, and National League of Postmasters.

“While we have differed on specifics,” the letter said, “our goal is to ensure a financially sound, operationally healthy Postal Service that provides high quality universal service for its customers at affordable rates.”

The letter also noted that the various unions and management associations have individual concerns. The APWU, for example, is resolute about

• Maintaining provisions that would restrict excessive worksharing discounts;
  
  
• Retaining an amendment to the Senate bill made by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), which requires community input in decisions regarding network consolidation;
  
  
• Opposing Senate language that would reduce benefits to injured employees, and
  
  
• Preserving full collective-bargaining rights.

“As the postal reform bills proceed through the legislative process,” Burrus said, “the APWU will do everything in our power to protect the interests of postal workers and the American people we have vowed to serve.”

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