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Anticipating, Preparing
for a Postal 'Reform' Bill

(This Legislative Dept. article was first published in the May/June 2004 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine)

As we go to press, the introduction of postal reform legislation in House and Senate Committees appears imminent, but no bills have been presented. Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME) announced April 7 that she and Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) planned to introduce legislation before the beginning of May. "We are trying to keep an aggressive timetable because we're committed to getting postal reform legislation enacted this year," she said at the conclusion of the committee's final public hearing on the subject.

Once bills are introduced, votes could be scheduled with little advance notice, so APWU members are urged to be vigilant, keep an eye on union bulletin boards, and visit the union's Web site frequently at www.apwu.org.

In the meantime, the APWU and a wide array of interested parties - including mailing industry executives, USPS officials, postal competitors, and consumer groups - are waiting to see what proposed legislation will include.

The APWU has been meeting with key House and Senate legislators and their staff to express the union's concerns about the recommendations made last July by the President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service.

At the same time, the mailing industry and some of its friends in Congress are working to ensure that many of the Commission's anti-worker and anti-consumer schemes are included in the final version of a bill. The APWU, however, stands ready to fight to protect the future of postal jobs and the important services we provide to the American people.

The union has been building an unprecedented political war chest by raising funds for COPA, APWU's Committee on Political Action, to help elect legislators who will stand with us to save USPS jobs and services. Last year, we raised more than $1 million, and our goal now is to "Raise Even More in 2004." Earlier this year, President Burrus challenged every local and state organization to double the amount we raised last year, and your contributions are now rolling in. (See story and state-by-state progress report, page 28).

While the details of legislation may be complicated, our message is simple:

The APWU supports reasonable efforts ensure that the USPS remains financially viable in the years ahead, such as:

• Allowing the USPS more flexibility to adjust postage rates;
• Returning $27 billion in military service retirement costs to the Department of the Treasury. These costs would then be paid for by the federal government, as are the benefits of all other veterans employed by the government; and
• Ending the requirement that the Postal Service place in "escrow" overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System fund.

The APWU opposes Commission-backed proposals to:

• Give a politically appointed Postal Regulatory Board the power to dictate employee compensation, set postal rates, and redefine "universal service;"
• Rescind existing regulations that require citizen input before closing plants and small post offices;
• Encourage increased outsourcing of postal jobs through worksharing discounts that exceed the costs the Postal Service avoids when the work is done "in house;" and
• Limit our right to engage in collective bargaining, undermine our job security, and remove us from existing federal retirement, health benefits, and workers' compensation programs.

Please try to keep up on the latest developments and contact your members of Congress before important votes happen. You can reach your U.S. representatives and senators through the U.S. Capitol switchboard (202-224-3121) or by calling their district offices near you.

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