e-Team Report, July 26, 2013
Issa Advances His Postal Destruction Bill Out of Committee – Have Your Representatives Heard from You?
On Wednesday, July 24, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted along party lines to approve a postal bill introduced by Rep. Darrell Issa. All 22 Republicans on the Committee voted to advance the bill while all 17 Democrats on the Committee voted against the extreme proposal.
This bill would spell disaster for the Postal Service and customers who rely on it. H.R. 2748 would close post offices, stations and branches; consolidate plants; privatize operations, and degrade service standards. It also would harm workers by prohibiting postal unions and management from negotiating protection against layoffs; increasing health insurance costs, and limiting collective bargaining rights.
“If it is enacted, this bill will lead to the demise of the Postal Service,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “I call upon all APWU members to contact their U.S. representatives and urge them to vote ‘no’ when the bill is brought before the full House.”
“H.R. 2748 would weaken the USPS and jeopardize postal jobs,” said Legislative and Political Director Gary Kloepfer. “And it wouldn’t do nearly enough to fix the financial crisis Congress created. We must defeat it.”
To read more about Issa’s deeply disturbing postal bill, please click here. To contact your members of Congress by phone, call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. To send a printed letter or email to your members of Congress, please click here.
Oversight Committee’s Ranking Member Calls Several Provision in Postal Bill “Extreme”
Following a vote by the House Oversight and Government Reform committee to pass H.R. 2748, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Committee issued a press release stating, “I am disappointed that Republicans once again chose to pass a partisan bill that includes a number of extreme provisions that would weaken the Postal Service and negatively impact service to all Americans.”
Cummings also stated the Committee voted on a partisan basis after all amendments offered by Democrats were rejected, which included proposals regarding the protection of postal employee bargaining rights and workers’ compensation, and the return of FERS overpayment.
Replacement Nominees for NLRB Announced following Senate Deal
In a deal last week to avoid the ‘nuclear option,’ President Obama agreed to offer two nominees to replace Richard Griffin and Sharon Block in exchange for Senate Republicans’ promise not to block the confirmation of Obama’s new nominees, Nancy Schiffer and Kent Hirozawa. Schiffer is the associate general counsel at the AFL-CIO, and Hirowaza is the chief counsel to the NLRB Chairman.
In an opinion piece featured in The Hill, Juan Williams argued the compromise to avoid the ‘nuclear option’ which would have banned the use of the filibuster on executive branch nominations rewarded Republicans’ general intent to obstruct all Democratic and Obama Administration efforts. Despite sacrificing Obama’s original nominees whose confirmation votes would not have faced gridlock in prior years, there are no signs of the GOP ending their obstructionist agenda that continued to harm workers.
For more on Obama’s replacement nominees to the NLRB, please click here.
The Struggle to Ensure Workers Earn Living Wages Keeping Wal-Mart Out of Some Cities
Earlier this month, the Washington, D.C. City Council passed a bill that would add Washington to the list of cities that are taking a stand against ‘big box’ employers that exploit workers with low – very low – wages and little employment protections. The Council adopted the “Large Retailer Accountability Act” which would force certain large retailers to pay a minimum wage of $12.50 an hour. Worker advocates hope the initiative spurs other cities and municipalities to adopt similar protections for residents who face poor wages and working conditions when big box retailers come into town.
For more on the D.C. battle against Wal-Mart, please click here.