From the APWU:

“The American Postal Workers Union will stand with our neighbors in demanding that post offices, stations, and branches remain open – and expand the services they offer – wherever they are needed,” APWU President Cliff Guffey said. The USPS announced July 26 that it plans to study 3,700 post offices, stations and branches for possible closure.

“Closing post offices and slashing service to the American people is not the answer to the Postal Service’s financial crisis,” Guffey said. “The USPS is well aware of the cause of its financial difficulties,” he added. “They cannot cut their way to fiscal health.”

“Congress created the crisis when it slapped the USPS with a $5.5 billion obligation that no other government agency or private company is forced to bear,” he said, referring to the requirement that the USPS pre-fund a 75-year retiree healthcare liability over a 10-year period.

“And Congress has refused – so far – to allow the USPS to apply billions of dollars in overpayments to its pension funds to the pre-funding requirement.”

“The federal government is forcing the Postal Service into bankruptcy by holding billions of dollars of USPS money,” Guffey added.

“Unfortunately, the USPS response is misguided. Closing post offices, stations, and branches will not save the Postal Service.”

The USPS plans to replace some of the offices with “Village Post Offices” – convenience stores that will sell stamps and flat-rate packaging – misses the mark, he said.

“In most cases, Village Post Offices will not be able to provide the American people with the service they expect and deserve,” Guffey said. “The so-called ‘Village Post Offices’ are just a warm and fuzzy name for privatizing the USPS.

Washington, DC – The Postal Regulatory Commission will immediately begin its review of the Postal Service’s plan to consider closing approximately 3,700 post offices. The Postal Service is required to ask the Commission for an Advisory Opinion on any change in nationwide service it proposes. An initial schedule for the Commission to decide this case (Docket N2011-1) will be issued shortly.

The Commission will hold public, on-the-record hearings to analyze and cross-examine the Postal Service’s proposal and supporting evidence. During the process, mail users and interested members of the public may offer supporting or opposing views, both informally and as part of more formal, technical presentations. The Commission will also solicit public comments through its website. The Service cannot implement the changes until 90 days after filing the request.

“The Advisory Opinion process is the opportunity for the public’s concerns over the process to be heard, and for the Postal Service to be given the direction it needs to continue to provide good service to the nation,” said PRC Chairman Ruth Goldway. “The Commission supports the Postal Service’s efforts to become more efficient, but with regard to post offices, significant changes must be done within the framework of the legal requirement to provide universal service.”

The public is invited to share their views via the Commission web site, www.prc.gov, by clicking the “contact PRC” tab to access a convenient online customer service form. To participate more formally in the process and to file documents to be included in the online public record, interested parties should click the “Filing Online” tab and follow the appropriate instructions.

072811_Commission to Review Postal Services Post Office Closings Plan_1948.pdf (application/pdf Object).

From the American postal Workers Union:

The Postal Service has provided the APWU with a list of the first 100 mail processing sites that will utilize Non-Traditional Full-Time (NTFT) duty assignments [PDF], as well as computer models showing proposed schedules for three of the sites: the Boston Processing and Distribution Center, the Central Mass P&DC, and the Delaware P&DC.

Officers of the locals that represent the three facilities reviewed the plans with Clerk Division officers and others on July 26, 2011, at the union’s national headquarters. “The local officers provided valuable input,” said Clerk Craft Director Rob Strunk. “We will discuss their concerns with postal management at a meeting later in the week.”

The Postal Service also is expected to provide the APWU with model schedules for the remaining 97 identified offices at the meeting. All 100 proposed mail processing NTFT models are set to be released to local management on or about Aug. 2.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, local management is required to meet with the local union and provide an opportunity to review the proposed schedules, as well as an opportunity to offer input, propose suggestions, and/or offer alternative schedules before any of the assignments can be posted for bid.

The computer models were developed by a private contractor and, while most of the schedules reflected either eight or 10 hours days, they will require significant adjustments in order to comply with the posting and bidding requirements in Article 37 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and in each office’s Local Memorandum of Understanding, Strunk said.

A list of sites and models for Customer Services (frequently referred to as “matrices” or USPS Form 1994), have not yet been shared with the union, but are expected shortly. When they are provided, the union will share the information with affected locals.

Locals are encouraged to review all proposals carefully and to work with management to fulfill the requirement of Article 37.3.A.1 to “create desirable duty assignments from all available work hours for career employees to bid.”

If concerns or disputes about proposed NTFT schedules arise, they will be referred to the appropriate Clerk Craft National Business Agent for timely processing through the Alternative Dispute Resolution Process outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

First 100 NTFT Sites

WASHINGTON, July 26 — The United States Postal Service today announced a list of nearly 3,700 post offices it will consider for closure.

Senator Susan Collins, who is the Ranking Republican on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and who in February introduced postal reform legislation, issued the following statement:

"The fact is, maintaining our nation’s rural post offices costs the Postal Service less than one percent of its total budget and is not the cause of its financial crisis. While there are some areas where postal services could be consolidated or moved into a nearby retail store to ensure continued access, this simply is not an option in many rural and remote areas. For example, Matinicus Island is about 20 miles off the coast of Maine and receives mail five rather than six days a week and then only in good weather. Closing this post office or moving it into a large retail facility is simply not realistic.

"It is essential that the Postal Service solicit local input before deciding to close or consolidate a post office, and it must weigh the potential impact of any decision on the community as well as on its legal obligation to provide universal service."