About one-quarter of letter carriers have served in the military. Your carrier might be one of them.

Of the 280,000 members of the National Association of Letter Carriers, about 70,000 are veterans of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines or Coast Guard, including recent service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This Veterans Day, the NALC recognizes these brave men and women for the vital service they have provided—and continue to provide as letter carriers.

“Six days a week,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said, “letter carriers help bind this vast country together while also unifying individual communities, serving the needs of small businesses that provide two-thirds of new jobs and helping residents keep in touch with loved ones.”

This TV commercial to honor NALC’s veterans was scheduled to air nationwide on a number of cable TV networks the week of Nov. 7-11, 2011.

But proposed cuts—including eliminating Saturday delivery and most door-to-door delivery—would deprive businesses and residents of needed services.

“Reducing and degrading service would amount to a new tax on Americans,” Rolando said. “Since the Postal Service is funded by its own revenue, not by taxes, taxpayers and businesses won’t save a dime if Saturday delivery is eliminated. In fact, this would cost them money – not only would they have to use more-expensive private carriers, they’d be on the hook for unemployment benefits for some two hundred thousand postal employees.”

These cuts would lead to the layoffs of tens of thousands of veterans, at a time of mass unemployment.

“With President Obama having announced that thousands of Iraq War troops will soon come home, they deserve jobs to return to, and the last thing Congress should do is take away decent jobs from our veterans,” Rolando said.

The Postal Service is the core of a $1.3 trillion mailing industry that employs 8 million Americans, and dismantling the Postal Service would jeopardize those jobs—at the worst possible time for our economy.

Letter carriers do far more than deliver the mail. They serve as the eyes and ears of communities around the country, saving elderly residents, finding lost children, stopping crime and putting out fires, often aided by their military training. And, under a program started by former President George W. Bush and the Department of Homeland Security, letter carriers have set up—on a volunteer basis—pilot programs in five major cities to deliver medicines to residents in the event of a biological attack.

For 200 years, the Postal Service—an agency rooted in the U.S. Constitution—has adapted to technological change, and it can continue to do so if lawmakers act responsibly.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will begin its mark up on Nov. 9 of the 21st Century Postal Reform Act (S. 1789).

The bill, introduced by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-CT), Susan Collins (R-ME), Thomas Carper (D-DE) and Scott Brown (R-MA) on Nov. 2, provides short-term financial relief to the USPS, but also would inflict long-term damage to the nation’s mail system.

The bill would return overpayments made to the Federal Employees Retirement System, but it would not return overpayments to the Civil Service Retirement System.

Although the bill does not include several of the most odious parts of a bill pending in the House (H.R. 2309), by failing to provide more substantial financial relief, it would force the USPS to dismantle its network and impose severe cuts in service to the American people.

via Senate Committee to Vote on 21st Century Postal Service Act.

The APWU has launched a new TV ad that salutes our nation’s “real life heroes” and points out that a bill pending in the House of Representatives would force the USPS to fire tens of thousands of military veterans.

The ad, which is co-sponsored by the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, urges viewers to tell their representatives in Congress to vote no on H. R. 2309 when it comes to the House floor for a vote.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), was approved by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Oct. 13. It would force the Postal Service to lay off workers, including veterans who served our nation.

The ad says, “Our nation’s veterans are real-life heroes. But when they come home, they don’t want a parade, they want a job.”

“The Postal Service employs more veterans than any other civilian employer,” the spot notes.

“But Congress is debating a bill that would force the Postal Service to fire tens of thousands of vets, close post offices, shut mail processing plants, and disrupt mail delivery. Drastic cuts won’t fix the postal service and aren’t needed,” the ad continues.

The ad concludes with a call to action, “Tell your representative to vote ‘no’ on House Resolution 2309. It’s time to deliver for our veterans – and America.”

The Postal Service announced in August that it wants to reduce the workforce by 220,000, and is seeking authority to lay off as many as 120,000 workers. H.R. 2309 would grant authority to a newly-established control board to carry out such layoffs, despite any provisions in union contracts that limit these actions. It also calls for $3 billion worth of cuts in post offices and mail processing facilities within two years.

If 120,000 postal workers were laid off, approximately 26,000 veterans would be affected.

The APWU has denounced H.R. 2309 as a “reckless assault on postal services and postal employees.”

“H.R. 2309 would destroy the Postal Service as we know it,” said APWU President Cliff Guffey. “In the process, it would devastate many dedicated workers, including thousands of military veterans.

“We are asking members of the public who value the contributions made by our military veterans to tell their House representatives to oppose H.R. 2309,” Guffey said.

The ad will run on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News for approximately one week. It also will air on broadcast networks in several media markets.

The TV ad is a part of a broader campaign to oppose destructive legislation such as H.R. 2309 and to build support for legislation that would address the cause of the USPS financial crisis and restore financial stability to the cash-strapped agency.

via Postal Unions Honor Military Veterans.

The US Postal Service’s Inspector General issued a report last week suggesting that the USPS could save $675 million a year by outsourcing janitorial and truck driving jobs, and by slashing the pay of existing contractors. In its response to the audit, the USPS pointed out that it is already reducing wages under the new APWU agreement, which allows some USPS employees to be paid even less than a contractor: “…the new agreement provides for the establishment and use of non-career employees on a much wider scale than previously permitted and new employees will be paid at rates much lower than current career rates and, in some cases, lower than SCA [contractor's] rate”.

Here are some of the findings from the report, which was undertaken in response to a request from Congressman Darrell Issa:

Postal Service market research indicated that opportunities exist for cost savings if it did not have to comply with the SCA. In addition, our analysis showed that Postal Service wages for cleaning/janitorial and postal vehicle service (PVS) driver positions were higher than SCA rates. We estimate the Postal Service could save approximately $675 million annually if it outsourced cleaning/janitorial and PVS driver positions.Barriers to outsourcing the positions include current labor union agreements, concerns that new unions will be formed, workforce retention issues, fluctuations in market or economic conditions, and the potential for congressional constituency concerns.

We recommended the Postal Service seek exemption from the SCA to allow flexibility to negotiate contract rates closer to market rates. We also recommended the Postal Service review the benefits of outsourcing cleaning/janitorial service positions and Postal Service vehicle driver positions and restructure those positions to achieve the most cost effective solution. Lastly, we recommended that the Postal Service ensure that appropriate financial data is collected to aid in making in-sourcing/outsourcing decisions.

USPS OIG: Contracting Opportunities and Impact of the Service Contract Act

CA-AR-12-001.pdf (application/pdf Object).

More than 300 people jammed Sen. Bernie Sanders’ town meeting at Montpelier High School on Sunday about how to save the U.S. Postal Service. Sanders said he will introduce legislation this week to address the Postal Service’s financial woes without resorting to drastic cutbacks in service and massive layoffs.

He blamed the Postal Service’s money troubles largely on accounting issues, including a law requiring it to set aside retiree health and retirement benefits far in advance.

Sanders criticized Postal Service management for not focusing on smarter ways to solve their financial problems. “Our goal must be to make the post office smarter and more competitive. We should not be engaged in a series of actions which could eventually lead to the destruction of the Postal Service,” he said.

In an era of emails and the Internet, Sanders said barriers to modernization should be lifted to let the Postal Service compete with commercial rivals and set up new lines of business. “It is time for the Postal Service to move into the future, to offer Internet service, printing service, and all the other services appropriate for the modern age which are financially viable.”

Vermonters who filled all of the seats and lined the hall outside the high school cafeteria said the post office is essential in rural communities. “Look at the people here today,” said Bill Creamer of Bradford, Vt. who has worked for the post office for 24 years. “Senator, you take this back to Washington, Vermonters want their Postal Service.”

Sanders called the town meeting in response to Postal Service proposals to end Saturday deliveries, lay off 120,000 employees, close almost 3,700 post offices, including 15 in Vermont, and close 300 mail processing centers, including two in Vermont.

“In the midst of this horrendous recession, the last thing this country needs is to lose another 100,000 workers,” the senator said.

via Save the Postal Service – Newsroom: Bernie Sanders – U.S. Senator for Vermont.

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 news) – The busiest time of year for the U.S. Postal Service is just around the corner but there are some local Postal workers who are busy year round. Last year they processed more than a billion pieces of mail, and each was a puzzle.

Postal workers in Salt Lake are handling huge volumes of mail without every touching and envelope. They are the people who try to figure out what you meant to say when you put an address on your outgoing mail.

Read more: Unlocking the mystery of mail – ABC 4.com – Salt Lake City, Utah News.

Since 1874, the J.W. Westcott Company has served the Great Lakes Waterways, delivering mail and freight to cargo ships on the Detroit River.Zak Rosen provided an audio postcard for Front and Center – Chicago Public Media’s new series about the Great Lakes.

Detroit’s Floating Post Office from WBEZ on Vimeo.

via Postcard: Detroit’s floating post office | WBEZ.

Read more: Mail carrier leaps into action to put out fire | Turn to 10.

From USPS News Link:

USPS has listed 90 commercial properties and 36 land parcels with a commercial real estate broker. Sale of these properties by broker Caldwell Banker will generate much-needed capital for the Postal Service.

“The Postal Service fully recognizes and supports the need to maintain a facility network that provides maximum levels of efficiency,” said Tom Samra, vice president, Facilities.

Samra said USPS real estate holdings are a valuable yet underutilized asset, adding there are numerous costs associated with maintaining surplus buildings. These costs are necessary to maintain their value, keep them in marketable condition and protect the safety of the public.

Now that the properties have been listed for sale, the Postal Service can reduce or eliminate these costs, as well as produce cash for the organization. Last year, USPS realized (insert amount) in sales of its real estate holdings.

Click here for a listing of the properties for sale.

via USPS News Link – Nov. 7, 2011.

(Note: yes, the News Link article actually does say “Last year, USPS realized (insert amount) in sales of its real estate holdings.”)