You probably have heard that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has been losing billions of dollars, and that cost-saving cuts could result in office closures, slower mail delivery and the end of Saturday delivery. But contrary to what some reports imply, and what I’ve seen as a postal worker, the Internet is not to blame. The real culprit is Congress, which crippled postal finances.
A 2006 federal law mandates that the USPS funnel more than $55 billion into the federal budget, a requirement that has drained the postal service of all its working capital. This money would cover 75 years’ worth of funds for the health care needs of future postal retirees — including some so far in the future, those employees haven’t even been born. No other employer, anywhere, has been saddled with such a burden. This “prefunding mandate” amounted to $11 billion in losses to the USPS and has prompted postal management to propose drastic but unnecessary cuts in service to the public.
It’s clear that this bad law should have been repealed, but key Congressional Republicans have obstructed any reasonable efforts to reform the law. A July 2012 editorial in the nonpartisan Federal Times called the House of Representative’s failure to act “disgraceful” and described the inaction of House leaders as “contempt for the Postal Service and a lack of respect for the law and for the obligations of their own institution.”
Republicans such as California Rep. Darrell Issa (the third-richest person in Congress) and House Speaker John Boehner have kept any reasonable bill from reaching the floor for debate and even blocked one bill that was co-sponsored by a majority of House members. Issa, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, was one of two sponsors of a bill that urged drastically reduced postal services, and weakened union contracts.
In the new Congress, constructive postal reform bills have been introduced in the Senate by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (S. 316) and in the House by Oregon Rep. Pete DeFazio (H.R. 630).
So why should we save the Postal Service? Despite the Internet becoming a new hub for communication, the USPS continues to be a vital, publicly-owned network for commerce and connection. In fact, it delivers more parcels than ever before: You can’t email a package. I see its personal importance in the lives of couples coming to my post office to send wedding invitations, in the birthday and greeting cards that are mailed every day and in the medicines that are eagerly awaited by recipients.
For immigrants the USPS serves as a vital link to their homeland. It provides basic communication for the elderly or rural poor who lack computer skills or access. Affordable mail delivery for anyone who is homeless or has no fixed address includes the free “General Delivery” address available in every city (in Seattle, it’s at our Midtown Station, 301 Union St.), as well as post office boxes priced far below profit-oriented private mail houses.
Postal jobs, filled through fair-hiring rules, are vital to minority communities: African Americans make up 21 percent of the workforce, while those of Asian and Latino descent each make up 8 percent, and Native Americans 1 percent. Women account for 40 percent of postal workers and veterans 23 percent (and one third of those vets have disabilities). While postal employment has already shrunk, service cuts caused by Congressional inaction would destroy tens of thousands more living-wage jobs in communities everywhere.
The attack on public service and on unionized, fair-hire jobs has an ultimate goal of privatization, meaning less service and higher prices. And the burdens would land disproportionately on disadvantaged, poor and elderly communities.
This attack has provoked resistance, and our fellow unionists in the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) have called for a National Day of Action on March 24. This day focuses on defeating the proposal to end Saturday mail delivery. The local rally will be held at Westlake Park, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
The mainstream media has often muddled this story, reporting that billions in losses were the result of postal operations, which last quarter showed a profit, as opposed to Congressional decisions. It is important that the public get the facts, and tell their elected representatives what needs to be done. Get rid of the “prefunding mandate” and preserve the postal services, and jobs, that benefit our communities.