take a stand | APWU - South Jersey Area Local 0526

Standing Against Deteriorating Mail Service

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is currently facing a myriad of challenges, including delayed mail, facility closures, intentional short staffing, and redirected mail logistics. These issues not only inconvenience millions of Americans but also threaten the integrity of a critical public service. Timely mail delivery is essential for individuals and businesses alike, impacting everything from bill payments to business transactions. Delays in mail delivery can lead to significant financial losses and missed opportunities, highlighting the urgent need for the USPS to prioritize efficient and timely service.

Furthermore, the closure of postal facilities exacerbates challenges for both USPS employees and customers. Such closures disrupt local communities and contribute to longer delivery times and increased workloads for remaining postal workers. Particularly in rural areas, facility closures can leave residents without convenient access to essential postal services, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a robust and accessible postal network. Additionally, intentional short staffing within the USPS poses significant problems, leading to increased stress and burnout among workers and compromising service quality. Adequate staffing levels are crucial for ensuring efficient mail processing and delivery.

In response to these pressing issues, it is vital for the public to mobilize and demand accountability and reform within the USPS. Citizens can take action by contacting elected representatives, participating in community protests, and advocating for legislative measures to address systemic challenges. By standing together, the public can send a powerful message that deteriorating mail service standards are unacceptable and demand better for themselves and future generations. It is essential to uphold the USPS’s vital role with excellence and integrity, ensuring it continues to serve as a cornerstone of society.

Use the attached documents to inform your neighbors, local businesses, local and state officials. Use the petition to gather our neighborly support!

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Join us on July 23

Join our nationwide phone action on July 23.
Sign up to support the USPS Fairness Act and save our public Postal Service.
Sign up for the phone action here>>

We have the opportunity to collectively educate the members of the House of Representatives on the value of the public Postal Service and the threats it is facing.

In 2006, Congress saddled the US Postal Service with an extraordinary financial burden of prefunding retirees’ health care costs 75 years into the future, through a law called the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA).

That burden has led to service and job cuts. It is also what the White House Task Force report is using to justify proposing the elimination of our right to collectively bargain wages and benefits, and threaten the sale of the public Postal Service.

This White House threat couldn’t be any more serious for postal workers and the public. It’s time for Congress to start undoing some of their damage by passing the USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382).

On July 23, I am asking you to step up and call your member of Congress. Sign up now. Be a part of our nationwide phone action.

No other Federal agency or private organization is saddled with this kind of burden.

Taking billions of dollars out of the day-to-day running of the Postal Service has prevented investments and innovations for the future. It is also part of the reason why we so often find the USPS understaffed and we are so overworked.

The White House Postal Task Force made it clear that they see an opportunity to come after our jobs and our livelihood. In their recommendations to deal with this manufactured crisis, they state: “USPS employee rights should be more closely aligned with other federal employee rights by eliminating collective bargaining over compensation.”

Part of a real solution is to get rid of this burdensome mandate.

The USPS Fairness Act (H.R. 2382) would put the Postal Service on the road to sustainability by immediately repealing that mandate.

This bill has unprecedented bipartisan support. We can get this passed if we all take action together. Sign up now. Register for our July 23rd online action day.

In union solidarity,

Legislative and Political Director, Judy Beard

Other Postal News

This is other informational news brought to us from APWU National, Communications Director, Emily Harris.

Postal Service Floats Big Cuts to Employee Pay, Leave and Benefits
GovExec.com

“The U.S. Postal Service, facing pressure from Congress to propose initiatives to ensure the agency’s long-term viability, is floating a business plan that…Mark Dimondstein, president of the American Postal Workers Union, called the potential business plan a ‘cut, slash and burn approach.’”

USPS worker honored after stopping scam
WAVE 3 – Bertie Faulkner is a member of the New Albany Area Local

“Earlier this year, Faulkner, who works in New Albany as a USPS lead clerk, suspected a customer was trying to scam them with a money order.”

Can the U.S. Postal Service deliver on promise of new mail delivery trucks?
Linn’s Stamps

“Sometime this summer, the United States Postal Service is scheduled to release a much-awaited proposal for new mail delivery trucks.”

New tools to stop illegal drugs coming in US mail
KIRO 7

“Dangerous deliveries of powerful narcotics are being sent through the U.S. mail. Postal inspectors want to keep people from getting hurt. Inspectors are armed with a new law to stop those illegal and dangerous shipments. The law was cosponsored by Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene. And it’s aimed directly at China.”

USPS Focuses on Increasing Cyber Workforce
MeriTalk

“The United States Postal Service (USPS) Corporate Information Security Office will be adding 60 new cybersecurity positions to its workforce…”

How Post Offices Can Beat Payday Lenders
Washington Monthly

“The fight to curb payday loans has reached one of America’s oldest institutions: the Postal Service. Democratic representatives Bill Pascrell of New Jersey and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts recently introduced an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act authorizing post offices to provide small loans, savings accounts, and other financial services. The amendment sets aside $1 million to cover any overhead. It passed the House of Representatives on June 25.”

After Dramatic Workforce Reductions, Postal Service Sees Spike in Overtime Hours
GovExec.com

“The U.S. Postal Service’s spending on overtime pay to process mail spiked in fiscal 2018 following significant workforce cuts over the year, according to a new report.”

NALC, USPS formally open 2019 bargaining talks
NALC

“The leaders of the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service formally opened negotiations for a new collective-bargaining agreement today. In his opening statement, NALC President Fredric Rolando told Postmaster General Megan Brennan that, ‘As always, we will seek to preserve and improve the standard of living for city letter carriers. We aim to move forward, not backward. There will be no concessions offered or given. But we will work diligently and professionally to find common ground and mutual progress.’”

NPMHU and USPS Present Opening Statements as National Negotiations Begin in Washington D.C
NPMHU

“The National Postal Mail Handlers Union bargaining team met with representatives of the U.S. Postal Service on June 27, 2019 to mark the official start of the collective bargaining process for a successor agreement to replace the 2019 National Agreement which is scheduled to expire on September 20, 2019. The NPMHU is committed to making every reasonable effort to reach an agreement that is good for our members, good for the Postal Service, and good for the American mailing public.”

Amazon, the new king of shipping
Axios

“Less than a decade after Amazon broke into the logistics industry, it has become its own biggest shipper.”

INTERNATIONAL POSTAL AND LABOR NEWS

216 jobs set to go as Cork mail site closes
Irish Examiner – Ireland

“The Cork Mail Centre in Little Island is to close with the loss of 216 jobs, affecting 240 people. An Post officials travelled to Little Island last night to inform employees that the closure of the sorting centre will occur on a phased basis between September 2019 and March 2020.”

Korea Post Workers Union to strike if dangerous working conditions continue
Parcel and Postal Technology International – South Korea

“The Korea Postal Workers Union (KPWU) has announced plans to strike on July 9 if management continues to renege on promises to fix hazardous…”

Amazon and Alibaba Said to Study Buying Brazilian Postal Service
riotimesonline.com – Brazil

“President Jair Bolsonaro’s intent to privatize the Brazilian Postal Service (Correios) is well known, and he recently dismissed the president of the state-owned company who expressed disapproval of the plan, replacing him with General Floriano Peixoto,more favorable to privatization.”