take action | South Jersey Area Local 0526 - APWU

Notices of Public Meeting for SO Jersey NJ P&DC

There will be a Public Meeting next Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 1 PM (EST) at the Cherry Hill Public Library. (DOWNLOAD THE ATTACHED DOCUMENTS TO SEE THE FULL DETAILS)

The recent announcement by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) regarding the potential relocation of operations from the South Jersey Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) in Bellmawr NJ to the Philadelphia P&DC in Philadelphia PA has sparked significant concerns among residents and businesses. While part of a $40 billion investment strategy aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and improving customer service, this move has already resulted in mail delivery delays and the loss of mail and packages. These issues underscore the pressing need for a thorough reassessment of this decision.

The USPS’s Delivering for America plan, while seeking to make the Postal Service more efficient and competitive, has raised doubts about its effectiveness in light of the current situation at the South Jersey P&DC. The facility review, intended to inform resource allocation and enhance customer service, has instead led to disruptions that are negatively impacting the community. Moreover, the potential decrease in employment opportunities due to this relocation adds to the local economic struggles, further exacerbating the situation.

Public input is a crucial component of such decisions, yet the short notice given for the public meeting on March 6, 2024, at the Cherry Hill Public Library, has left little time for meaningful community engagement. This rushed approach undermines the transparency and inclusivity necessary for a decision of this magnitude, especially considering the potential impact on the stability of current employees who may be uprooted from their base of operations, leading to possible job losses.

As concerned citizens, we urge the USPS to reconsider its decision regarding the South Jersey P&DC. While recognizing the need for modernization and efficiency, we emphasize that these goals should not come at the expense of service quality and community well-being. We call for a more comprehensive evaluation, with ample opportunity for public input, to ensure that any changes made benefit all stakeholders involved, including the employees whose livelihoods are at stake.

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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.”