Thousands of US postal workers took part in a protest march yesterday against USPS’s proposal toend its Saturday deliveries.
The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) estimated that more than 3,000 of its members took partin the rally, in central Detroit.
APWU president William Burrus, who was among speakers at yesterday’s event, said it wasimportant to send a strong message to the US Congress, which is currently considering a request bythe US Postal Service to eliminate Saturday delivery as part of plans to reduce its losses.
“Ending Saturday mail service would slow service, drive away business, and lead to the demise ofthe world’s most efficient, affordable, and trusted postal system,” he said.
Burrus said Congress should instead relieve the USPS of an onerous provision within the 2006postal reform law that requires the Postal Service to pay more than US$5 billion annually to “pre-fund” healthcare benefits for future retirees. No other federal agency or private company wasburdened with such a mandate.
“The pre-funding requirement is the primary cause of USPS financial deficits. Without it, thePostal Service would have netted a surplus in recent years — despite declining mail volume amid thedeep recession,” the union leader said.
“Abolishing Saturday mail delivery would undermine any justification for the Postal Service’sexclusive access to citizens’ mailboxes and would destroy universal service at a uniformprice.”
USPS claims that the five-day proposal is an important part of a 10-year restructuring planannounced earlier this year, to reduce costs due to unprecedented volume and revenue declines thatit claims could lead to thousands of job losses and an expected record $7 billion loss thisyear.
To address this deficit, USPS also wants to increase rates, close or consolidate offices and toavoid the annual prepayments for future retiree healthcare costs. However, USPS cannot cut serviceswithout the agreement of Congress.
