Congressmen Denounce USPS Bid to Break Contract

Two U.S. Representatives have denounced Postal Service legislative proposals to abrogate its collective bargaining agreements with postal unions.

In a sharply-worded letter [PDF] to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), condemned management’s proposals to dissolve “no lay-off” provisions in union contracts and to remove postal employees from federal retirement plans and the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).

On May 23, 2011, the USPS signed a four-year contract [PDF] with the APWU that retained federal retirement and health benefits and maintained protection against layoffs for career employees. But in August, the USPS announced that it would ask Congress to introduce legislation removing postal employees from the federal benefits programs and giving management the authority to lay off 120,000 workers.

“These requests call into question the good faith of the Postal Service,” Cummings and Lynch wrote.

“To now ask Congress to nullify part of this same contract less than five months after it was concluded is neither fair to Postal Service employees nor helpful to the Postal Service’s credibility in future negotiations… [Postal] employees deserve to have their commitments honored,” they wrote.

“The Postal Service enjoys broad support among the American people, and we are proud of the excellent service it continues to provide. We believe the Postal Service can continue this tradition without abandoning the collective bargaining process and dismantling employee rights,” they said.

The letter from the two Congressmen was written on the same day that APWU President Cliff Guffey told a Senate committee that the USPS legislative proposals were “outrageous, illegal, and despicable.”

“We are outraged by the Postal Service’s attempt to abrogate the agreement on the subject of layoff protections for APWU bargaining unit members we signed only a few months ago,” he said.

Rep. Cummings and Rep. Stephen Lynch are the ranking Democrats of the House Committee on Government Oversight and Reform, and its Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service and Labor Policy, respectively, which have jurisdiction over the Postal Service.

8 Responses to "Congressmen Denounce USPS Bid to Break Contract"

  1. Page 60-65 of Ross’ amendment says retirement eligible employees will be let go first, with no severence pay, and can not be rehired. The PMG says there is 150,000 who could retire tomorrow. If I could go, I think I would!

  2. Each time a delivery service/process is automated in our plant, mail handler jobs are increased. Why don’t the automating decision makers take a look at the fact that when the automated machinery doesn’t work “as advertised,” perhaps another solution for the problem should have been found? It appears that if a manager in one facility gets the “pay for performance” bonus for an automation solution, decision-making managers in every other facility think that the same solution will work for their facility. In fact, each USPS facility is unique in terms of the physics of making automation work. Managers who have never been on the floor more than six months have the authority to make decisions to automate when in fact, they don’t understand how the mail is processed in a physical sense. (i.e. if mail needs to be staged prior to working it, the space for staging is nowhere in the plans.) This is killing the USPS faster than employee wages.

  3. YAY DW !!!!! You clearly stated a fact that everyone needs to shout out loud! I would like to know the salaries and PFP/bonuses of ALL the executives and officers. These people make all the decisions about eliminating thousands of WORKING employees while there are HUNDREDS of them sitting in offices and they never enter a processing plant or retail lobby. Spring 2011 – postal service RIFs 16% of officers, but many find new positions. Sept 2011 – postal service plans to excess 60% of working employees. I WANT TO SCREAM ABOUT THIS. The media only repeats what the PMG releases. WHY DON’T WE HEAR ABOUT THIS IN THE CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS?!!

  4. We have contracted for the P.O for thirty years without many problems but for the last 2 or 3 years the P.O doesnt care about what is written in contracts anymore, they are doing whatever they want . EVEN IF IT IS ILLEGAL!!! Congress needs to step in and cut the enormous salaries and bonuses of upper management, not the little people out here trying to make a living. Cutbacks are one thing but the Post Master General making 800,000 a year is just ridiculous,start by taking 600,000 from him alone and we are on our way to recovery. each of the processing plants they want to close have three or more supervisors making over 150,000 each and they dont even touch the mail, is that really necessary? they want to close 250 distibution centers, if they cut the three big salaries at each one thats 112,500,000 million. After all is the Postal service really a public service or a management piggy bank?

  5. They’re going to do what they want, and partition signing,bitching ,kicking ,and a screaming may make us feel better,but I have little faith government can repair this problem that they caused The ride will be bumpy ,and the waters treacherous. Sharks circling below,and vultures from above. Sound familiar …

  6. Let’s start saving the Post Office by delaying the use of the FSS machines, we do not have the volume to justify the expense.Step two, stop adjusting routes every six months, what a waste of money, Step three, go to a evaluated route like the rural carriers, and finally, let us case DPS mail if it doesn’t affect route times. How about a 25% cut in pay for those that don’t even touch the mail, you know the vice president in charge of advertising, Lance Armstrong’s money, remember if the P O closes, the big wigs have no jobs either. so it ain’t gonna happen.

  7. It is amazing how the only government, or quasi government agency that pays its own way is the target of such knee-jerk solutions. While the USPS has its problems, as does any company, especially one so large, dissolving it, privatizing it, etc, are not the solutions.

    The main solution is to stop sucking the blood out of it by means of the atrocious prepayments the USPS has to make into retirement and health benefit funding, for employees who are NOT even BORN yet!

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