Rolando: Postal Service needs real reform

April, 8, 2014—Following today’s House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the Obama administration’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request for the United States Postal Service, National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando released the following statement: 1a-fredric-rolando

Today’s hearing focused on the Obama administration’s proposals to slash postal services, proposals that were first developed during the Biden-Cantor deficit reduction talks in 2011 and have been included in the four budgets released since. Portions of these proposals are included in H.R. 2748.

But we are not dealing with the same Postal Service we were when H.R. 2748 and the administration’s budget proposals were originally crafted. The proposals did not make sense in 2011 because they never offered a real solution to the Postal Service’s financial challenges, which were largely created by Congress.

The proposals make even less sense now: The Postal Service has returned to operational profitability and is capturing a growing share of the booming e-commerce market. USPS had an operating profit of $623 million in 2013 and in the first quarter of 2014 alone reported black ink of $1.1 billion.

Congress should focus on unchaining USPS from the retiree health pre-funding burden—which is required of no other public or private entity—and freeing the agency to grow and innovate. Discussing job-killing proposals that degrade or dismantle our invaluable postal networks is not the conversation we should be having.

It’s time to move forward with innovative solutions that allow the Postal Service to evolve and use its established network to serve the nation’s communication and e-commerce needs.

It’s time to start thinking about how we bolster service for tens of millions of businesses and households that have come to rely on door-to-door delivery, six days a week.

It’s time to discuss how to position the Postal Service to build successful partnerships with more American businesses, like Amazon has in moving toward seven-day delivery.

It’s no longer 2009. The Postal Service’s employees have done their part to help the Postal Service bounce back from the Great Recession as some 200,000 jobs have been eliminated. In fact, the service cuts have gone too far, all to pay for a misguided pre-funding policy.

Now it’s time for Congress to strengthen the postal recovery, not cripple the Postal Service with even more destructive service and job cuts.

One Response to "Rolando: Postal Service needs real reform"

  1. 1.USPS management is seriously deterred from their job by congressional interference. This is problem #1 that must be addressed. It is obvious that no private company could operate if subject to the rules established by Benjamin Franklin and added to by the federal government.
    It is in awe that the USPS has survived this far. Although it is an honor to work for the USPS, it is
    subject to so much protection by senior management that individual stress and individual punishment result in a need for continual confrontation with no beneficial learning , no nothing learned, no nothing gained.
    2.Promotions from within and without any regard to what is needed are rampant.
    3.Consider just the terminology? postMASTER! Master of what? What other organization has a MASTER title which is not gained by examination but is proclaimed by your superior who now has your infinite gratitude FOR LIFE!

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