USPS - Postal Service rescue: Plan’s goal is to destroy unio

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Postal Service rescue: Plan’s goal is to destroy union, employee benefits

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In August, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe released a statement that the U.S. Postal Service has gone to Congress with what they call “white papers” in order to get the Republicans and tea party members to support their request to eliminate collective bargaining, allow the Postal Service to run its own health care plan, lay off up to 220,000 employees (depending on how many leave through attrition), eliminate six-day delivery and close 50 percent of the existing postal facilities and retail facilities.

Although the public has this false perception that Postal Service employees are overpaid — they are in the medium- to low-income range, depending upon seniority — and some even believe that their tax dollars support the Postal Service, they are wrong, and they need to pay attention to this and see it for what it is: another attempt by the tea party and Republicans to eliminate collective bargaining and U.S. jobs.

Millions of businesses depend on the Postal Service. Not only would postal jobs be lost, but it also will cost more jobs for these businesses. The postmaster general has gone to Congress in this attempt to destroy the union and employee benefits because the Postal Service has overpaid into the retirement and health care benefit plans by $50 billion to $80 billion.
The Obama administration last week proposed a temporary financial rescue plan for the U.S. Postal Service, which faces a deficit of almost $10 billion for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30. Over the long term, the agency wants to cut costs by reducing the number of post offices and changing the administration of its employee health insurance and retirement funds.
The Postal Service said in July that it may close the NE Waterworks post office on Spangler Street NE in Plain Township and the Augusta and Leesville post offices in Carroll County.

Today, a regional Postal Service official and the head of the local postal employee union offer their arguments for and against the agency’s plans.



The Postal Service is not supported by tax dollars. It receives only the money accrued from mailings and the sale of stamps. However, Postal Service employees pay taxes. Congress refuses to release the Postal Service from its legislated obligations — the Postal Service was created by Congress and is the only federal entity required to pre-fund this account — because Congress does not want the country to see how much more in debt the previous administration has taken America, especially with elections around the corner.

This money is postal money, not taxpayer money, and definitely not money that the government paid, The Postal Service does not need a bailout. It wants its money back. And it wants the right to operate without having to pre-fund this program even further. It needs this money to sustain itself and to keep people employed.

The biggest enemy of unionized workers is Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican from California, who has introduced a bill that would destroy the Postal Service and collective bargaining. He is the Postal Service’s targeted ally. It needs support from Rep. Issa and his tea party constituents.

We need to stop these people before we lose more jobs. Please contact your congressman and let him know that we have had enough. And please do not forget what these people are trying to do to American’s rights to unionize and hold jobs come the election of 2012.