Postal reform legislation was on the brink of Senate passage January 25 when postal management unleashed a mind-boggling, and frankly embarrassing, attack on the bill.

As the bill headed to the floor for Senate approval, the Postal Service issued a series of press releases with false and misleading information about S. 662, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.

The Postal Service suggested that the bill would boost postage rates by as much as 20 percent if the legislation did not transfer $27 billion in military pension obligations earned by postal employees to the U.S. Treasury –- but failed to mention that the legislation would, in fact, mandate that transfer. It also falsely stated that the bill would “keep the Postal Service tied to the current rate-making method” when, in fact, an entirely new system would be put in place.

Joint NALC-NRLCA Statement on S. 662

NALC President Young and Donnie Pitts, president of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association, issued this joint press statement January 26: Young Pitts “On behalf of 330,000 active postal employees who deliver mail on city and rural routes across America, we urge the United States Senate to swiftly pass S. 662, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The NALC and the NRLCA believe this long-overdue legislation will ensure the strength and viability of the U.S. Postal Service for decades to come.”

The USPS action, accompanied by adverse public comments by American Postal Workers Union President William Burrus, quickly chilled the atmosphere.

Young Outraged

“I am appalled at the shameful pandering by the Board of Governors and top-level postal management who are trying to derail this bill at the 11th hour, ” said NALC President William H. Young.

Senate Government Affairs Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), who has worked diligently with Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) and others to craft compromise language, issued a statement saying she was “extremely troubled and disappointed that at the very last minute, the Postal Service is attempting to block action on our bill.

”“While no legislative product is perfect, we believe this bill, which is the product of years of debate and compromise among a number of interested parties, gives the Postal Service the tools necessary to survive and thrive in the 21st Century,” Collins said.

NALC agrees with this view.

Key Provisions

The bill would preserve six-day delivery and universal service while protecting postal employees’ collective bargaining rights. It would also repeal the Postal Service’s obligation to make a $3 billion per year contribution to an escrow account while reversing the unfair allocation of military pension costs to the USPS. NALC had hoped the legislation would pass quickly this year so that the problems remaining in the legislation could be worked out in a House-Senate conference committee.

Senate floor action appeared to be ready on a unanimous consent motion after Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO) withdrew his “hold” on the bill that had delayed passage since August, and the NALC and others worked out objections to language in the measure that would have adversely affected collective bargaining.

But then the Postal Service began an intense effort – by pro-privatization USPS Board of Governors Chairman James Miller and other governors – to convince the Senate to defeat the bill because it was opposed by the Bush administration.

On January 24, a letter was sent to Senator Collins by Miller and the other members of the Board of Governors, including PMG John Potter and Deputy PMG Patrick Donahoe, saying the bill contained “numerous burdensome provisions” that they said would make it difficult for the Postal Service to function.

Shameful Quote!

“We note, in particular, serious discrepancies between the bill’s provisions and recommendations of the President’s Commission (on the U.S. Postal Service), and while the bills do return responsibility for military retirement expense to the U.S. Treasury, this ... invites a Presidential veto,” they said.

Then, as the legislation was awaiting floor action on January 25, the Postal Service issued a press release predicting higher stamp prices if the bill was passed.

In the release, Tom Day, USPS senior VP for Government Relations, was quoted as saying the bill “not only strips the Postal Service of much of its management authority, but almost guarantees a hefty rate increase.”

That was later debunked by Collins, who said flatly: “Nothing in this bill would lead to rate increases.”

Remarkably, Day issued this statement just a day after Senator Collins released a manager’s amendment to S. 662 that specifically adopted changes requested by the Postal Service. Among the changes was a provision to eliminate a role for a new Postal Regulatory Commission in setting service standards (reserving that role for the USPS). Another explicitly authorizes the USPS to make postage rate changes of unequal magnitude within, between or among classes of mail so long as overall postage hikes were limited to the rate of inflation.

“The Postal Service is willfully misrepresenting this bill in order to deceive the United States Senate,” President Young observed. “Subjecting a limited number of postal policies to the regulatory complaint process does not ‘strip the Postal Service of much of its management authority’ and the Postal Service knows it.”

Because of the sheer size of the United States Postal Service, it is understandable that it has many stakeholders with separate agendas. When the majority of those stakeholders came to the conclusion that meaningful postal reform was necessary, we sat down together to see if we could reach agreement by compromising.

After many years of intense negotiations, we ultimately were able to reach consensus on a bill - the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. No single shareholder got their way on everything. There was sacrifice necessary by all participants. The nation’s mailers made concessions. Management associations did so too, and the unions were required to compromise as well.

Our bill received unusual bipartisan support, passing the House by an astounding vote of 410-20. It is now stalled in the Senate due in large part to the USPS Board of Governors.

Our members were not surprised by the reaction from the managers at the Postal Service. They have now officially come out against this legislation. It seems that they did not get everything that they wanted, and in the world of the United States Postal Service, that means it’s time to pick up your ball and go home.

But a bill that preserves six-day delivery and universal service and that protects postal employees’ collective bargaining rights while addressing many of the Postal Service’s key objectives deserves broad support. NALC has worked with Senate leaders of both parties to improve the bill and looks forward to working with legislators in both Houses of Congress to resolve any remaining problems with the legislation in a House-Senate conference committee. The Postal Service should do the same. We believe that the postal community has worked too hard and come too far to give up now and start all over on postal reform.

Those of us who continue to believe that this bill is good for the future of the Postal Service will press on, seeking its passage as soon as possible. Delivering for America – even without the support and encouragement of postal management – is nothing new to letter carriers. It certainly will not deter us in this battle.

William H. Young

More than 1,200 NALC branches have already registered to participate in the 2006 NALC National Food Drive that will be conducted on Saturday, May 13 in all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions.

Updated coordinator’s packets that include order forms for FREE Campbell Soup/Postal Service postcards for delivery to postal customers will be mailed out in early February to branches that are registered for the 2006 drive.

Branches that have not yet registered for the 14th annual drive should do so immediately or risk delay in receiving postcards and other materials for the drive.

The packets will also include a new 9-minute DVD on the food drive for showing at branch meetings, stand-ups, and at gatherings of other civic, union and fraternal organizations.

As the NALC Bulletin went to press, 1,256 NALC branches have registered for the 2006 drive. Branches must renew their registration for the 2006 drive to receive the postcard order form and other materials. Again this year, the NALC is offering both English and Spanish-language cards. The kits include separate order forms for each.

Registration forms were included with a letter mailed in December by NALC President William H. Young to all branch presidents.

Questions about the drive should be directed to Drew Von Bergen, national coordinator, at (202) 662-2489, by email at vonbergen@nalc.org or by mail at NALC headquarters.

The projected accumulation for the seventh of eight regular cost-of-living adjustments under the 2001-2006 National Agreement decreased for the second consecutive month to $250 following release January 18 of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) for December. The decline was attributed to a drop in gasoline prices in December.

The seventh COLA will be based on inflation between July 2005 and January 2006 and will be payable in the second full pay period following release of the January 2006 index. The $250 projected annual accumulation equals 12 cents per hour or $9.60 per pay period.

The accumulation toward the 2007 retiree COLA dropped to a minus (-) 0.1 percent following release of the December CPI-W. The 2007 retiree COLA will be based on the increase in the average CPI-W between the third quarter of 2005 and the third quarter of 2006.

The 2006 COLA for Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) participants was finalized, based on the December report, at 3.5 percent. The 2006 FECA COLA reflects the increase in the CPI-W between December 2004 and December 2005. It is applicable only in cases where death or disability occurred more than one year prior to the adjustment’s effective date, and is effective March 1.