Statement about USPS’ Q2 financial report

May 10, 2013—Statement from Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, about the USPS financial report today. “The Postal Service's financial report—which included the first revenue increase in five years—reflects an improving financial picture as the economy gradually improves.” Click here to read the complete statement.

PMG paints improved financial picture

April 19, 2013 -- In his appearance Friday at the National Press Club, Postmaster General Patrick Donahue said that the Postal Service will have an operational loss of $1.7 billion this year. Click here to read NALC President Fredric Rolando’s statement.

Rolando testifies before House committee

April 10, 2013 — NALC President Fredric Rolando issued the following statement on the 2014 Obama budget: “NALC and its members are dismayed by many of the proposals in President Obama’s budget. The fact that these proposals are not new or that they are intended to coax Republicans in Congress into negotiations over a balanced plan to reduce the deficit does not lessen our disappointment." Click here to read the complete statement.

April 10, 2013 — NALC President Fredric Rolando issued a statement today in response to the USPS Board of Governors’ announcement that the Postal Service will obey the law and comply with the continuing resolution adopted in March that mandates continuation of six-day mail delivery this year. The Board restated its support for a change to 5-day delivery, but effectively conceded that the postmaster general’s claim that he could ignore the CR was wrong. Click here to read more.

April 10, 2013 — On April 3, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe recorded a “State of the Postal Service” video to “address a couple of mixed messages that need to be cleared up,” he said. “The postmaster general has created a straw man, denying there are plans to go to four-day, three-day or two-day mail,” NALC President Fredric Roland said. “We’ve never said there is a plan to do this. We’re saying that that’s what the consequence will be if we continue to slash service and drive business away from USPS: Businesses will find other providers and those providers will further weaken the Postal Service.” Click here to read more.

March 25, 2013 — Letter carriers across America rallied on Sunday, March 24 in support of maintaining Saturday mail delivery service.

“Our fight is about the cost of losing Saturday mail delivery and how it would affect people in each and every state,” said NALC President Fredric Rolando (r), who led one such rally in Boston.

Across America, thousands of letter carriers joined friends, family, co-workers and community coalition partners at specified post offices in major media centers, holding signs and wearing T-shirts reflecting the feelings of the citizenry. Click here to read more.

BJ’s apologizes for flyer that ‘missed the mark’

March 25, 2013 — The CEO of BJ’s Wholesale has sent a letter apologizing for a mailing that began hitting post offices across the country this week. The mailing was apparently intended to acquire new customers and contained some humor directed at letter carriers. “While the message was supposed to be humorous, we may have missed the mark,” BJ’s President and CEO Laura Sen wrote. “We apologize to the U.S. Postal Service and mail carriers for any offense or misunderstanding caused by our mailer message.” The 15 states targeted by the mailer are Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia. Click here to see the flyer, and click here to read the apology letter.

Legal opinion refutes USPS claim on cutting 6-day mail

March 21, 2013 -- Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's claim that the Postal Service has the right to cut its mail delivery schedule from six days to five days “rests upon a faulty USPS premise,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a legal opinion released today, adding that there is no legislative authority from Congress allowing the change.

“The GAO agrees with an ever-growing chorus of voices that the postmaster general doesn't have the law on his side in this matter,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said. “To cut a day of mail delivery would disrupt the nation’s only universal delivery network, place disproportionate harm on rural communities, senior citizens, and small-business owners who rely on six-day mail service, and it would only serve to accelerate a financial ‘death spiral’ for the Postal Service.”

The GAO wrote that USPS is bound by current law and the current continuing resolution to fund the federal government, which requires “USPS to continue 6-day delivery and rural delivery of mail at not less than the 1983 level”—that is, six days a week.

The March 21 legal opinion was requested by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) shortly after Donahoe announced on Feb. 6 that he would unilaterally end Saturday mail delivery beginning in August. Click here to read Rep. Connolly’s statement.

Lynch bill addresses FERS surplus

March 5, 2013 -- Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) has introduced H.R. 961, the Postal Service Stabilization Act, a bill crafted to address the billions the Postal Service has overpaid into its account within the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). “The NALC is grateful to Congressman Lynch for taking the lead on addressing this nagging pension over-funding problem,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said, “and we are pleased to fully support H.R. 961 as a sensible and fair approach to providing the Postal Service with much-needed financial relief.” Click here to read more.

Support S. 316 & H.R. 630

Feb. 13, 2013 -- The NALC is pleased to endorse Senate bill S. 316 offered by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). “This legislation addresses many of the key issues facing the U.S. Postal Service,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said, “and would help it return to financial stability while protecting the services offered to Americans and their businesses throughout the country. Of particular importance to postal customers and to the future of the USPS itself, the bill continues the six-day delivery schedule that has been the law for 30 years.” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduce a similar bill in the House, H.R. 630. Click here to read the Senate bill’s text.

NALC President Rolando’s statement
following the PMG’s congressional testimony

Feb. 13, 2013 -- The postmaster general's effort Wednesday to justify to lawmakers his attempt to do an end-run around Congress by ending Saturday delivery failed badly. He acknowledged that he had not studied the impact on lost mail volume and revenue of going to a five-day delivery schedule, and that his figure of $2 billion in potential savings was only an estimate. Click here to read the full statement.

Rolando submits testimony to Senate committee

Feb. 13, 2013 -- Although NALC President Fredric Rolando was not called to testify in person on Feb. 13 before the Senate committee with Postal Service oversight, he did submit written testimony for the committee's consideration. Click here to read his submitted testimony and attachments.

NALC President Rolando responds to USPS quarterly financial report

Feb. 8, 2013 --Today’s Postal Service’s quarterly financial report shows the folly of making drastic cuts in service as the postmaster general proposed this week. Click here to read NALC President Fredric Rolando's statement.

Members of Congress respond against ending Saturday delivery

Feb. 7, 2013 -- Members of both houses of Congress have gone on record to say that they consider the Postal Service's plan to go to 5-day delivery to be counterproductive and legally suspect. Check out a few members of Congress who are talking about it at the links below and contact your member if he or she is not on the list. Click here to read more.

NALC President Rolando responds to Donahoe
• PMG to Congress: Out of the way, I'm ending Saturday delivery
• NALC to PMG: Not without a fight!

Feb. 7, 2013 -- Postmaster General Pat Donahoe’s unilateral and brazen plan to end Saturday mail delivery in August led many reporters at a press conference yesterday to question its legality, given Congress’ 30-year legislated policy to mandate six-day delivery. Donahoe was vague and evasive in responding. The PMG also made a number of claims about employee support for his plan. National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando issued this statement in response.

Statement of NALC President Fredric Rolando
on Postmaster General Pat Donahoe’s plan
to eliminate Saturday mail delivery

Feb. 6, 2013 -- Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe’s plan to end Saturday delivery is a disastrous idea that would have a profoundly negative effect on the Postal Service and on millions of customers. It would be particularly harmful to small businesses, rural communities, the elderly, the disabled and others who depend on Saturday delivery for commerce and communication. Read more.

National Rap Session

The 2013 National Conference—better known as a "rap session"—was held Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Click here to find out more.

Arbitration board issues award
Sets terms of the 2011-2016 National Agreement;
‘NALC achieves its major goals,’ Rolando says

Jan. 11, 2013 – The three-person board of arbitrators has issued a final and binding award that sets the terms of a four-and-a-half-year collective-bargaining agreement between the National Association of Letter Carriers and the U.S. Postal Service, NALC President Fredric Rolando announced on Jan. 11.“NALC had three primary objectives in this critical round of collective bargaining,” Rolando said. “First, to protect the jobs and living standards and working conditions of the nation’s 180,000 letter carriers. Second, to protect the integrity of our historic institution-the United States Postal Service. And third, to work cooperatively with all stakeholders to enable the USPS to continue to serve the American public, in the internet age, by strengthening our unequalled last mile ‘delivery’ capacity. “This agreement meets all three of those objectives.” Click here to read more.

NALC President Emeritus
Vincent R. Sombrotto, 1923-2013

Jan 10, 2013 --Vincent R. Sombrotto, 89, a towering figure in the history of the National Association of Letter Carriers and one of the most significant U.S. labor leaders of recent decades, died Jan. 10. “Vince’s long tenure and tireless work for this union, at both the local and national levels, has left a lasting, positive impact on all the men and women who have carried the mail since the Great Postal Strike, and on those who will do so in the decades yet to come,” NALC President Fredric V. Rolando said. “The deep sadness we all feel at his passing mixes with the fond and happy memories of him that those of us he touched will carry with us for the rest of our lives.” Click here to read more.

Rolando denounces MI ‘right to work’ law

Dec. 12, 2012 -- NALC President Fredric V. Rolando has denounced the passage of so-called "right to work" legislation in Michigan. "This week's sneaky, lame-duck passage of a right-to-work (for less) law in Michigan is disgraceful," Rolando said, "and Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, as well as anti-labor legislators in the state's House and Senate—many of whom were voted out of office in November—should be ashamed of this bald-faced kowtow to the Koch Brothers and other special interest groups." Click here to read more.

USPS releases 2012 financial report

Nov. 15, 2012 — The headline figure of $15.9 billion in losses obscures other key indications of improving financial health as well,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said, noting that the Postal Service's financial report on Thursday “makes clear that the financial crisis at the Postal Service is largely political in nature—and that the Postal Service is actually returning to health in operational terms as the economy improves.” Click here to read the president’s statement.

NALC comment on OPM valuation
of the USPS FERS pension fund

Nov. 15, 2012 — OPM's decision is misleading on two counts. The current near-record low interest rates produce a misleading figure that is likely to change; beyond that, OPM's use of generic assumptions on wages and mortality (as opposed to ones applicable to postal employees) badly skews the results. Simply using accurate data going in would produce a surplus figure of more than $15 billion. Click here to read the complete statement.

Election 2012

Nov. 9, 2012 — The NALC congratulates President Barack Obama and all the candidates elected to Congress on Tuesday. The election results provide a starting point for the work ahead of resolving the financial problems facing the United States Postal Service. We set certain goals for the election, and the work of thousands of letter carriers helped re-elect President Obama and elect or re-elect senators and House members who support our efforts to strengthen the Postal Service and support hardworking letter carriers. “The election offers the prospect that the financial problems facing the United States Postal Service can be resolved in a fair and reasonable manner that benefits the public,” NALC President Fredric Rolando said, making clear that while a victory by forces that seek to dismantle the Postal Service and attack public employees would have been bad for the USPS and for the country, the NALC’s work has just begun. Click here to read more.

Statement on USPS borrowing limit

Oct. 18, 2012 — NALC President Fredric Rolando issued a statement Thursday on the U.S. Postal Service reaching its $15 billion borrowing limit. “We encourage the media to pause and fully consider the situation before jumping to the conclusion that the U.S. Post Service, having reached its $15 billion borrowing limit for the first time, is facing a fiscal cliff," Rolando said. “It’s not." Click here to read the statement.

The truth about the Postal Service’s ‘default’ 

Sept. 28, 2012 — As the USPS missed making another multi-billion-dollar payment toward pre-funding the health benefits of future retirees, it is useful to keep in mind that what NALC President Fredric Rolando said in July about a similar “default” still holds true—that this in fact is a default committed by Congress, not the Postal Service. Click here to read more.

Letter carriers recognized as 2012 Heroes of the Year

Sept. 20, 2012 -- Thomas Logue, a 28-year letter carrier from New Jersey, and Charlie Rose, a 23-year veteran in Ohio, were among those honored by the National Association of Letter Carriers on Sept. 20 as 2012’s Heroes of the Year. Several other carriers also were recognized as heroes. They represent thousands of letter carriers who not only deliver the mail to 150 million households and businesses six days a week, but who often assist in situations involving accidents, fires, crimes or health crises. Click here to read more.

New Lazard white paper provides reality check
on USPS finances and postal reform

September 13, 2012 -- Rather than attempting to shrink to survive, a successful restructuring of the U.S. Postal Service requires a business strategy that leverages the Postal Service’s unrivaled delivery network, says international financial advisory firm, Lazard, in a new white paper prepared for the National Association of Letter Carriers. Click here to read more.

July 30, 2012 -- The NALC's 68th Biennial Convention finished up in Minneapolis on Friday, July 27. Friday's events included the conclusion of the convention's business, committee and awards presentations, and a showing of "The Strike at 40," the 2010 look back at the Great Postal Strike of 1970. Click here to read each day's Convention Chronicle on the main convention page and to check out the latest uploaded photos—and videos—from Minneapolis.

Praise for letter carriers’ participation in CRI

July 10, 2012 -- A Postal Regulatory Commission hearing today focused partly on the Cities' Readiness Initiative, a program that uses the Postal Service's universal network and the voluntary participation of letter carriers to protect Americans in the event of a biological incident, such as a terrorist attack. Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Postal Service and the PRC praised National Association of Letter Carriers President Fredric Rolando and rank-and-file letter carriers for their role in the program. Click here to read more.

NALC applauds Supreme Court victory
for Obama health plan

July 3, 2012 -- Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected efforts to invalidate President Obama’s historic health care law that will extend health insurance coverage to nearly 30 million Americans between now and 2014. Right-wing opponents of the legislation asked the Court to throw out the law enacted in 2010 as an unconstitutional use of power by the national government.  By a 5-4 vote, the Court upheld the legislation, preserving reforms that are already benefiting NALC members, including a provision that allows children to stay on their parents’ health plan until the age of 26 and a provision that eliminates the so-called ‘donut hole’ in the Medicare Part D program that saves seniors thousands of dollars on prescription drug costs. Click here to read more.

Food Drive collects 70 million pounds

June 5, 2012 -- The 20th annual NALC Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive on Saturday, May 12, brought in more than 70.5 million pounds of food. The drive—the largest annual one-day drive in the nation—took place in 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. “Six days a week, as we deliver mail to every address in America, letter carriers see first-hand the needs in the communities we work in, and we’re privileged to lead an effort that brings out the best in so many Americans,” President Rolando said. Click here to read the press release. 

Letter carriers union releases white paper
on USPS business model, postal reform

White paper drafted by international financial advisory firm Lazard

April 17, 2012 -- Successful revitalization of the U.S. Postal Service requires a strategic business plan that leverages the unmatched reach of its network, legislative action to relieve it of obligations no other business bears and shared sacrifice from all stakeholders, says the renowned international financial advisory firm, Lazard. Click here to read the press release.

Postmaster general supports ‘practically everything’
in draconian Issa-Ross bill

March 27, 2012 -- Today, during a hearing of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe was asked by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) about his support for elements of the service-destroying, job-killing Issa-Ross postal reform bill, H.R. 2309. Click here to read more.

New data indicates proposed cuts could mean
greater losses in volume, revenue

March 22, 2012 -- The proposed cuts in service sought by the U.S. Postal Service could result in a far-greater loss of mail volume—and thus of revenue—than postal authorities previously have disclosed, new testimony indicates.

In fact, the losses—outlined in a preliminary study commissioned by the USPS but which the agency has since kept under wraps—could outweigh any savings realized by the cuts. Click here to read more.

Response to USPS mail-processing announcement:

Feb. 24, 2012 -- The Postal Service has announced its plans for restructuring its mail processing operations across the country. Click here to read an overview in The Washington Post. The plan would close or merge some 223 of the 264 processing plants reviewed over the past six months. The NALC Contract Administration Unit is working with the NALC's 15 regional offices to determine which delivery units, if any, might be affected by the plans. The so-called "network optimization" plan could result in the elimination of 35,000 mail processing jobs through attrition. The Postal Service issued its plan despite its commitment to congressional leaders in December to put a moratorium on plant closings until May 15, and despite the fact that the Postal Regulatory Commission has yet to complete its review of the plan. "NALC remains deeply concerned about any plans that would degrade our networks, reduce service quality or undermine our ability to develop new business in the future," NALC President Fred Rolando said.

NALC reacts to USPS 'business plan' announcement

Feb. 16, 2012 -- In response to the Postal Service's proposal Thursday to reduce services in an effort to trim losses, the NALC issued the following statement:

The National Association of Letter Carriers will study the Postal Service's new business plan in more detail over the next few days, but any plan that calls for cutting Saturday delivery, downsizing our networks and slowing delivery will not restore USPS to profitability. Charging more for reduced service is not a rational plan for any business, including the U.S. Postal Service. What is needed is a forward-looking plan to meet the needs of an evolving society.

It is important to note that the Postal Service's financial statement last week reported a $200 million operational profit delivering the mail for the first quarter of 2012. Almost all of the $3.3 billion in red ink the Postal Service recorded resulted from the $3.1 billion it owed to pre-fund future retiree health benefits, a mandate Congress has imposed only on the Postal Service.

Since this unnecessary burden accounts for almost 90 percent of the Postal Service's red ink since Congress imposed this mandate in 2006, lawmakers should address that problem immediately. Then, all postal stakeholders can address the very real challenges that exist, but we should not dismantle a unique universal delivery network that provides Americans with the best and most affordable postal service anywhere—without a dime of taxpayer money.

With 7.5 million private-sector jobs depending on a strong Postal Service, changes need to be made urgently, but thoughtfully. NALC is aggressively engaged with members of Congress and the postal industry to make that happen.