United States Postal Service unions are reaching out to the public to seek support for a rally against the postal service cutbacks scheduled to be implemented around the country.

The rally, which will take place locally on the Capitol Square Tuesday, is organized by the members of four USPS unions, according to a statement from the American Postal Workers Union. 

Protests have been scheduled in every congressional district in the country, the statement said, and will take place at different times Tuesday in opposition to the Postal Reform Act of 2011, introduced in June by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government reform.  

If passed, the Postal Reform Act will save the government agency an estimated $10.7 billion a year, according to a statement from Issa.  The reform act would also prevent the struggling agency from receiving a multi-billion dollar bailout paid for with taxpayer money, the statement said.  

Tuesday’s Madison rally will take place on Capitol Square and King Street from 5 pm to 5:45 pm, according to Save America’s Postal Service’s website.

The unions involved in the national protest are the American Postal Workers Union, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Postal Mail Handlers Union and National Rural Letter Carriers’ Association, according to the statement.

Sally Davidow, the national representative for APWU, said the purpose of the rally is two-fold: to create awareness in Americans and politicians about the truth of the financial difficulty the USPS is now facing and to support a House bill that would delay the cuts.

The legislation would push back the $5.5 billion payment the Postal Service is liable for to pre-fund health care for future retirees.

“The cutbacks are unfair because they are unnecessary,” Davidow said. “According to the provision of the 2006 postal law, the USPS is required to pre-fund a 75-year liability to cover the health benefits for future retirees within just 10 years.”

In the statement, Issa said the Postal Service lost over $8 billion in 2010, and is projected to lose at least that much this year and in 2012.  

He said out of control labor costs and unnecessary infrastructure have caused USPS’s financial instability, and said these need to be eliminated in order to prevent a taxpayer bailout of the government agency.  

Davidow said no other agency has been forced to shoulder the burden to pre-fund benefits.

“The cutbacks would destroy the Postal Service,” she said. “The cuts will degrade the service, and this will be inconvenient to both rural and urban areas, especially for people only with access to the post office and those who are dependent on our services.”

Since the cutbacks would be widespread across the country, Davidow said the effects would be felt by both workers and citizens.

“The cutbacks threaten to close more than 2,000 post offices and more than 250 mail-processing centers. This will affect many lives, not just the consumers,” Davidow said.

If passed, the act would also create Postal Service Financial Reponsibility Assistance Authority in order to restruction the USPS and reduce annual costs to the agency, the statement said.  This authority would attempt to bring USPS in a position to pay off their debts if they do into defualt with the federal government.  

In the statement, Issa said the legislation will modernize the way the postal service operates, giving them a structure more attune to a business which will allow them to keep their costs down. 

Postal service employees, the statement said, receive higher benefits than the workers of any other federal agency.  This disparity, which amounted to an estimated 700 million in lost savings last year, will be eliminated by the bill.  

The bill would also insure workers receive wages closer to those of adjacent private sector employees. the statement said.   

Contrary to popular belief, the Postal Service had been enjoying a surplus, Davidow said, making a revenue of $70 billion a year.

She further commented on the Postal Service as a center industry worth $1.3 trillion, with a strong hand in the functioning of the private sector.

“Many companies, including private ones, particularly magazines and newspapers are all reliant on our services,” she said. “One of the major impacts of the cutbacks is the extension of time to deliver the service. This would disrupt businesses in the economy.”