Mail carriers across the state gathered with Democratic politicians on Capitol Square Monday to protest a bill that would implement significant cuts to the United States Postal Service.
Monday’s rally, which drew approximately 60 people, was a part of a nationwide effort on the part of postal worker unions to discourage Congress from passing the Postal Reform Act in favor of passing House Resolution 1351, which would end a 2006 mandate that requires the Postal Service to pre-fund future retirees benefits, according to a statement from Save America’s Postal Service.
The Postal Reform Act, proposed by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, would reform the USPS through budget cuts and structural adjustments, according to a statement from Issa.
At the rally, State Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, said the bill is a part of a nationwide movement on the right to cut funds to public agencies in favor of private sector alternatives.
Due to legislation passed in 2006, the Postal Service is required to pre-fund the health benefits of future retirees for the next 75 years. Pocan said this has led to most of the Postal Service’s financial problems and should be overturned.
“This is cookie cutter Tea Party, Grover Norquist legislation that they want to do state by state and to federal agencies in the United States Postal Service,” Pocan said.
In 2010, Issa said in the statement, the postal service lost over $8 billion and is estimated to lose at least that much this year and in 2012. The passage of the Postal Reform Act would save the agency at least $10.7 billion each year, he said
Issa said the changes to the Postal Service inherent in the Postal Reform Act would keep the financially struggling Postal Service from seeking a multi-billion dollar bailout with taxpayer money.
Pocan said House Resolution 1351, which includes spending cuts to the USPS but also eliminates its pre-funding of health care requirement, is a better alternative to the Postal Reform Act.
“That measure will keep post offices open, keep mail delivery timely and save the jobs of tens of thousands of workers,” Pocan said.
The reform act, Issa said in the statement, would modernize USPS and give the agency more power to run itself like a business. He said this will curb the Postal Service’s financial troubles by allowing the public agency to operate like a private sector corporation.
The source of the Postal Service’s financial burden has been increasingly high labor costs and unnecessary infrastructure, Issa said. He said these must be eliminated in order to keep the USPS operational.
Paul Muenkel, a spokesperson for the American Postal Workers Union, said post offices across the state are not having trouble financially due to a poor business structure or a lack of customers but due to the pre-paid requirements past by congress, which cost the USPS around $5 billion a year.
The USPS is not looking for a bailout, Muenkel said. The USPS would be fine financially if Congress discontinued the Postal Service’s required pre-fund payments, he said, as well as overpayments into pension accounts which have cost USPS several billion dollars.
“Some of the people say we’re after a bailout,” Muenkel said. “If they just relieved us of these payments, we’ll be in good shape.”
