*Privatization *Threats to Collective Bargaining *Attacks on Our Jobs, Pay, Benefits *Postal Service’s Shaky Finances
The Postal Service Is In Danger of Going Under…And So Are Our Jobs
The Postal Service is in danger of financial collapse, and could shut down as early as July 2012. A battle is brewing on Capitol Hill over what to do about it, and one thing is clear: We are in the fight of our lives. Our jobs, our pay, and our benefits are in danger!
Every postal employee must join the fight! We can’t win without you!
The Postal Service has suspended its payments to FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System), and is expected to default on a $5.5 billion payment due to the Treasury on Sept. 30 to pre-fund health benefits for future retirees. By July 2012, the Postal Service may not have enough cash on hand to make payroll.
The Postal Service’s financial crisis was created by Congress, and Congress must fix it.
Unfortunately, some of the same politicians that are trying to gut Medicare and limit collective bargaining for public employees are pushing the Postal Service into default.
The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform recently introduced a bill (H.R. 2309) that would be devastating for the Postal Service and for postal employees. It would do nothing to correct the cause of the Postal Service’s economic difficulties.
· USPS pension plans are overfunded by billions of dollars, and · The USPS is required to pre-fund healthcare coverage for future retirees – at a cost of more than $5 billion annually. No other government agency or private company bears this burden.
H.R. 2309 wouldn’t correct these glaring problems, but it would establish a “solvency authority” that would have the power to unilaterally cut wages, abolish benefits, and end protection against layoffs. Sponsors of the bill claim postal employees are overpaid by 34%!
The bill also would create a board that would order $1 billion worth of post office closures in the first year and $1 billion worth of facility closures in the second year. Would that include your office or your facility? Would that wipe out your job?
The Postal Service is essential to American life and commerce. It is at the heart of industries that employ 9 million people in mailing, printing, and related businesses. But some politicians are willing to destroy it, and many people who care about the USPS would be quite content to solve its problems on the backs of postal workers – eliminating our protection against layoffs, slashing our pay, and cutting our benefits.
Only the union is fighting to defend the Postal Service AND postal workers. And the union needs you.
ARE YOU IN? JOIN APWU NOW
These folks get paid very, very well, and only have to work 20 years to collect full benefits. It's about time someone reigned them in. It's a scam. The taxpayers are getting fleeced.