Rallies Held on September 27th in Every Congressional District

The NPMHU joined forces with the three other postal unions to mark September 27 as a coordinated day of action to Save America’s Postal Service.

Acting together, the NPMHU and the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), and the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA) rallied in nearly every congressional district in the country to build support for H.R. 1351, a bill introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA).

“It is crucial that Mail Handlers let all Members of Congress know the importance of the issues faced by the Postal Service, by its employees, and by the American mailing public,” said National President John Hegarty.  “The Postal Service faces serious financial problems, in large part caused by prior actions by Congress, and it is Congress that should adopt the obvious solutions, including H.R. 1351.”

The Lynch bill would prevent the financial collapse of the USPS – without closing thousands of post offices, eliminating hundreds of mail processing facilities, delaying mail delivery, laying off 120,000 workers, cutting postal workers’ pay, or ending collective bargaining rights.  Unfortunately, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has another idea, and apparently is blocking consideration of H.R. 1351.  As an alternative, Rep. Issa has introduced a bill that would destroy the Postal Service as we know it.  His bill (H.R. 2309), which is co-sponsored by Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL), would do nothing to correct the cause of the USPS financial crisis:  It would do nothing about the billions of dollars in USPS overpayments to its pension accounts, and it would do nothing to correct the 2006 congressional mandate that requires the Postal Service to pre-fund the healthcare benefits of future retirees.  No other government agency or private company bears this burden, which requires the USPS to fund a 75-year liability in 10 years – at a cost of more than $5 billion annually.

At the rallies on September 27, the unions asked legislators to co-sponsor H.R. 1351.  Where lawmakers have already signed on, the rally participants expressed their appreciation for their support and asked them to pledge to do everything in their power to ensure its passage.

The unions have developed a common website to provide information about the rallies.  All Mail Handlers are urged to visit saveamericaspostalservice.org for more information, and to see photos, videos and news accounts from rallies across the country.