The Postal Service on June 30 announced a major restructuring of its mail processing network with the closure of eighty-two (82) processing facilities throughout the country beginning in January, 2015.
NAPS opposes the Postal Service’s plan because it will slow down the nation’s mail service, further dismantle the distribution network and eliminate middle-class jobs. The plan will largely eliminate local overnight First Class mail delivery currently the national standard for all local deliveries. Veterans also will be hurt, since nearly twenty percent of the Postal Service’s workforce is comprised of veterans. Veterans are not entitled to any preference or future employment rights when postal facilities are outright closed.
For Immediate Release:
National Association of Postal Supervisors Statement on the Postal Service’s Plan to Close Eighty-Two Processing Facilities
The Postal Service on June 30 announced a major restructuring of its mail processing network with the closure of eighty-two (82) processing facilities throughout the country beginning in January, 2015.
NAPS opposes the Postal Service’s plan because it will slow down the nation’s mail service, further dismantle the distribution network and eliminate middle-class jobs. The plan will largely eliminate local overnight First Class mail delivery currently the national standard for all local deliveries. Veterans also will be hurt, since nearly twenty percent of the Postal Service’s workforce is comprised of veterans. Veterans are not entitled to any preference or future employment rights when postal facilities are outright closed.
The Postal Services’ finances do not require such drastic action. Although letter mail has decreased, package volume continues to grow exponentially. The Postal Service would have earned a profit for the last fiscal year (2013) and the first two quarters of fiscal year 2014, but for the burdensome retiree health benefit prefunding requirement that has sapped the Postal Service of billions of dollars.
Congress must fix the prefunding requirement before the Postal Service undertakes such rash, irreversible actions. Created by Congress in 2006, the prefunding requirement has most precipitated the Postal Service’s financial problems. The Postal Service’s overpayment of an estimated $7 billion in contributions to the Federal Employee Retirement System has further compounded the situation.
This is not the time for the Postal Service to degrade its distribution network and risk the loss of processing speed, overnight delivery and significant volumes from businesses that rely on these attributes.
NAPS calls upon the Congress to impose a moratorium on the closure of the 82 mail processing facilities and preserve the best mail delivery system in the world.