News from Washington Comprehensive postal reform unlikely in the 116th Congress The House of Representatives - NALC
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News
News from Washington
Comprehensive postal reform unlikely in the 116th Congress
T
he House of Representatives Postal reform update
has passed 10 of the 12 spending
As of press time, a postal reform bill
bills, while the remaining two
had not been introduced in Congress,
passed out of committee but have yet
and while talks continue behind the
to be taken up on the House floor. The
scenes in both the House and the Sen-
Senate, meanwhile, approved 10 of its
ate, the prospects of a comprehensive
12 spending bills through the Appro-
piece of legislation being introduced,
priations Committee, though none of
advanced through both chambers and
those had reached the Senate floor. signed by the president are slim to nil.
Subsequently, though, in late Septem- The difficulties in finding bipartisan
ber a continuing resolution was signed agreement stem partly from the split
into law to fund federal agencies at in party leadership between the two
current levels through Nov. 21, giving chambers.
lawmakers more time to address the In the absence of strong postal reform,
appropriations debate for fiscal year NALC has focused on the USPS Fairness
2020 (FY 2020). Act (H.R. 2382), and seen its momen-
As this issue went to print, congres- tum continue to rise. The bill would
sional and appropriations leadership repeal the mandate that USPS pre-fund
negotiations were in the works to final- decades’ worth of health benefits for its
ize a long-term funding deal and avoid future retirees that was contained in the
another government shutdown. Talks Postal Accountability and Enhancement
could provide a pathway to begin “pre- Act (PAEA), adopted in 2006.
conferencing” all 12 bills. Differences The repeal of the pre-funding
between appropriators have boiled mandate is key to achieving meaning-
down to subcommittee allocations, ful postal reform—because it would
including proposals that provide insuf- free the Postal Service to invest in its
ficient increases to Labor, Health and infrastructure and better utilize its
Human Services and Education; and to universal network to serve business
political disagreements, including pro- and residential customers. Even if a
posals to provide significant funding more comprehensive bill may struggle
to build a wall on the southern border, during the 116th Congress, enactment
among others. of H.R. 2382 would help improve Postal
Regardless of the outcome of the Service finances and put lawmakers in
yearly task of funding the government, a good position to advance a broader
once this is concluded it could spell postal reform bill in the next Congress,
the end of most legislation for the rest if not this one.
of the 116th Congress. Much attention H.R. 2382 continues to add co-spon-
is likely to be focused on the impeach- sors to its already sizable bipartisan
ment inquiry. Additionally, 2020 will majority support. Introduced on April
be an election year for the entire 28 by Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR),
House, a third of the Senate and for Tom Reed (R-NY), Xochitl Torres Small
the president, meaning that more time (D-NM) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA),
will be spent on campaigning and less H.R. 2382 would eliminate a mandate
on legislating. This could mean bad that has cost an average of $5.4 billion
news for a lot of bills, including those annually since 2007, while account-
prioritized by NALC. ing for 92 percent of USPS’s reported
4 The Postal Record November 2019
NALC mourns passing of
Rep. Elijah Cummings
The National Association of Letter
Carriers sent its heartfelt condo-
lences to the family, friends and
colleagues of Rep. Elijah Cummings
of Baltimore, following his death on
Oct. 17.
“Congressman Cummings was
an unyielding supporter of govern-
losses over the last 12 years and 100 ment workers,” NALC President
percent over the last six years. Absent Fredric Rolando said. “Because of his
this burden, which applies to no other leadership role on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, we
federal agency or private company, worked closely with him for many years on postal issues and admired his deep
USPS would have recorded a surplus of knowledge of, and commitment to, the U.S. Postal Service and its employees.”
nearly $4 billion since 2013.
As this issue of The Postal Record
Letter carriers can find a useful fact workers’ rights and effectively pre-
was going to press, the bill had 269 sheet on pre-funding and the USPS vent violations.
co-sponsors. Fairness Act on NALC’s Government
NALC members are encouraged to • Protect the integrity of union
Affairs page by clicking on the Legisla-
check whether their member of Con- elections against captive audience
tive Action Center on the right-hand
gress is a co-sponsor. If not, you can meetings called by employers to
side of the page. This information and
reach their office by calling the Capitol intimidate workers.
more legislative tools are available for
switchboard at 202-224-3121 and asking your Android or iPhone smartphone The introduction of this bill follows
for their support and co-sponsorship. through the NALC Member App. decades of stagnant wages for the ma-
While there is not currently a Senate jority of American workers, as well as
companion bill, there is talk of one House advances PRO Act poor working conditions and attacks
being introduced soon. When that on unions and workers’ rights.
On Sept. 25, the House Committee on
happens, NALC will encourage all “America’s workers are the backbone
Labor and Education marked up and
letter carriers to contact the two sena- of our economy and the foundation of
advanced the Protecting the Right to
tors from their state and ask them to our strength, organizing and mobiliz-
Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 2474), legisla-
co-sponsor the bill, too. ing over generations for higher wages,
tion that would increase protections
Additionally, NALC supports five res- for workers’ rights to organize and bar- better health care, safer working
olutions introduced in Congress. While gain for higher wages, better benefits conditions and stronger retirement
non-binding, these resolutions send a and safer working conditions. security for everyone,” House Speaker
strong message about the breadth of Specifically, the PRO Act would: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said.
support for USPS and its mission. “The introduction of the PRO Act is
While the priority resolutions on door • Establish penalties for predatory cor- a powerful statement of support for
delivery (H. Res. 23), six-day mail delivery porations that violate workers’ rights America’s workers,” NALC President
(H. Res. 54) and opposing the privatiza- or misclassify workers as supervisors Fredric Rolando said. “All Americans
tion of USPS (H. Res. 33/S. Res. 99) all and independent contractors. deserve the right not simply to stand
have achieved majority support with • Strengthen workers’ rights to strike together and negotiate a fair return
more than 218 co-sponsors in the House for basic workplace improvements, on our work, but to have that right
or (in the case of S. Res. 99) more than including higher wages and better protected and enforceable through
50 in the Senate, the resolution on resto- working conditions. the court of law. For too long, corpora-
ration of service standards (H. Res. 60) • Create a mediation and arbitration tions and the wealthiest few have been
still needs more co-sponsors. process to ensure that corporations prioritized to the detriment of our na-
Another notable bill NALC is track- and newly formed unions reach a tion’s labor force. NALC supports the
ing is H.R. 141, the Social Security first contract. PRO Act and encourages Democrats
Fairness Act, introduced by Rep. and Republicans alike to stand up for
Rodney Davis (R-IL). The bill would • Authorize unions and employers the American people by passing this
repeal the Government Pension Offset to negotiate agreements that allow legislation.”
(GPO) and the Windfall Elimination unions to collect fair-share fees that NALC will monitor its progression
Provision (WEP) titles of the Social cover the costs of representation. through the House and Senate. The
Security Act. As of press time, it had • Streamline National Labor Relation House bill currently has 210 co-spon-
203 co-sponsors. Board (NLRB) procedures to secure sors. Should it be brought to the floor
November 2019 The Postal Record 5
News
for a vote and pass, it will proceed to abroad, among many other undesir- participated in rallies protesting a
the Republican-controlled Senate, able consequences. series of executive orders attacking
where it is unlikely to be considered. While Peter Navarro, the White the collective-bargaining rights of
However, winning House passage still House’s trade adviser, pushed for a non-postal federal unions and urging
is important—it builds momentum system that would allow a pricing free- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McCon-
and will help us make the case in next for-all when it came to postal fees, a nell (R-KY) to put the “Rehabilita-
year’s Senate elections that union compromise deal was reached follow- tion for Multiemployer Pensions Act
rights are important to voters. ing two days of talks. This deal will of 2019,” also known as the “Butch
allow countries that receive more than
U.S. to remain in UPU Lewis Act” (S. 2254), to a vote in the
75,000 metric tons of mail a year to
Senate. That bill would create a loan
In late September, the third Extraor- start phasing in gradually higher rates
program to stabilize failing multi-
dinary Congress of the Universal Postal in January 2021 over a five-year period,
an agreement far less disruptive than employer plans, to avoid a potential
Union (UPU) held an emergency meet-
that advocated by Navarro. pension crisis and to ensure that
ing in response to the White House’s
“Once a country declares their rate, commitments made to retirees and
threats to pull the United States out of
exporting countries will have to factor workers will be met.
the nearly 150-year-old organization,
that cost; it means that cost will be These rallies, led by the American
which would risk jeopardize the entire
structure of international mail service. transferred to the person sending that Federation of Government Employees
Ahead of the emergency meeting, item,” Hussein said. “When you are in (AFGE) and the United Mine Workers
the postal workforce sent a letter to a country and you buy items overseas, of America (UMWA), were attended by
Congress (viewable on the NALC Gov- the end customer will definitely have numerous members of other unions,
ernment Affairs webpage) requesting to pay a higher price.” who showed their support for workers’
members to urge the White House not The United States now will be able rights and earned benefits.
to withdraw the United States from the to start setting new postal fees in July “NALC is proud to support our broth-
UPU. In the talks, the UPU agreed to of next year, before they begin to take ers and sisters to fight against those
restructure international postal fees. effect in January 2021. who are working to take away fair
UPU Director-General Bishar Hus- returns for our work and our freedoms
sein had warned at the start of the
NALC participates in
to join together in union,” President
meeting that U.S. withdrawal from the
collective-bargaining
Rolando said.
UPU would be a “nightmare scenario” and pension rallies
that would upend global mail and Standing in solidarity with the In the media
see U.S. stamps fail to be recognized labor movement this fall, NALC
NALC Chief of Staff Jim Sauber was
quoted in a Sep. 23 article by Barron’s
Postmaster General that covered the controversy surround-
ing the potential, but later averted,
announces retirement U.S. exit from the Universal Postal
Union.
On Oct. 16, U.S. Postmaster General Megan
Brennan announced that she would be retiring A number of outlets covered the
on Jan. 31, 2020. NALC President Fredric Rolando celebratory ceremony and unveiling of
issued the following statement on the retirement “Wailin’ Mailman” Buck Hill’s mural
announcement: in Washington, DC (see last month’s
“NALC congratulates Postmaster General Bren- Postal Record). Among the media
nan on her retirement after 33 years of public outlets that reported on the event were
service. We extend our best wishes in her future CapitalBOP.com, WAMU 88.5 FM and
endeavors.” Linn’s Stamp News. PR
6 The Postal Record November 2019
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